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Deadly Shooting At The Naval Air Base In Pensacola, Florida; Democrats Are Back On Capitol Hill; North Korea Claims It Carried Out A Very Important Task This Weekend; Congresswoman Kendra Horn (D-OK) Is Getting Ready To Hold A Town Hall. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired December 08, 2019 - 14:00   ET

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

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone, and thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with breaking news in several major developments today of the deadly shooting at the naval air base in Pensacola, Florida.

First, FBI investigators have not gone so far as to call the incident terrorism but White House national security advisor Robert O'Brien had this to say this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT O'BRIEN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Look. To me, it appears to be a terrorist attack. The FBI will have -- I don't want to prejudge the investigation but it appears that this maybe someone that was radicalized, whether it was here or -- it's unclear if he has got any ties with any other organizations. The Saudis are promised full cooperation with the investigation. We are going to take them at their word.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And now we are hearing from the defense secretary Mark Esper. One or two Saudi nationals who were friends of the gunman filmed the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are reports that several Saudis had been detained and that several of them had been filming the incident. First of all, is that true? And there are some top Florida officials willing to say this was a terrorist plot.

MARK ESPER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Yes. So some were detained, friends of his that were also on that base, as I understand it. And I also was told that some one or two were filming it. What's unclear is were they filming it before it began or did they pick up their phones and film it once they saw as it was unfolding? That may be a distinction with or without a difference but again that is why we need the investigation to playout.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I mean, that would not be a normal response to film once of your colleagues who was shooting Americans.

ESPER: I don't know. I try to pass a judgement at this point in time, you know. Today, people brought their phone and film everything and anything that happens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More than 5,000 foreign nationals are in Pentagon training programs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. The FBI did confirm the gun used in this attack, a Glock .9-millimeter handgun was purchased in Florida by the shooter.

Brynn Gingras is in Pensacola, Florida for us.

So Brynn, what's the next step in the investigation?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. There is a lot to unpack here, Fred. We just had an update from the FBI special agent in-charge on the ground here in Pensacola giving us an update on the investigation.

And essentially, she said the main goal is kind of what you heard the defense secretary talk about there, try to figure if this gunman while he acted alone and was the only shooter, was he alone as we like to say or was he part of a larger network? And of course, this is also going to help sort of determine motive. That right now they say they do not have an answer to. They don't know. They are asking questions about was there any ideology tied to the act that happened here at the naval base on Friday morning.

Now that, again, answers that big question, why hasn't this been declared an act of terrorism. The FBI special agent in-charge essentially said they are going forward with this investigation as a presumption that there could be an act of terrorism that actually allows them to open up some investigative tools and that helps them with this investigation go a little bit faster and broaden it out a bit.

So part of that is going to be doing a lot of interviews, and that they said is really is their next step in this investigation, interviewing people that actually were on the base in that classroom at that time. This gunman's superiors and then also those Saudi nationals.

Now we know from our reporting that Saudi nationals were detained. People close to him, to this gunman. And essentially what they are saying about that is they are being cooperative with this investigation but they are now restricted to this naval base behind me. Not detained, they don't want to use the word detained. They are just restricted to that naval base behind me by their superiors, but they are cooperating with this investigation.

So there is a lot of questions being asked right now. And that's where they say this investigation stands. Now we know from our reporting there is a lot of video out there that you just talked about with the defense secretary. And they really were not commenting on that video saying that, yes, there is video. That is all being investigated, it's all being processed along with other evidence, so really tight-lipped about that.

But of course, we have from "New York Times" reporting that this gunman was looking at mass shooting videos at a dinner party the night before the shooting. And then we know and we have heard about what you just saw, the defense secretary talk about. But unfortunately, we can't get more answers as to that.

One of the other questions, Fred, that they are trying to get answers to is what was this person doing before the shooting, the days, the weeks, the months? And we are learning from our sources that he did go home to Saudi Arabia.

And the question is, was there any sort of radicalization that happened while he was home? We know from our sources that when he returned, according to our sources, that he was described as being a different person. He was more religious and he was not drinking like he usually does. So again, all answers that they are trying to ascertain at this point, Fred.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Brynn Gingras, thank you so much. We will check back with you there in Pensacola.

