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Jan. 6 Panel Approves Criminal Referrals For Trump; Putin Makes A Rare Trip To Belarus; Panel Recommends Four Criminal Charges Against Trump. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired December 20, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:21]

LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Laila Harrak. Just to head on CNN NEWSROOM. Trump's legal woes deepened with lawmakers recommending criminal charges against the former president for his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. We'll break down where things go from here.

Putin's mission to Minsk. Why the Russian president's visit to Belarus is raising fears he could drag Moscow's closest ally into his war on Ukraine.

And a hero's welcome for Argentina's national team now back in Buenos Aires and ready to celebrate their World Cup victory.

ANNOUNCER: From CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Laila Harrak.

HARRAK: We begin with an unprecedented move from the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection in Washington. Recommending criminal charges against former President Donald Trump. The panel says there's evidence of at least four crimes, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement and aiding or assisting an insurrection.

The Justice Department now has to decide if it will file charges on their final hearing committee members focused on Trump's direct involvement in a scheme to overturn the 2020 election. Paving the way for the violence at the U.S. Capitol in 2021. While Trump's campaign calls the committee's work a partisan witch hunt. We get details now from CNN political correspondent Sara Murray.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The House Select Committee investigating January 6 convening publicly won last time.

BENNIE THOMPSON, JANUARY 6th SELECT COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: He lost the 2020 election and knew it. In the end, he summoned a mob to Washington and knowingly they were on and angry, pointed them to the Capitol and told them to fight like hell. MURRAY: And laying out its case that former President Donald Trump was ultimately responsible for the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): No man who would behave that way at that moment in time, can ever serve in any position of authority in our nation again. He is unfit for any office.

MURRAY: The committee referring for crimes to the Justice Department that they say the former president committed while trying to stay in the White House.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): We believe that the evidence described by my colleagues today and assembled throughout our hearings, warrants a criminal referral of former President Donald J. Trump.

MURRAY: Including assisting or aiding an insurrection, conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to make false statements. It believes there is sufficient evidence for two others. Conspiracy to injure or impede an officer and seditious conspiracy. The panel also referring attorney and Trump ally, John Eastman to DOJ but saying DOJ will have to determine who else should face prosecution.

RASKIN: Now, our understanding of the role of many individuals may be incomplete even today, because they refuse to answer our questions. We trust that the Department of Justice, we'll be able to form a far more complete picture.

MURRAY: Republican lawmakers who snubbed committee subpoenas referred to the House Ethics Committee.

After 17 months of investigating and roughly 1000 witness interviews, the committee determined that Trump knew the fraud allegations he was pushing were false, but continued to amplify them anyway.

ZOE LOFGREN, JANUARY 6TH SELEC COMMITTEE DEMOCRAT: The committee has evidence that ex-President Trump planned to declare victory and unlawfully to call for the vote counting to stop and that he told numerous allies about his intent in the weeks before the election.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hope (INAUDIBLE)

MURRAY: Even some of Trump's closest allies like Hope Hicks worried the bogus fraud claims are damaging his legacy, Trump persisted.

HOPE HICKS, FORMER TRUMP AIDE: He said something along the lines of, you know, nobody will care about my legacy. If I lose. So, that won't matter. The only thing that matters is winning.

MURRAY: Trump worked on a scheme to transmit false Electoral College ballots and replace Department of Justice leadership with one that would do his bidding, even pressuring his own vice president.

REP. PETE AGUILAR (D-CA): President Trump spearheaded an unprecedented campaign to coerce him to do it anyway, ultimately culminating in a dangerous threat to Mr. Pence's life on January 6th. [02:05:06]

MURRAY: The committee also highlighting Trump's $250 million fundraising haul between the election and January 6th. Raised primarily off claims of election fraud that did not exist. Questioning whether any of the money was used to pay lawyers who may have tried to obstruct the congressional investigation. And evidence from one unnamed witness who was urged to stay loyal to Trump.

LOFGREN: Witness believed this was an effort to affect her testimony, and we are concerned that these efforts may have been a strategy to prevent the committee from finding the truth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: Now, Donald Trump's campaign is already pushing back on what the committee had to say in their public meeting on Monday. They called the committee's events show trials by Never-Trump partisans even though the committee is made up of both republicans and democrats. We also got a response from an attorney for John Eastman, who said in his statement, a criminal referral from a congressional committee is not binding on the Department of Justice and carries no more legal weight than a referral from any American citizen.

Sara Murray, CNN on Capitol Hill.

HARRAK: Areva Martin is a civil rights attorney and CNN legal analyst, and she joins me now from Los Angeles. So good to have you with us. This is such an extraordinary moment. Legally what do these referrals mean for former President Trump?

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Laila, we know that these referrals are not binding on the Department of Justice and that it will make its own determination about whether to indict Trump on any of the referrals that have been made. But these referrals are significant. This is the combination of 17 months of investigation by a congressional body. And the amount of evidence that has been amassed by this body is enormous.

So, it's hard to believe that the Department of Justice could in any way ignore these referrals or not act upon them. And we do know that the Department of Justice has already begun its own investigation of Donald Trump related to the January 6 insurrection. So, this is historic. We've never seen a former president have these kinds of charges referred to the Department of Justice.

