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Source: Three Federal Prosecutors Resign Amid Trump Admin Pressure To Focus Shooting Probe On Actions Of Renee Good; Trump Tells Iranians To Keep Protesting, Says "Help Is On Its Way"; Clintons Refuse To Testify In House Epstein Investigation; Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) Discusses About Subpoena Of Clintons On Epstein Investigation; Contempt Proceedings To Move Forward Against Bill Clinton; Emotional Testimony Resumes In Trial Of Former Uvalde Police Officer. 3-3:30p ET

Aired January 13, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And real quick, safeguards here.

LISA EADICICCO, CNN TECH EDITOR: Absolutely, so that privacy I think is going to be a big concern when you're talking about a device like this. When I asked Amazon about this, they kind of pointed to the choices that users have. Of course, you have to choose to turn on the microphone and things like that.

KEILAR: All right, that's good to know.

Lisa, thank you so much really interesting reporting. And a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Three federal prosecutors in Minneapolis calling it quits as the White House Pressures their office to investigate the actions of a woman who was shot by an ICE agent and the people around her.

Plus, an escalating crisis in Iran, the death toll growing from a brutal crackdown on protesters and President Trump is weighing his options, telling Iranians that help is on the way, but he won't expand on exactly what that means.

Meantime, the Supreme Court hearing arguments on a major case that could decide whether transgender women can compete on female sports teams.

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

KEILAR: Breaking news into CNN, three federal prosecutors in Minnesota have resigned. Their decision said to be tied to a pressure campaign by the White House, to focus the probe of the ICE officer shooting of Renee Good on the actions of good and others around her. This is according to a person briefed on the matter. CNN's Evan Perez is with us now.

All right, Evan, What are you learning here? EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it may be more than three at this point. We know of at least three top prosecutors in that office who have now resigned in part because of the pressure from the Trump administration over how to do this investigation, typically. I'll -- I'll go through what typically happens in a federal officer- involved shooting. In this case, Jonathan Ross fired those shots, we've seen those videos. There would be at least a -- a basic investigation by the FBI to determine whether there was anything wrong in what he did, any of his conduct. And they would do a -- a full investigation.

But what we've seen from beginning with the President and with Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security Secretary, is that they've already decided what happened here. They believe that Jonathan Ross was justified in carrying out the shooting and that the fault lies with Renee Good and with people around her.

And so, that's where this investigation is going, and that's the reason why you've seen this action by Joe Thompson, who is the former acting U.S. attorney in that office, and a couple of other top prosecutors. Now, Tim Walz, the governor of -- of Minnesota, just put out a statement in which he says he knows of at least six prosecutors in that office who have now resigned. We have not confirmed those additional, but I was told earlier that there were others who were expecting to resign today.

We also should note that the Justice Department, for their part, Todd Blanche, the Deputy Attorney General, says that there is no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation. That's the -- the first sign we've seen from the Justice Department that they have no interest to investigate the actions of the officer in this case.

Now, why this matters is because the FBI is doing an investigation here, and they've blocked the state investigators from being any part of this, from seeing any of the evidence, right? And -- and what this means is that the state investigators who would normally have the -- the jurisdiction to do this, they're not being allowed to do it. Justice is blocking them from doing that.

And so, you know, I talked to someone in Minnesota today who's -- who has overseen these investigations in the past, and -- and they said that this smells like a cover-up. That's what it looks like, because DOJ is not allowing the local authorities to actually even participate in the investigation.

KEILAR: How many prosecutors work in an office like that, do you know? Not to put you on the spot.

PEREZ: It is (INAUDIBLE), and it's not a ...

KEILAR: Okay.

PEREZ: ... it's not a very big office. But keep in mind, Joe Thompson was the guy who was investigating all the fraud investigations that the President has been obsessed with and the administration has been obsessed with over the last few weeks. KEILAR: Yes, that's really significant. Evan, thank you so much for

that great reporting.

Let's go now to Minneapolis, where we find CNN's Ryan Young. Tensions still running high in the wake of Rene Good's death there at times, Ryan. What's the scene like now?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, but that reporting that you were just talking about is something that's sort of buzzing through the crowd. People are talking about what's happening and how officials are starting to quit. And as you look back this direction, we've noticed all day long people stopping from all over to bring more flowers here. As the conversation continues about what should be done, they want the lawmakers to fight more. They want to see more action from the state toward the federal government.

The other thing that we've seen is right here on this street here, this is where the infraction really started today. The whistles that are being passed out all throughout this area, we could hear them from more than a block away, people running down the street. As we turned the corner there on East 34th Street and got around the corner, we'll show you the video that we were able to shoot.

