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New CNN Poll: Democrats' Lead over Trump Narrows; American Diplomat's Wife Charged in Death of British Teen; Washington State Lawmaker Uses Trump's Impeachment as Defense in Domestic Terrorism Case; FISA Court Scrutinizing FBI's Wiretap of Carter Page; TSA Whistleblower Claims U.S. Airports Becoming Unsafe; 25 Jewish Lawmakers Call On Trump To Fire White House Adviser Stephen Miller; Democrats Lead Over Trump Narrows. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired December 21, 2019 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:54]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. All right. We begin with a CNN exclusive as millions of Americans prepared to travel this holiday week. A TSA whistleblower is sounding the alarm about loosened security standards at airports across the country. That whistleblower tells CNN top TSA officials have prioritized speed over safety by taking steps like making metal detectors less sensitive.

All in an effort to make lines shorter. And he warns it's putting airline passengers at risk. Here now is Renee Marsh.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, this TSA whistleblowers coming forward he says because the concerns he's raised over the last couple of years have not been addressed. To put it simply he says the agency is putting speed over security. He says the officers on the front lines are not to blame. These are screening changes that have come from TSA leadership.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: More than 40 million US airline passengers are expected to go through airport security checkpoints this holiday. But this TSA security director says you may not be as safe as you think.

JAY BRAINARD, TSA FEDERAL SECURITY DIRECTOR: What they're doing is injecting danger into the system.

MARSH: Jay Brainard is the top TSA official in his state and has been with the agency for 17 years.

BRAINARD: All right.

MARSH: He says TSA is cutting corners on the screening process to shorten wait times. One example, TSA reduced the sensitivity on all walkthrough metal detectors at airports across America. BRAINARD: They're reducing the concentration of metal that it would take to set off that alarm so that you can speed up lines and have your pad down.

MARSH: How do you know that's why they did it?

BRAINARD: Because there's a memo out that supports it.

MARSH: This TSA memo shows the order came in 2013, "Changing all walk-through metal detector settings in all lanes to the TSA PreCheck setting to normalize the passenger experience." Brainerd says the practice continues today and he worries bomb making components could go undetected.

BRAINARD: You could have a 30-minute wait time and they treat it like it's a national emergency. That is such an unhealthy obsession of placing speed over security.

MARSH: Brainard says that obsession also led the TSA to disable technology on X-ray machines that screen carry-on bags and PreCheck lanes. This internal memo states as of last month, those X-ray machines should be operated without the auto detection algorithm enabled.

BRAINARD: Put simply when the item comes through a box will come around and surround the item. It says hey, stop and take a look at this. That box is no longer on the screen. TSA has made changes to the settings which really hamper the ability of the X-ray operator to detect explosives and carry-on baggage.

MARSH: But TSA will say this is PreCheck?

BRAINARD: They have been putting millions of passengers into TSA PreCheck who are PreCheck. So you do not have an entire population in PreCheck that are vetted.

DAVID PEKOSKE, ADMINISTRATOR, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION: Good morning, everybody.

MARSH: CNN put this to TSA administrator David Pekoske. He said the agency is not prioritizing wait times over security.

PEKOSKE: I won't discuss any of our particular security procedures because that's really not appropriate for me to do. But rest assured that we do provide the level of security that we think is appropriate based on the risk of the passenger.

MARSH: Brainard says the issues he's raised are especially problematic for an agency with a 95 percent failure rate in detecting dangerous items at the checkpoint. That's according to a government audit in 2015. Another audit two years later found there were still vulnerabilities.

BRAINARD: When you sit back and you watch these things happen. It is the most frustrating thing you can imagine. MARSH: Going public is his last resort. He's filed an official whistleblower complaint with the office of special counsel. He sent complaints to DHS, TSA and sent letters to Congress, not just about the metal detectors, but also the X-ray machines, a policy change allowing some passengers with medical devices to do a self pat-down and a new policy called blended lanes where PreCheck and standard passengers are mixed in one line. Something that could confuse screeners.

