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Trump to Meet with Republican House Members; Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is Interviewed about Venezuela; Maduro and Wife Make First Court Appearance; Police Release Video in Ohio Couple's Murder. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired January 06, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: So, there's a lot of investment happening in humanoid robots right now. Hyundai, LG, these companies always demonstrate these technologies and what they're doing in this space.

And I think what we're seeing here is kind of more of a push to get these humanoid robots into different industries. But what I've been hearing from analysts I've been speaking to in this space is that, even though the technology is impressive, it's not always super practical. So, the likelihood of actually encountering these robots in the real world is relatively low. But there are some promising applications for robotics in general in places like factories and hospitals. So, I think we'll see more of that moving forward, for sure. But humanoids, maybe not so much.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it's interesting. I mean I suppose they can pick up much heavier things than humans can. We will have to see how this tech goes forward, but they are nowhere near done. And this is both cool and alarming to watch at the same time.

Lisa Eadicicco, thank you so much, live there for us from Las Vegas.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

Very soon here, President Trump will meet with House Republicans at a closed-door retreat in the nation's capital. Will the president provide any clarity after saying he is running the country of Venezuela about the next steps for Venezuela?

And new details in the hunt for the killer of a dentist and his wife. This morning, police are showing footage taken near the scene. They say it may help crack the case.

And cases of the flu now reaching the highest level in the United States in two decades. We'll dig into what is causing it to run rampant this year, and what you can do to try and stay healthy.

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this morning, new CNN reporting on what's going on behind the scenes in Venezuela as President Trump prepares to huddle behind closed doors with House Republicans very shortly. There are these growing, lingering, and to a certain extent unanswered questions about exactly who is in charge right now. No question for President Trump. He says, frankly, it's him. The question is, what will House Republicans think about that explanation? Do they care about that explanation?

Let's get right to CNN's Alayna Treene, live at the White House this morning, for the message that he intends to deliver.

Alayna.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, look, I think this is going to be more than just about Venezuela when the president meets with House Republican lawmakers. But, of course, this is the key focus for most of them who are going to be attending today.

And really the question of what are the next steps? And from the reporting that we've been able to done and my -- do, and my conversations with people here at the White House, it's very clear what they're trying to set up some of this next steps to be, even if they don't have it nailed down specifically, John. Essentially this idea of prioritizing administrative stability right now over what others thought would be an immediate push for a democratic process in Venezuela. You know, they're not calling for elections right away. For now they are relying on some of the conversations and pressure that they are putting on Venezuela's now newly sworn in president, Delcy Rodriguez. She was, of course, Maduro's VP.

What's been interesting is that, you know, some people had really thought that the president and his team would turn to the opposition forces and leaders inside Venezuela. People like Maria Corina Machado. Someone who had spoken with the president, she said, on several occasions. But she actually did an interview last night with Sean Hannity where she said she hasn't talked to him for months.

Listen to how she put it

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: I actually spoke with President Trump on October 10th, the same day the prize was announced. Not since then.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, essentially she's saying she hasn't spoken with the president since she was named to be winning the Nobel Peace Prize. And that's been surprising to a lot of people given they thought that she would be central to a lot of these conversations about the future of Venezuela now that Maduro has been captured by the U.S.

And contrast that with what we know as well. From my conversations with officials here at the White House, they told me that Rubio has now had separate conversations with Delcy Rodriguez, the new president of Venezuela, interim I guess I should put it. And essentially we heard the president actually referred to this in an NBC News interview yesterday. He said that Rubio speaks to her fluently in Spanish and that the relationship is, quote, "very strong."

And so, again, I think that gives you a clear indication of what they're trying to do here, which is really keep Delcy Rodriguez in power and try to influence her as -- or use the word that Rubio has, which is coerce her to work with the United States. But there's a lot of lawmakers, including Republicans, who are going to be at that retreat today, John, at the Kennedy Center, now named the Trump Kennedy Center, that are going to be very skeptical of that path and that strategy.

[09:05:05]

But another big point -- part of this entire strategy as well for next steps is all about the oil. We know that the president has repeatedly argued that remaking the oil industry in Venezuela, trying to bring some of the proceeds back to the Venezuelan people is a big strategy. But that creates a huge problem because there's a lot of companies that are worried about the long time viability of investing in Venezuelan oil industry at this moment in time.

