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Alex Pretti Shooting Investigation Continues; Clintons to Testify on Jeffrey Epstein; Trump Threatens to 'Take Over' Voting Process; Search For Mother of Savannah Guthrie Continues. Aired 1- 1:30p ET

Aired February 03, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Asking for prayers and information, a plea from Savannah Guthrie, as investigators try to find her missing mother. We're expecting a news conference from the sheriff just 30 minutes from now.

Plus: The Clintons agree to a deposition to discuss their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, but there's more, with the former president and secretary of state also suggesting a hearing. We will have details on the deal ahead.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And failure to launch, a test of the rocket set to bring astronauts back to the moon revealing some serious problems, leading to an unexpected delay.

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

KEILAR: We have breaking news. We are standing by for an update on the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mother, 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie.

Minutes from now, the sheriff, who believes she was abducted from her home on Saturday night, is set to speak. The search is right now in a desperate race against time, as officials say Nancy has gone days without a medicine that she needs to survive.

"The Today Show" host asking for prayers last night as she shared a post about her mother's strong faith. Officials say they are now poring through tips from the public, hoping for a break in the case.

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CHRIS NANOS, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA, SHERIFF: We learned a little bit more about some of the things we have submitted for DNA with the labs, but nothing really that would be -- help us identify a suspect.

But we have submitted a lot of things, from license plate readers to intersection cameras, to downloads of cell phones and cell tower dumps, and all of the things that you're probably well aware of that happens in these investigations. That's starting to trickle in.

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KEILAR: CNN's Ed Lavandera is live for us in Pima County.

And, Ed, you just visited the neighborhood where Nancy Guthrie's home is. Tell us what you saw.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We wanted to go through the neighborhood at night, because, obviously, from what we have been able to gather so far, what has been released, is that Nancy Guthrie arrived at her home Saturday evening and wasn't discovered missing until the next morning.

So, clearly a great deal of attention being paid to the nighttime hours as to what might have happened here. And we know that investigators here have been pleading with the public to look for home videos, anything that might have captured anything in that area and that surrounding neighborhood where Nancy Guthrie lives on the northern edge of Tucson.

And I can tell you that, from driving through that neighborhood, it seems very difficult to be able to find anything that home videos or cameras could have captured. The neighborhood, the homes are spread out, a lot of rolling hills, the homes very much spread apart, incredibly dark in that neighborhood.

So even capturing anything driving by might be very difficult. So I feel like that's probably one of the things that is making this investigation very difficult for investigators at this point, Brianna. But we do know that they are continuing to plead with the public.

We will share the number with you here, where investigators are continuing to ask people to go through any video they might have from those hours Saturday night into Sunday, anything that might help them piece together how all of this unfolded, because, right now, investigators saying they believe that Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will, that she was abducted from her home.

And here, in just a less than half-an-hour, investigators are expected to hold another briefing for reporters. We hope to be able to gather a few more details about what they have been able to piece together, as presumably tips have been coming in over the last 48 hours -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, we will be staying tuned for that.

Ed Lavandera, thank you for the very latest from Arizona -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Moments ago, House Speaker Mike Johnson reacted to President Trump's call for Republicans to nationalize elections. Watch this.

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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The president had called yesterday for a takeover of federal elections, have to nationalize in some states. Is that something that you think you should do, the Republicans should do, take over elections?

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REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): The president is expressing his frustration about the problems we have in some of these blue states, where election integrity is not always guaranteed. So we have to figure out solutions to that problem. And that's what I think the SAVE America Act can do.

RAJU: Take over -- take...

JOHNSON: No. No. No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The Constitution clearly states that states have primary authority over the times, places and manner of elections.

Still, the president is pushing the idea while repeating debunked claims of widespread voter fraud. He made the comments on the podcast of his former deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Republicans should say, we want to take over, we should take over the voting, the voting in at least many -- 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting, and that we have states that are so crooked and they're counting votes.