BRAINARD: They now have to mentally switched themselves on and off about what's permitted, what's not permitted with every other passenger.

[13:05:05]

BRAINARD: You know, the last time I checked our detection rates were not stellar. And it doesn't make any sense to introduce this kind of variable.

MARSH: Last year this special counsel order DHS to investigate Brainard's complaints writing, there is a substantial likelihood that the information provided to OSC discloses gross mismanagement and specific danger to public safety.

BRAINARD: My biggest fear is having something happen that costs American lives, and I didn't step up and put a stop to it, or at least try because it's going to happen. It's not a question of if it's a question of when. We are long overdue for another attack.

MARSH: TSA did take action on one of Brainard's complaints. He says they continue to use an ineffective test to determine if new hires were colorblind, a disqualifying medical condition even after concerns about the test's effectiveness were raised.

BRAINARD: If you had something in a bag and if somebody were colorblind, they wouldn't see the bomb if it were the only thing in the bag.

MARSH: TSA is now using a new test for new hires. But according to this TSA memo, the agency will not finish retesting the existing workforce until the end of next year. Brainard knows despite whistleblower protections, and consistent top ratings on his TSA performance evaluations, speaking out could cost him his job.

BRAINARD: And I fully expect that the first discussion that they're going to have is how they can fire me.

MARSH: But he believes these issues are too urgent to keep quiet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: To be clear, no changes have been made to body scanners that travelers go through. And CNN has reached out to both agencies investigating Brainard's complaints but no comment from either. Now Brainard has secured a whistleblower attorney and in response to the complaints raised in our story, the head of the TSA told me that whistleblowers, "Provide a very valuable service and it's our responsibility to fully investigate those concerns to see if they represent a valid security risk or not." But the TSA says they have not completed their assessment, Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Rene Marsh, thank you so much. All right. Well, joining me now to discuss further on that exclusive reporting CNN transportation analyst, Mary Schiavo. She's also former Inspector General for the Department of Transportation. Good to see you and happy holidays.

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So the whistleblower says it's not a question of if but when an attack would happen. Do you agree with that?

SCHIAVO: Yes. Sadly, the statistics and the history of aviation and attacks on aviation do back him up. Major attacks by terrorists on aviation happen about every 15 to 20 years I can narrow that down, it's actually 18 something when I last crunch the numbers but we are definitely in that timeframe based on history not on inside information, but based on history that we can expect an attempt to be made probably within a very short period of time.

WHITFIELD: Given the kind of information that he just talked about, do you believe airline passengers are at risk?

SCHIAVO: Oh, certainly they're at risk. Whenever you dumb down safety, you're increasing the risk to passengers. And remember to Americans and literally anyone over whose head airplanes fly. And those, you know, it's important to note that those settings on the magnetometers and the bag screening equipment, they weren't set by accident. It's not just somebody decided, well, let's set them on this.

The settings are designed to pick up certain threats, box cutters, knives, bullets, wires, timing devices, and the settings are correlated with what they're supposed to pick up. So when they make a decision to turn the sensitivity down, they are basically acknowledging that they're going to let certain items go through.

WHITFIELD: So the passenger count at the nation's airports, you know, has surged by 15 percent in three years. So wait times only went up, you know, by less than a half a minute. The TSA says that's a result of improvements, like beefed up staff and, you know, a tripling of the number of passengers who pay for PreCheck. But then you heard from the whistleblower who believes the TSA has also reduced wait times by inappropriately relaxing security measures. And who do you believe?