[15:05:07]

We saw the ICE and Border Patrol agents crowding around cars, running toward houses. And then, there seemed to be at least a hundred of them doing this interaction with people. At one point, it got so loud and physical, they were using pepper ball spray. They were spraying the agent.

We watched them actually spray each other with that agent and had to be pulled back. And then, at one point, the crowd surged so much, they had to use more than five flash bangs over and over again. We were getting pretty close then at that point as they were putting their pressure on this one man. We saw 10 agents on top of him as they were putting him under arrest. They put him in the back of a car. We believe at least two other people were taken into custody.

We tried to get from the officials on the ground who they were looking for, what was going on. At the same time, we noticed in the alleyways that people were trying to run to get away. It's all going down. This was the most serious infraction that we had seen in several days. At this point, we didn't see even any local police officers since then at this point, just trying to see if there's going to be any more actions going on. Let's not forget, more agents are in town right now than police officers who patrolled the city. Brianna?

KEILAR: That's an interesting point. Ryan Young, thank you so much. Boris?

SANCHEZ: We turn now to President Trump who just wrapped up remarks in Michigan as tensions escalate with Iran. Moments ago, the President had a direct message to anti-government protesters as they face the regime's deadly force.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To all Iranian patriots, keep protesting. Take over your institutions if possible. And save the name of the killers and the abusers that are abusing you. You're being very badly abused. I say save their names because they'll pay a very big price. Now, I've cancelled all meetings with the Iranian officials until the senseless killing of protesters stops. And all I say to them is help is on its way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes is live for us in Detroit. Kristen, when the President was asked specifically about what that means, help is on the way, he refused to elaborate.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he actually specifically said, you're going to have to figure that out, kind of leaving this mystery there. That was earlier in his trip here to Detroit. He also called on these protesters over and over again to name the people who are harming them, saying that they would be punished anyone who was causing any kind of abuse or if they knew anyone who was doing any killing.

Now, interestingly also, President Trump has continued to repeat the fact that he doesn't know the real numbers coming out of Iran, essentially saying that he has heard a mix of various numbers, that he is unsure of what is true and not in terms of people who are being killed in those Iranian protests. But it is clear that there is a lot of fixation and a lot of focus within the White House when it comes to Iran.

Now, earlier this morning, we did learn from the Press Secretary that there was a meeting of national security principals to go over options in Iran. President Trump was not part of that meeting. We are expecting more briefings throughout the day that include these high- level officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth and Vice President J.D. Vance as they try and weigh these options.

One of the things to keep in mind here as President Trump's rhetoric escalates, he effectively cut off all diplomatic conversations earlier today after saying that he was open to having conversations with Iran because Iran had reached out. He would look into negotiating. We even heard from the Press Secretary yesterday saying President Trump wanted to go down this path of negotiation, that Iranians were saying different things behind closed doors and the kind of blustery rhetoric they were saying in public.

Today, President Trump said that he has canceled any upcoming meetings with Iranian officials, effectively then saying he was closing that diplomacy door.

SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes traveling with the President in Michigan, thank you so much for that update.

Still to come, Republican leaders in Congress say that contempt proceedings will move forward after former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton refused to testify today in the House's Epstein probe, what the former president and secretary could be facing.

Plus, a survivor of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, taking the stand. A teacher recounting the tragic day many of his students were gunned down. This is in the trial of a former school officer. We have the latest from court.

And later, the EPA making a major change to air pollution rules under President Trump while experts are warning that this could make the air you're breathing dirtier. That much more coming your way next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:14:02]

KEILAR: Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are refusing to testify in the House investigation of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Now, they face potential contempt of Congress charges. The former president was a no-show today on Capitol Hill. The former Secretary of State is expected to skip her scheduled deposition before the House Oversight Committee tomorrow.

And in a letter to Republican Chairman James Comer, they say, quote, "We are confident that any reasonable person in or out of Congress will see, based on everything we release, that what you were doing is trying to punish those who you see as your enemies and to protect those you think are your friends." They also say their written statements should suffice, as with other Epstein witnesses. But Chairman Comer pointed out the Democrats joined Republicans in voting to subpoena the Clintons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): We will move next week in the House Oversight Committee markup to hold former President Clinton in contempt of Congress.

[15:15:04]

The story here is the Democrats voted to subpoena Clinton. This was not a Republican stunt. This was voted on in a bipartisan manner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: To be clear, the Clintons have never been accused of wrongdoing related to Epstein. Joining me now is a Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Congressman Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia.

Sir, should the Clintons sit for their depositions?