Nic Robertson is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

So Nic, investigators now looking into the time the gunman spent in Saudi Arabia before coming back to the U.S. this year. What do we know so far?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, Fred, I think the clues of this, facts are hard to come by but the clues are this. Number one, the king has said very clearly that all Saudi security agencies agents should cooperate with United States investigators. The FBI have permanent personnel here in Saudi Arabia.

It would be normal in these situations for the authorities to turn to the family, being the people that are probably closest to this young man. Because he was young, he would have still been relatively close to his family. That would be the understanding here. And try to get answers from his family.

Now I have reached out to Saudi officials here. And literally in the last few minutes while we have been on air since the top of the hour. I had a reply back. What the Saudis tell me is that they do want to provide us with some of those answers specifically about, you know, how precisely is the kingdom helping the FBI, helping the United States in this investigation, what are they doing? I'm being told they want to answer these questions. I don't have the answers yet. But this is where we're at.

It does seem, the impression that I'm getting, is that the Saudis do want to be seem to be cooperating and that seems to indicate behind the scenes that cooperation is going on. Precisely what it is, we still have to find out.

WHITFIELD: And then, Nic, while we have a Saudi investigation saying it looks like a terror attack and the FBI saying it isn't ready to commit to that. If it does turn out to be terror motivated, will that have an impact on U.S. relations with the Saudi kingdom?

ROBERTSON: You know, I think it's inevitable, because some of that relationship is in the public domain. And already Saudi Arabia has a very negative -- it conjures a negative impression in many people's mind around the world, particularly on the issue of terrorism and why, quite simply, 15 of the 9/11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is viewed as being very conservative and pushing a radical Islamist agenda. The king and his son are really trying to change that perception. They are trying to show that the country is going forward and (INAUDIBLE) forward, liberalize some of the laws here, music festivals here, for example. It couldn't happen a few years ago. A huge boxing match this past weekend, just last night, in fact. This is the image they want to project to the country. So it is going to damage in the public domain.

Behind the scenes, if you get the strong cooperation between, you know, intelligence agencies and the cooperation between the United States terrorism services and Saudi officials, then it will seem behind the scenes and this is actually going to be a positive.

But politically, it becomes an even bigger burden for President Trump who is already criticized for the closeness of his relationship with Saudi Arabia, for selling weapons to Saudi Arabia that are used in the civil war in Yemen by the Saudis backing the internationally recognized government there but civilians get killed through those weapons. So it's going to really muddy and make that relationship in the public domain much harder.

WHITFIELD: Nic Robertson, thank you very much in Saudi Arabia.

All right. I want to take a moment now to honor these three victims who were killed in the naval air station in Pensacola.

Joshua Watkins was from a naval aviator student. The 23-year-old was from Coffey, Alabama. The mayor there said his death was a tremendous blow. Watson's brother posted on Facebook about him writing in part, just wish I could talk to him one more time or wrestle with him one more time even though he could probably take me now. Watson's father described the last time he saw his son.

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BENJAMIN WATSON, FATHER OF PENSACOLA SHOOTING VICTIM, JOSHUA WATSON: He and I are both big Auburn fans. We watched the game Saturday together. So we have got that. We got to spend thanksgiving together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Airman apprentice Cameron Walters was 21 years old and was a naval aviator student. He was from Richmond Hill, Georgia and had just graduated from the Navy in November where this picture was taken.

Airman Mohammad Hatham was just 19 years old from St. Petersburg, Florida. His high school principal said he was a perfect kid.

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ERIN SAVAGE, PRINCIPAL, LAKEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL: You always saw a smile. So my initial thought was, oh, wow, seeing him -- I just kept picturing his face with a gunman pointed -- a gunman pointing a gun at him, and just the initial shock and fear. And as a mother, that was what initially took my breath away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: These three young Navy sailors were killed Friday morning. They left behind families, friends and communities who are all now in mourning.

With me now is Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Congresswoman, good to see you. Florida is grieving right now.