SCHIAVO: Oh, well, unfortunately, unfortunately, I'm sorry. I've say I believe the whistleblower because we all know that aviation and aviation passengers and demand for aviation is on the increase around the world, that should come as no surprise to anyone. The yields on aviation have increased every year since September 11. And they continue to increase. So, being surprised at wait times and saying we're going to reduce wait times by reducing the sensitivity in the screening. It is really -- I mean, I think it's a dereliction of duty, but it's dangerous in the PreCheck lanes. I mean, that's, that's so wrong on many levels because remember, you earn the right to have PreCheck by agreeing to have a background check. And that fits in line with our -- with our whole notion of security which is we devote the level of security to the threat. And so once you go through PreCheck and you have your, you know, your mug shot and your background check you are reduced prep.

[13:10:10]

SCHIAVO: The other people in the line who haven't had that are not a reduced threat. So it basically kind of shoots a hole in the hole multi layered security.

WHITFIELD: Mary Schiavo, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much and have a great holiday season.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, President Trump accepts an invitation by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to deliver the State of the Union Address in February but could it be overshadowed by the impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate? Plus, more than two dozen Jewish lawmakers call for the White House to fire Stephen Miller blasting his support of white supremacist groups. How the White House is responding, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Al right. Welcome back. Today President Trump is at his Mar-a-Lago Resort in Florida for the holidays preparing for his upcoming impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate. And just days after his impeachment in the House, he has accepted an invitation by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to give his annual State of the Union Address on February 4th. A speech which could be overshadowed by his upcoming trial.

The president wants an immediate trial in the U.S. Senate but the timing is up in the air as Democratic and Republican leaders clash over the rules in the Senate.

[13:15:00]

WHITFIELD: Some House Democrats are urging Pelosi to indefinitely hold the articles until Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Senate agrees to hold a fair trial. Some House Democrats are urging Pelosi to indefinitely hold the articles until Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Senate agrees to hold a fair trial.

Joining me right now CNN reporter Marshall Cohen. Marshall, good to see you again. So where do we stand on the setting of a date in the U.S. Senate trial?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Well, we know, it's definitely going to be next year. So there's that. But, you know, it's stuck right now, you know, Democrats, Republicans, they just can't get together on this. Not even talking about the merits of the case or what President Trump did with regards to Ukraine. They're fighting about the rules. How many witnesses are there going to be? Are there even going to be any witnesses?

Can they make a last-ditch attempt to get some records from the White House under subpoena? As you mentioned, the top Republican Mitch McConnell in the Senate has been holding steady and he says that the time for investigation is passed. And the time to hold a quick trial and deal with this issue is now but Nancy Pelosi over in the House, she has maybe one or two cards left to play, they still need to name those house managers.

Those would be the Democratic lawmakers that will be selected to sort of act as the prosecutors over on the Senate side and make the case against the president. Once they name those, then they can send the articles over to the Senate. But they haven't done it yet. And they're trying to see if they can just work that last angle, get some leverage, try to work Mitch McConnell to get what they want, a fair trial.

WHITFIELD: Uh-hmm. If this phase generally takes on average about, you know, two weeks after, you know, an impeachment vote takes place. At what point will the U.S. Senate feel like, you know, too long, long is too long. You know, what, what is really the breaking point, if at all?

COHEN: I mean, I think it's kind of a game of chicken, right? And Mitch McConnell was very clear. He said, look, if you don't want to send them over, that's fine. We don't even think he's guilty. So be my guest. But we'll see with the negotiations continuing, looks like this might run up into the State of the Union in early February with the possibly Senators still deliberating.

WHITFIELD: All right, Marshall Cohen, we'll leave it there for now. Thanks so much.

COHEN: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: A group of Democratic Jewish members of Congress are calling for the dismissal of one of President Trump's top advisors. 25 lawmakers in fact, have sent a letter to the White House urging President Trump to remove senior White House adviser Stephen Miller from the administration. The lawmakers' site leaked e-mails dating back to 2015 that show Miller promoted stories from white nationalist and fringe media organizations.

