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Trump's Justice Department Halts Police Reform Agreements; Trump Signs New Executive Orders in Oval Office. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired January 23, 2025 - 15:30   ET

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


[15:30:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: The new Trump Justice Department just putting a major freeze on its civil rights work. The acting Associate Attorney General directing government attorneys to pause any briefs, motions, filings, or new complaints for all cases in the Civil Rights Division. And that includes police reforms, which means the department has now halted all settlements and consent degrees for police departments where it found a pattern of misconduct.

Among those, the Minneapolis force. This, of course, following investigation after the wake of George Floyd's death. And in Louisville, police reforms there, which came after a years-long investigation after Breonna Taylor was killed.

Now, it's important to note it's not uncommon for a new administration to review pending litigation, but it's typically done on a case-by- case basis.

CNN senior law enforcement analyst Charles Ramsey, who once ran the forces of Philadelphia and Washington, joins me now. He's also a partner now at 21CP Solutions.

Always good to see you. When we hear that this is a whole-scale pause across the department, what do you think the message is that that sends to departments across the country?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, if this becomes a permanent thing, then obviously it's very, very unfortunate. But I think people need to remember, I mean, first of all, there is still a need for police reform. It's absolutely no question there are many departments that could benefit from either a consent decree or something that DOJ used to call collaborative reform, which was more voluntary in nature, didn't involve the courts, but still was an agreement between the Department of Justice and the individual department. I did that in Philadelphia.

But now you've got state attorney generals that are beginning to perform that role in various states. And then of course, companies like mine and others come in and do assessments of police departments and make recommendations to the city and to the department for improvement.

So there is a need to continue moving in that direction. It's unfortunate if DOJ is not a major player in that because it does make a difference in policing.

HILL: As you mentioned the need and then it makes a difference, I just want to highlight for folks at home some of what the consent decree agreements for both Minneapolis and Louisville contained. Again, those are waiting on final approvers, so they were by judges in those cities, but some of it may seem like it's common sense. So among those using de-escalation to minimize the need for use of force, respecting a person's first amendment rights and investigating allegations of misconduct fully and fairly.

What is the standard operating procedure if these are part of that consent decree?

RAMSEY: Well, I mean, those are added to consent decrees, but the consent decrees cover a variety of topics. Training is certainly one, stop searches and arrests is another, use of force is another, that's community engagement. So it goes beyond just a few things that you mentioned there, although they're part of what's necessary for a police department to be effective in serving its community in today's world.

So all those things are in a consent decree. I'm a member of the monitoring team in Baltimore, for an example. That's currently under a consent decree headed by a federal judge, Jim Bredar, who's doing a fantastic job in the city.

And the department has come a long way over the past few years since that consent decree was put in place. So it can make a difference. It can totally turn around a department.

When I was in Washington, D.C., I entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Justice because of our -- a number of officer-involved shootings. After we came into compliance with the recommendations, there was an 80 percent drop in the number of officer-involved shootings in Washington, D.C., and it's remained low since then. So it makes a difference.

And I would hope that the current Department of Justice and certainly the president really think carefully about that before they just make it a total ban on future consent decrees or collaborative reform if they want to go in that direction.

[15:35:04]

HILL: You know, President Trump has reportedly talked about backing the blue and his support for law enforcement. There has been pushback on his decision for these widespread pardons and commuting sentences, specifically those of January 6th rioters, which involved violent actions and specifically violence toward police officers.

How do you think this squares, if it does, with his continued proclamation of supporting law enforcement? And how is it being received by folks in law enforcement?

RAMSEY: I have absolutely no idea how those two things could be connected. First of all, I think it was a huge mistake to pardon many of those individuals involved in January 6th, particularly those assaulting police officers. There may have been a few people there that were engaged in less serious behavior, and I can certainly understand that, but assaulting police officers, you simply cannot be tolerated.

So I don't see how that fits into a law and order type of rhetoric that many elected officials continue to still want to engage in. And then when you take a look at police reform, which has a direct impact on the communities that we serve, I mean, there are some situations where clearly the department is not using 21st century type policing practices. They're training, they're hiring, you name it. They could use a great deal of change.

The Department of Justice historically has played a key role in helping that turnaround. It can be painful, but after five, six years, once it's over, believe me, there will be a much better police department. I personally experienced that.

So I just hope they carefully think these things through. It's too late for the January 6th situation. Again, that's something I was really appalled by. But to move forward, as far as police reform goes, that is something that's necessary. State attorney generals can pick up the slack. Private companies can pick up the slack by coming in and doing assessments.

Well, we can't allow status quo to rule the day. There does need to be continuous change in policing. And having said that, many departments are great and they do a great job, but there are many others that don't.

