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New Plea From Guthrie Family: "We Have To Know That You Have Our Mom"; TMZ's Harvey Levin Gives New Details On Purported Ransom Letter; High-Stakes Talks Between U.S. And Iran Conclude; At Least 14 Lawyers Leave U.S. Attorney's Office In Minnesota. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired February 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]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is a good business decision. We know that Bad Bunny brings in viewers and listeners, and there's a whole lot of people that are going to be watching.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: It's going to be huge.

Julissa Lopez (ph), thank you so much. I do appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

SIDNER: A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A purported deadline passes in the abduction of Nancy Guthrie, a new one approaches. New details from someone who was seen one of the alleged ransom notes.

All right, standing by for the results of an extremely rare meeting between the U.S. and Iranian officials. If these meetings did not or are not going well, could U.S. military action be imminent in the most watched test run in history?

Olympic legend Lindsey Vonn on the slopes after a full rupture of her ACL. So, did this go well enough for her to compete in the games?

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

SIDNER: This morning we're learning more about the details inside of a ransom note sent to TMZ in the abduction of Nancy Guthrie.

Police say the mother of Today's Show host, Savannah Guthrie, was abducted from her Arizona home. That was six days ago. The FBI says one of the notes sent included two deadlines.

Now, the first deadline has passed. The other deadline is Monday. The demand is in for Bitcoin. The FBI also says there was a mention of Nancy Guthrie's Apple Watch and a floodlight at the home. TMZ founder Harvey Levin told CNN the letter indicated Nancy is OK, but scared and that the family will have no way of contacting her captors or captor. He also mentioned a previously unreported detail in the note about that Apple Watch that could prove that it is legitimate.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ FOUNDER: They do mention an Apple Watch, as the FBI said, and they do mention the floodlight, the damaged floodlight. There is something else, and it is the placement of the Apple Watch, which has not come out.

And if that placement is accurate, I'm sure that is something that puts this letter on the FBI's radar.

They begin the letter by saying that -- that Nancy is -- is OK, but scared. So, they say she is OK and also that she's aware of the letter and the demands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: All of this is so heartbreaking for the family and friends. We're also hearing more from the family who are desperate for proof of life. Nancy Guthrie's son made a new plea on social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMRON GUTHRIE, SON OF NANCY GUTHRIE: Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven't heard anything directly. We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward.

But first, we have to know that you have our mom. We want to talk to you and we are waiting for contact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Our Marybel Gonzalez is live outside Nancy Guthrie's home.

Can you give us a sense of the scene now? Because there was this whole thing about police coming. They left. They took down the crime. And then they came back and put it back up. What do you see?

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Yes, good morning, Sara. Well, right now I can tell you that there is some activity on Nancy's property, but those are security agents.

They've been here the last few days protecting the home. We know investigators were back here, including FBI agents, collecting what appeared to be evidence. But now there are security agents here. They're patrolling. They're making sure that no one is trespassing, protecting the perimeters of the home.

And Sara, this search for Nancy is becoming more and more urgent by the minute. We know that she is in delicate health. Savannah said so in those videos that she posted on social media. And the FBI certainly recognizes this as well. They are now offering a $50,000 reward for information that can lead them to where Nancy may be. Now, we're also learning a timeline in this case of the last time that Nancy was seen. We know that she was dropped off here at her home by family on Saturday evening. And then we know that at around 1:47 a.m., her doorbell camera is disconnected. About 20 minutes later, we know that doorbell camera detected motion. However, it did not pick up video of what could have set off that detection.

Another important detail in this case is that at around 2:00 a.m., that is when we are last -- 2:28 a.m., I should say, that is when her pacemaker disconnects from her iPhone. Now, another key detail that we've learned in this case is that investigators were able to find blood outside of Nancy's home, specifically on her porch. And they've now confirmed that that blood belongs to Nancy.

[09:05:03]

Still, though, they are saying they are operating as though she is alive. The sheriff said she is still out there. And the community here certainly is keeping hope alive. They are saying, you know, that they're offering their support for the Guthrie family, organizing a vigil for the family and also flooding the phone lines of the Pima County Sheriff with words and messages of support. The Pima County Sheriff said, post those messages online to free up these lines, but they certainly appreciate that support.