REP. SUHAS SUBRAMANYAM (D-VA): Well, I think they've done a lot already. I'll say that. But, you know, I did support that subpoena of them because I didn't want this investigation to be partisan. I'm not here to protect Democrats either. We need to hold Democrats and Republicans accountable. But I'll just say that, you know, seeing Chairman Comer go after the

Clintons and try to hold them in contempt when Pam Bondi has not responded to any of our subpoenas. The DOJ has not responded or complied with our subpoena back in August to release the files.

KEILAR: Okay, but can -- can -- can we keep these separate?

SUBRAMANYAM: What I want to see is the DOJ release all the files.

KEILAR: Can we keep these things separate? Because today, Bill Clinton didn't show up for his deposition. Hillary Clinton is not expected to show up tomorrow. So, we have a limited amount of time. Let's talk about this issue at hand. And we will talk certainly about these other issues here in the future.

Bill Clinton is in at least two photographs where there are women with faces that are blacked out, which would indicate they're known victims or possible victims. Is it important to ask him about that? Isn't that something that would require perhaps more than a written answer? Isn't that something that might benefit from a bit of back and forth?

SUBRAMANYAM: Sure. I mean, like I said, I'm willing to talk to him. I'd like to talk to anyone who has information about this, Democrat or Republican. I haven't wavered from that. I think contempt, though, is a different story. So, that's -- that's unprecedented. The last time we held a former president or current president in contempt was we tried to with Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal, right?

So is this at that level, right? That's the question we need to ask. And are we also holding others in contempt for not giving us information? So, I do think it's related to the context of this investigation, that we're not treating all of the different people we're subpoenaing equally.

KEILAR: Do you think that people who you subpoena, though, should all be coming forward to testify? And should you ...

SUBRAMANYAM: Certainly, I ...

KEILAR: ... be considering with all of them what the ramifications might be if they don't?

SUBRAMANYAM: Well, certainly. I mean, I would like to know what the ramifications this committee is going to enforce if the DOJ continues to violate the law and ignore our subpoenas as well, though. I want to know all the facts. If it -- if it were the Clintons that are withholding millions of files and information that's critical to this investigation, then perhaps we'd be having an entirely different conversation. But the reality is they're a very minor role in this very big saga. And the -- the evidence that we need to know really who is behind this is in the files that have not been released.

The last couple of people we've subpoenaed, just for reference, Les Wexner, for instance, who was one of the co-conspirators in some of the files we released. We also now tried to subpoena and successfully subpoenaed, as Oversight Democrats, the people who are managing the estate. I think those people are far more relevant than the Clintons or anyone who is, you know, maybe knew Epstein for a couple of years.

KEILAR: House oversight Democrats wrote this letter on December 23rd demanding, quote, "Answers on FBI's failure to investigate Jeffrey Epstein after survivor Maria Farmer warned agency in 1996." 1996 when Bill Clinton was president. I mean, is that something you might want to ask him about? I -- I hear you saying that he's a minor figure in this, but is that something considering Democrats specifically on House Oversight want? Is that something that you might want to ask him about?

SUBRAMANYAM: Well, I'll tell you, you know, some of the questions I have, that would be one question, but they did answer that they didn't believe there was a federal investigation into that, nor were they aware of one. Another question is, what were they doing on Jeffrey Epstein's planes. Well, they answered that in their written answers, which is that it was part of the Clinton Foundation and Epstein was loaning them the plane.

And so, they've answered a lot of the questions that I have already. But certainly I'd want them to come in and testify. But I think contempt shows that threatening contempt against them and only them shows that the Republicans are treating this as partisan and not really trying to get to the bottom of what happened and how we prevent it from happening in the future.

KEILAR: We know the follow up question is important, right? Which you don't always get in the written answer. So ...

SUBRAMANYAM: Sure.

KEILAR: ... just saying that there isn't an -- you're saying that there wasn't an investigation. Why wasn't there an investigation? Maybe that's a question to ask. Another one is that Chairman Comer asserted that Epstein visited the White House 17 times while Clinton was in office and flew on 27 flight legs on Epstein's plane. Previously, Clinton's spokesperson had said he took four trips, which included stops, though we were not aware that there were that many. Were you aware there was that much time on the plane? And what questions does that raise for you? Were you aware about the 17 visits to the Clinton White House?

[15:20:04]

SUBRAMANYAM: I was aware. I would just say, again, that's why I want Clinton to come and testify before us. I haven't wavered on that. I will just say again, though, that we have a lot of people who have information about Epstein, far more information, and we haven't held them in contempt. So, I think the -- the question here is not about whether or not we want the Clintons to come in, because we've already supported subpoenaing them to come in and tell us what they know, at the very least. And sometimes these things are a negotiation and a process to try to get them into the setting that makes the most sense.

