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Top DOJ Official Accuses FBI Leadership Of "Insubordination" Over Jan 6 Inquiry; Former Twitter Employees On Musk's Business Tactics; Trump To Sign Order Banning Trans Athletes From Women's Sports; Countdown To Superbowl LIX: Chiefs vs. Eagles. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired February 05, 2025 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: -- protesters are turning out in cities across America.

Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Yes, indeed. They are branding these rallies as part of the 5051 movement, 50 protests, 50 states, one day.

These are live pictures of what protesters say is an important moment to oppose what they see as, quote, "the Trump administration's attempts to destroy our freedoms and human rights."

At one protest, demonstrators held up signs reading "stop Musk's steal" and "no kings in the USA." You see, the aerials are from Raleigh, Springfield. These are from Boston.

Gatherings are planned throughout the day. And some protesters are planning marches from state capitals to local ICE field offices.

These are live images of demonstrations in Austin, I believe. There they are outside the state capital. You see the signs there, 'no human being is illegal," et cetera. Some that I probably shouldn't say on TV. Similar scenes are playing out at the capitol building in Denver.

A lot to watch for across the country as these protests are ongoing. We're going to stay on top of this story and get back to you after a quick break. Stay with NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:28]

SANCHEZ: So a new memo by a top DOJ official is accusing FBI leadership of insubordination by refusing to identify a core team of bureau employees who worked on January 6th investigations.

CNN senior justice correspondent, Evan Perez, joins us now.

Evan, this memo also appears aimed at calming fears of a mass firing but it doesn't seem to be having that intended effect. EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: It's kind of hitting in

the opposite direction.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

PEREZ: Now, this is a memo from Emil Bove, who is the acting deputy attorney general of the Justice Department right now. And he was trying to essentially tell FBI employees that I've been asking for a smaller group of -- of FBI agents, I've been trying to identify who worked on these January 6th cases.

And your bosses have essentially been disobeying my orders. So that's the reason why I sent this memo last week, which implicates thousands of FBI employees who worked on January 6th cases.

I'll read you a part of what he says to try to, again, assuage these fears that this is going to be a prelude to a mass firing. I'll show you part of this memo on screen.

It says, "No FBI employee who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner with respect to January 6th investigations, is at risk of termination or other penalties."

And then he goes on to say, say, "The only individuals who should be concerned are those who acted with corrupt or partisan intent, who blatantly -- blatantly defied orders from the Justice Department leadership or who exercised discretion in weaponizing the FBI."

Now the question is, what is this weaponization going to look like? How are they going to define it?

Pamela Bondi, who is the new attorney general? She just got sworn in just this morning at the White House. She is upstairs now at the Justice Department. We expect that she's going to be signing some orders.

One of them is to create this this new weaponization working group, which is not only going to look into the Jack Smith cases, Boris, but also looking into the cases that were brought against Trump in New York.

So Alvin Bragg, the district attorney in Manhattan, who oversaw the hush money case, as well as Letitia James, who is the attorney general that oversaw the -- the other case, the -- the fraud case against the Trump Organization.

So all of that is going to be included in this weaponization look, which includes, by the way, the FBI agents who worked on January 6th cases.

SANCHEZ: Yes, this is a huge story. And it would be leading our shows were it not for so many other huge stories.

Evan Perez, thank you so much for the update.

Brianna? KEILAR: Elon Musk and his team are bulldozing a path through the

federal government in their effort to cut what Musk calls waste. But we've seen this playbook before when Musk took over Twitter.

CNN's Clare Duffy is with us now on this.

And, Clare, I know you've been talking to former Twitter employees. What are they telling you?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Brianna. A lot of former Twitter employees are having deja vu now, watching what Elon Musk is doing within the federal government.

One of the most striking things, of course, that we've seen Musk do at the government level is just the speed with which he has tried to cut costs, cut staff, cut entire departments.