HILL: Yes, Charles Ramsey, always appreciate your insight. Thank you.

RAMSEY: Thank you.

HILL: The suspect in the Idaho College murders case back in court now as his legal team is trying to get DNA evidence out of the trial. That's just ahead.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We are following some breaking news into CNN out of the White House. President Donald Trump just signing more executive orders and we have the video. Let's listen.

DAVID SACKS, AI CONSULTANT: Oh, sorry, we're going to be back. I'm sorry. This is the executive order on AI.

We're basically announcing the administration's policy to make America the world capital in artificial intelligence and to dominate and to lead the world in AI.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Do you want to say your name, your full name?

SACKS: Yes, David Sacks, AI consultant.

TRUMP: David is one of the greatest in the world at AI. Most respected probably there is. So that should take us to the forefront, right?

SACKS: Absolutely. We got to win.

TRUMP: OK. Thank you. And this, David, is?

SACKS: Yes, this is the crypto EO. We're going to be forming an internal working group to make crypto -- America the world capital in crypto under your leadership.

TRUMP: Which is really going up, right?

SACKS: Absolutely.

TRUMP: All right, David, that's for you.

SACKS: Thank you, sir.

TRUMP: You find them exciting? They might not be exciting, but we're going to make a lot of money for the country.

SACKS: Thank you, sir.

TRUMP: And so is David. You have to check him out. There's nobody like this guy.

They said, how did you get David Sacks? How did you do that? And he's doing it for the country more than anything else. So we appreciate it, David. Thank you very much.

SACKS: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an executive order establishing a presidential commission, an advisory commission on science and technology.

TRUMP: Do you want to explain that a little bit?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The basic idea is to get together top people from the government, the private sector, technology industry, as well as educational institutions to make sure that America maintains its leadership position with respect to science and technology development in the years ahead.

TRUMP: Good? That's great.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next, sir, we have a presidential memorandum encouraging departments and agencies in your government, including the Department of the Interior, to promote federal recognition of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina.

[15:45:00]

TRUMP: I love the Lumbee tribe. So this is their first big step, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This would be a huge step for them, sir.

TRUMP: Yes, they were with me all the way. They were great. North Carolina Lumbee tribe. You'll send them a copy of that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

TRUMP: They were great.

[Speaker 5] OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you'd like, I could get them that pen, sir, as well.

TRUMP: Yes, (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next, we have a set of pardons for peaceful pro- life protesters who were prosecuted by the Biden administration for exercising their First Amendment rights.

TRUMP: Do you know how many?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe it's 23, sir.

TRUMP: 23 people were prosecuted. They should not have been prosecuted. Many of them are elderly people. They should not have been prosecuted. This is a great honor to sign this. They'll be very happy.

So they're all in prison now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some are. Some are out of custody.

TRUMP: It's ridiculous. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lastly, sir, we have an executive order ordering the declassification of files relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

TRUMP: That's a big one, huh? A lot of people are waiting for this one a long -- for years, for decades, and everything will be revealed. OK. Give that to R.F.K. Jr.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

TRUMP: OK.

OK. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, a U.S. judge temporarily blocked the birthright citizenship order. Do you have any reaction?

TRUMP: No, obviously we'll appeal it. They put it before a certain judge in Seatle I guess. And these aren't surprises with that judge. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, Senators Collins and Murkowski

have now said they will vote against Pete Hegseth. Are you worried about his confirmation? And your reaction?

TRUMP: No. And no surprises there. It's too bad. It's the way it is. Too bad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And when would you adjourn Congress to make recess appointments, Mr. President?

TRUMP: Well, I'd take a look at that. I'd listen to John Thune. He's doing a fantastic job. We're moving along. The Democrats are trying to delay government, as they always do. They can't help themselves.

Even John Ratcliffe, who's very, very strong, very popular, and liked by the Democrats. I guess he gets a lot of Democrat votes. That's taking a long time, and it shouldn't be taking a long time.

They're maxing everything out so they can delay everything as much as possible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, Mr. President, support an effort to use recess appointments if you choose to do that?

TRUMP: I'd be willing to use recess appointments. It's up to John. We'll see.

John Thune's a great guy, great senator, and knows his stuff inside out and backwards. But I would use recess appointments if he wants to do that. Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --

TRUMP: The Democrats are just delaying. They always delay.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, you spoke with the Saudi Crown Prince yesterday.

TRUMP: Who?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Saudi Crown Prince. How was the call?

TRUMP: Great.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they said $600 billion they can invest.

TRUMP: $600? I'll ask them for a trillion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said you can ask them for a trillion. Will Saudi Arabia be the first foreign country you will visit since they invested that much money?

TRUMP: Why don't they do that? I would, yes. I would be glad to do that.