Sara.

SIDNER: And we have that number up, both the Pima County Sheriff Department's number that you can call for tips or the FBI line, and they're really hoping that people use those and give any information that they have in this case.

Thank you so much, Marybel. I do appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now, CNN senior law enforcement analyst, former deputy director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe.

But Andy, we heard extensively from Harvey Levin, the founder of TMZ. TMZ is one of the places that received one of the purported ransom notes. Now, we don't know whether it's authentic, but it had a lot of details in it, including whoever took Nancy Guthrie saying this is the last time you're going to hear from us, period. And also saying that Nancy Guthrie is alive and aware of all of this.

So, what's your takeaway from that?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST (on-camera): Yes, John, this is the kind of conundrum at the center of this entire tragedy is, I should say are, because we have three of them, are these letters, these ransom notes demands authentic, meaning did we receive them from the person who actually has custody or control of Nancy Guthrie?

The first level of that vetting, the letter seems to have passed. We're not aware of any facts or mentions of things in those letters that ruled them out, right? They didn't include anything in there that investigators could immediately say, well, this is clearly not real because it's stating things that are not true.

They've passed the second level of vetting because now we know there is at least one detail about placement of the Apple Watch that investigators believe is significant. It's something that someone who wasn't in the house would not have known of.

So that all starts to lean in the direction of this is an authentic man. The problem I have with this is that every kidnapper knows that you cannot get the money, the ransom, unless you've provided proof of life.

So for this person who sent these letters to say, we'll never contact you, we won't negotiate, you won't ever get proof of life. To me, that undermines the credibility of the letters. Now it's still a very unclear situation. And of course, the family wants to play this as conservatively as they can, but they are in an excruciatingly tough position right now in terms of deciding what to do by that deadline on Monday.

BERMAN: Yes. So you almost have to behave as if they are real, no matter whether you're sure or not.

To what extent, Andy, does that explain the new video put out by the family, Camron Guthrie, which was released yesterday, roughly at the same time that the first deadline in one of these purported notes passed?

MCCABE (on-camera): Yes. So, two things there. The first video was hitting on multiple purposes, right? Trying to maybe bolster Nancy Guthrie's confidence and hope, also trying to humanize her in the mind of the kidnappers, but also making a clear request for a proof of life.

What you saw on the video released yesterday is a very narrowing of that message. That video was all about proof of life. We need to hear from you. They're basically saying, we're prepared to do what's necessary, but we need to know. We need to have proof that you have our mother.

So, it was much more direct. It was much less sentimental. It was a very clear communication. It was also timed, I believe, to do something at or about the time of the deadline. So it was something in working these cases, you always hear this phrase, you want to talk through the deadline. If the kidnapper gives you a date certain or a time certain, you want to be interacting in that moment if you're not prepared to make the demand to at least, you know, create the impression that there is forward motion.

BERMAN: That is really interesting. So, no coincidence that that video came out almost exactly at the same time that deadline was passing. You want to be out there talking.

Andy, what about the fact that it was sent? If these notes are real, they were sent to media outlets, not to the family, not to authorities. And also, the idea that that Harvey Levin is out there talking now. To what extent do you think that investigators, law enforcement is -- is OK with that?

[09:10:02]

MCCABE (on-camera): Well, I'm high -- I'm very confident that Harvey Levin has had conversations with the investigators about that.

And so they're either supportive of the comments that he's making, or they've told him, hey, we can't stop you. You have a First Amendment, right? You're journalist, you can say whatever you want.

So, if the -- if the investigators are really concerned that Harvey Levin's comments would -- would hinder or impede the investigation, they likely would have tried to persuade him not to do that.

So, my guess is that they have kind of they have agreed upon or at least told him the sorts of things that won't hurt the investigation. So, I'm sure there's some -- some coordination there.

BERMAN: Yes, it does seem as if he was careful in how he was answering all of those questions. I will say it did shed a lot of light on -- on what at least it is. He has seen if these notes are real.

