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6 Prosecutors Out Amid WH Pressure to Probe Renee Good's Actions; Trump: U.S. Needs Greenland For the Purpose of National Security; U.S. Official: Some Personnel Told to Evacuate Military Base in Qatar; Au Pair Testifies She Watched Banfield Stab His Wife Repeatedly. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired January 14, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

CASEY WASSERMAN, CHAIRMAN, L.A. '28: And that's about legacy, that's about putting L.A. continuing on a trajectory like we did after 1984, and making sure these benefit the entire communities we are in, whether it's Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, or some of the soccer preliminary cities. These games, because they are privately funded and privately operated, they are truly a gift to the communities we operate in.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I don't remember 1932, but I do vividly remember 1984, and those were seminal games. So, big for the United States, so big for Los Angeles, so big for so many different types of amateur athletics.

Casey Wasserman, great to see you this morning. Thank you.

Brand new hour of "CNN News Central" starts now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, Trump's threats to take over Greenland intensifying. He now says anything less than U.S. control of Greenland is unacceptable. That is all ahead of a diplomatic meeting between U.S., Greenland, and Denmark. Is diplomacy already dead?

And breaking news, the Pentagon is working to surge dozens of military lawyers to Minneapolis amid the immigration enforcement crackdown. This, as a shocking development, a half a dozen top prosecutors are stepping down over the investigation.

Now, no room for mistakes. Daredevil snowboarders take a dangerously narrow course. We've got the heart-stopping video from high atop the Italian Alps.

I'm Sara Sidner with Kate Bolduan and John Berman. This is "CNN News Central."

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: For the breaking news coming in just this hour, the Pentagon is now working to surge dozens of military lawyers to Minneapolis amid the massive immigration operation there. That's according to two officials and an e-mail and an e-mail request reviewed by CNN. It comes as a lawsuit over the massive ICE operation in that city goes

to court this hour and as protests are intensifying and continue to create clashes between protesters and agents over the raids and the shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent.

Adding to this turmoil, at least as Sara was noting, at least six federal prosecutors have now resigned in Minnesota after they reportedly objected to the pressure coming from the White House and the Justice Department to focus the shooting investigation on Renee Good and her now widow and others connected to the protests.

CNN's Ryan Young live on the scene in Minneapolis for us. Ryan, what is the latest there this morning?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, the big conversation from the city and from people here is what happens next? Are they able to finally do something in the court system to get some of these troops out of this area? That is one of the big questions here.

They want to see something done and take place in court. We've been talking to several neighbors who live in this area, especially when all that stuff started happening yesterday. They are calling this an invasion.

You see this site behind me and we see dozens of people show up on a day-to-day basis to pay their respects to Renee Good. But the big question here, of course, is after they file that lawsuit, we've seen these prosecutors drop out. Will the tactics on the streets change here?

If you have a police department and the way they interact with people, the folks on the streets say they're tired of seeing all these agents masked up. They can't identify them. They're not sure where people are being taken, what happens when they arrest the wrong people. These are all questions that are being asked.

And, of course, yesterday we saw some of this happen ourselves in more than two different locations at the federal building and right down the street from here. We saw these heavy clashes with heavily armed and an enormous amount of agents in the area here, more than 100. They used flashbangs. They used pepper balls. They were spraying people.

We saw 10 agents on top of one older man as he was protesting and got physically in the way of some of the agents. Then you saw some protesters throwing water bottles, throwing snowballs, using their hands to hit the side of cars, and you understood that was going to escalate things.

On top of all this, we now know there are more agents in this area than there are police officers, and 911 calls are up because when people see folks being arrested, they're calling 911 to see exactly what's going on.

This whole thing sort of is getting chaotic with the number of agents here in town and with people asking questions about when this is going to stop. BOLDUAN: Ryan Young on the scene for us. Ryan, thank you so much for your continued reporting on this.

Sara?

SIDNER: Thank you so much. Joining me now is Alyse Adamson, a former Federal Prosecutor.

I want to talk about the breaking news that just happened, the Pentagon warning that it's going to surge dozens of military lawyers to Minneapolis amid this immigration enforcement crackdown. Why would they surge military lawyers? What does that mean exactly?

ALYSE ADAMSON, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, Sara, what it means is that there is a resource issue in Minneapolis, and we just heard the news that several -- you know, I'm sorry, several distinguished prosecutors have now resigned out of that federal U.S. attorney's office, and they do not have enough staff, enough resources to try these cases.

