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Interview with Rep. Pat Ryan: Hegseth to Brief Gang of 8 on Boat Strikes Today; Mangione's Defense Says Search was Unlawful, Items Should be Excluded; Powerful Atmospheric River Slams Pacific Northwest. Aired 8:00-8:30a ET

Aired December 09, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: You'll be following at Clare Duffy.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Thank you.

SIDNER: It is a pleasure. Thank you so much.

All right, a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

All right, breaking now, President Trump's brand-new comments to Politico on those deadly boat strikes in the Caribbean as we stand by for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to brief top congressional leaders on the issues.

Lawmakers moving to try and force Hegseth to release the full video of that controversial double-tap boat strike.

Also developing this morning, millions of people bracing for possible flooding and landslides as others face bone-chilling temperatures.

And just take a look at this crowd. Those are Golden Retrievers. Oh my gosh, I wish I was there. A golden gathering if you will. What's this all about? It doesn't matter. We just want to be there.

I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, so the breaking news. President Trump is speaking out in a lengthy new interview released this morning and talking about a lot and taking it to almost everyone. On the question of whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should testify before Congress about the deadly double-tap strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, President Trump tells Politico this morning it's fine by him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't care if he does. He can if he wants. I don't care.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think he should?

TRUMP: I don't care. I would say do it if you want. He's doing a great job.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you watched the video?

TRUMP: He was stopping -- I watched everything, yes. I watch everything. I see a lot of things.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And do you believe --

TRUMP: It's not pretty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- that that second strike was necessary?

TRUMP: Well, it looked like they were trying to turn back over the boat, but I don't get involved in that. That's up to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The new comments coming as sources tell CNN that Secretary Hegseth will be speaking and briefing lawmakers today, though not under oath, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. They're expected to be briefing the Gang of Eight on the Hill who are the top Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate and also the top members of the intelligence committees. And this issue, the boats, boat strikes, sure to come up because Congress is ramping up pressure to have that second strike video released.

And in a new twist, there is a provision we've now learned tucked into the new defense policy bill that must pass Congress that would limit Secretary Hegseth's traveled budget unless he releases the unedited version of the boat strikes to the House and Senate Armed Services Committee. President Trump, remember, said last week that he had no problem releasing the full video, but now he's backtracking on that -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now is Congressman Pat Ryan, a Democrat from New York. He is on the House Armed Services Committee. Congressman, you're a West Point grad. You represent the area where West Point is, you know, the Army Military College there here in New York.

And am I to understand that it's your belief that you will get to see this video?

REP. PAT RYAN (D-NY), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: The Armed Services Committee will, the full committee, will see it tomorrow when we get back in session in D.C. The leadership has obviously already seen it, been very clear how horrific it was, how much this is, you know, the video has essentially backed up the initial Washington Post reporting that, if not criminal, certainly deeply wrong and that we need all the details, all the evidence. So I've actually led a group of Armed Services veterans to say this needs to be released. President Trump has said it needs to be released now -- or did a few days ago.

Now all of a sudden they're backtracking, which to me feels like a cover-up at this point. BERMAN: What are you going to be looking for when you do get to see

it?

RYAN: Well, we just need to see the full context of both video and audio. I think it's very clear, the law of armed conflict is very clear about this, that if someone, and this has been talked about extensively, is essentially incapable of staying in the fight, that it is a direct and clear war crime to then target them, and in this case, of course, take their lives. And, you know, this transcends the legal implications, in my opinion, has deep moral implications, especially for those of us that served.

I mean, I didn't risk my life 27 months in combat to see our American values eviscerated like this, particularly by a guy in Donald Trump who dodged the draft five times, has called our troops suckers and losers, continues to be dismissive about what is serious, serious business.

[08:05:00]

BERMAN: So, again, as someone who did serve in combat, what does it mean to you what happens to two guys floating on a boat in the water? What if you were one of those two guys floating in a boat on the water in the Persian Gulf, for instance?

RYAN: Well, the reason for a century -- for centuries, frankly, we've had these laws of armed conflict, and this has transcended, you know, a long set of history, is that war is absolutely horrific. I've seen that firsthand. Anybody who served has seen it firsthand.

But even in the horror of that, we have been able to, as a society, as a civilization, preserve some core decency and humanity. And the idea that if you're out of action or if you're willing to surrender, that we treat each other again at that moment as humans, it's really hard. When you're in the heat of battle that way, it is hard.