We have states that I won that show I didn't win. Now, you're going to see something in Georgia, where they were able to get with the court order and the ballots. You're going to see some interesting things come out. But, like the 2020 election, I won that election by so much.

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SANCHEZ: The Georgia ballots the president is referencing are connected to a controversial FBI search last week at an elections office in Fulton County, agents seizing hundreds of ballots from the 2020 election.

Joining us now to discuss is pollster and communications strategist, Frank Luntz.

Frank, great to see you, as always.

What do you make of this talk from Trump about nationalizing elections? How do you think this lands with voters?

FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER: It's problematic, in that we don't want the public to distrust the elements that make up our democracy, that there's already enough skepticism and I'm afraid that for some people it's now cynicism, and that anything that really undermines our trust, our faith in the elements of democracy is problematic.

The public does -- a significant percentage of public does distrust the way the elections are run at this point, because they don't believe that there's accountability. They don't believe that there's oversight. And that's a problem.

But to add to that takes a problem and turns it into a crisis. And that does concern me. In the end, if you have faith in the way that people are elected, you will have faith in your country, you will have faith in the process and you will still have faith in democracy.

But if we lose that faith, then -- and particularly in this 250th anniversary of America, if we lose that faith, we got a problem as a country.

SANCHEZ: It seems that much of this and also Republican efforts to gerrymander in a number of states is tied to Trump's fears of what might happen to him if Democrats take control of Congress after the 2026 midterms.

Why not spend more time talking about issues that voters really care about, like the economy, the ones that drive them to the ballot box?

LUNTZ: Well, you know how much I respect this show. And I appreciate the straightforward nature of your questions and your colleagues' questions.

But the gerrymandering, all you have to do is look at California and what the Democrats did there. Now, I recognize that they say that that's in response to Texas. Both sides do it. Both sides are responsible for this and both sides should be held accountable.

The Republicans should not have done this in Texas and the Democrats should not have followed up in California. And we know that other states are going to follow suit. That's a problem.

Your question about, should he be prioritizing issues that voters care about, absolutely. And the issue and the challenge for Republicans is, in a word, affordability. It's not a hoax. It's real. And the public acknowledges that fuel prices have come down since their highs a few months ago.

But they still look at housing, they still look at health care and they still look at food and say, I can't afford what I want and what I need, and that, for the Republicans to keep control, which is very hard -- history suggests that they have got a 90 percent chance of losing control of the House.

They may keep the Senate just because of the seats that are up. But if they want to keep control, they're going to have to address this issue and they're going to have to do it in a way that's meaningful and measurable, so that the voters themselves feel that their quality of life and their standard of living is improved today from what it was a year ago.

Otherwise, based on what history tells us in every off-year election, the party that's out of power comes back into power or at least gains a lot more seats.

SANCHEZ: We have had multiple conversations about how affordability and the economy are going to be principal drivers. I wonder about some of the other sort of issues in the orbit, things like immigration. A recent FOX News poll showed that the president's approval rating on that issue is now underwater.

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And, beyond that, there's also the question of the Epstein files. A lot of folks are very upset that DOJ recently announced that there's not going to be further prosecution based on this release of 3.5 million documents as of last week.

Do those make enough waves in November? Is there something there for either party to capitalize on?

LUNTZ: The only reason why the Republicans should feel any sense of hope for Election Day is that the Democrats are more unpopular now than they have ever been. That's the polling numbers for the party. It's gotten a little bit better over the last few weeks.

But for the most part, the Democratic numbers are the worst in their modern history. So the Republicans are doing badly. The Democrats are doing even worse. And that's why we don't know what's going to happen on Election Day.

The party that can present that it has a meaningful, measurable plan of action, a detailed plan of action to make things better for the average individual, that's the party that wins in November, even with the historic trends that do benefit the Democrats.

But in the end, it's going to require a direct -- looking straight at the camera, a direct approach that acknowledges that the public is mad, that they feel worse off today than they did a year ago, and that they want fundamental change. They want an impact that makes a difference in their lives.