[09:05:16]

Judge Advocate Generals, the JAGs, the military lawyers, they routinely stationed at U.S. attorney's office, but not in those numbers. And so, what we're seeing here is the government is taking lawyers that are at their disposal, and they are -- re -- and they are bringing them to places that they can assist with the prosecution. So, it's just lawyers that they have at the ready to help assist these prosecutors in offices where they have now depleted their resources.

SIDNER: OK. Let's talk about why the six prosecutors have resigned. According to sources to "The New York Times" and others, these lawyers resigned because they saw the DOJ turning their investigation to the woman who was killed, Renee Good, by an ICE officer, and her wife, as to their protests and how they became involved and the groups that they were involved with, as opposed to the officer himself. How unusual is that?

ADAMSON: Sara, it's very unusual because in these circumstances, the ordinary course -- the ordinary of an investigation is to investigate the shooting itself. Now, by virtue of the shooting, we mean investigate the officer. And I think it's important to note that a large majority of these officers involved shootings end up as justified or they do not result in criminal charges.

So, the outcome or the conclusions that we've heard the Department of Justice has already made may not change. It is the process here that is very different. There seems to have been a rush to clear the officer rather than to engage in a fulsome investigation. And the problem there is credibility and trust. Officers, especially federal officers, wield an extraordinary amount of power. So, when they are involved in an incident like this, it bears a certain level of (technical difficulty) we have seen in the instant case.

SIDNER: Now, if there is a shooting in any department across the United States for all of the shootings that I have covered involving a police officer in particular, there is always an investigation that the departments do, no matter if they are local, federal or state. The state complaining that they are not involved and we're not allowed to be involved in this.

I do want to ask you about what we heard from the second in command of the DOJ, Todd Blanche, who said, and I'm quoting here, there is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation into the ICE officer who killed Renee Good. Does that mean there's just nothing else that they are going to investigate? Isn't that the full investigation right there?

ADAMSON: Again, Sara, what it sounds like is that the Department of Justice has already come to a conclusion about what, if anything happened during this incident, that when you hear Todd Blanche saying there's no basis, that would seem to suggest that there was an investigation and they had found no wrongdoing on the part of the officer.

And while that might ultimately be correct, there hasn't been an investigation to really make those conclusions. I was a little bit surprised by that statement, not because it might not be factually accurate, but because they haven't had time to gather the facts.

And what we've heard on the state level, at least, is that state level prosecutors have been barred from accessing certain amounts of evidence. And what we know on the federal level is that prosecutors are unhappy with the course of that investigation, which is why they've resigned and just the sheer amount of time from the shooting to when Todd Blanche made that statement. It's not enough time to really investigate this matter.

So, again, maybe that will ultimately be the conclusion, but there hasn't -- there hasn't seemed to have been an investigation to truly make that conclusion. But it sounds to me, Sara, like the Department of Justice is signaling that they're done with this for now.

SIDNER: Wow. Alyse Adamson, it is a really surprising turn of events to some. To others, this is exactly what they thought was going to happen. Thank you so much. I do appreciate it.

Kate?

BOLDUAN: Very soon, Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are set to host the foreign ministers of Greenland and Denmark. This marks the first meeting between the three governments since President Trump renewed his threats to take over Greenland.

And there's a question now of what the pitch, ask or maybe demand will be coming from the U.S. government today. The secretary of state has said that the president wants to buy the Danish territory, not invade it. We know that President Trump, though, has not ruled out military action.

And this morning, the president is setting the tone, posting on social media this, that the United States needs Greenland for the purpose of national security. "It is vital for the Golden Dome," he writes, "that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it."

[09:10:12]

He also writes, "if we don't, Russia or China will, and that is not going to happen," saying also "anything less than the United States getting Greenland is unacceptable."

CNN's Nic Robertson is on the ground in Greenland for us this morning. You've been talking to a lot of people there. What's the thought about what today means?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, people are absolutely perplexed. They really don't know what President Trump is talking about when he says China and Russia are an immediate threat to Greenland security and therefore somehow U.S. security.

I went out to sea here with a seal hunter. He spends his life out on the water. I've talked to people here who have family in the north of Greenland, in the east of Greenland. This is a vast country. You know, the Arctic Circle is about 150 miles from where we are here. It stretches way up into the Arctic, 1,600 miles long, a vast country. Asking people here, everyone says we're not seeing the Chinese. We're not seeing the Russians.

I asked the deputy minister of mining about China and Russia's involvement in mining explorations here. Something else President Trump has said is hugely important for him. He said, look, they're not present at all in the terms of Russia and not in a meaningful way in the terms of the Chinese. They don't have a presence of people here on the ground in Greenland either. So, I think that's like a key issue for what perplexes people here.