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL): Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: You know, what's your message to the community?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: You know, as a Floridian, my heart breaks for our military community, for the family and friends of the deceased. And the military is such an important backbone of our state, and we are very proud of the thousands of veterans and active duty military and reserves that are here in our state.

And so to have this happen is devastating for us. And we need to get to the bottom of what the motivations of the shooters were, and we certainly need to make sure that our President holds the leadership of Saudi Arabia accountable and ensures that there are aggressive investigations done.

WHITFIELD: And what are your thoughts now that the national security adviser Robert O'Brien who said this morning that the shooting appears to be an act of terror, a terrorist act, and that secretary of defense Mark Esper confirmed that one or two of the shooter's friends actually filmed the attack? What are your feelings on this?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: That is very disturbing news. This doesn't appear to be, you know, a lone wolf where one trainee from Saudi Arabia acted alone with a dinner party the night before apparently where they viewed mass shooting videos and then the accusation that two of them, at least, filmed the shootings. He appears to have had accomplices. It suggests, you know, coordination in advance. And you know, it suggests an underlying motive that we have to get to the bottom of.

Again, we have to make sure. I certainly am hopeful that Saudi Arabia is going to be cooperating with the investigation. But this is extremely disturbing. And we have to make sure we take steps to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

WHITFIELD: And how much confidence do you have in Saudi Arabia and its part in any investigation moving forward in company with the U.S.?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: You know, given that the crown prince, we know, likely authorized the murder of a reporter and our administration didn't insist on any accountability with that, I have my doubts. And so, the track record of this recently isn't good. And I know that as a member of the appropriations committee, I want to make sure that we hear from Saudi Arabia that they will be providing their full cooperation to get to the bottom of how this happened.

WHITFIELD: And then what we are learning about, the gun that the shooter had, that it was legally purchased, because he obtained a hunting license which allowed him to legally obtain this gun, what are your thoughts on that method and if there should be any changes or, you know, any new observations on the way in which it could happen?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: The policy on our military bases varies according to the leadership that runs each of those bases. And I think they have to have the flexibility to make decisions about what the firearm policy is.

I think most Americans don't realize that -- because we don't have the overwhelming majority of Americans that have served the military, our military bases are not rampant with firearms. Personal firearms are generally required to be either locked away or not even allowed to be carried by our servicemembers on the base.

So, I mean, I think the policy has to be reviewed, but we can't just blame, you know, the purchase of this gun. I'm concerned, first and foremost, about how a foreign national trainee was allowed to become a trainee and what his background is and his history and whether the review and the screening process failed here.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let me ask you now about the impeachment inquiry. Tomorrow is a potentially significant day. There will be a hearing in the House judiciary committee. Committee chair Jerry Nadler says it will receive House intelligence findings and report. What are you looking to hear at that hearing?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Well, as a member of the oversight committee, I have sat through hours upon hours of private depositions from witnesses who essentially corroborated what the President's own words from the transcript of his conversation with President Zelensky. The President implicated himself when he said to President Zelensky, do us a favor, though. He clearly was trying to extract a commitment to investigate his own political opponent for his personal and political benefit and withheld foreign aid. Again, as an appropriator, it appalling that the President violated

appropriation federal law when it was supposed to be provided to Ukraine withhold needed that assistance, you know, in order to make sure that he could improve his own political prospects by having his opponent investigated by a foreign actor. And that is outrageous and impeachable and we need to move forward.

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WHITFIELD: And oversight is one of the six committees providing information in this entire impeachment inquiry process. And it's unclear, you know, whether the articles of impeachment being drafted will incorporate, you know, Ukraine investigation singularly or if it will also incorporate Mueller findings. Here's what judiciary chairman Nadler said heard about that this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Can we assume that you, as chairman of the judiciary committee, would want to include obstruction of justice going back to Mueller in the investigation?

REP. JERRY NADLER (D), NEW YORK: We have a lot to consider after the presentation of the evidence tomorrow as to what the articles of impeachment should be drafted, how broad they should be and what they should be.

BASH: What do you think?