And I get that, and I respect that, but that's what's made America different. That's why we have millions of people, myself included, that have signed up to serve, because we are on the moral high ground. And the moment we give up that moral high ground, it'll affect our recruiting, it'll affect our strength, it'll affect our ability to deter and defeat our adversaries.

BERMAN: So, in the same interview we played a clip of before where the president was talking about whether Secretary Hegseth should testify, he also talked a little bit about the economy. And I want to play for you a little bit of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I do want to talk about the economy, sir, here at home. And I wonder what grade you would give --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A-plus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A-plus. TRUMP: A-plus, plus, plus, plus, plus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: What do you think of that grading system?

RYAN: Sounds like the made-up grades he got in college from everything that I've heard. But, in reality, you talk to my constituents, I represent a district of hard-working people across the board, above and beyond any partisanship, they are getting crushed right now. Specifically, housing costs, food and grocery costs, health care and utility costs.

And for the president to be so dismissive of that, after running, centering your campaign on lowering those costs, it's just insulting. And it degrades the trust. So, it's just -- and I think these are linked, by the way.

Like, the attempt to distract from the core economic pressure people are feeling. I think we've seen a series of those things by the president, to try to -- in this case, I believe what's really happening off the coast of Venezuela is the president is trying to bring us into another forever war. Something that, having served in one myself, is one of the main reasons I'm in Congress, is to prevent us from doing that. And if we zoom out, a lot of this is about, about that.

BERMAN: Finally, one question, a little bit off-topic here. The Washington Post did an interesting story about immigration and the border, noting how President Trump and his policies have stopped the flow of illegal immigrants over the border, largely.

And it said, "When President Trump imposed a travel ban from several Muslim-majority countries in 2017, Democratic advocates and lawmakers raced to airports across the country to protest. Trump has unleashed even more draconian immigration policies in his second term that have amounted to the harshest crackdown on immigrants since World War II. But Democrats have not mounted the same unified and visible pushback."

Again, this is in the Washington Post this morning. One of the reasons they suggest is because there is a view out there that some of the policies have been successful. How would you assess the president's immigration policy?

RYAN: Again, when I talk to my constituents, they want dangerous, violent criminals out of our communities, from wherever they come from, particularly if they're not from this country. I agree with that. But I hear over and over, this is so far beyond what I imagined.

The level of overreach, the degradation, again, of founding American values ensconced on the Statue of Liberty. And I hear that from a lot of people who voted for President Trump, saying, this is not what I expected, to see folks who work on our farms, who work in our businesses, that have done all the right things. I mean, they have even gone so far as in my district and across the country to cancel citizenship ceremonies for people who did the process legally, who went through the steps.

And even they are now being denied this thing that people from around the world seek, which is to be part of our country and to add to it. So there is and will continue to be a major blowback, not only from Democrats, myself included, but more importantly from the American people that are saying this is wrong. I mean, I respectfully disagree.

I mean, we've seen across the country people stand up in our own community. We're fighting back on a lot of these cases of unjust detentions and whisking away of people that have done everything right, putting them in jail with no due process.

BERMAN: Congressman Pat Ryan from New York. Great to see you this morning.

RYAN: Thank you very much.

BERMAN: Sara.

SIDNER: All right ahead. One year ago today, police arrested accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione. Next hour, we'll hear from more witnesses in a hearing as his defense tries to get key evidence against him tossed out of the case. We'll get a preview.

Plus, parts of the country bracing for a storm that could trigger landslides and severe flooding. It is also frigid in some of the country. We'll give you a forecast.

As well as this video, a driver losing control, crashing right into a snowplow. Those stories and more ahead.

[08:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: The fight in court over evidence continues in the pre-trial hearing for accused killer Luigi Mangione. Mangione, who was charged in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, came face-to-face with the officers who arrested him last year inside a Pennsylvania McDonald's. Those officers found potentially incriminating evidence inside Mangione's backpack, evidence Mangione's attorneys are seeking to have tossed from his trial.

[08:15:00]

CNN's Kara Scannell shows us what officers actually found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Altoona police officer who searched Luigi Mangione's backpack said she was concerned about what was inside the bag after Mangione declined to answer a question about its contents. The officer, Christy Wasser, testified Monday that his lack of response heightened the danger and that she was checking the bag for a possible bomb. Wasser testified she found a magazine of ammunition wrapped in underwear inside the bag and she told other officers on the scene of McDonald's that everything was soaking wet.