But they are afraid because this is a land, Greenland, that doesn't have an army. It is part of Denmark. Denmark has an army. It is part of NATO. That's where they're looking for their support in this situation at the moment. The prime minister here has been very clear that Greenland is part of Denmark. That's not for changing. Part of the E.U., part of NATO, all of that.

But the hard reality for people here is they recognize that President Trump might take the hard option, as is described it, and that they could wake up in a few days or weeks or months and find themselves as part of the United States.

And it really worries them because they think that would impact their culture. And it is a culture here that is deeply tied to this land. I just told you how big it is. Only 57000 people live here. It's a very, very small population. The nature is pristine. They're close to nature. Hunting is sort of a historic thousands of year olds tradition. And they'd worry all of that would be lost and much else as well, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. Nic, not for nothing. And I know they're very pressing territorial issues in question. The video and some of the vistas that you and your team have captured and have been sending in with when your time on the ground are just beautiful. Just a reminder of just how beautiful Greenland really is.

Thank you so much, Nic.

John?

BERMAN: All right. Breaking news. CNN has learned that some personnel at the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East have been urged to leave. They've been urged to leave from the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, home to around 10000 U.S. troops. All you have to do is look at a map to see how close Qatar is to Iran. Maybe we'll show you just how close that is shortly.

But obviously, this this -- this suggestion to leave comes as the United States and President Trump has threatened possible strikes against Iran in the wake of the protests there.

With us now is Congressman Gil Cisneros, a Democrat from California, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Congressman, thank you so much for being with us.

We've just seen this news, gotten word of the suggestion of military members at Al Udeid to leave. Have you heard anything about this yet as a member of the committee?

REP. GIL CISNEROS (D-CA): It hasn't been brought to my attention as a member of the committee yet, but I was kind of just scrolling through the news and kind of saw that myself.

And look, it is pretty standard. We were I was at the Pentagon when we kind of thought there was a threat or something might happen. We would at times ask personnel to leave or really kind of more importantly, their families to get out of the area. But I think what the people of Iran are doing is a good thing. They are standing up for their rights and for freedom.

And I encourage that. And there should be ways that we can covertly help with that process. But I think if the president were to go and attack Iran, that is really throwing us into a situation that could just really backfire and really cause a lot more collateral damage in the area.

[09:15:00]

BERMAN: Why? I mean, why? If the Iranian regime is teetering on the brink, and this is all theoretical now, and in theory, a U.S. airstrike could push it over the edge, would that be something desirable to U.S. interests?

CISNEROS: Well, we don't know that airstrike would push them over the edge, but we do know that they've threatened, if we do attack Iran, that they are going to go and attack U.S. assets. They're going to attack Israel. They've already made that pretty clear.

I think one of the things we do know, when they did go after the nuclear sites in Iran, that was something that the Iranian people did not like. And they did kind of rally around their government. So, we don't want to give them an excuse to kind of go in a different direction.

I think right now we should support the efforts of the Iranian people and kind of figure out a way that we can encourage them to keep this going. And there are covert ways that we can do that, but to just go out and flat out attack them is just throwing us into another situation. And look, I do not believe the president really cares about the Iranian people. I think it's just like in Venezuela. It's really, for him, it's about the oil.

BERMAN: Do you think the order or the suggestion to leave, do you think that's just precautionary, or do you think this is the first step towards something bigger?

CISNEROS: You know, right now, from my past history and what I know, it is cautionary. But let's just kind of see what happens. I don't know what the president's thinking right now. We know he's put out these threats. And hopefully this is not something that he acts on.

BERMAN: We just had our reporter, Nic Robertson, who is standing in a beautiful vista in Greenland. There are meetings today at the White House with the vice president, the secretary of state, and officials from both Greenland and Denmark. The president has said anything less than total U.S. control of Greenland is unacceptable. What message do you think that sends?

CISNEROS: Well, I think it sends a wrong message, right? Greenland is part of -- they're a NATO ally. They're someone -- we already have a base there. They've always been supportive of our military efforts there. They know that their security relies on our defense of them, right? And we are willing to do that.

But the leader of the free world should not be making threats of we're going to take your country if you don't give it to us. That is not the way that America should be acting. We have an alliance with them through NATO. We need to ensure if the president says that China or Russia will take it, because of our -- our -- because of NATO, we will come to their defense as well as the other NATO countries will, if that happens, right?

But the only one who's threatening Greenland right now, unfortunately, is the United States, and it's not China or Russia.

BERMAN: How seriously do you take the president's interest in Greenland right now?

CISNEROS: I can only take him for his word. I think he has an interest in this. He had an interest in it in his first administration. I hope it does not come to these threats that he is making. I believe there are possibilities and deals that we can make if this -- Greenland is important to our national security. That is why we have a military presence there.