For more on this let's bring in Sarah Westwood. Sarah, good to see you again. So what more do we know about these accusations and the White House's response and is Stephen Miller, you know, anywhere in the vicinity? While, you know, the Trump family vacations there for the holiday?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Fred, these 25 Democratic Jewish lawmakers are calling on the White House to remove Stephen Miller over those leaked e-mails that came out last month. They were published by the Southern Poverty Law Center and they were leaked by a former Breitbart editor. Those e-mails shed light on the harsh anti-immigration stances that Miller express in private and also the fact that he was sharing content for white nationalist Web sites at the time.

He was working for former Senator Jeff Sessions, and this was before the election. But Congressman Jim Clyburn, he's a member of House Democratic leadership is applauding the effort by these more than two dozen Democrats to put pressure on the White House over Miller. He called Miller who is a top aide to President Trump, his speech writer a cancer on this country. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JIM CLYBURN (D-SC): I'm so glad that many fine people from the Jewish community and now speaking up about Stephen Miller, this guy is really a cancer on this country. Not just this presidency. And the same thing is happening now with the evangelical community, the Christian community I should call it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WESTWOOD: Clyburn is the House of Democratic whip and the 25 lawmakers who wrote the letter to the White House this week also slammed the White House for its initial response to the leaked e- mails. In November, the White House accused those attacking Miller of expressing anti-Semitic views because Miller is Jewish. The 25 lawmakers wrote that the -- accused the White House of weaponizing anti-Semitism for political gain.

Now, Miller has been deeply involved in a lot of the President's most controversial policies, including his immigration agenda. So he has long been a target of ire from progressives. But Fred, there is no indication that he is going anywhere as a result of this latest attempt by Democrats to push him out of this administration.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sarah Westwood, thank you so much in West Palm Beach. All right. Still ahead, Democrats lead over a potential 2020 matchup against President Trump is narrowing.

[13:20:04]

WHITFIELD: Is impeachment weakening Democrats' plans to take back the White House?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. With just 44 days out from the first 2020 Democratic contest in Iowa. A new CNN poll shows the lead Democrats have over Trump is narrowing. Right now former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders are tied in beating Trump in a head-to-head matchup, but not by much. This comes as the U.S. economy earns its highest ratings and almost two decades.

Here to talk this over our CNN political commentators, Jennifer Granholm and Scott Jennings. Good to see you both happy holidays. SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Merry Christmas.

WHITFIELD: Scott, you first. You know, CNN has another poll out this weekend, which shows that margins have tightened in battleground states between Trump and the top four Democrats in the race for the White House. Do you think this case is solely because of the economy or something else?

JENNINGS: Well, I think A lot of things are going on.

[13:25:01]

JENNINGS: Number one, I think the Democratic primary hasn't really helped create a coherent case for the Democrats to defeat Trump. That's number one. Number two, the economic news has been really good. I mean, across the board, you have indicators showing that people all over the country and up and down the demographic cohorts that they track are doing just great. I mean, it's a red hot economy, and that usually helps incumbent presidents.

So, I think a combination of those things has -- is starting to show up in the polling. I think that President Trump has political headwinds. I mean, the gender gap is still a huge thing I would be tracking if I were running his campaign, but he has a lot of the attributes that you would want in an incumbent candidacy going in his direction. Economy, a fractured opposition, and frankly, politically, all the money and resources you'd ever need to win a reelection campaign.

WHITFIELD: Jennifer, is there a fractured opposition? Do you see that to the detriment of Democrats? I mean, the economy may be pretty tough to beat for the Democrats. But is it a fracturing a division within the party? That's another Achilles heel.

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I mean, clearly we're in a primary. So there's going to be differences on the Democratic side. That's natural. I do think that Scott has a really important point that Democrats hair should be on fire on the singularity of messaging regarding how you respond to this economy. Trump should be at 80 percent approval, but he's not.