You'll remember that when he took over Twitter, it was just days before he had laid off the company's senior executive team and 50 percent of the company's staff.

And one former tweet, Twitter senior employee told me that this is in keeping with Musk's sort of algorithm for change, the first step of which this employee said is to question every requirement, assume that every requirement that anybody ever gives you is dumb. Question it. Eliminate it wherever possible.

And essentially ask, do we even need this thing? Should we? And should we have it to begin with? And then start cutting from there.

We are now hearing some of these former Twitter employees offering advice to federal government workers, both quietly and publicly, on everything from how to communicate securely with your colleagues on platforms like Signal to more personal advice about navigating such upheaval.

One former Twitter employee, Yao Yue, posted on X. She said, "Don't comply without question. Don't fold over in advance. Find small routines that anchor you and make you feel in control, even just for a few moments each day."

Now, federal employees have until tomorrow to decide whether to accept this buyout offer that's been offered to them. But there are questions about whether they could actually count on that money.

I spoke with Shannon Liss-Riordan, who is the attorney who represented many of the former Twitter employees, who took legal action against the company over alleged unpaid severance, which, of course, the company has pushed back on.

[14:39:55]

But she said there are questions about Trump -- whether Trump has received the approval to offer these buyouts. And she said she's telling these employees, "You need to decide what's in your best interest. There's no way to predict exactly how this is going to come out" -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Yes, I've -- I've talked to federal workers who have that very concern. Including one who said they were going to take the buyout.

And then when I later came back to them, they said, you know what, I'm not taking it because I don't actually trust that I'm going to get paid or that there's legal authority for me to get paid. So I worry that I would be agreeing to get paid but really all I would get is a resignation.

So really interesting there.

Clare Duffy, thanks for --

DUFFY: I should say -- I should say --

KEILAR: Yes?

DUFFY: I should say, Brianna, that we heard from OPM. And they did say that if the government reneges on their promises here, that the employee's resignation will essentially be moot.

But again, I think it's a matter of, do these employees trust those statements from the government?

KEILAR: Yes, especially if they've moved or gone on somewhere else, you know, and they can't just come back to that employment. It's a -- it's a big gamble.

Clare Duffy, thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

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SANCHEZ: Just minutes from now, President Trump is expected to fulfill his campaign promise of banning transgender athletes from competing in women's sports.

The president will sign an executive order making use of Title IX, a law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities that receive funding from the federal government.

[14:45:04]

CNN sports analyst, Christine Brennan, is here to give us more insight into an issue that is polarizing.

Christine, always great to see you.

How is the sports world reacting to the announcement of this E.O.?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: There's really no surprise, Boris, because, of course, this is something that was part of the presidential campaign. And truly has roiled American politics and American culture in our lives for many, many years now as people argue about this issue and discuss the issue of transgender women competing in women's sports.

And that -- we're talking about little kids, girls, all the way up through colleges and into the pros and the Olympics.

And even at the Olympic level -- this is domestic. But even at the Olympic level, Boris, both World Aquatics and World Athletics -- that's the track and field governing body and the swimming governing body -- have said basically what the president will be saying in a few minutes, which is to say, if someone has gone through male puberty, they cannot compete in women's sports.

So this isn't just a U.S. issue. This is a worldwide issue.

SANCHEZ: You mentioned World Aquatics. I remember Leah Thomas, this trans athlete, she was a female swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, and she gained national attention.

I wonder how states, schools and sports organizations have handled the issue since then, aside from these global organizations, more sort of local ones like the NCAA.

BRENNAN: It's been a patchwork. Some states saying it's OK, some not. In fact, Charlie Baker, the president of the NCAA, has said that he is looking for guidance, that the NCAA is looking for leadership on this.

Also, Charlie Baker, a month and a half ago at a congressional hearing, was asked how many athletes there are in the NCAA. Over a half million. And then the next question was, how many are transgender? Less than 10.