And one really interesting quote I actually saw the president give to MS Now (ph), to Joe Scarborough yesterday, was he said that, you know, in comparison to George W. Bush and going into Iraq and kind of, you know, the problems that that created for the U.S., he said that unlike Bush, he said, "the difference between Iraq and this is that Bush didn't keep the oil. We're going to keep the oil." So, just giving you a little more context into how the president is viewing all of this today, John.

BERMAN: As he heads over to the Kennedy Center to meet with Republicans there.

Alayna Treene, at the White House, thank you very much.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, let's talk more about this. Joining us right now is Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen. She's the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was in that classified briefing amongst some -- amongst leaders yesterday.

Senator, thank you for being here.

How would you characterize that briefing and the level of detail you received?

SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-NH): Well, we got significant detail with respect to the military mission. And there's no doubt that was masterful, both on the part of the men and women in our military who participated, and the intel community that was critical to that.

But in terms of what comes next and the actions that are going to secure the goals that the administration seems to be articulating for Venezuela, there were -- there were not a lot of details. There were -- there were not the kind of benchmarks that we would hope to see for what we want to see the regime do. And in fact, as has been pointed out, this was not regime change in Venezuela. What we did was exchange one authoritarian leader in Nicolas Maduro for an authoritarian leader who has now been sworn in, in the transition president, Rodriguez.

So, it's not at all clear how we move from here to where we need to go, I believe, which is democratic elections, which is giving the people -- making it possible for the people of Venezuela to control their own destiny.

BOLDUAN: Sounds like you, as well as Jim Himes leaving the briefing, feel very similarly, because he said what's most concerning to him is that, the way he put it is Trump, quote, "doesn't have a plan."

If -- since it appears you agree with that, what does not having a plan actually mean? I mean, I just -- if I could -- I -- obviously you cannot offer classified details, but what is so missing in their approach? Do -- are they not sharing with you or do you think they truly do not have a plan of what they're doing now?

SHAHEEN: Well, I don't -- I don't think that's clear. There were some very specific questions about what timelines are, what benchmarks would be. I think I certainly support the goal of reducing the influence of Russia, China and Iran in Venezuela and throughout Latin America. I think that's in America's interest. But not clear exactly how that's going to happen.

And the extent to which the new leadership in Venezuela, which is really part of the Maduro regime, how they're going to respond. Supposedly the interim president is going to be more responsive to American interests, but that's not at all clear. And while I think removing Maduro is in the interests of the Venezuelan people and in America's interests, if who replaces him is going to continue those same policies, that authoritarian repression that we've seen under Maduro, then it's not accomplished what we need to. And, unfortunately --

BOLDUAN: One of the elements that is confusing --

SHAHEEN: Go ahead.

BOLDUAN: I was just -- I was just going to say, one of the elements that's confusing a lot of people is Trump's lack -- notable lack of support for the opposition movement in Venezuela, which you're -- which you're kind of getting at. The fact that Trump is not endorsing or even showing any support for Maria Corina Machado as the legitimate leader, or even an option.

Here's some reporting from "The New York Times" around this. They say, here it is, "senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, had persuaded Mr. Trump that Venezuela could be further destabilized if the United States tried to back the opposition. A classified CIA intelligence analysis reflected that view, according to a person familiar with the document." That's from "The New York Times."

Did they convey that in the briefing that you had or for -- or offer a reason why they are not supporting the opposition?

[09:10:03]

SHAHEEN: Well, there were a lot of issues raised in the briefing. I don't want to go into any of the details because it was classified. But I think the concern is, the further instability in Venezuela that is now applied to the region, there's a great deal of concern among some of the other countries that President Trump has talked about going into Colombia, where we've had a long standing mil to mil relationship to fight drugs in Colombia. I've seen it firsthand in visits there. So -- and then the taking of Greenland, which alienates our allies who are so important as we look at the challenges that we face in protecting America's security.