And the economy is helping him out enormously, even in the incremental increase that he has seen, but he's still underwater. And the reason is, is because even though the stock market is doing great, we've got 45 percent of Americans do not own a single stock, so they aren't feeling it. You have a whole unseen America. At the debate this week, Pete Buttigieg mentioned a statistic which is kind of stunning, which is that somebody working full time making minimum wage in not a single county in America can afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment.

It is -- there are two Americas. There really is an unseen America. And this week when the decision came out from the Texas Court of Appeals which gutted Obamacare, that's another 30 million people who will be affected and this issue of healthcare combined with the economy that is not being helped those issues for Democrats have to be front and center. WHITFIELD: Scott, is there any worry within the party even though, you know, the economy is doing well at the president, you know, has a hard time being disciplined enough to stick to that celebrating the economy and not, you know, injecting himself into other distracting, you know, things or even you know, stirring things up. By, you know, being very critical of the late John Dingell of this week, and that sometimes, you know, he's his own worst enemy.

JENNINGS: Sure, yes. I mean, I'm a political operative by training and I worry about everything and I worry a lot about how those kinds of comments affect the places inside the polling where the President appears to be weakest. I mean, the thing I stare at all the time is the president's approval rating among women versus men. He does fine among men, but he really does -- doesn't do very well among women.

And that's not just white women, that's African Americans, Hispanics, you know, you look across the board, older, younger women do not approve of this president is --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Does he need them to clinch in the election?

JENNINGS: Well, I mean -- right now, I think he has a better than -- I think he has a better than 50 percent chance of being reelected. I sort of look at his numbers and I say, boy, if you could just track, you know, five percent or six percent, better among women. You know, he'd probably be a lot today. I think he's in a competitive race today. And I think he has a better than 50 percent chance of being reelected.

But -- so, when you raise that like the comments about the Dingle situation, which was a really ill-advised thing to do, you know, that does give me concern. But overall, I mean, look, incumbent presidents have a lot of advantages, resources, party unity especially when they're running in a good economy. So, you know, overall, I think his reelection effort is in really good shape.

Of course, there's a softness there with women that they need to work on. But I'm not -- I'm not overly concerned about what I'm seeing from the Democrats right now is having a solid hand to beat the president.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jennifer, what was your responsibility?

GRANHOLM: Women are exhausted. Women are exhausted with this. Women and many men too, and about a lot of independence and women are fed up. They just want to be able to have some normalcy every time they watch the T.V. and people are reporting on what the President has said or done. It's too much. Give us an ability to sleep at night. That's why I think, you know, once we get to a general election, a candidate who will be able to provide some sense of normalcy and unity for the country will be super important as a country.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: But then how do you explain that narrowing gap, then, you know, Jennifer, between, you know --

GRANHOLM: No. I --

WHITFIELD: -- the potential races of a Trump and Bernie Sanders versus, you know, Trump and a -- and Biden?

[13:30:02]

GRANHOLM: I think -- I do think that the narrowing of the gap -- I mean, the president moved up a touch, Democrats moves down a touch. In that one poll, right? In the CNN poll.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

GRANHOLM: I think that, honestly, the general election -- you know, we are so far -- we have no idea of what's going to be hot and what's not. But this of the economy and health care, that was a 2018 issue. It will be front-and-center 2020 issue.

And if the president and his team continue to gut things that real people care about, like cutting five million people off of food stamps, like the cutting of Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act -- he was in Battle Creek, and insulting Debbie Dingell and the memory of John Dingell, but he also said, steel is coming back. Well, the next day U.S. Steel said they were closing a plant in Michigan, 1,500 jobs.

Those real issues are what's going to matter.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now.

Happy holidays to you both.

Jennifer Granholm, Scott Jennings --

GRANHOLM: Same to you all.

WHITFIELD: -- always good to see you both.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Merry Christmas.

WHITFIELD: Merry Christmas.

JENNINGS: Thank you.

