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WH: Admiral Ordered Second Strike on Alleged Drug Boat; Soon: Trump to Hold Venezuela Oval Office Meeting; White House: Trump's MRI Was of Cardiovascular, Abdominal Systems; Full Video of CEO's Killing Shown as Luigi Mangione Was in Court; Mangione's Lawyers Seek to Get Key Evidence Tossed; Bomb Cyclone to Bring First Widespread Snow to Parts of Northeast. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired December 01, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The theme this year home is where the heart is. A nod to America's 250th birthday next year.

Meantime, the official White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room now honors Gold Star families. And with the East Wing now torn down and under construction for a new ballroom, visitors this holiday season will be taking a brand-new route as they make their way through the White House for holiday tours.

Don't go anywhere, a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The White House intensifying its pressure campaign on Venezuela and now it's time to talk next steps. President Trump is holding a major meeting in the Oval Office two hours from now with key members of his team and we're following the latest.

A hearing in the case against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO returning to court as his lawyers fight to have critical evidence tossed from the state murder case.

Plus, the White House releasing details from President Trump's recent MRI scan just hours after the President said he had no idea which part of his body was imaged.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

We are now just hours away from a potentially pivotal meeting in the Oval Office as sources say President Trump is weighing next steps for Venezuela. Key members of the President's cabinet and National Security team are expected to be there including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

He's facing intense scrutiny as the White House now confirms a double tap strike was carried out on a suspected drug boat. Sources say at least two people on board survived an initial attack back on September 2nd. According to the Washington Post they were reportedly clinging to the wreckage when the military launched a second strike to make sure that all 11 on board did not survive.

A short time ago the White House confirmed that Admiral Frank Mitch Bradley, the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command was responsible for ordering that second targeted strike but argued that he operated well within his authority. Still some members of Congress and many legal experts say the action may be a war crime. CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House.

Alayna, as we're getting ready for this Oval Office meeting on Venezuela what are some of the potential next steps that the Trump administration is preparing?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it comes at a key moment in a lot of the discussions we know are happening behind closed doors, Brianna, regarding Venezuela and specifically if they're going to escalate some of these strikes not only on -- on the boats on -- off the coast of Venezuela but then also potentially on land.

We heard President Trump, just a couple days ago, argue that we could see land strikes possibly, quote, "very soon." And so, I think that's a lot of what this conversation is expected to focus on particularly when you look at who's going to be in the room. You mentioned Hegseth but there's also going to be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine and also Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff has been very involved in these conversations as well. And, of course, then, Susie Wiles the White House Chief of Staff.

But look, it also comes, as we know, that the President who had said he would be potentially open to diplomacy when it comes to Venezuela and their ultimate goal of, you know, limiting the flow of drugs into the United States and potentially, you know, there's been a lot of talk as well about potential regime change and trying to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power.

The President confirmed that he spoke with Maduro recently. He -- he confirmed that over the weekend. But there are not many details from that. And so, another question, of course, is whether or not diplomacy is still potentially on the table and an option here.

KEILAR: And Alayna, the White House is confirming there was a second strike on an alleged drug boat. How are they defending what some critics are calling or -- or raising concerns about being a possible war crime?

TREENE: Yes, look, I mean this has caught a lot of lawmakers, I'd argue, and people a little bit off guard or a lot of people on both sides of the aisle, like I said Democrats and Republicans have been raising concerns over this and whether this was actually a legal action that was carried out.

Now, the White House defended this today arguing that it was in -- within their authority, that it was lawful. And one of the key questions that we heard the Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt answer and I want you to hear that in a moment was this question of who ordered this strike. She said it was Admiral Bradley listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: President Trump and

Secretary Hegseth have made it clear that presidentially designated narco-terrorist groups are subject to lethal targeting in accordance with the laws of war. With respect to the strikes in question on September 2nd, Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes.

Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.

[15:05:06]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To clarify Admiral Bradley was the one who gave that order for a second strike.

LEAVITT: And he was well within his authority to do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, part of the reason, Brianna, that was so important what Karoline said there during the briefing is because there were questions of whether this was Hegseth who had done it. We had heard Hegseth previously deny some of the reports on that double-tap strike arguing that the story was fabricated. However, now, they are saying that Hegseth and the President had given authority to Admiral Bradley and he was the one who directed that second strike.