But, you know, there are a lot of other people who have information as well. And the fact is, we aren't holding the Republicans who aren't refusing to testify accountable, either. This has become partisan, and that's what I don't want. I'm not here to hold the bag for anyone. I'm not here to hold the bag for Democrats. I'm here to get to the bottom of the truth. And that's why we've supported subpoenas of Democrats and Republicans to the state.

KEILAR: The Clintons wrote today: "Indeed, bringing the Republicans' cruel agenda to a standstill while you work harder to pass a contempt charge against us than you have done on your investigation this past year would be our contribution to fighting the madness." That's sort of a framing where they're making this contribution for the greater good, considering there is also a personal stake in avoiding this encounter for the Clintons. Do you think that's the right tone to strike?

SUBRAMANYAM: It's hard to say. Again, I understand where they're coming from. I mean, they're looking at this. And I think something else they said in the letter was that they would like to get to the bottom of the truth as well. They would like to see more accountability for this DOJ and for Pam Bondi, for instance. A lot of what they said in this -- that letter was quite true, actually, that I agree with. But again, I do want to hear from them. That's why we support the subpoena. And we want to hear from other Democrats who might have information. It doesn't matter.

But to threaten, to -- in the way that they've threatened the Clintons without actually asserting those same kind of threats to other people, I think, you know, shows the partisanship of this majority on oversight. F

KEILAR: Is there -- is there another way to compel them to testify?

SUBRAMANYAM: That's a good question. I mean, I would like to know if there's another way to compel the DOJ and Pam Bondi to come and testify before us as well or to give us the information or how we enforce the laws when it comes to the release of the Epstein files, which President Trump signed into law, right? And so, again, think of the -- what we're doing here, the precedent we're setting.

KEILAR: No, and -- and Congressman, I just want to be clear. I hear you on that.

SUBRAMANYAM: And the limited value of what we're getting.

KEILAR: We constantly -- we are constantly covering how many documents have not been released, how they have missed your deadline. We cover that a lot. But in this case, they -- they have decided not to sit for a deposition and made it clear that they're doing that rather close to the deposition time for doing so. Is there -- so aside from what to do about Pam Bondi and DOJ, if we can refocus back on the Clintons, is there a way that you would be able to hear from them short of this contempt process? I mean, what are Democrats prepared to do perhaps to outreach with them and maybe get some of those answers that you say you want?

SUBRAMANYAM: Well, I'll give you another example, which is I tried to get the former Prince Andrew to come and tell us what he knows and to testify before us. We -- we have -- we can't assert any sort of legal power to compel him to testify. But what we were offering to them was come and testify before us under the ...

KEILAR: Can we please talk about Bill Clinton? Can we -- can we please talk about Bill Clinton?

SUBRAMANYAM: Well, the point I'm -- yes, the point -- the point I'm trying to make is that we -- we can negotiate with them to figure out a way to have them come in under terms that they'll agree to, right? And I think that's a better way and a better approach. We haven't held others accountable, but when it comes to the Clintons, we can figure out a way forward. But, you know, just coming out immediately and saying that you're going to hold them in contempt, I think, is -- it shows the partisanship of this investigation on their part.

KEILAR: Yes, point taken. You might have more sway with the Clintons than the, I guess, former royal family. I don't know. Prince Andrew, obviously, his title ...

SUBRAMANYAM: I'm -- I'm not sure if I do, but ...

KEILAR: ... his title has changed. Well, maybe Democrats.

Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, thank you so much for being with us.

SUBRAMANYAM: Thank you.

KEILAR: Still ahead, an outburst in a Texas courtroom from the distraught sister of a teacher who was killed in the Uvalde school massacre. Hear what the judge had to say about it after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:29:10]

SANCHEZ: Emotions running high again today in Texas in the trial of a former Uvalde School police officer, Adrian Gonzales. He's accused of failing to stop or delay the 2022 massacre at Robb Elementary, where 19 students and two teachers were killed inside their classrooms. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz joins us now with the latest details.

Shimon, this has been an extremely emotional trial. What can you tell us about today's proceedings?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, just two weeks of heart-wrenching and just difficult testimony, especially for family members who are sitting in that courtroom and listening as evidence is being presented by a prosecutor and then the defense team just nitpicking at every little detail.

And today, finally, you know, I think for one of the family members, a sister of a teacher who died on that day, it just enough was enough.

[15:20:03]

And she had this outburst in court, and it is -- the -- the screams are just so heart-wrenching.