So, I think there are a lot of serious questions that have been raised. None -- not to mention the concerns among my constituents and other Americans about what it means that the president is so focused on what's happening in Venezuela and talking about investing dollars there, when we've got millions of people who are losing their health insurance, when we have people who are worried about the cost of living and how they're going to deal with paying for their energy and their housing and their groceries, and the president seems to not be -- not care about that at all.

BOLDUAN: Senator, are you leaving this briefing thinking that the threat of Donald Trump taking over Greenland is serious?

SHAHEEN: I personally don't believe it is serious, because to do that would be to undermine NATO, to undermine the Transatlantic Alliance, which has been so critical to America's security, to the international order since the end of World War II. That would be crazy if the president tries to take Greenland.

Besides, anything that we want from Greenland, as we've heard from the prime minister of Denmark, they're happy to work with us on. They're happy to partner with us. I mean to create this kind of antagonism with one of our best allies, which is Denmark, has been since World War II, they have been there in the fight with the United States every time we've asked them, and to create that kind of distrust just is undermining to our own national security here in America.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Ambassador John Bolton was just on with me. He said even if -- even if this conversation around Greenland continues much longer, he thinks it could threaten to break NATO at this point.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, thank you for coming in. I sincerely appreciate your time.

SHAHEEN: Nice to be with you.

BOLDUAN: Sara.

SIDNER: All right, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty during their first court appearance in New York. That's where Maduro declared in court, I am still the president of my country. Joining us now is CNN legal commentator Jim Schultz.

Maduro was very vocal in this arraignment. He is making the argument that he was kidnaped by the United States. Does he have any case here that the U.S. acted illegally and he, as a leader of a country, has some sort of immunity?

JIM SCHULTZ, CNN LEGAL COMMENTATOR: So, to start off with, the judge tamped down his rhetoric right away, said this wasn't the right place and the right time. And the judge was right about that. There is going to be a time to make legal arguments.

I think what Maduro was getting at and what his lawyers have already signaled is that they're looking at the violation of the U.N. charter and argued that there was a violation of the U.N. charter, and therefore a violation of international law, and therefore that this was some type of an illegal act on the part of the United States that would prohibit him from being arrested. That's nonsense.

So, here's why. So, the U.N. charter is, you know, the United States, under U.S. law, is permitted to go in and make an arrest in another country for someone who commits a crime against the United States. And they are permitted to do so with the protection of the military. That's been long standing law. There was a 1989 opinion authored by then Office of Legal Counsel at DOJ, Bill Barr, which said precisely that Fourth Amendment rights are not violated as a result of going in. It's not an illegal search. It's not illegal seizure. By going in and taking someone out of one country and bringing to the United States to -- for justice to be served here in the United States. That's perfectly lawful to do.

What they will argue, also argue, is that he is a head of state. And the question as to whether someone's a head of state, the real question is, does the United States of America recognize that person as a head of state? I think Secretary of State Rubio has made very clear that he was not -- that it was not a legitimate government, that he was not a legitimate head of state. He could say it all he wants in a -- in his -- in the hearing before the judge. That doesn't make it true.

And I think it's a very uphill battle for the defense team here to make those arguments.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you about what we are hearing from the administration. You -- we heard from Mike Waltz, the ambassador to the U.N., about the administration's justification for taking these actions but not letting Congress know first.

[09:15:08]

Here's what we heard from Mr. Waltz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: As Secretary Rubio has said, there is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country. This was a law enforcement operation

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: But the president is doubling down. President Trump saying again when asked who is running the country, he said, "me." So, how can both be true that this was just a criminal action taken by the United States to go in and take someone out who they're accusing of crimes and not a political or military action where the country is now, according to the president of the United States, being run by the president? How can both be true?

SCHULTZ: At its core, this was a law enforcement operation. An arrest was made. The former president and his -- the president, Maduro, you know, was -- Maduro was arrested. His wife was arrested. They were brought to the United States. They were charged in the United States. At its core, this was a law enforcement operation, you know, advanced by the military to protect that law enforcement operation. That's perfectly fine under the law. And there is no -- there is no requirement that they go and brief Congress, notwithstanding the fact that there is some violation of the sovereignty there, a lawful violation of the sovereignty of that country in order to go in and make that arrest.