NADLER: I'm not going to say now before we hear evidence tomorrow, but we will make decisions after that, after tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Do you think findings from both investigations should be incorporated into the articles of impeachment drafts?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: You know, I think that the findings that need to be incorporated into the articles of impeachment draft need to be those that we have the most direct evidence and that are the most chargeable here. We don't need to throw the kitchen sink at this situation.

The evidence is overwhelming. The President abused his power, jeopardized our national security, obstructed Congress, which is certainly an article he can be charged with. I mean, the President is now refusing to participate in this process.

And you know, Fredricka, what came to my mind when I heard that he again refused to participate in his own defense is that, you know, the innocent defend themselves vigorously and vociferously. The guilty hide, obstruct, lie and obfuscate. And so, it's very clear that President Trump is going to cower in the corner because he is absolutely guilty of all of those -- of an abuse of power, of obstructing Congress, of trying to get a foreign power to interfere in our elections for his own personal and political benefit and withheld vital foreign aid that was appropriations law.

And if those aren't impeachable offenses, then as one of the constitutional scholars said last week, nothing is. The founding fathers intended for us to not allow any President to be above the law, and that's what we're proceeding with this week, so that we can make sure that the American people can have confidence in their elected officials that we'll uphold our oath that we swore to defend the constitution which the President has violated.

WHITFIELD: So having said all that, you would vote for impeachment?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: I'm going to wait to see what the articles of impeachment are, you know. That's my responsibility, is to review the things that are put before me that I'm asked to vote on. And so when I see them, I'll make that final decision.

WHITFIELD: All right. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. So the impeachment inquiry moves forward. What we can expect from tomorrow's House judiciary hearing on Capitol Hill.

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back on the eve of another critical impeachment hearing. Democrats are back on Capitol Hill. And sources tell CNN that the judiciary committee could vote to impeach President Trump as soon as this week.

Today, committee members are holding mock hearings behind closed doors in the same room where tomorrow's session will take place. We have learned that the hearing will operate like a trial. House investigators will give opening statements, layout the theories of the case and present evidence against President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NADLER: We have a very lock solid case. I think the case we have if presented before a jury would be a guilty verdict in about three minutes flat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN Congressional Reporter, Lauren Fox is on Capitol Hill. Also with me Karoun Demirjian, a congressional reporter for "The Washington Post" and a CNN analyst. Good to see both of you.

Lauren, you first on this mock hearing taking place and how preparations are underway.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, that is right, Fredricka. There is extensive preparation taking place on Capitol Hill both yesterday and today as members look forward to what is expected to be a big day tomorrow. This, of course, another hearing where we will hear evidence from both the House judiciary counsels and the House intelligence counsels where they will present essentially that 300-page report that they did in the House intelligence committee.

Now, this is a significant week because we could for the first time see articles of impeachment, perhaps voted on in the committee by the end of the week. Here's a sense, though, of how divided the Republicans and Democrats are right now on Capitol Hill even as this gains momentum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NADLER: If we are going to impeach the President, we will impeach him on adequate and urgent grounds to defend our democratic republic.

BASH: And if there is no Republican votes, so be it?

NADLER: It's up to them to decide if they want to be patriots or partisans.

BASH: Any Republican? Will any Republican vote yes?

NADLER: Not based on the facts we've seen so far. In fact, if anything, I think there is more pressure on the Democrats to come along and vote to exonerate the President in the House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And I will tell you, Fredricka, I have been having conversations with moderate Democrats over the last few days. And yes, there is a lot of concern about what will actually be in these articles of impeachment. Of course, a key piece of debate of this has been whether or not they will include anything about the Mueller report in those articles of impeachment.

That's cause for concern for some of those moderates who are running in places where President Donald Trump won in 2016. Their argument is that the focus should remain on this Ukraine investigation, specifically revolving around that July 25th phone call between President Trump and Ukraine's President Zelensky -- Fredricka.

[14:25:09]

WHITFIELD: And Karoun, it sounds like both parties are digging in their heels. It's doubtful whether each side or either side will be swayed one way or another. So how important will it be for Democrats especially to make their case to the American public that the President is deserving of impeachment, that the evidence is there?