I did it, as you know, four years ago. We did $450 billion, meaning the money all goes to American companies, and they purchase jets and they purchase computers and everything else. And we did $450 billion, and I guess we're at $600, $650.

And I'll see if I can talk him into it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, on the Middle East again, you showed great confidence in Steve Witkoff. Why you said that you doubt that the ceasefire in Gaza will hold since you appraised his (INAUDIBLE)?

TRUMP: I think he's great, but it's a very tricky place. It's very tricky. We'll see. And if something does happen, they will not be happy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, a follow-up on that one.

[15:50:00]

In terms of Steve Witkoff, are you going to put him in charge of Iran's strategy? Do you want him talking directly with the Iranians?

TRUMP: No, but he's certainly somebody I would use. He's done a fantastic job. He's a great...

TRUMP: No, but he's certainly somebody I would use. He's done a fantastic job. He's a great negotiator. He's a very good person, a very popular person, gets along with people. I have great negotiators. They have no personality whatsoever. And then I have some that -- Steve has a wonderful way about him and people like him. And even in this case, both sides like him. And he was able to make a deal.

That deal would have never been made without Steve. The Biden people couldn't make the deal. They were working on it for a year and a half. They couldn't make a deal. We got it done prior to the inauguration. We said it has to be before the inauguration.

I mean, the deal should hold, but if it doesn't hold, there'll be a lot of problems.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I went into your AI EO just hours after you made that big Stargate announcement. Elon Musk tweeted that they don't actually have the money. Is that true?

TRUMP: I don't know if they do, but, you know, they're putting up the money. The government's not putting up anything. They're putting up money. They're very rich people, so I hope they do. I mean, Elon doesn't like one of those people, so.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you worried this AI is going to replace many American jobs?

TRUMP: No, no, no. It's going to create tremendous numbers of jobs. It's going to also create a lot of benefits medically for cancer research and other things. It's going to have a huge positive impact. And, you know, we want to be ahead of China. We're right now way ahead of China. David Sacks is one of the all-time experts. People are amazed that he just met him. I don't know if he's still here. There he is. But one of the most respected people in that world. It's a world. It's a whole different world. And we're ahead of China now because of what I'm doing. And I think it's going to be very successful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Trump, if please, you just asked the Davos Forum again that NATO countries should spend 5 percent of GDP on defense. The United States don't spend 5 percent. Do you think it should also apply to the United States?

TRUMP: We're protecting them, you know. They're not protecting us. We're protecting them.

So I don't think we should be spending -- I'm not sure we should be spending anything, but we should certainly be helping them. But they should up their 2 percent to 5 percent, yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, you said earlier during your speech at Davos that you would like to see interest rates come down. How much would you like to see them come down (INAUDIBLE)?

TRUMP: A lot. I'd like to see them come down a lot. And oil prices will come down. And when oil prices come down, everything's going to be cheaper for the American people and actually for the world, but for the American people. So I'd like to see oil prices come down. And when the energy comes down, that's going to knock out a lot of the inflation. That's going to automatically bring the interest rates down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you worried that there's too much going on at once if you're trying to bring interest rates down and get the economy back going?

TRUMP: No, no, no. It just works that way. I mean, it just economically works that way. When the oil comes down, it'll bring down prices. Then you won't have inflation. And then the interest rates will come down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said that you would demand that the interest rates come down.

TRUMP: Well, I would put in a strong statement.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you expect the Fed to listen to you?

TRUMP: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you going to talk to Powell about this and bring in the rates down?

TRUMP: At the right time, I would.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, do you have anything to say to the people you've pardoned that were participated in the January 6, 2021, campaign? Did you plan to meet with any of them or meet with them at the White House?

TRUMP: I don't know. I'm sure that they probably would like to. I did them something important.

But what they did is they were protesting a crooked election. I mean, people understand that also. And they were treated very badly. Nobody's been treated like that. So I'd be open to it, certainly. I don't know of anything like that.

But I think they're going to meet some of the congresspeople, congressmen, women, who want to meet. But I'd certainly be open to it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you spoken to them since you issued the pardons?

TRUMP: I haven't spoken to any of them yet. But I know they're very happy. I gave them their life back. Their life was taken away from them unnecessarily and unfairly. I gave them their life back. So I can imagine they probably would like to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, what did you mean when you said that Biden took bad advice and not pardoning himself yesterday?

TRUMP: Well, he did. I think he did because he pardoned all these people that are crooked as hell. Look, the congressmen, they're crooked.

What they did is they destroyed evidence. When you destroy evidence, especially criminally like that, they did it criminally. And the reason they destroyed the evidence is because it proved that I was right.