And, right now, it's a jump ball because neither party is succeeding.

SANCHEZ: Frank Luntz, always great to get your perspective. Thanks so much for joining me.

LUNTZ: Thanks for having me.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Plenty more to come this afternoon. The Clintons agreeing to testify under oath in the House investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, but they want the public to be able to hear it. Will Republicans in Congress agree?

Plus, the Department of Homeland Security issuing a major policy reversal in Minneapolis -- the new rule for its officers following the shooting death of Alex Pretti.

And, later, House Speaker Mike Johnson scrambling to quell a Republican rebellion to end the partial government shutdown.

That and much more coming your way next.

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KEILAR: We just learned that former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have reached a deal to testify in the House investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.

The agreement means they will avoid a contempt of Congress vote, sources telling CNN the Clintons will be deposed on February 26 and 27, but they have added a new twist. They want to answer the Oversight Committee's questions in a public hearing.

It's not clear if the Republicans chair, Congressman James Comer, will accept that request. President Clinton has never been accused of any wrongdoing with Epstein, and his spokesman has said Clinton denies knowing of Epstein's crimes and cut off their relationship before they came to light.

Last night, the deputy attorney general once again signaled there will likely be no further criminal charges stemming from the Epstein files.

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TODD BLANCHE, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: It is not a crime to party with Mr. Epstein. And so as horrible as it is, it's not a crime to e-mail with Mr. Epstein. And then some of these men may have done horrible things. And if we have evidence that allows us to prosecute them, you better believe we will.

But it's also the kind of thing that the American people need to understand that it isn't a crime to party with Mr. Epstein.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Let's bring in Sarah Fitzpatrick of "The Atlantic," an investigative reporter who has covered Jeffrey Epstein extensively.

And just first, what is your reaction there to what we heard from Todd Blanche and what are survivors telling you about it?

SARAH FITZPATRICK, STAFF WRITER, "THE ATLANTIC": I mean, I think it's really hard to square what Todd Blanche is saying there versus what he has spent money on for the Justice Department of taking hundreds and hundreds of attorneys to review these documents, to work overtime.

If there's no -- likely to be no charges, why was there such a huge commitment of resources, resources that have been pulled away from other violent crimes and other things that are in desperate need of law enforcement attention?

KEILAR: He says it's not a crime to party with Epstein. It's not a crime to e-mail with him. That's certainly true. But you have heard critics of what he's saying say it's very curious to party with Epstein or ask to go to his island or e-mail with him after you know that he is a convicted pedophile. And that raises a lot of questions. And the DOJ should be more interested in investigating that.

So where does that leave things and why aren't they?

FITZPATRICK: I think it's a very curious question that we have never gotten a good answer to.

This investigation, unfortunately, has been mishandled by multiple administrations, both Democratic and Republican, at the local level and at the federal level. And so what I think it reflects is a -- the Trump DOJ kind of came in that we're going to release these files, we're going to get to the bottom of this.

And now we're seeing that there have been no -- as far as we can tell, no major law enforcement steps taken. For example, the Clintons, I was talking to sources who have said, no, the Clintons have never been questioned by law enforcement, which, of course, you need probable cause. You need -- certain steps need to be met before you would bring someone in for questioning.

But it suggests a kind of lack of interest and a lack of following all of those leads. Anyone what was -- especially because Epstein was charged and Maxwell were charged with trafficking, which means the moving of people for the purpose of sex, anyone who was at these parties who had knowledge of their whereabouts, how communications were done, how the planning was, they have material information that would be important to investigators.

So it just suggests that this was never really about getting answers, and especially answers that might not reflect well on the Justice Department.

KEILAR: So what should lawmakers be interested in learning from the Clintons?

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FITZPATRICK: I think there's a lot to be learned about Epstein's behavior, his confidants, how he responded to allegations, questions about even how he made his money.