KAROUN DEMIRJIAN, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: It's extremely important. It's been extremely important, especially during the course of these public hearings to use that forum to make this public pitch that tells the story, basically, of why they believe what the President did is reprehensible and flies in the face of the constitution. It has to be both a legal pitch and an emotional pitch, too, to appeal to voters so that they don't lose the political argument at the same time as they are making a legal argument on the grounds of the constitution.

I think, though, at this point, as you said, both sides have pretty much dug in and seem to not really be speaking at least in terms of who is in Congress to anybody on the other side of the aisle because people do seem to have taken to their camps so much. But for what people are left in the middle who may be persuadable one way or the other, it's important to make that case now, because once it gets to the Senate, it's not just going to be the lawmakers talking, it's going to be Trump presenting his own defense as well, and that's going to change the way these things are projected.

WHITFIELD: And Karoun, you know, Democrats appear to be split on whether to include the Mueller obstruction, you know, findings on these articles of impeachment. So, you know, does it appear as though they are weighing whether the risks outweigh any real advantages?

DEMIRJIAN: Yes. Think that, look, the speaker decided that she was going to go for impeachment based on the Ukraine narrative and what happened there and based on the President's pattern of obstructing Congress from being able to get information related to this investigation.

If you go to the Mueller report, you are talking about potential obstruction of justice. If you go to the Mueller report, you are also talking about a completely different set of facts that predate everything that came in Ukraine, even though Russia and Ukraine is somewhat related.

I think the difficult push and pull here is that rhetorically Democrats have been making the argument the whole time that the reason this is such concern about the facts that happened in Ukraine, one of the reasons that it's of urgent concern is they believe it's part of a pattern, that the President had foreign interference in the 2016 election and solicited for the 2020 election.

It's difficult to make the argument about this being part f the pattern of behavior if you don't reflect the pattern of behavior in your articles of impeachment. So that is the kind of tension right there. If you want to keep it narrow and focus, you keep everybody on board. But if you want the legal argument to match the rhetorical argument and you don't leave any of that in, you are kind of leaving it on the cutting room floor.

WHITFIELD: All right. Karoun Demirjian and Lauren Fox, we will leave it there for now.

Thank you so much, ladies. Appreciate it.

And this breaking news in the investigation of that deadly shooting at a naval air base in Florida. Defense secretary Esper says Saudi nationals actually filmed the attack. So where does the investigation go from here? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:31:59]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

We are following several major developments in the deadly shooting at the naval air base in Pensacola, Florida. The FBI says it is not yet ready to call the attack terrorism, but the White House national advisor says it appears to be a terrorist attack, I'm quoting him now.

And the defense secretary said one or two of the friends of the gunman, a Saudi international in training at the base, filmed the attack. But, he adds, it's unclear if they filmed it before the attack or if they picked up their phones after the shooting and started rolling on it.

I want to bring in now Paul Cruickshank. He is the editor in-chief of "CTC Sentinel" and a CNN terrorism analyst and Matthew Rosenberg is an investigative correspondent for "The New York Times" and a CNN security analyst.

Good to see both of you.

All right. So Paul, you first. You know, we have heard from the President and investigators that the Saudis are cooperating with this investigation. What does that mean in your view in terms of Saudi Arabia assisting in any investigation that the U.S. is conducting?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, he is a member of the Saudi armed services. And so they will have much insight into his movements, his character, his ideology, what he did on that trip back to Saudi Arabia before he came back in February 2019 --

WHITFIELD: How forthright should anybody expect Saudi Arabia to be in its information?

CRUICKSHANK: I think historically there's been very strong intelligence cooperation between the Saudis and the United States. There have been frustrations at certain times in the relationship. There was some frustrations, for example, during the Bush administration. But generally there has been very good cooperation between the Saudis and the United States. I think it's in everybody's interest for the facts to emerge about this attack.

WHITFIELD: And then what's your view, Paul, on the defense secretary saying that one or two friends of the gunman may have videotaped this? Still unclear whether it's before, you know, during or after.