All to say, this is not likely the end that we are going to hear from this. There's a lot of people concerned about what this means and whether or not it was legal. We also heard Leavitt say that Hegseth has spoken with some members of Congress who had concerns specifically about those two strikes on the same boat specifically around the reporting as well of whether or not they were trying to take out survivors of the first strike.

All to say, it's -- it's -- it's going to be an issue, I think, the White House has to continue looking at and dealing with especially as they continue to ramp up their pressure campaign on Venezuela.

KEILAR: Yes, certainly. Alayna Treene live for us at the White House. Thank you.

The White House is also now revealing a recent MRI that the President underwent was of his abdomen and cardiovascular system.

SANCHEZ: This comes one day after the President told reporters he had no idea what body parts the MRI covered. He did say that the results were perfect and now the White House is saying the same.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEAVITT: As part of President Trump's comprehensive executive physical advanced imaging was performed, because men in his age group benefit from a thorough evaluation of cardiovascular and abdominal health. The purpose of this imaging is preventative, to identify any issues early, confirm overall health and ensure the President maintains long-term vitality and function.

President Trump's cardiovascular imaging was perfectly normal. No evidence of arterial narrowing impairing blood flow or abnormalities in the heart or major vessels. The heart chambers are normal in size, the vessel walls appear smooth and healthy, and there are no signs of inflammation or clotting.

Overall, his cardiovascular system shows excellent health. His abdominal imaging is also perfectly normal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Joining us now to discuss CNN Medical Analyst, Dr. Jonathan Reiner. He was late Vice President Dick Cheney's cardiologist for nearly 30 years.

Doctor, thanks so much for being with us.

Walk us through what a preventative cardiac MRI entails.

JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, there really is no preventative cardiac MRI. The -- this is not a standard test for, you know, an 80-year-old man to undergo advanced imaging.

Boris, the whole note has kind of a weird and defensive, you know, evasive tone to it. First of all, this is not part of the President's comprehensive physical examination. He had that in April and then he underwent some more testing in July. If you look at his first administration, the President, like most presidents, only underwent one comprehensive physical exam every year. So, this comes, you know, completely off cycle.

Second it's filled with euphemisms. Again, Dr. Barbabella, the President's physician, states that he underwent advanced imaging. Well, what specific advanced imaging did the President have? Was it an MRI as the President said? Was it a CT? Did he have both? Why not just spell it out? It's -- it's as if a patient came in for a -- a chest X- ray and then I only told people that he -- the patient underwent simple radiologic imaging. Just -- you know, just spell it out.

This is, again, not part of a comprehensive screening particularly you know abdominal imaging. Why would someone undergo preventive -- quote, "preventative MRI imaging," or CT imaging of the abdomen? This obviously was performed in response to some clinical concern which is fine. Things happen to people as, you know, as -- as -- as we all get older and the President is almost -- almost 80.

So, instead of this kind of evasive, almost laughable kind of note, just -- just spell out what happened. I hope the imaging is -- is normal and great. That -- that would be excellent news, but this kind of piece-by-piece, drip by drip release of information is -- is just concerning.

KEILAR: The White House revealed over the summer the President had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency. So, with that in mind, what would a CT scan or an MRI be looking for in someone with that diagnosis?

REINER: That's -- that's a great question, Brianna. So, chronic venous insufficiency, if that is indeed what the President has, is basically a benign condition where the valves in the veins in the legs don't work so well.

[15:10:05]

And fluid -- and blood pools in the legs, and fluid basically leeches out of -- of the veins into the tissues. But swelling of the legs can also be caused by more significant cardiac problems. Some problems having to do with the caricature -- with the -- the character of the heart -- the heart's muscle itself. And yes, you can use MRI to image the heart, you know, to look for a thickening or stiffness or infiltrative diseases of -- of the heart.

So, if the -- his team was doing it for that reason, well, that's -- that's important to know. And that's a more significant issue than simple preventative imaging. But, again, it -- it just -- it's -- it just doesn't seem to -- to fit with reality and, you know, I think most -- most physicians would -- would basically agree that advanced imaging is not a routine part of an executive physical for a -- a man or a woman of any age.

SANCHEZ: What would your advice be to someone of his age with the diagnosis that you mentioned just generally?

