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Bondi: DOJ Will Do "Everything In Our Power" To Seek Death Penalty; Winter Storms Disrupt Post-Thanksgiving Travel Plans; Trump: U.S. Land Action In Venezuela Will Start "Very Soon." Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired November 28, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Yeah. So, Brad, what will happen is this -- and good morning to you, by the way. What will happen is that the investigation will be ongoing.

We know that they've executed search warrants as it relates to the home of the particular shooter here. We know they're talking to known associates. We know that they're doing a number of things. And the reason they're doing that is because they're determining motive.

We hear a lot about the issue of terrorism. Initially it was only -- it was going to be assault with intent to kill. Now that has changed because of the death of this particular service person. And because of that I think you'll see a timeline that will be just consistent with the gathering of the evidence and the gathering of the facts.

I think the most important thing is to determine if they are doing terrorism what the intent was. And so they're under certainly an imperative to find out because generally in a case you don't have to establish any motivation; you just have to establish that there was the intention to commit the crime.

So I think the timeline will just be consistent with the gathering of the evidence -- the gathering of the information that they need to determine was he trying to influence a civilian population? Was he trying to influence policy and that type thing? And that'll come from understanding and knowing exactly what it is. But I think we'll see in the next couple of weeks significant developments with respect to in- court proceedings and specifically where they're going to end up.

BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: And with regard to those terrorism charges -- what prosecutors would need to do to make those charges stick -- does it seem like some of the evidence is already there from what we've seen come together thus far?

JACKSON: So it may and it may not, and here's why I say that. Now, certainly with any crime you want to determine, right -- not that you generally have to prove in a non-related terrorism case why someone did it because motive is not at issue. But I think here what's going to happen is they're going to want to

know why did he do exactly what he did? Why was it focused towards National Guards people? Why did he travel across the country to do it? Who, if anybody, that he participated with doing this with? You're going to get that information from people who you interview.

Was he attempting to influence policy? Was he attempting to intimidate and cause fear to a civilian population? That type thing.

And so all those motivations are going to attempt to be determined so that they know -- that is, the Feds -- as they move forward, and prosecutors -- specifically what they're prosecuting. Why they're doing it, why he did it, and exactly what his real motivation was in terms of coming here to exact this kind of punishment and evil on innocent people.

SMITH: We've heard the attorney general talk about the death penalty. How could that come into play in this case?

JACKSON: So generally speaking, what happens in the -- in the District of Columbia there is no death penalty. But in the event that there are terrorism charges that are added to this, that takes that right off the table, meaning that the death penalty, which is not in D.C., can now become -- because it's federalized. Terrorism makes it a federal offense. The death penalty would now be at play.

And with the death penalty, because of terrorism, because of the fact that he targeted law enforcement, because of the fact it was premeditated, you have various elements that they could go forward. And then, of course, he would be -- put on trial federally and they would attempt -- that is, the federal government -- to establish why he did it. What were the underlying circumstances -- whether it qualifies for that. And it would be up to a jury, of course, to make the determination as to whether it applied.

SMITH: A lot to continue to track on this ongoing investigation.

Joey Jackson, thanks for joining us.

JACKSON: Thanks, Brad -- of course.

SMITH: Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

Joining me now to discuss more on this we have our Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha, and CNN senior political commentator and Republican strategist David Urban. Thank you both for being here. I hope that you guys enjoyed your Thanksgiving.

This is a really difficult time where everyone is thinking about the families of those two National Guard members who went through this, one of whom died at just 20 years old; the other who is fighting for his life.

I do want to ask you about the suspect because that's what we were just discussing. He had previously worked in Afghanistan with the CIA to help U.S. troops. He was allowed in by the Biden administration but granted asylum by the Trump administration. Of course, Trump is blaming Biden on this.

But aren't there questions that need to be answered by both administrations when it comes to this, Chuck?

CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, PRESIDENT, SOLIDARITY STRATEGIES: Yeah, totally. How did he get a gun? Where was he staying at? What was the motive? Was he radicalized by somebody else within our own country? There's lots of answers that need to be answered here today for the longer-term, right? What does this mean for our immigration policy as a whole? What does this mean for lots of things going on?

Like you said, these two young soldiers who were doing and following directions now fighting for their lives. One of them -- and one of them have lost their lives.