Andrew McCabe, really appreciate your help on this. We're hoping for a breakthrough today.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Breaking just moments ago, high stakes talks between the United States and Iran concluding this morning in Oman. We're waiting to hear what, if any developments came out of these talks, Iran's state news agency says the negotiations ended with a, quote, willingness to continue. The negotiations were the first since the U.S. bombed Iran's nuclear program last summer.

And they came after President Trump warned that Iran's Supreme Leader should be very worried amid heightened tension since Iran's deadly crackdown on protesters last month that may have ended up killing about 12,000 people.

CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House with the very latest. What are you learning?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Yes, look, I think one of the key things that we're going to be watching for as we begin to get, you know, some level of readout of what happened during this meeting is whether or not they could agree to really what the focus of it was going to be.

That was a key question heading into these talks in Oman today. Sara was one. The U.S. side and the Iranian side had very different views of what they really wanted to be hashing out.

One, of course, we've heard from the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, saying, yes, they wanted to focus on a potential nuclear deal, on a new nuclear deal. But they also wanted to talk about some of what, in his words, Rubio characterized as the support of terrorist organizations in the region, referring to Iran's proxies, but also the mistreatment of the Iranian people, particularly those anti-government protesters in Iran, the ones who President Trump had said really threatened to have military force go in if the Iranian people continued to kill them.

And then from the Iranian side, what they had said is essentially that they wanted this to be limited, these talks, to nuclear discussions. Also, they wanted to discuss sanctions as well.

Look, it's -- this is likely going to be a long road. I know that from my conversations, particularly last summer, after the United States in a dramatic move got involved and bombed a series of Iranian nuclear sites. This is when the talks around considerations for a potential new nuclear deal really began in earnest

I remember I had several conversations with the people in the building behind me, Sara, about Steve Witkoff's role and wanting to see if they could reach some sort of negotiation to prevent further military action. We'll have to see whether or not they believe that diplomacy is really going to be substantial here.

And I'd remind you that the reason we saw the United States actually go in and bomb those nuclear sites came after they had already been negotiating for months before that. And really, the United States trying to get the Iranians to the table on a deal.

Now, all of this comes as we know that the United States is trying to use this massive military buildup in the region as leverage for these talks. We're also going to wait and see whether or not that did go far in the way of having the Iranians be a little bit more convinced to meet them in the middle here.

I will say we did hear the President say that he's expecting to get a readout from Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. Now that these talks have concluded, we'll keep you posted on what we learn.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much. Alayna Treene there live for us from the White House.

All right. Still ahead. More in the search for Nancy Guthrie as her family pleads for her safe return.

We'll hear from the father of Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped from her home and held captive for nine months.

All right. New video out this morning of a Mercedes barreling straight through the doors of an airport terminal. The latest we're hearing this morning about that crash and the person who was responsible for it.

Plus, the shocking letter a father received that summoned his preschooler daughter for jury duty. Oops.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:19:19]

SIDNER: Authorities are working to determine if several ransom notes in the abduction of Nancy Guthrie that were distributed to media outlets are actually legitimate. Her family also made another direct appeal to their mother's kidnapper or kidnappers on social media.

Joining me now is Ed Smart. He is the father of Elizabeth Smart, who you will remember was kidnapped from her home in 2002 when she was just 14 years old and was held captive for nine months.

I see you're trying to adjust the screen there for us, Ed. And we do appreciate you taking the time to talk about this after all that you and your family went through. You're seeing images from the family. You're seeing them send out videos publicly to try and plead with this with this abductor.

[09:20:09]

How impactful are these videos? In your case, you also sent videos. We're still trying to get his signal back.

So, let's go over some of the details of what we have learned and some of the things that have happened throughout. There was a note sent particularly to TMZ and in that note to TMZ, we've been hearing from Harvey Levin, who received the note and who kind of ticks through what is said and there's some information in there that could mean that it is a legitimate note. It talks about a couple of things at the house, including her smartphone and the placement of that smartphone. And if that matches, that could be significant for investigators.

You're also seeing this heartfelt and hard to watch video sent out now from the brother. We heard from Savannah Guthrie, the former NBC Today Show -- OK, we do not -- we do not have Ed Smart right now. He's still trying to adjust things and technology has failed us. But we will get back to him in just a bit.