They didn't destroy evidence for no reason. They destroyed it because they found many documents saying that I offered 10,000 soldiers. If they had 500 soldiers or National Guard, there would have been no problem.

If they had 200, there would have been. I offered 10,000 if they needed them. There would have been no problem.

That's been now totally disproven.

[15:25:00]

And it's also been disproven by Nancy Pelosi's daughter who has her on tape saying it was her fault that she has full responsibility for this. And they have all this stuff.

They destroyed everything. And they go through a year and a half, two years of nonsense. They come up with tremendous evidence and they destroyed evidence and Schiff knew about it. Thats why he's on there. He knew all about the destruction of evidence. A lot of people said he's the one that got him to do it, and he's a crooked guy, you know, totally crooked politician.

And so he's pardoned and some other people are pardoned. And these are crooked politicians, every one of them, Bennie Thompson. What he did is incredible. I mean, he was the leader of the committee and he did it. Cheney crying. Adam Kinzinger, all of them. They destroyed evidence and deleted everything. Theres nothing. Theres no evidence now. They're crooked politicians and they should be punished.

You know, if that's even in a civil trial, you go to jail for a thing like that. They destroyed every document. From what I understand, every document, because it proved that I was totally innocent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, to send up to 10,000 troops to the southern border.

TRUMP: YEAH. Our southern border?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, the border.

TRUMP: When you say southern border, when I say 10,000 troops, I was referring to the Capitol.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh I see. And when do you --

TRUMP: And know I was referring to.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When do plan to do that?

TRUMP: I offered 10,000 troops for the capital before January 6th.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And as for the 1,500 at the southern border, sir, to clarify, what exactly do you want them to be doing right now?

TRUMP: Making sure that the border is safe and secure and that criminals don't come into our country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President. Do you think that sanctions on Russia will force President Putin to negotiate?

TRUMP: I don't know, but I think he should make a deal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President. Does it bother you that Elon Musk criticized a deal that you made publicly that he said that he tweeted that?

TRUMP: No, it doesn't. He hates one of the people in the deals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you spoken to him since then?

TRUMP: No, no. Well, I've -- well, I've spoken to Elon, but I've spoken to all of them, actually. No, the people in the deal are very, very smart people. But Elon, one of the people he happens to hate, but I have certain hatreds of people too,

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir -- Sir, on China. What do you think Xi Jinping can do on the Ukraine-Russia war?

TRUMP: Which one?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ukraine/Russia war. What can Xi Jinping do about that?

TRUMP: China?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

TRUMP: They have a lot of power over Russia. They supply energy to Russia. And Russia supplies energy to them. They supply other things, too. You know, its really a very big trade. Its a very big trading partner. But Russia supplies a lot of energy to China, that China pays them a lot of money for that. And I think they have a lot of power over Russia. So I think Russia should want to make a deal. Maybe they want to make a deal. I think from what I hear, Putin would like to see me and well meet as soon as we can. I'd meet immediately. Every day we don't meet soldiers are being killed in a battlefield, and that battlefield is like no battlefield since World War II.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) Ukraine.

TRUMP: And I have I have pictures that you don't want to see. Soldiers are being killed on a daily basis at numbers that we haven't seen in decades. And it would be nice to end that war. Its a ridiculous war.

You said that Ukraine's ready to make a deal. Did president Zelenskyy tell you that?

TRUMP: Yes, sure. He's ready to negotiate a deal. Hed like to stop. He's -- he's a somebody that lost a lot of soldiers. And so did Russia. Lost a lot. Russia lost more soldiers. They lost 800,000 soldiers. Would you say that's a lot? I'd say its a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, you said that you wanted to make Doctor King's dream a reality. What's your response to his children and civil rights leaders who say that your DEI orders are a contradiction of his dream and could further drive racial divide.

TRUMP: Well, I haven't heard that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, you put the Houthis back on the terror list. How do you see the war in Yemen?

TRUMP: Well, well see what happens. But they can't shoot down our ships. The Houthis?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

TRUMP: They're not -- you cant shoot down our ships or any ships. And that's what they've been doing. So they're on the terror list that -- that's not good for them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, why did you revoke security protections for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Brian Hook?

TRUMP: Well, the same reason I did. When you have protection, you can't have it for the rest of your life. Do you want to have a large detail of people guarding people for the rest of their lives? I mean, there's risks to everything. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So would you support us attacking Iran's nuclear

facilities?

TRUMP: You say it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you support Israel, for example, striking Iran's nuclear facilities? Do you believe in --

TRUMP: Well, I'm not going to answer that. Obviously, I'm not going to answer that question. Well have to see. I'm going to be meeting with various people over the next couple of days, and we'll see. But hopefully that can be worked out without having to worry about it. It would be nice. It would really be nice if that could be worked out ...

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