And I've got so many questions as a Democrat, and Republicans should have just as many question because this shouldn't happen in our country.

SIDNER: Just a few days before the shooting we learned there was a move by the Trump administration to review and even reinterview some refugees that were let in by the Biden administration. Then this shooting happens and the Trump administration says it now will reexamine green cards issued to people from 19 countries, which they call countries of concern, including Afghanistan.

[07:35:00]

I'm curious from you, David, if you see this as a responsible move or the perfect excuse to do what the administration has been wanting to do for a long time?

DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Yes, Sara. Well, just for a second, I just want to, you know, say a prayer and ask America to say a prayer for the Beckstrom family as they're contemplating the death of their 20-year-old daughter. And I can't imagine -- having a young son myself, I can't imagine what they're going through and what they went through these past few days. There's the picture of the beautiful young girl.

And as Americans I think we should all be grateful for what she was willing to do and what she -- what our men and women in uniform and our men and women in the police force do every day serving as that thin blue line, keeping Americans safe from so many different things.

But, you know, as Chuck said, or as you pointed out correctly, this gentleman worked for an elite unit with our CIA in Afghanistan. He was granted a special -- you know, special access to the United States to come here after being vetted. Was interviewed and was determined to be, you know, not a risk to come here, and was allowed in by the Biden administration and was granted final parole status by the -- by the Trump administration. But the question is, you know, what was -- what was asked of this

gentleman? Was it rushed? Was it perhaps too hastily done?

You'll remember -- I think everybody remembers very well our departure from Afghanistan, which was not done in an orderly fashion and was not done in a timely fashion. There was a great deal of pressure being felt by many to help those Afghans who helped us. And so perhaps his interview was rushed. It may not have been as good as we could have done.

And I think what the Trump administration is doing now is just very responsible. We need to go back and examine the questions that were asked, the interview, the vetting process these individuals are put through because clearly this gentleman drove across the United States from Washington State with what appears to be the intent to murder somebody, and he specifically targeted these fine men and women -- young men and women in uniform. So I think what they're doing is completely responsible.

I think if you'd go to any -- you know, any shopping mall today or any place where people are out on Black Friday and ask them do you think we should be reinterviewing these folks now, I think 100 percent of the folks would say yes, we should.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you Chuck about a piece that came of The New York Times and also CNN has some reporting on this. That before the shooting some troops and officials worried about the Guard's safety. And in an internal memo Guard commanders warned that troops were in a "heightened threat environment."

Do you think that the administration is sort of not paying attention to what were clear warnings about troop safety -- having the National Guard used in a way that it is not normally used out in the streets of a city like D.C.?

ROCHA: Look, I said on this program just a few months ago somebody's going to get killed, and it horrifies me that has come true. This wonderful soldier that gave her life, as David said, from West Virginia, just following orders. It's not her fault.

But there is a lot of questions that need to be answered not just about this crazy lunatic who should be punished to the full extent of the law. But also why is she there in my city on Thanksgiving at K Street where only lobbyists hang out, or like I saw last week picking up trash in parts, not sent by the president - sent by the West Virginia governor?

These are a lot of questions we should be asking each other. That's our jobs as Americans. We all want to be safe. We all want to live in a prosperous country, but we also need to know the facts, and this starts with why this soldier lost their life.

SIDNER: Chuck, I mean -- sorry, David, how do you see it?

URBAN: Yeah. Listen, Sara, you know -- well, I should say, you know, if Americans were to take a trip to their nation's capital or New York City, or other places you'll see the Guard. If you get off an Amtrak train in -- you know, in New York City, there are Guardsmen standing -- Guardsmen and women standing duty there, you know, helping secure and adding a deterrent force.

This is -- this is what was taking place in Washington, D.C. These five men and young women at the train station and at places, you know, along the National Mall giving a sense of security and acting as a deterrent to potential, you know, ne'er-do-wells who might be looking to do harm to people.

And unfortunately, if the -- if somebody is set on hurting somebody, like this individual was, unless you have your weapons drawn at all times you are not prepared. This gentleman got out and started shooting people right away. So if it was a D.C. police officer or anybody they would be -- they would have been assassinated just like this fine young woman was.