So we are talking about a very small number of people. But that hasn't changed the headlines and the arguing and the confusion and the emotion of something that truly is much bigger than just those 10 athletes or less than 10 athletes.

And the LPGA, women's golf, just in the last month and a half, they also came up with the same policy that -- of course, that swimming and track and field did worldwide, which is to say, again, if you've gone through male puberty, you cannot compete in the women's category.

So the trend seems to be moving the way that the president is moving, even, of course, as there's so much emotion and, of course, hate, which no one wants to see as people work with the science.

And I suspect, Boris, that this is something that will be being discussed for decades to come, especially involving science versus the emotion of the story and the issue.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and it's quite possible, even likely, that this executive order could wind up in court.

Christine Brennan, appreciate the analysis. Thanks so much.

BRENNAN: Thank you.

And that executive order banning trans athletes from women's sports is coming up next hour. We're going to bring it to you when it happens. Stay with us.

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[14:52:43]

SANCHEZ: I can smell the buffalo wings --

KEILAR: Oh, yes.

SANCHEZ: -- the dip, the chips, the scrambled eggs.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: We're just four days away.

KEILAR: Enough with the eggs.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: We're just four days away from the biggest event in American sports.

KEILAR: CNN's Coy Wire is in New Orleans ahead of the rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Coy, the Chiefs are a hard team to beat. How are the teams feeling?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, well, first of all, welcome to Radio Row. Second of all, thanks for making me hungry talking about all --

(LAUGHTER)

WIRE: -- this good food just before I'm about to try to do a hit with you all.

(LAUGHTER)

WIRE: But, listen, the Eagles, I just talked to Hall of Famer, Marshall Faulk, running back legend. He said these players are excited. They're anxious. They've got family in town. They're trying not to stay distracted. It's going to be tough.

The Eagles, they have this monumental task of trying to take down the Chiefs and their otherworldly quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. He's not even 30 years old yet. Five Superbowl appearances in seven seasons. Three of -- three wins.

And I asked him if there's any added motivation this time around. And there is. It's his -- welcoming his third child into this world with his wife, Brittany, just a few weeks ago.

And this Superbowl Sunday will be baby Golden's first time seeing dad play in person. He's not just playing for another title. He's playing for his family.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS QUARTERBACK: It's always motivating whenever you have another baby, I mean, just because I want them to have the same experiences that the other two had.

And she's -- she's been amazing. She's been sleeping well. Moms been extremely happy and I'm excited for her to be able to -- to come, too. I think this would be her first football game at the Superbowl. And hopefully, we can get her a win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now on the other sideline, one of the Eagles' star players, running back, Saquon Barkley, he's playing with some added motivation, too. Superbowl Sunday is his birthday. He's turning 28 years old.

He put together one of the greatest seasons we've seen from a running back in NFL history. He's an MVP candidate.

Here he is on the big moment this Sunday on his birthday during the game. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAQUON BARKLEY, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES RUNNING BACK: I think it's pretty cool that the Superbowl lands on my birthday.

You know, not only my birthday, Cooper's birthday and Sam's birthday, too. But, yes, I don't think, you know, winning the Superbowl on your birthday or whether it's the day before or the day after.

[14:55:07]

I think just winning the Superbowl in general is such a cool moment. And it puts you in football royalty. And it's something that you want to accomplish since you're a little kid.

So whether it was on my birthday or not, to be able to win it would mean everything would mean the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: It's his first Superbowl. He mentioned his teammate, Cooper DeJean. It's his birthday as well. Cooper wears number 33. Saquon wears number 26. That equals 59. That's Superbowl LIX.

Eagles fans are saying it is written in the stars. It's numerology. We are going to win in this revenge match, preventing the Chiefs from being a first-ever three-peter.

KEILAR: I did not major in math.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: But thank you for that, Coy Wire.

And ahead, it is the first official day on the job for Trump's new A.G., Pam Bondi. What we know about her plans to reshape DOJ, including rolling back key moves from the Biden administration.

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