CRUICKSHANK: I don't think we need to wait for more public confirmation on this, especially from the FBI. The FBI's special agent in-charge said that there had been no arrests made in that case. So if there had been something as far as in terms of this filming, wouldn't you have expected there to be an arrest?

I think it's quite possible that this filming took place because, like so many young people do these days, when there is an incident, a lot of police activity, people take out their phones and start filming. I don't think it is yet publicly established that there was any nefarious intent. So I think we need to be very, very careful about thinking there was some kind of wider conspiracy. So far it's my understanding the facts just suggest there was one person involved in this attack.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, Matthew, even though, you know, on tape the defense secretary said one or two, but again, you know, there still remains some fluidity here.

So Matthew, we are talking three days after the shooting. And still some hesitation or reframe from actually it, labeling this a terror attack or otherwise. Is that unusual in your view?

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MATTHEW ROSENBERG, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: I mean, look. I don't know what the FBI knows here. I do know that the President's reactions seem to be to defend the Saudis, you know. He said they were torn up. I think his exact words were something to that extent. They were really upset about this.

And I think, you know, we also have to kind of deal -- wrestle with the idea that there doesn't need to be a conspiracy by Al-Qaeda or another militant group. That there are larger population in places like Saudi Arabia and other parts of the world that have come to inhabit the narrative put out by Al-Qaeda, ISIS and others as the west being an enemy.

And that, you know, we saw this in Afghanistan when there was real problem with the insider attacks by troops of the Afghans. It wasn't the Taliban planned them. It is that, you know, the people who carried out many of this attack saw the world how they have seen it and decided to attack.

Maybe the case here. We don't know but it does raise real questions. It does raise real question about where our government stands, and that's the problem with defending the Saudis is that you kind of raise doubt on what is going to the U.S. government here as well.

WHITFIELD: And Paul, of course there will be evaluations of, you know, the actions of the gunman before this shooting. And apparently in reviews this gunman did return to Saudi Arabia before coming back to the U.S., continuing on with this training. There is a report that he may have tweeted out anti-American sentiments before the attack. Could he have been radicalized between the time that he was vetted for this role, vetted by Saudi Arabia, and I'm sure also the U.S. military, for him to train in the states. Could radicalization have been happened between that point and the shooting?

CRUICKSHANK: I think that's possible. And one of the things we have been looking into is the fact there is a twitter account matching his name just a few minutes before those first 911 calls started coming in, posted a message to the American people, a manifesto, talking about the so-called crimes of Americans against Muslims, repurposing the words of Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki, the American terrorist cleric who inspired so many attacks in the west.

What authorities have not commented on is whether they believe that this twitter thread, this posting, was actually put out by the gunman in the attack. But if it was, it would be quite strong evidence for radicalization and for Al-Qaeda inspiration in this attack given the fact that this author of this twitter account repurposed the words of bin Laden, the Saudi founder of Al-Qaeda.

WHITFIELD: All right. Paul Cruickshank, Matthew Rosenberg, good to see you both. Thank you very much.

ROSENBERG: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: How about some inspiration now? We will have a look at CNN heroes coming up. Tonight is the big night. Join Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa live as they name the 2019 CNN Hero of the Year. "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" tonight on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:42:38]

WHITFIELD: New today, North Korea claim it carried out a quote "very important task" this weekend. And while it's unclear what North Korean officials are talking about, this reported test happened at this satellite launching facility in a very rural part of North Korea. Officials there say the test results will change the strategic position of Kim Jong-un's reclusive regime.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is at the White House for us.

So Jeremy, remember a few days ago North Korea sent a strange warning, saying they will send a Christmas gift to the United States. So is there any correlation here?

JEREMEY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, this does not appear to be that gift that North Korea was talking about. But it could, Fred, potentially pave the way for that, quote-unquote "Christmas gift" that North Korea ominously warned about some days ago.

A few days ago CNN obtained satellite imagery that showed that at this very same satellite launched site appeared North Korea was preparing to test engines that are use to propel satellite launchers and ICBMs, intercontinental ballistic missiles.

And so that is the concern, is that the Christmas gift North Korea has warned about could potentially be the intercontinental ballistic missile. That would be the first test of a long-range missile by North Korea since November of 2017. And of course, it comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea with the recent top North Korean diplomat recently saying that denuclearization was off the table.