[07:40:05]

And so I think what the president has done here in these instances in Washington, D.C. and some other places he's contemplated doing he's -- what he's trying to do is bolster the police force. These individuals are not acting as police officers. They're trying to free up some administrative duties that the police do so that the police in D.C. and other spaces can do more of their law enforcement role and keep the citizenry safe.

So I have no problem with what she was doing -- what the National Guard was doing. They're not being used in a law enforcement fashion in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, right? There is no violation of that here. So I'm completely fine. The Guard has policing and -- as one of their kind of missions overall. So I think what she's doing was honorable. And again, my prayers are just -- you know, thoughts go out to her family and her unit, and these other fine young men and women who are staying there in harm's way to keep Americans safe.

SIDNER: David Urban, Chuck Rocha, thank you so much. I do appreciate you coming on this morning and talking about this difficult subject --

URBAN: Thanks, Sara.

SIDNER: -- and scenario that happened there in D.C. -- all right.

This morning as millions get ready for the post-Thanksgiving rush home, they could be walking straight into a wall of really wild winter weather. This is what it looked like in Erie, Pennsylvania yesterday. Yes, that is snow on the ground in November. And now another shot of arctic air is moving in, sending temperatures falling and setting up even more snow, rain, and some difficult travel across a 1,000-mile stretch of the country.

CNN's Allison Chinchar joining me now. Where is this system headed, and what is it going to bring? What do we all need to be prepared for?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's going to bring winter, and for some folks it's already there. You take a look at some of these feels like temperatures this morning.

So now, this is going to be the combination of both the temperature as well as the wind when you combine the two. So it feels like 29 in New York, 18 in Buffalo, only 12 in Chicago. We're down to feeling like single digits in Indianapolis. But even a place far south, like Atlanta, only feels like it's 23 degrees.

Now this afternoon things will get a little bit warmer but not all that much and certainly not where they should be. Atlanta expected to top out at 50, but we would normally be about 60 degrees this time of year. St. Louis is only going to get to 37 degrees for a high today. They would normally be in the low 50s.

Here is where the next storm is really going to be focused on. And you can say OK, but that's a lot of states. Well, that's because it's going to move in a lot of different places. It's really starting to get its act together over portions of the west right now and then it's gradually going to spread eastward as we head through the weekend.

But you still have some of the lingering lake-effect snow still ongoing across the Great Lakes region. So even before that next system gets here we've still got several more inches of snow that is going to fall across some of these areas.

But this is the next system, and I know it doesn't really look like all that much right now. It's still kind of forming and really getting its act together and we really should start to see it take a much better shape later on this evening, and then it's going to start to spread eastward.

So here's a look at Friday night. Again, now you're starting to really see more of that snow begin to spread. By Saturday morning, unfortunately, this is not a good time to be traveling, especially if you are in portions of the Midwest. States like Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, even Iowa. This is what it looks like at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time.

You've also got some very heavy rain on the southern edge of this. By the time we get to Saturday evening now you're talking Chicago, Detroit, and even Cleveland looking like some of the rough spots.

SIDNER: Allison Chinchar bringing us some difficult news. But you know what? People are fat and happy after the Thanksgiving Day holiday, so maybe they'll just take this in stride.

CHINCHAR: Focus on that.

SIDNER: Yes, all right -- and all the leftovers -- yay.

All right, over to you, Brad.

SMITH: Yeah, thanks so much.

Well, new this morning today is Black Friday and shoppers across the country are hoping to score some big money-saving deals on their holiday shopping list. The National Retail Federation actually estimates a record 186 million people will shop from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. And retailers -- they're hoping that shoppers will still head to stores as they compete with online giants and their sales.

For years, Black Friday meant long lines and a race to get the best doorbuster deals, but recently many retailers have been starting to see their sales earlier and having them last longer. So is Black Friday still worth the hype?

Joining me now we've got Madison Mills, senior markets reporter for Axios. Madison, good to see you here this morning.

I mean, it feels like the sale cycle gets earlier and earlier. How are retailers feeling going into this holiday shopping season?

MADISON MILLS, SENIOR MARKETS REPORTER, AXIOS (via Webex by Cisco): Yeah, and great to see you as well, Brad.