That being said, I'm sure Congress is rightfully going to have a lot of questions about what happens next in that country, because the person we arrested was, you know, was the person who was running the country, even though he was illegitimately running the country and not recognized as someone that was running the country and unlawfully running that country. You know, I think that, at this point in time, because he was the person there taking out, we have a new person that was sworn in as an acting president. So, you have those issues to deal with. And what we do with that country going forward is something that Congress and the executive branch are going to have to have a lot of discussions about.

SIDNER: Yes, they certainly want to know a lot of details that they have not yet gotten, especially since the vice president to Maduro is now the president, the acting president, demanding that he be returned.

Jim Schultz, there are so many issues that we will be needing to hash out over time. We do appreciate you.

John.

BERMAN: All right, the new clue that could help police figure out who killed a dentist and his wife inside their own home.

Flu numbers at their highest level in a quarter of a century. Honestly, it feels like it's everywhere, as new measures will make it harder for children to get the flu shot.

And an unintended weekend houseguest. Oh, deer outside in the snow. Flee. Flee. Run away.

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SIDNER: There is a potentially important development this morning in the investigation into the murders of an Ohio dentist and his wife. Columbus police are releasing this new security camera footage. It shows what they're calling a person of interest in the case. Take a good look. Investigators are asking the public for help in identifying this person seen walking in an alley near the couple's home in the early morning hours of December 30th.

Police say the bodies of Spencer and Monique Tepe were found later that morning in their home, shot to death. Their two young children, one and four, were found there unharmed. No weapons were found at the scene.

Joining me now, CNN's Jean Casarez.

This is a clue. People will have to look at the gait and look at the clothes to try to figure out who this is. But we don't know much else. What else are you learning about this case that really is shockingly tragic, with those two children left in the house as their parents had been shot and killed.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Spencer was a dentist in Columbus, Ohio at Athens Dentist Depot. And it was a week ago today, Sara. And so the dental office opens at 8:00 in the morning. And, you know, patients start to come in right away. And by 8:58, Spencer had not come in. And so, his work called police and said, can you do a wellness check? This is not Spencer. He would always come in. He's just that type of person.

Police went to the house at 9:22. It appears they knocked. No answer. But it was the colleagues and the friends that kept persisting. And by 9:56, colleagues and friends went to the house and they said, we hear children crying. We can't get in. Help us. And then at 10:03 another friend said that he's very distressed that there was a body. And here's the quote that we have from that 911 call. "Our friend wasn't answering the phone. We just came here and he appears dead."

Now, here's the thing. No sign of forced entry. Shot, we understand. Both the husband and wife were shot. And by the way, Monique had a history of childhood education. There was no gun. And so initially you would think, murder, suicide. But because there was no weapon whatsoever, some projectiles were actually on the -- on the floor. But they determined it was a double murder at this point. And that's where we are one week later. They're not releasing that much information.

[09:25:02]

The bodies are still with the coroner.

But this video of this person, they believe it's significant enough. And look at the -- look at the body type. Look at the way the walk is. Dark jacket, hoodie, covered, lighter pants, nonchalantly walking in the snow between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m. a week ago today. And that's when they think the murders happened, between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m. SIDNER: Which is why they're releasing this video, hoping anyone can

sort of get a look at this person to see if they can identify the person. Doesn't mean that is the person responsible, but there's certainly some questions there. And there's a lot of questions about what happened inside that house, whether or not things were stolen, what this is all about because there was no forced entry and no gun found inside that home.

CASAREZ: And two children that were alive and crying.

SIDNER: And two kids. Yes.

CASAREZ: And they are now with close family.

SIDNER: That is the only good thing that's come out of this.

CASAREZ: Yes.

SIDNER: At least they're OK and with family at this hour.

Jean Casarez, I do appreciate you.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

SIDNER: Kate.

BOLDUAN: Democrats say the capture of Nicolas Maduro was illegal. Could a Senate vote this week block further U.S. military action against Venezuela? Big questions now as the focus turns to Capitol Hill and what power they have or want to assert here.

Plus, why one popular supermarket chain is using facial recognition and voice scanning at some of its stores.

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