One of the things that has been so frustrating for me as an investigative reporter is, we up -- until these files were released over the weekend, it was very unclear what Jeffrey Epstein did all day. Now I have a better sense, which is e-mail a lot, but -- and cultivate this network very deliberately.

But I think there's lots -- anyone who was in his orbit who understood who was involved, who may have had knowledge, that's all relevant information. It doesn't mean that they were aware of criminality, but it means that they have insight that might bring investigators towards people that did.

KEILAR: And then, on this issue of redactions, there is a hearing tomorrow, and you have lawyers for victims saying, yes, our victims sort of trusted DOJ to have all of these files put out, but you put out these files with a ton of their personal information and it was a failure of DOJ.

What's going to happen with the files and with what they're asking for?

FITZPATRICK: It's unclear.

So there will be hearing tomorrow in New York and a judge will hear arguments from lawyers for the victims, as well as representatives from the government. I think it would be quite extraordinary to take down this volume of information once it has already been disseminated.

I think there's not a lot of great legal precedent for that. However, it was a real -- there were so many months. There was so much time. There were so many people who were involved in preparing for this release. And the fact that it is done so haphazardly indicates either a lack of attention or a kind of perhaps some other motive.

And I think that's what a hearing judge will have to evaluate.

KEILAR: Sarah Fitzpatrick, always great to get your insights on these new developments. Appreciate it.

Still to come, we're following updates in the investigation of the shooting death of Alex Pretti.

Plus, hear the reason the NASA just delayed its historic mission around the moon.

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SANCHEZ: We're tracking new developments in Minnesota, where a judge is now lifting his own emergency order into the killing of Alex Pretti. That order had required federal investigators maintain all evidence gathered at the scene after the deadly shooting by two immigration officers.

At the same time, Secretary Kristi Noem says she is now rapidly deploying body cameras to every DHS officer in Minneapolis following the deaths of Pretti and Renee Good.

CNN's Whitney Wild has been tracking all the latest information on this story.

Whitney, help us understand the judge's decision.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was a temporary restraining order. It was issued immediately on the day of the Alex Pretti shooting.

And what happened here was, Minnesota officials, specifically the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, wanted to try to access that scene. And they were not able to, even though they had a signed warrant by a state judge.

And so Hennepin County officials and the BCA -- this is the chief, basically, investigative agency for the state of Minnesota -- went to a federal judge to say, pump the brakes, make sure that evidence that was collected exclusively by federal officials is maintained cleanly because they expect that they're going to be able to access it at some point.

And so it was issued that night. But then there was a hearing a couple days later where the judge heard from both sides. And DOJ had argued that there are very strict policies in place, there are laws on the books that ensure that evidence is maintained to a very high standard. The other side argued that they were concerned that DOJ may not follow its own policies. What if the evidence is tampered with? What if it is destroyed?

Even if it didn't have mal-intent, the harm is irreversible. So that was what the state had tried to argue. This judge heard from both sides and then a week later decided to side with DOJ, finding that their policies are strong enough and the laws are strong enough to ensure that the evidence is going to be maintained at a specific level, Boris.

SANCHEZ: What about this announcement from Secretary Noem about body cameras? Why is this decision coming now?

WILD: Well, this is something that people have really have really spoken vocally about, this need for body cameras to be worn by immigration officers.

So much of the evidence that we have reviewed is from bystander video. And there are some instances where we have seen body-worn camera on some agents in some of these critical moments, but it is not in totality. Not every agent has a body-worn camera. So now DHS is saying, everybody in Minneapolis needs to have BWC.

But, Boris, I think it's important to understand that there were, again, a long list of agents and officers working on these immigration cases who did have body-worn camera. And, in fact, the Alex Pretti shooting, we know that, according to a source, that DHS investigators have reviewed up to 30 body-worn cameras from agents who were directly involved in that incident and agents who were working on the ground that day, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Whitney Wild, thank you so much for that reporting.

Any minute now, Arizona officials are expecting to hold a news conference on the search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "Today Show" host Savannah Guthrie. We're going to bring that to you live.

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