It is fascinating. It feels like Black Friday packs less of a punch when it's a black month in terms of how long these sales are lasting. We had Amazon starting their Black Friday sales two weeks ago. Walmart is spreading their sales over the course of several pay periods. And I think that is sort of what the retailers are banking on right now when it comes to addressing this sort of k-shaped economy we're in.

[07:45:11] I know you know this so well, Brad, that the economy has not been great for most consumers, and especially those mid to low-income earners. And so retailers are addressing that this Black Friday shopping season by spreading out the amount of time that consumers have to spend and shop on these sales, and they can do it over multiple pay periods, which we're hearing from experts is part of the lure here.

But then you also have this kind of tricky moment where retailers have already raised prices in some cases, in part due to some of the tariff policy that's been enacted.

So there's a little bit of a trust disconnect with some shoppers that I have spoken with as well who feel like prices just went up and now they're not coming down that much due to Black Friday. And that's also making it tough for consumers to feel like they really want to spend on brands this year, especially when things are already tight.

SMITH: Yeah. It feels weird sometimes to have to break up into installments a pair of Crocs sometimes. That's just the state that we find ourselves in at this juncture.

MILLS: Yeah.

SMITH: What could sales, though, during this promotional blitz tell us about the health of consumers and the broader economy?

MILLS: Yeah, that's going to be so critical to watch, especially because we've been in this kind of dearth of economic data. We're getting past that but due to the government shutdown we didn't have access to as much of the government-sponsored data that tells us a lot about how the economy is doing. So economists and strategists that I talk to all the time -- they're clamoring for any information they can get about the health of the consumer.

And this Black Friday shopping season could be very critical in giving us some more of that information. It is the biggest shopping day of the year still for retailers. So if we see a drop-off in spending that could be a huge indicator, especially for what the coming holiday season spending is going to look like. November and December tend to be the biggest months of the year of retailers, so if the Black Friday shopping is under pressure, then that could be a negative indicator for the entire shopping season for retailers.

SMITH: All right, Madison. I know that you've got some doorbusters deals to get to. Thank you so much for joining us here today -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right.

We've got some breaking news coming out of St. Louis. A live look there. You can see what's going on. Crews are working to contain a huge fire that spread to several buildings, according now to our affiliate KMOV. You can see it though yourself there.

It looks as though all of those buildings were huge warehouses -- really high warehouses there that caught fire somehow. One of them you can see has collapsed. And we're also told that the fire has spread to nearby electrical lines and railroad tracks, though officials say that these buildings were vacant. That they were old factories burning there.

We'll keep you updated as we hear more on these fires there in St. Louis.

All right. Ahead, your holiday packages could be facing delays. Why a fleet of UPS planes will be out of service during peak delivery season.

Plus, the Mona Lisa of rare jeweled eggs is hitting the auction block for the first time in over two decades. What it would cost to take one of these bad boys home.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:52:40]

SIDNER: New this morning, President Trump says the U.S. military will start targeting alleged drug trafficking networks inside Venezuela "very soon."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've almost stopped. It's about 85 percent stopped by sea. You've probably noticed that. People aren't wanting to be delivering by sea. And we'll be starting to stop them by land also. The land is easier. But that's going to start very soon. We warned them stop sending poison to our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Thousands of U.S. troops and more than a dozen warships are in the Caribbean in the waters off Venezuela. You are seeing the strikes -- some of those strikes that have happened in the waters off of Venezuela. They've been carrying out those deadly strikes for weeks now.

Joining me now is CNN senior military analyst and former NATO supreme allied commander Admiral James Stavridis. Thank you so much for being here this morning.

All right. President Trump is saying that he will soon stop the Venezuela drug trafficking by land. Do you read that to mean he's talking about troops on the ground? I mean, what else could it mean?

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET.), CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER, PARTNER, CARLYLE GROUP (via Webex by Cisco): I think it sounds like boots on the ground.

I was just reading an email I got from a Vietnam war veteran who said the four most frightening words he can imagine a president saying are "the land is easier," meaning once you start putting boots on the ground it gets a lot harder than dropping bombs from the air or launching missiles from the sea. And I know that having launched a lot of missiles from the sea. The danger is when you put troops ashore.

So what's the president talking about? I don't know. I hope it would be very limited kind of incursions perhaps against drug labs and maybe going after some leadership targets. I could sketch those out in greater depth, Sara.