The President, though, for his part seemed to strike a semi-hopeful note yesterday in front of the White House. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will see about North Korea. I would be surprised if North Korea acted hostilely. I have a very good relationship with Kim Jong-un. I think we both want to keep it that way. He knows I have an election coming up. I don't think he wants to interfere with that, but we'll have to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: Now, we are seeing the President kind of play a carrot and stick rule once again with North Korea. We saw him issue a tweet this morning warning essentially that North Korea has everything to lose if indeed it does turn again toward hostility, toward these tests that North Korea has vowed not to undertake as it pursues this diplomacy with the United States.

But you also see the President there saying that Kim Jong-un is smart and that he would not want to jeopardize the special relationship that Kim Jong-un and President Trump has built over these two years of diplomacy.

But we should note, Fred, those years of diplomacy have not rendered any concrete, verifiable steps by North Korea towards denuclearization. That is of course the top concern among North Korea experts and among top U.S. officials as well. And so we will see how North Korea proceeds and whether, indeed, that Christmas gift from North Korea is potentially the launch of a long-range missile later this year -- Fred.

[14:45:24]

WHITFIELD: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much at the White House.

And we will be right back.

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[14:49:30]

WHITFIELD: All right. The impeachment battle in Washington has some lawmakers in battleground districts facing tough decisions in discussing how to protect their majority in the House. Congresswoman Kendra Horn is one of 31 Democrats who represent districts President Trump won in 2016.

CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us from Oklahoma city where congresswoman Horn is getting ready to hold a town hall.

So Polo, how do her constituents feeling about this whole impeachment push?

[14:50:03]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, and that's really what it's all about, right? Because you have these congressmen and women who are coming from red regions here. However, the big question here, do they essentially please their fellow Democrats in their ongoing efforts to impeach President Trump. But at the same time they still have to come back to their bright red districts, these Democratic lawmakers.

And as you mentioned, representative Kendra Horn, one of them, we expect to hear from her behind me in the coming hours for one of her town halls. So while we wait we wanted to sort of take the temperature of members of her constituencies. So why not go to the national reigning horse association annual championship, right. This is as Oklahoma as it gets as what many of these folks were participating and describe as.

This is their Kentucky derby when horsemen and women come together to showcase their talents on the arena floor. Judges taking a close look at their action. But at the same time, we also found many people in the audience who are making observations of their own. And that is exactly how representative Horn is not only what she's saying when it comes to impeachment, but also how she may or may not vote when it comes to impeaching President Trump. So this is what one of her constituents had to say and really the tightrope she's walking right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NELIA COOK, OKLAHOMA VOTER: The impeachment inquiry kind of upped the ante and that's going to make it even harder for her to try and, you know, make people happy and kind of understand, you know where she is coming from and kind of be fair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So when you hear from her but then you also hear from somebody else who also had the opportunity to speak to Doug Mulholland which is also somebody who has participated in these kinds of events before. And he feels that impeachment is more being fueled by feelings versus facts. So you are getting a lot of mixed reaction here, ultimately. We will have to see how the representative addresses this. Will she continue to be a bit measured in her reaction? We will have to see when she actually addresses her constituents later today.

WHITFIELD: All right. We look forward to that. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

All right. Next, "SNL,"" "Saturday Night Live" takes on a NATO summit. And you have got to see this one.

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[14:55:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. Time to laugh a little, find a little levity.

"Saturday Night Live" putting their own spin on one of the week's most watched moments, President Trump's appearance at the NATO summit. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what, you guys really are jerks, OK? You are all two-faced, and I'm not getting impeached. It's all a sham.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, speaking of faces, I heard that you can't get impeached if your hand is bigger than your face.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

All right. We have got more straight ahead after this quick break.

But first, the final presidential debate of the year is coming to CNN. It's a critical night for the candidates still trying to break through. The PBS NewsHour/"Politico" Democratic Presidential debate live from Los Angeles. Watch it on CNN and your local station. Coverage starts 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Thursday night, December 19th.