But we can work with them to kind of figure out a way in order, you know, to make it better and stronger rather than just overtaking this territory and bringing it into the United States. Again, that is not the way the leader of the free world should be acting. BERMAN: All right. Congressman Gil Cisneros, Democrat from California on the Armed Services Committee. A lot going on this morning. We appreciate you being with us.

Kate?

BOLDUAN: So next hour, we could see a critical, important decision handed down from the Supreme Court, possibly about the president's tariff policy. Supreme Court's been weighing the legality of President Trump's use of emergency powers to hit countries around the world with wide-ranging tariffs. That includes all of the so-called reciprocal tariffs that he issued, raising tariffs as high as 50 percent on U.S. trading partners.

If the administration loses this case before the high court, it could create a mess of a cleanup effort. The government might then be on the hook to repay hundreds of billions of dollars back to businesses. The president has already said that if he loses the case, he'd look for a workaround to essentially keep the policy intact, like potentially relabeling the tariffs as licensing fees. Stand by for this.

Ahead for us, a Hollywood actor and director is in police custody, accused of abusing two minors. The new details that are coming in on the allegations that he's facing.

And there are also new details coming out on the trial of a Virginia man accused of killing his wife and another man that he had lured to their home. The trial's star witness is the family's au pair, and she is back on the stand today.

[09:20:01]

Plus, four NASA astronauts returning to Earth much earlier than planned over medical concerns involving one member of the crew currently living and working aboard the International Space Station. What we're learning about that medical emergency, coming up.

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BERMAN: All right, a new day of testimony in the murder trial of Brendan Banfield. The Virginia father pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife and another person. In an alleged plot with an au pair that he was said to be having an affair with.

[09:25:02]

Prosecutors say he conspired with her to frame a stranger for his wife's death. After luring him into the home with the promise of violent sexual role play. And the au pair is testifying against him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIANA PERES MAGALHAES, BANFIELD'S AU PAIR, MISTRESS, ALLEGED CO- CONSPIRATOR: I was just crouching down by myself and covering. My ears and covering my eyes. And a few times I looked and I was able to -- to see him, and stabbing her. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, with us now CNN's Jean Casarez who is following all the twists and turns here. And I have to say, there's a lot going on here. You almost need a flowchart.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it's -- it's very complicated. It was quite a sophisticated plan in all of this. And the au pair, her testimony is going to start again in about 30 minutes. She's still on direct, but on cross examination, they are going to try to discredit her so bad. The jury has to believe her beyond a reasonable doubt. They have to believe her story.

She testified yesterday that once Joseph Ryan, the escort who brought his chains, his bondage materials. He bought it, brought a knife. Once he arrived, went up to the bedroom that Brendan and her went to the bedroom.

Brendan walked in, got his service revolver, police, and he shot Ryan in the head. She testified. Christine said, "Brendan, he had a knife." And so then he takes the knife. And before he starts stabbing Christine, Christine, the wife, this is the pediatric nurse, sees the au pair and says, "Juliana, call 911." And that's when he started stabbing her to death. And those wounds went to two and a half inches deep, she testified.

Now, I want you to listen because the question is, why don't you just get a divorce? Well, that was answered through the testimony of Juliana.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he ever talk about getting a divorce with her?

MAGALHAES: No. He basically said divorce was not an option.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he say why?

MAGALHAES: Money was involved.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sorry, say that again.

MAGALHAES: Money.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, he didn't want to get divorced. Did he tell you what he wanted to do?

MAGALHAES: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did he say?

MAGALHAES: He mentioned his plan to get rid of her.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CASAREZ: The prosecution said in their openings yesterday that the massive amount of forensics that is going to come into this trial is going to corroborate her testimony.

BERMAN: You said, though, on cross, they are going to go hard after.

CASAREZ: Absolutely. And they have to blame her because Christine saying he's got a knife shows that she didn't order this escort to come and bring a knife.

BERMAN: All right. We were watching this very closely. Jean, of course, you're covering this all day long on CNN, all access right on the CNN app. Do not miss it, everyone. This -- this trial really is riveting.

Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Ahead, cases of measles are surging in South Carolina, doubling in the past week. What health officials are saying this morning.

And we're just minutes away from the opening bell on Wall Street. Saks Global, the parent company of luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, filed for bankruptcy protection late last night. And the move comes as shoppers shift their shopping habits, buying from the brands themselves, cutting out the middlemen like department stores. The company has been running out of cash and struggling to pay its bills since its acquisition of Neiman Marcus for $2.7 billion dollars back in 2024. Those stories and more, ahead.

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