And this is the video that you're seeing of Nancy Guthrie's son pleading for her safe return and for contact from the abductors.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:25:53]

SIDNER: This morning, the Minnesota Star Tribune reporting that 14 attorneys have either left or announced they will leave the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office this year. Reminder, this is only the first week of February.

The massive departure is unprecedented and it stems from a laundry list of demands on that office from the Department of Justice and the refusal to initiate a civil rights investigation into the killing of Renee Good by an ICE officer. With me now is former Minnesota Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Kelley. Doug, thank you so much for being here.

Look, the U.S. Attorney's Office there is now facing yet another lawsuit from Minnesota on top of the ones brought by the Attorney General. You have inside knowledge of what is happening in the U.S. Attorney's Office now. You say things are breaking down there. Why?

DOUGLAS KELLEY, FMR ASST. U.S. ATTORNEY, MINNESOTA: Well, it's woefully understaffed and it's just overwhelmed with the new cases that have come from the surge. They've got 500 cases of habeas corpus petitions. Those are the things that criminal defense lawyers file if they think their client is unlawfully detained. And those have just swamped the office.

And then in addition, the agents, the ICE agents want to bring a ton of cases against the protesters for assault and other things and people are just swamped in what they're doing. So, the normal complement of attorneys is 70 in the U.S. Attorney's Office and they're down to around 20 now, Sara, and very few in the criminal division and very few in the civil division.

So now, just this week, in front of Judge Jerry Blackwell, they held a hearing about a lot of these cases that are not being --

SIDNER: Yes, that would mean (ph)?

KELLEY: -- that are orders that are not being followed. Now --

SIDNER: Let me go into that because I want to quote from one of the attorneys who volunteered to help ICE out. One of the ICE attorneys who volunteered to come and do some work. And let's talk about what the judge said because it is remarkable and frankly, surprising. That judge, Judge Blackwell, pushed for answers about why the government had failed to immediately release five people who've been determined to have been illegally detained by him during Operation Metro Surge.

And when asked by the judge why the U.S. Attorney's Office keeps violating court orders, one of the attorneys, Julie Le, an ICE attorney who volunteered to help, said, I am not defending it. And then she went on to say, I work days and nights just because people are still in there. The system sucks. This job sucks. And I'm trying every breath that I have so that I can get you what you need.

What does that stark statement tell you about what is going on here and the pressure these attorneys are under?

KELLEY: Well, here she is. She's been in just over a month in the office and she's already overwhelmed. She has 90 cases. And very tellingly, she said that trying to get ICE to give her the information that she can pass on to the judge is like pulling teeth. That was one of her quotes.

ICE is just stalling and not providing the lawyers with the information. And so, the lawyers are the one who gets called into court and are asked to account. And it's really sad because we feel sad for the lady who was there and have her get grilled like that. But by the same token, that means there are five people who are illegally detained.

This is the United States of America. If a judge orders that you should not be in jail, you should be out. And that's this whole system, Sara, I liken it to a three-legged stool. You have the prosecution with the executive branch behind it. You have the defense lawyers and you have the courts. If one of the legs of that stool buckles, the whole stool falls over.

[09:30:11]

And right now, we're just swamped with things. And a number of judges across the country, not just here in Minnesota, have said, this was really incompetently planned because if you're going to have all these cases come in, you should provide the infrastructure, meaning lawyers and teams to be able to handle them, and the Trump administration has not done that.

SIDNER: Yes, we also learned that that attorney Julie Le was then subsequently fired by the DOJ after the conversation that she had with the judge.

Doug Kelley, it is a pleasure to -- to have you, you know the inside and out of what is going on there. And as you say, there are some disturbing developments coming out of the U.S. attorney's office and how it is trying to try cases and unable to because it doesn't have the -- the staff. Appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: So, did the knee hold out? Just a short time ago legend, Lindsay Vonn with a test run at the Winter Olympics after a full rupture of her ACL. We've got the latest reporting on whether she can ski in the actual game.

And there are a lot of excuses out there to get out jury duty, but this might be one of the best. She was just four years old.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)