GRANHOLM: Merry Christmas.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, the wife of a U.S. diplomat has now been charged in the death of a young man in Britain. She is claiming diplomatic immunity. But could she be indicted to the U.K.? The legal battle, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:35:31]

WHITFIELD: A tense disagreement now between two allies over diplomat's immunity in a criminal matter. U.K. authorities have charged the wife of a U.S. diplomat with causing the death of a British teenager in traffic accident in central England in August.

Anne Sacoolas admits she was on the wrong side of the road when she hit 19-year-old Harry Dunn's motorcycle. But she claimed diplomatic immunity and left the country just weeks after the accident. Well, now British authorities are taking action to get her back.

Here's CNN's Brian Todd

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The wife of a man being described as an American diplomat is being charged with causing death by dangerous driving after a head-on collision which killed British teenager, Harry Dunn.

Dunn was riding his motorcycle in August just outside a military base in England controlled by the U.S. Air Force. Authorities say Anne Sacoolas was driving on the wrong side of the road.

Dunn's parents are relieved with the new charges.

TIM DUNN, FATHER OF HARRY DUNN: We set out for this to happen, for a charge to be brought from the start. And today, we've got what we set out to get.

CHARLOTTE CHARLES, MOTHER OF HARRY DUNN: We feel that we have taken a huge step in the start of achieving the promise to Harry that we made.

TODD: Shortly after the accident, Anne Sacoolas cooperated with British authorities. But then she lawyered up, claimed diplomatic immunity, and three weeks after the accident, she bolted, fleeing Britain for the U.S.

British prosecutors say they'll try to get her extradited. But the State Department says it's disappointed by the decision to charge Anne Sacoolas, that it will not bring a resolution closer.

Sacoolas' lawyer says she extends condolences to the Dunn family, but she won't voluntarily return to Britain. The lawyer says, "This was an accident and a criminal prosecution with a potential penalty of 14 years imprisonment is simply not a proportionate response."

TODD: Key questions tonight, whether Anne Sacoolas is being protected by the U.S. government and could that be because of her husband's job.

Despite the claim that Sacoolas' husband, Jonathan, is a diplomat, CNN has found no indication that he worked at the U.S. embassy in Britain.

The Air Force base near where the accident occurred, Croughton, run by the U.S. Air Force, is not an intelligence base, experts say, but --

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: What it does handle is the communications from intelligence agencies to other parts of the world. It is a main switching center for communications from the continental United States to Europe and the Middle East.

TODD: The Dunn family spokesman says he's been told by sources in Washington what Jonathan Sacoolas does.

RADD SEIGER, DUNN FAMILY SPOKESMAN: We have been told he is a technical intelligence officer. I'm not exactly clear what that is. But they're -- you know, that can be the only connection.

TODD: Aside from statements from their lawyer, CNN has not been able to get comment from Anne or Jonathan Sacoolas.

The CIA and the National Intelligence Director's Office would not comment when we asked if Jonathan Sacoolas works for U.S. intelligence.

The NSA told the "Washington Examiner" he doesn't work for that agency.

(on camera): This case may eventually end up before a U.S. federal judge to decide whether Anne Sacoolas is going to be extradited to Great Britain. Analysts say the U.S. and Britain have had an extradition treaty for more than 100 years. And they say it is exceedingly rare for America to ever deny Britain an extradition request.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So a lot is at stake here.

Let's bring in our legal guys. Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor.

Good to see you. Happy holidays.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman, a criminal defense attorney and law professor.

Good to see you and happy holidays.

RICHARD HERMAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, Fred.

FRIEDMAN: Happy holidays to you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks to both of you.

Avery, you first.

British prosecutors, you know, are now starting these extradition proceedings but the U.S. -- and in the State Department release, you saw in Brian Todd's reporting, that it is very unlikely they will extradite her. What are the circumstances here? How is it and for how long can the U.S. protect someone who is up against charges like this, even with diplomatic immunity?

FRIEDMAN: I think you have a situation, Fredricka, where the United States and the U.K. are parties to the Vienna Convention. They are obligated to comply with extradition.

