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Interview with Rep. Ami Bera, D-CA; Trump Rails Against Impeachment; Standoff Over Senate Trial Likely To Last Weeks; Fog, Rain Causing Travel Delays On Christmas Eve. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired December 24, 2019 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
REP. AMI BERA, D-CA: I'd actually probably go the opposite direction if Kim Jong-un does take provocative measures.
[10:30:01]
I think we got to go back and do some joint training with the South Koreans and again say, look, if you're going in this direction, it's the wrong direction.
I applauded the president for taking the chance to give diplomacy an option. We've got to get the North Koreans back to the table.
NOBLES: Okay. So a former aide to Ambassador John Bolton, just spoke to CNN last hour, and I want you to hear what he had to say about his former boss. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK GROOMBRIDGE, FORMER SENIOR POLICY ADVISER TO JOHN BOLTON: He flat out and bluntly said, quote, I actually have a lot to say on the subject. That, by definition, implies that he has information to the Ukraine information and impeachment process more broadly.
He basically implied, I want to discuss what I have to say but I can't do it at this point. That obviously begs the question of if not now, then when. We are at a crucial point in American history and you would think that Ambassador Bolton would want the Senate to have all of the information so that they can make a fully informed and productive decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBLES: I assume, Congressman, you already wanted to hear former Ambassador Bolton, but does this make you want to hear from him even more?
BERA: Absolutely. I mean, I think Ambassador Bolton has relevant information. Secretary Pompeo has relevant information. Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has relevant information. We should want the truth. And, look, none of us is happy that we're at this juncture of potentially impeaching the president and removing him from office, but we ought to get to the truth.
And, again, after those facts, the senators, who are jury, may decide that, yes, the president acted inappropriately but we don't think we ought to remove him from office.
So Senator Jones said he wants to hear the facts. And I think all the senators should hear all the facts.
NOBLES: All right. Congressman Ami Bera, thank you so much for being here, especially on a holiday. Best wishes to you and your family during the holiday season.
BERA: Fantastic. Merry Christmas.
NOBLES: All right. And as millions try to reach their destinations this Christmas Eve, one of the busiest airports in the country is facing numerous delays, while some parts of the country face potentially wicked weather. How will the forecast impact your holiday plans?
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[10:35:00]
NOBLES: With just one week until 2020 begins, CNN's Jean Casarez takes a look at the nine biggest crime stories of this year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A celebrity hoax, a multimillionaire suicide, a college admissions scandal and more gun violence, all part of the top nine crimes and misconduct stories of 2019.
Number nine, in the early hours of January 29th, Empire star Jussie Smollett says he was called a homophobic slur and the N word, then attacked by two men who put a noose around his neck.
JUSSIE SMOLLETT, ACTOR: I see the attacker masked and he said this is MAGA country (BLEEP) punches me right in the face.
CASAREZ: One problem, law enforcement determined it was a hoax.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why would anyone, especially an African-American man used a symbolism of a noose to make false accusations?
CASAREZ: He was charged with felony, disorderly conduct for reporting a fake assault.
In another twist, the state's attorney, Kim Foxx, later dropped all of the charges against the Empire actor.
Number eight, a Mormon family massacred in a remote area of Mexico, ambushed by the gunmen thought to be affiliated with a drug cartel. More than 200 rounds fired at the caravan, killing three women and six children. Several children survived, including 13-year-old Devin Langford who walked more than 14 miles to get help, telling ABC News --
DEVIN LANGFORD, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: It felt real scary and it felt like a lot of bullets. CASAREZ: His father says his surviving children are living miracles.
Number seven, a former Dallas police officer on trial for murder tearily testified she thought she was in her own apartment when she shot and killed her neighbor.
AMBER GUYGER, FORMER DALLAS POLICE OFFICER: I was scared this person inside my apartment was going to hurt me.
CASAREZ: That neighbor, a young black man named Botham Jean. Jean was sitting on his couch when Amber Guyger shot and killed him after mistakenly entering his apartment.
[10:45:03]
The jury didn't buy it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have breaking news out of Dallas, Texas right now. A jury has just found a former Dallas police officer guilty on murder charges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I give her a hug, please?
CASAREZ: But Jean's brother showed the world strength and grace as he hugged Guyger during sentencing. She was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Number six, a 13-year-old girl in rural Wisconsin kidnapped by a man who had been stalking her for weeks. The assailant snatched Jayme Closs from her home in the middle of the night after murdering her parents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suspect has specific intentions to kidnap Jayme.