Now, fellow officers discussed whether a search warrant was needed to continue. You can see this on the body cam footage. Two of them said no because it was a search incident to arrest, enabling officers in Altoona to search the person and their bag.

One officer is heard saying to play it safe, they should get a warrant because of the severity of the case. On cross-examination, Mangione's lawyer suggested that Wasser was looking for evidence to try to tie him to the New York City shooting. Mangione's attorneys have argued the search was illegal because there was no warrant.

They want all the contents from the bag to be excluded from the trial. In addition to ammunition, Wasser testified she found a gun and a silencer. She also found a red notebook and a piece of paper was recovered.

Written next to the date December 5th, the day after the shooting, it said, buy black shoes, white stripes too distinctive, change hat. Prosecutors are expected to call additional witnesses and this hearing picks up again this morning. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Thanks to Kara for that.

All right, flooding and bitter cold. The atmospheric river that's set to rip across multiple states with dangerous weather.

And the battle over your eyeballs. The newest pair of AI powered glasses. We try them out. The question is, will we ever be the same again?

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, happening now, the Pacific Northwest is getting hammered by a powerful atmospheric river. That's a river of moisture, thousands of miles long, heavy rain, rising rivers, the real threat of serious flooding and landslides across parts of Oregon and Washington. Let's get right to seeing as Derek Van Dam for the latest on all this.

Good morning.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, good morning, John. I've got the same video up here. This is astounding. Right. We've got horizontal rain people.

It looks like fireworks exploding on top of this video, which was taking along the coast of Washington late last night. Gives you an idea of the type of wind and rain that is battering the Pacific Northwest. Thanks to this long stretch of tropical moisture that's feeding in.

That's why we call it the Pineapple Express. It's got a connection to Hawaii there. Now look at it feed the moisture in the form of heavy rainfall. Right now, just south of the Puget Sound near the border of Washington and Oregon. Still some snowfall across the Cascades. Most of the rain is south of Seattle right now, but that's the nature of these atmospheric rivers.

They kind of fluctuate north and south. They've already had five river gauges at major flood stage and get this, the Snohomish River, which right now is at -- not at a flood stage, but it is forecast to reach record levels by Thursday. So this could cause some serious major flooding across that river.

You can see the flood warnings in place. Remember, flood watches mean flooding is possible. You need to be prepared. Flood warnings mean that flooding is imminent and you need to take action.

So millions of Americans continue to be impacted by this flooding concern as our atmospheric river batters the Northwest with up to 10 inches of rain and high elevation snowfall. This is not the only location across the country that is experiencing the potential for snow because we're stuck in this weather pattern that is going to alter our weather across the Great Lakes and into New England.

Look at this blast of cold air that is settling in across, let's say Michigan into New York all the way to the Eastern seaboard and then it gets worse from there. The shots keep on coming by the weekend. That's when things get very bitter across the Northeast.

Temperatures are really going to cool down and drop below where we should be this time of year with several rounds of snow that will blanket the Northeast and it's going to be a winter wonderland, especially as we head into the holidays. It's looking very, very snowy as we round off into the final weeks leading up into Christmas and with the cold weather in place, it's likely that this will stick around for the holidays. So that's some good news there -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, that'll be nice. All right, Derek Van Dam, thank you very much for that -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So the Supreme Court is weighing a major challenge today when it comes to money and politics. How this decision could very quickly impact the midterm elections.

And a historic building goes up in flames, 80 firefighters battling the blaze might have all been started by an illegal late night party.

[08:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning we are standing by for arguments at the Supreme Court in a case that could erase some of the few remaining limits on fundraising just before the midterms. As it stands now, donors can give unlimited money to super PACs. Those groups do not coordinate directly with campaigns, but there are limits to how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates for Congress and the White House. After today, will those limits stand? Let's get right to CNN's chief Supreme Court analyst, Joan Biscupic. A lot of candidates watching this case right now, Joan.

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN CHIEF SUPREME COURT ANALYST: That's right, John. And I liked how in your intro you referred to the few restrictions left because this court has been in a one-way direction, and that's to lift limits. And you remember most famously in the 2010 case of Citizens United when it obliterated limits that the federal government had put on corporations and labor unions to spend on campaigns.

So now we're into a subset. And as you say, this has to do with current restrictions on coordinated campaign contributions that political parties would coordinate with candidates on their advertising so that they, you know, they were on the same page as far as messages go. But there are limits on those.

And as you can see there, you know, the limits right now for someone from the Senate starts at like $123,000. For the House candidate, it would start at $61,000 ...

[08:30:00]