The difficulty here is that there's a process. Crown Protective Services or Prosecution Services goes to the Home Office, goes to the prime minister. And Robert O'Neil, who is head of the National Security Agency, said that it is not going to be cooperating.

[13:40:09]

So at the end of the day, diplomacy is what is going to be required. There should be a deal cut. But the way the original deal was put is they actually put Mrs. Sacoolas in another room at the White House and basically said, to the bereaved parents of Harry Dunn, guess who we have behind door two, the killer of your son. That is now how you do things.

You use diplomacy. And you try to cut a deal. And I think that is the only way that justice will prevail here.

WHITFIELD: So, Richard, the State Department standing by Sacoolas, responding to the charges saying, in part, "We will continue to look for options for moving forward. We're disappointed by today's announcement and fear it will not bring a resolution closer."

How do you decipher that?

HERMAN: Fred, diplomatic immunity means that you cannot prosecuted criminally or have civil litigation brough against you. It is unqualified. It is absolute. And in this case, it's black and white.

(CROSSTALK)

HERMAN: So they can do all of the diplomacy they want, but there's no way that the United States will waive extradition and return this woman to go to criminal prosecution in the U.K., facing 14 years. It won't.

It is shocking to the system that this immunity exists. It exists. Look, in New York City, they run up hundreds of thousands of parking tickets. It's not the same. It's not on the same level. But it's immunity.

FRIEDMAN: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: You're saying immunity covers any and all things?

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: -- parking tickets.

WHITFIELD: Right. WHITFIELD: Richard?

HERMAN: It covers everything. There's no prosecution here. And Trump said I'm not sending her back. It will never happen.

I'm in Vegas here. John Badge (ph), renowned gambler, gave the odds. It is never happening. They're not sending her back, Fred.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: And what about the issue --

HERMAN: -- closure.

WHITFIELD: What about the issue of --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: about whether or not Jonathan Sacoolas is, if Anne Sacoolas' husband is a diplomat and if they --

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: That is a very important issue.

WHITFIELD: -- issue.

FRIEDMAN: That's a very important issue.

WHITFIELD: Do they have diplomatic --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: -- you know, to start with, et cetera.

FRIEDMAN: He does. But there's also a distinction between working at the American consul as a post rather than a diplomate at a mission. And so those are issues that have to be faced off to.

And I'll tell you, if I'm the family, and I have any sense of doing the righteous thing, you know what Anne Sacoolas did, and she has to be accountable for it.

That is what options means, Fredricka. The idea of deploying diplomacy so you don't have to have these hard and fast rules. And that's what needs to be done.

WHITFIELD: Richard?

HERMAN: Fred, the family needs closure. They need her to say, I'm so sorry and be grieving.

FRIEDMAN: They need more than that.

HERMAN: And that's where it's going to end. It is not going to be more than that because she will not be prosecuted -- (CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: Should be.

HERMAN: No.

FRIEDMAN: Should be. Should be.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard Herman, Avery Friedman, we'll leave it there.

FRIEDMAN: OK.

WHITFIELD: Have a great holiday.

FRIEDMAN: Happy holidays.

HERMAN: Merry Christmas, Fred. Happy holidays.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

HERMAN: You, too, Avery.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes, and that footnote. I like that you talk to each other.

Thank you.

All right, next, a Washington State Republican lawmaker accused of domestic terrorism and now he is refusing to resign.

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[13:47:35]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

A former police officer is indicted on murder charge after killing a woman in her own home in Texas. Bodycam footage shows ex-cop Aaron Dean firing his gun through a window while responding to a welfare check back in October.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON DEAN, FORMER POLICE OFFICER: Put your hands up! Show me your hands!

(GUNFIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Tatiana Jefferson was playing with her 8-year-old nephew at the time of her death. A neighbor called a non-emergency police number for the welfare check after noticing that her door was open late at night. Her family says they are relieved by the indictment but remain cautious that a conviction and appropriate sentence are still a long way away.