CASAREZ: 88 days later, on January 10th, Jayme escaped. Wearing only pajamas and her captor's shoes, she approached a neighbor walking her dog.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And when she told me who she was, I have figured she must have left in a hurry.
CASAREZ: The community rejoiced. Jayme was alive.
Jake Patterson was convicted and sentenced to two life terms with the murder of Jayme's parents and 40 years for her kidnapping.
Number five, R&B artist R. Kelly's world came tumbling down this year as criminal charges piled up. He is facing indictments in Illinois, New York and Minnesota on charges that include recruiting women for sex and behind back tapes that purport to show him having sex with underage girls. Kelly has pleaded not guilty and passionately proclaimed his innocence to CBS's Gayle King.
R. KELLY, R&B ARTIST: I didn't do that stuff. This is not me. I am fighting for my (BLEEP) life.
CASAREZ: Kelly's trials in Chicago and New York are set for next year.
Number four, from New York to California, hate crimes hit a 16-year high according to the FBI.
ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: We are following breaking news, reports of a shooting at a synagogue, north of San Diego, California.
CASAREZ: And it's being felt in communities like Poway where a synagogue was targeted by a white teenage gunman on the final day of Passover.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More shots came running right at me.
CASAREZ: Lori Kay, a member of the congregation, lost her life saving others.
In November, a Milwaukee man was charged with a hate crime after allegedly throwing acid on a Hispanic man following a traffic altercation.
MAHUD VILLALAZ, ACID ATTACK VICTIM: And then it started burning really bad.
CASAREZ: Mahud Villalaz suffered burns and scarring. The suspect, Clifton Blackwell, is facing 35 years in prison. He's accused of telling Villalaz a U.S. citizen born in Peru to go back to his country.
Number three --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Power, money, sex and potentially dozens of underage victims.
CASAREZ: Federal prosecutors say behind the scenes multimillionaire Jeffery Epstein ran a sex trafficking enterprise, paying underage girls to have sex with him and other powerful men.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The alleged behavior shocks the conscience.
CASAREZ: After cutting a generous deal with federal prosecutors back in 2008, the investment banker's luck ran out in July.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Arrested on federal charges, Epstein was held without bail.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I brought him up to 75 girls from eighth grade to ninth grade at just school parties.
CASAREZ: However, there will be no trial. Just weeks later, Epstein was found hanging in his jail cell. The medical examiner ruled it a suicide.
A judge gave victims a chance to speak at a hearing after Epstein's death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He continued to rape me. I cried myself to sleep that night.
CASAREZ: Number two, a scam involving some of the country's most prestigious universities exploded into a national scandal after federal prosecutors filed fraud and money laundering charges against 50 people, including actresses Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin and her husband.
The mastermind, William Singer, CEO of a college prep company. He coordinated with parents to either rig standardized test scores or bribed college coaches and officials to accept their children as elite athletes even if they had never played that sport.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Between roughly 2011 and 2018, wealthy parents paid Singer about $25 million in total.
CASAREZ: Some parents pleaded guilty, including Huffman who served 11 days in prison. But 19 parents, including Lori Loughlin, continue to fight the charges.
And the number one crime and misconduct story of 2019, unprecedented gun violence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We begin with two American cities reeling today at a nation devastated, a pair of mass shootings.
[10:45:05]
CASAREZ: From El Paso, Texas to Dayton, Ohio --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The horrific bloodshed taking place in the span of just over 13 hours.
CASAREZ: As El Paso's Walmart filled with shoppers in late August, a lone gunman opening fire with an assault-style weapon.
The 21-year-old suspect told police he was targeting Mexicans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He shot eight more bullets. I counted them because I said one of these is going to be mine.
CASAREZ: 22 people were killed.
And hours later in Dayton, Ohio, another mass shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired. (INAUDIBLE) shots fired.
CASAREZ: Crowds of people run from the shops. Police respond within seconds.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was wearing a body armor and he used .223 caliber high capacity magazine.
CASAREZ: Police said the gunman, who later died, was stopped. Despite their quick action, he was able to kill nine people. In the end, 31 dead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBLES: Well, it is Christmas Eve. Hopefully, I'm not the first person to tell you that. And people are trying to get to their loved ones. But bad weather forcing delays at airports across the country. Your holiday forecast when we come back.