REINER: Well, again, I don't -- I don't really -- we don't really know what kind of testing he had in July. It seems like they -- they repeated his echocardiogram, which is an ultrasound testing of the heart to look at its -- its structure and -- and function. And that can -- that can often give a good sense for whether, you know, swelling in the legs is -- is coming from the heart or whether something more benign, like the chronic venous insufficiency.

The concern about that diagnosis by the way was -- that was that -- in April, just a few months before they said the President had chronic venous insufficiency, they made no mention of that. They -- they said there was no evidence of -- of swelling. So, it's hard to call something chronic when it happens acutely.

Look, I think the most likely explanation for all this is probably not so nefarious and I think it's easy to concoct all kinds of potential catastrophic reasons for lack of candor which is why it's just best to have the President's doctor come out, answer a few questions and -- and put the whole mystery to bed, and then -- and then we all can move on.

KEILAR: Dr. Jonathan Reiner, thank you so much, really appreciate the insights.

REINER: My pleasure.

KEILAR: Still to come, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO is in court for a hearing. The critical evidence that his lawyers want tossed out. SANCHEZ: Plus, a new storm said to bring heavy rain, ice and snow to

nearly half the country as many areas are still digging out from last weekend's big blast.

And we know how much Americans spent on Black Friday as retailers are hoping for record sales this Cyber Monday. We'll break down the numbers, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:06]

KEILAR: Suspect, Luigi Mangione, was in court today when prosecutors played the full surveillance video showing the moment the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down last December. The footage was part of a critical hearing for Mangione, who was accused of murdering Thompson. Defense attorneys are trying to get evidence tossed in the case. They're claiming improper seizure by police.

The defense says officers had no warrant when they searched Mangione's backpack during his arrest at a fast-food establishment in Pennsylvania days after the killing. Officers obtained a notebook with diary entries, a gun and a loaded magazine. All items, prosecutors allege, connect Mangione to Thompson's killing.

We're joined now by CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson, who is a criminal defense attorney.

And his attorneys, in this case, Joey, argued that police illegally searched his backpack without a warrant, so evidence should be barred from the state's case. What do you think?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, good to see you, Brianna.

So, what I think is that this is a pretrial proceeding only in front of a judge, not before the jury, and that the defense is going to raise critical arguments. What the defense is seeking to do is say that there was not probable cause to search the backpack, and if there was probable cause, there should have been a warrant. To the extent that there was no warrant, the defense is saying everything should be thrown out.

In the event that the judge buys that argument because a warrant was not obtained at the time of the search, then, of course, the -- nothing in that bag, none of the contents will be seen by the jury at the time of trial, like the gun, like the identification, like the manifesto, quote-unquote, "which signifies his intentions."

And so, the hearing is a process. Prosecutors will lay out their evidence to establish that indeed they did things right, and they did it in conformance with the law. Defense will say you did not. It'll be up to a judge, Brianna, to determine who's right.

KEILAR: The defense says he was not properly read his Miranda rights, that officers didn't do that before they began questioning him in the Pennsylvania McDonald's. Talk to us about what is sort of proper and what may be sort of a preliminary interaction before getting to that Mirandizing process.

JACKSON: Of course. So, the first part of it, as we just discussed, is the throwing out of the bag. And that's what indeed the knapsack, the defense is trying to do. That's part of what in New York is called a map hearing relating to physical evidence. Pivoting to your next question regarding Miranda is when you're questioning someone, we've all seen it on TV, you have a right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you. You're supposed to be given your Miranda rights if it's a custodial interrogation.

Now, custodial does not mean that you're in handcuffs. It means is your liberty restricted? Are you free to leave? The argument of the defense is that he was being questioned, and those questions could incriminate him and they knew that. And as a result, should have given him his Miranda warnings. And to the extent that they did not, the defense is arguing that anything he said should be suppressed, that is concealed from the jury.

[15:20:06]

However, there's a distinction between statements that are elicited to incriminate you and mere investigatory statements, which the police engage in when they first encounter a suspect. So that distinction between the investigatory nature of the questions and the incriminatory nature of the questions where you're accusing and you're in custody is going to determine whether Miranda rights should have been given. And if the judge believes that's the case, the statement, Brianna, will not be heard by the jury. Anything he said at that specific time will not be heard by the jury at the time of trial.