A Washington State lawmaker is refusing to leave office despite being accused of taking part in domestic terrorism. Now Republican Matt Shae is using President Trump's impeachment to defend himself following a months-long investigation by his own party.

Here is CNN's Sara Sidner.

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STATE REP. MATT SHEA, (R), WASHINGTON STATE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. This just seeks to put this to a vote of the people.

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a stunning finding, this Washington State Republican lawmaker, who is facing accusations of domestic terrorism against the country he swore to serve. And that is according to an investigation commissioned by the Washington State legislature.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Article one is adopted.

SIDNER: The state rep is using President Trump's impeachment as part of his defense.

The state has now forwarded the report against State House Representative Matt Shea to the FBI and U.S. attorney.

The five-month long probe found Shea participated in an act of domestic terrorism against the United States, engaged in and supported the training of youth and young adults to fight a holy war, and advocated the replacement of U.S. democracy with a theocracy, and the killing of all males who do not agree.

CNN found this video posted of Shea a couple of years ago posted on his Facebook page.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live with Team Rugged here in Washington.

SHEA: Team Rugged is basically a school of learning for young men to give them all the foundational learning and skills that they need to be effective in Christian warfare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: The group of young men seen in the clip explained how they were training with guns but did not say what they meant by Christian warfare.

[13:50:01]

The investigation also cited Shea's engagements with the Bundy family, anti-government activists who called for armed resistance and the takeover of federal lands.

The report lists Shea's militant actions across three states, in 2014 in Bunkerville, Nevada, in 2015 in Priest River, Idaho, and in 2016 in Burns, Oregon.

Shea engaged with "militia members in the planning of the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge." That incident ended with federal and state law enforcement moving in to remove armed militia members and ultimately killing militia member, Robert LeVoy Finicum, after a police chase.

Last night, Shea defended himself in a statement on Facebook saying, in part, "Like we are seeing with our president, this is a sham investigation." He added, "I will not back down. I will not give in. I will not resign."

(on camera): The House Republican leadership has removed Shea from the caucuses and from his ranking positions. They note that he did not take part in the investigation, did not respond to investigators or the report. He also did not return calls from CNN.

Sara Sidner, CNN, Los Angeles.

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WHITFIELD: Still ahead, growing scrutiny after an FBI attorney altered documents leading to wiretapping a key Trump campaign aide. What the courts are demanding from the Justice Department, next.

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[13:55:10]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

An FBI lawyer could be in hot water after making serious mistakes on applications for a wiretap on a key Trump campaign aide. This after a Justice Department watchdog report into what started the Russian investigation in 2016.

CNN's Evan Perez has more on the controversy.

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EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court wants to take a second look at all foreign wiretapping applications from a former FBI lawyer who is now under criminal investigation for altering information in the case of Carter Page.

A recent inspector general report found that Kevin Clinesmith altered a key document that was used in the surveillance warrant targeting Page, a former Trump campaign adviser.

The court, which largely operates in secret, is asking that the FBI and the Justice Department explain what they're doing to verify the accuracy of surveillance requests that Clinesmith was involved in.

A lawyer for Clinesmith did not respond to a request for comment to CNN.

The inspector general found a number of problems in the FBI's handling of the eavesdropping orders. There were 17 instances of inaccuracies or omissions in the Page wiretapping.

Attorney General Bill Barr says that he thinks the FBI is making the appropriate changes to fix these issues.

But some Republican lawmakers, including Senator Lindsey Graham, in recent days have said that they want major changes to the surveillance process. If not, the surveillance court may have to be shut down, they say.

Barr says the surveillance law is important to national security and he says is open to making additional changes that lawmakers may want.

Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

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WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, President Trump demands an immediate trial as lawmakers head home for the holiday. But a standoff between Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell could delay that indefinitely.

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