But frankly, we need to be very cautious about anything that involves putting U.S. boots on the ground in Venezuela. I hope the Congress gets involved with this.

Final thought. Sometimes people look back to the 1980s and '90s when we invaded Panama and kind of took that country and took the leader Noriega. A very successful operation called "Just Cause."

[07:55:00]

Here's the problem. Panama is a tiny country. Venezuela -- it's twice the size of California. It would be a big military operation.

SIDNER: Um, and clearly, your concerns are spelled out there because once boots are on the ground any manner of things can happen.

I do want to turn now to Ukraine and what is happening there as the United States tries to hammer out peace talks with Russia and Ukraine.

We have just gotten the information from Ukraine's chief negotiator telling The Atlantic in an exclusive that conceding sovereign territory is off limits in peace talks. And that was one of the big items that Russia had wanted to keep in there, which was that they wanted to be able to keep some of the territory -- even some of the territory they hadn't already been able to conquer.

What do you make of this? Where does that put this process when the United States is trying to negotiate a peace deal here?

STAVRIDIS: The two sticking points to my eye all along have been exactly the one you mentioned -- will the Ukrainians actually give up territory that Russia has not already occupied. And the other one is the nature of the security guarantees that NATO and the West could offer Ukraine. Those two points are kind of in tension, Sara. And I think what you're going to see over the next week or so as we come out of this holiday week here in the United States is a lot of discussion along those lines.

The Ukrainians are going to take a tough negotiating position. You're showing the map now. They don't want to give up any more of their territory than what Russia has already conquered. On the other hand, the Trump administration is trying to get to a ceasefire and a peace deal.

I think the trade space here is actually going to be less about the relatively small amount of land. We're probably talking about more about what those security guarantees look like.

To conclude, if the Trump administration offers strong security guarantees that include a no-fly zone, protection on the Black Sea, plenty of weapon systems, then I think the Ukrainians could come to the table. We could see a positive outcome in the weeks ahead. Let's hope so.

SIDNER: Admiral, thank you so much for coming on and talking us through these big issues facing Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and Venezuela. Appreciate it -- Brad.

SMITH: Thank you.

On our radar this morning take a look at this. Traffic cameras in Ohio catch the moment a dump truck hits a sign on a busy highway sending it crashing onto the road and narrowly missing another car. You can see the truck's raised bed hit the overhead sign and then it kept driving as the other car is forced to swerve out of the highway and out of the way here. Officials say no injuries were reported and no other vehicles were involved.

And a rare Faberge egg goes up for auction next month in London and experts expect that it could go for a record $26 million. This is the 1913 Faberge "Winter Egg" -- you know, the one -- one of only 50 ever made. It's made from a block of clear quartz and has snowflakes made of diamonds and trickles of platinum down the base. If the "Winter Egg" does sell for at least $26 million it will break the auction record it already set for Faberge eggs back in 2002.

SIDNER: Don't tell the Louvre thieves about that one. I mean, $26 million is no small chunk of change.

All right. Thank you so much, Brad. This holiday season as the affordability crisis in America worsens many families struggling to put food on the table. Over the last several months food banks have seen a big surge in demand.

Our Stephanie Elam shows us how one Hollywood actress is trying to help ease the burden through her work with the group Feeding America.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language). I need a turkey.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need a turkey, yeah.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The L.A. rain couldn't rain couldn't stop Elba Escobar from being first in line for a free holiday meal, although it did briefly pause our interview. Escobar was 10 hours early for one of more than 500 turkeys and nearly 1,000 hot meals.

ELAM: Happy Thanksgiving.

ESCOBAR: Same to you.

ELAM (voiceover): From turkey and potatoes to milk and eggs, some served by a special guest.

ELAM: Do people recognize you?

LEIGHTON MEESTER, ACTRESS AND ADVOCATE FOR FEEDING AMERICA: No.

ELAM (voiceover): But Leighton Meester recognizes what many families are going through. She might be a Hollywood star known for "GOSSIP GIRL" and HBO's "I LOVE L.A.," but here, fighting food insecurity takes center stage.

MEESTER: When I was growing up, we definitely struggled with food insecurity. We relied on food stamps. Even to this day, when I check out at a grocery store there's always, like, a part of me that thinks about that and has made me maybe just more aware and all the more grateful.