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[10:50:00]
NOBLES: Bad weather is delaying millions of holiday travelers today, fog in the Midwest forcing ground stops in Chicago while rain and snow in the Southwest is slowing things down in Arizona and Utah.
CNN's Allison Chinchar joins me now live from the CNN Weather Center.
Allison, are things expected to clear up?
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: In some areas, yes, and others, not so much. So, really, it just kind of depends on where your travel is expected to be for today. So let's take a look at the map.
Here is what you've got going on. We're finally starting to see an end to that low pressure system across the Southeast, maybe a few lingering showers in Florida for the next couple of hours. But after that, it finally starts to end. We're also starting to see the fog issues that we have in the Midwest also beginning to end.
So from here on out, the main concern really becomes the Western United States, not just today but even on Christmas day. Take a look at this. You've got rain for places like San Francisco and Los Angeles. That will begin tonight and carry all the way through Christmas day.
Rain also expected for cities like Phoenix as well as Tucson, but some snow perhaps in places like Salt Lake City and especially in Flagstaff, they could end up getting an additional two to four inches of fresh snow just in time for a white Christmas.
Otherwise this is where we have snow on the ground as of right now. And likely, this is where it's going to remain tomorrow because not too many places we are expected to see a significant amount of snow from now until that point.
Here is a look at that system out to the west. You've got this one right here located over portions of Arizona, Utah and Denver. And that next system just now starting to sweep along portions of the West Coast bringing more rain chances to places like Seattle and Portland.
But, Ryan, everybody kind of wants to know. So where is Santa right now? Let's take a look. He was last just into Indonesia just a few minutes ago, he is headed towards Singapore. He should be there in just about the next 30 to 40 seconds.
So he is on his way. He has encountered some weather issues in a few places. But, hopefully, for the rest of the folks, it should be pretty nice weather.
NOBLES: 30 to 40 seconds, that's a very fast commute between those two locations, Allison.
CHINCHAR: It is.
NOBLES: That's the magic, I guess. All right, thank you so much and Merry Christmas, Allison.
CHINCHAR: Thanks.
NOBLES: And for the first time in more than 200 years, Christmas services will not be held at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris this year. The landmark was nearly destroyed by a huge fire in April. The cathedral is still closed because of the damage. But midnight mass and Christmas day services will be celebrated at a nearby church.
And tomorrow, Christians around the world celebrates the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Today, the holy city is hosting its annual Christmas celebration with parades, caroling and, of course, midnight mass.
CNN's Oren Liebermann joins us now live from Bethlehem.
Oren, what is it like there?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ryan, the skies are not dark above Bethlehem. It means the city itself is lit. Manger Square right in front of the Church of Nativity, the site in which Jesus Christ was born is now lit up and it is a festive, joyous, vibrant occasion here. There were parades earlier in the day and some of the Christian schools and organizations parade with marching bands through here filling the square behind me here with music, and it has remained festive.
Since then, the square itself behind me filling up, everything leading up to midnight mass, still about six hours away at this point, but the night is getting chilly, a familiar feeling of the faithful who have been here before, the tourists who are coming here.
This year, it's not just the spiritual and religious celebration. It is an economic one as well. The tourism numbers are up, the hotels are booked, the shops are hopefully full, and that all contributes to a successful, vibrant, joyous end of the year here on Christmas Eve.
NOBLES: So, Oren, there is a holy relic that has coming back to Bethlehem after more than a thousand years. Tell us about that remarkable story.
LIEBERMANN: So this is actually an interesting bit that unfolded over the course of the past few weeks. It is a piece of wood believed to be from the major of Jesus Christ. It was removed from this region, from the holy land in the 7th century, spent most of the last thousand years or more in Rome and was returned only three weeks ago in time for Advent and in time for Christmas. That's now inside the Church of the Nativity and will, of course, be there for midnight mass and will be there for the faithful on what is, of course, a very special occasion here and a very special place.
[10:55:08]
NOBLES: Unbelievable. All right, Oren Liebermann in Bethlehem for us tonight. Oren, thank you so much.
And President Trump spent part of this Christmas Eve railing against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and congressional Democrats over impeachment.
I am Ryan Nobles, have a very Merry Christmas. At This Hour with Kate Bolduan starts after this quick break.
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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN AT THIS HOUR: Hello, everyone, I'm Kate Bolduan. Thank you so much for joining me At This Hour.
[11:00:00]
It's becoming something of a holiday tradition. President Trump speaks with troops overseas to thank them for their service and then holds court with reporters.