KEILAR: I mentioned that surveillance video of the -- of Brian Thompson, the CEO, being shot. That was played today by prosecutors. They also showed video, Joey, inside McDonald's as officers first approached Mangione. What's the aim of showing those videos?

JACKSON: So, you want to, in any proceeding, provide context. And certainly, for the judge who's making this decision pre-trial, so that at trial you know what the rules of engagement are, what's going to be seen by the jury and what's not. You want to give a sense and take the judge there in terms of what happened. The defense is saying that the backpack was certainly well outside of the grabbable area of Mr. Mangione at the time.

That's important, Brianna, because if it's in the grabbable area, police are allowed to do a search incident to an arrest with anything that you could potentially endanger them with. So, the defense is saying, hey, it wasn't. The prosecution is saying it could have had a bomb or anything else. So, they want to show the judge the relative positioning of it. And they also want to establish, with regard to the tape of the shooting, the probable cause nature of why they would be looking for him, why they encountered him, and why they would be questioning him.

So, it goes to the larger narrative and the picture of the probable cause for the arrest and the ability and urgency of the arrest and the need to get the backpack and anything that they could get information, that is prosecutors and law enforcement, to suggest that they got their man.

KEILAR: We'll have so much to discuss here in the coming days. Joey Jackson, really appreciate it. Thank you.

And a new winter storm is quickly intensifying into a bomb cyclone, threatening to bring more snow and ice to nearly half the country. We'll have the latest forecast next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:36]

SANCHEZ: A large winter storm that's strengthening rapidly into what's being called a bomb cyclone is about to hammer parts of the U.S. with a fresh round of snow from Kansas to Maine. Winter weather alerts are in effect for at least 25 states and are set to impact some 70 million Americans. Meteorologist Chris Warren is tracking the forecast at the CNN Extreme Weather Center. Chris?

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Boris, these are those 25 states that are currently under winter weather alerts. And it does stretch here about or even more than 1,500 miles of alerts. So, this is going to be a widespread winter storm that we're going to be tracking. This is where the snow is falling right now. It's in the bluish-purple colors here from the northern Missouri all the way up to Wisconsin and including, once again, Illinois and Iowa.

In fact, you'll remember, over the weekend, this was the scene. A lot of snow in Des Moines where the big rigs needed some big help. Very tough travel, not just on the ground with the snow here in Iowa, but throughout a lot of the Midwest over the weekend. A lot of travel concerns on what was a very big travel weekend. This is the forecast.

Similar track with this. You can see all of the purple showing up right now from Ohio into Pennsylvania and into New York. This is at 7 o'clock in the morning for -- tomorrow morning. So, now, this is when that rapid strengthening of the storm is going to happen, the area of low pressure down here when it's going to bomb out, as it said, as it moves up the coast. That's when -- while there's precipitation going on as the storm is exiting, that's when the winds are going to start to get much stronger where we're going to see some of the heavier snow is also where the winds are going to start to pick up. This is tomorrow evening, tomorrow night, around 11 o'clock.

So, it's going to be during the day as that storm moves offshore. It gets very strong, very fast, and then it moves out. As far as the amount of snow that we're going to see, where the winter storm warnings are right now is where we're expecting to see those six to eight inches. Pockets in higher elevations in New Hampshire and Vermont could be closer to a foot of snow. You can kind of see that in here.

But pretty widespread with six inches or more. Big cities staying rain, it looks like, for the most part. And then there's the ice component. So, this is that rain that freezes on contact, either power lines or trees. And, Boris, we know that can lead to power outages and dangerous travel.

SANCHEZ: Does not sound like a good time. Chris Warren, thank you so much. Brianna?

KEILAR: CNN has learned more than a dozen FEMA workers have been reinstated after a three-month suspension and an investigation into alleged misconduct. They've been placed on administrative leave for signing an open letter to Congress that criticized the Trump administration's overhaul of the Disaster Relief Agency and warned the decision could put American lives in danger. Multiple sources and internal e-mails reviewed by CNN indicate the investigation has been closed and that some staffers have already reported back to work. Others are expected back in the office this week. Neither FEMA nor DHS responded to CNN's request for comment.

Still to come, the White House is defending the admiral that it says ordered the follow-up strike on an alleged drug vessel killing survivors in the water. We'll discuss that with a member of Congress who served in combat, next.

[15:29:54]

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