So, as much as Trump and team tries to dismiss what the congressional committee has done. This is monumental.

HARRAK: Monumental, what charged should he most worry about?

MARTIN: Well, the inciting of the insurrection that that charge, very serious charge, Laila, because the remedy for that is the inability to run for public office, the inability to represent the United States government. And we know that that is -- that's one of the important -- one of the important four charges that have been brought against Donald Trump. And he has announced that he is running for president again.

And if there is an indictment and a conviction on that incitement charge, he would be barred from serving as president of the United States.

HARRAK: Now, it's up to the Department of Justice, as you rightly point out to decide if they want to pursue this matter. I mean, will they take up the charges? We don't know that yet. But when will we know? Is there a timeline when they will make their decision public?

MARTIN: There is no official timeline that has been announced by the Department of Justice. And as we have seen and former investigations involving Donald Trump and other defendants, potential defendants, we're not likely to get a readout from the Department of Justice with respect to where their investigation is. But we do know that this is -- investigation has been going on for quite some time. And there are some predictions that we may see indictments as early as the spring of next year.

HARRAK: Any other government entities that the committee is considering making referrals to?

MARTIN: There's talk about ethics, the ethics commission also -- ethics committee being --referral being made to them because of these allegations. And it's important to note. Laila, too that the Mar-a- Lago, the charges that Donald Trump removed confidential documents from the White House and took them to his private residence and refused to return them even after a subpoena was issued those charges, those potential charges of that investigation is ongoing.

So, this is not the only matter in which we know the Department of Justice is investigating Donald Trump or so in addition to these referrals, these referrals that were made by the committee today, that Mar-a-Lago case continues as well. So, Donald Trump's legal jeopardy continues to grow.

HARRAK: Now, Mr. Trump has repeatedly dismissed the committee as a partisan witch hunt. How much do these allegations accusations and the risk of looking political weigh on the DOJ as a legal entity and whether it moves forward when it comes to these referrals? How do you see it?

MARTIN: And I think we can't dismiss the fact that this Department of Justice under Merrick Garland has been very methodical and has tried its best to separate the legal issues from the political issues.

[02:10:12]

But the reality is whether Donald Trump is indicted or not indicted, there will be some who will make accusations that the decision is made as a result of politics and that as a result of the legal issues. But it's hard to believe that given the amount of evidence that has been amassed the number of witnesses that have come forward, the additional evidence that is revealed in this executive summary, the 17 points that are outlined in this 150-page are so executive summary that the Department of Justice could ignore this amount of evidence without sending a message that Donald Trump is somehow above the law.

And we know that a special prosecutor has been appointed and in some ways Merrick Garland, that was his way of saying, you know, is shielding the Department of Justice from those kinds of attacks about it being a partisan hack or some kind of political hit job on Donald Trump. So, I don't think Donald Trump's efforts to dismiss either these -- the committee's referrals or the actions of the Department of Justice will -- in the edge shield him from what is likely to be pretty serious indictments.

HARRAK: And some final thoughts for you in a few words, if you can, we're in uncharted territory. I mean, that's how we started this conversation. You pointed that out. What's the legal threshold for prosecuting a former president?

MARTIN: Well, obviously the Department of Justice has to be able to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt. There's -- the issue here of whether Donald Trump knew or should have known and whether he was acting intentionally, but I think, again, from the amount of evidence that has come forward, he knew at the time that he continued to perpetrate the big lie that it was a big lie, that there was no election fraud and that he had lost the election.

So, all of his efforts to overthrow the legitimate will of the people I think, again, establishes that he's in serious legal jeopardy.

HARRAK: Areva Martin, thank you so much for your time.

MARTIN: Thank you.

HARRAK: Ukraine's energy infrastructure has again come under attack from drones launched by Russia. Strikes were reported across the country, but many of those drones were aimed at Ukraine's capital, where critical facility was hit. Ukraine says most of the drones were shot down including several in the Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Well, to the south of Kyiv, video showed damage to a private home.

And one official says several areas were left without power. Across Ukraine, emergency power outages were introduced Monday following the latest Russian assaults. Well now, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the call for more air defense is even coming from Ukrainian children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): On St. Nicholas Day today, according to the eastern write, a little Russian terrorists gave a gift to Ukrainian children of new strikes.

Ukrainian children in their letters to St. Nicholas are asking for air defense, for weapons, for victory, a victory for them, a victory for all Ukrainians. They understand everything our children, let us act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: While European Union energy ministers have now agreed to a gas price cap and an effort to curb soaring energy prices, they would set off emergency pricing if gas prices crossed $190 per megawatt hour. Well, for three straight working days. While the cap is the latest measure to try and tackle an energy crisis sparked by Russia's war on Ukraine and made worse after Moscow reduced gas deliveries.

According to state media, the Kremlin called the deal unacceptable, saying it violates market pricing. Here is that one E.U. official reacted to the agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KADRI SIMSON, EUROPEAN COMMISSIOER FOR ENERGY: While it is important that we have today agreed to limit excessive gas prices, it is equally important that we can now move forward with making joint purchases of gas a reality. We can move forward and accelerate permitting. We can create a new complementary LNG benchmark and we can reinforce our energy solidarity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Well, meanwhile, Russia's President made a rare trip to Belarus on Monday. Well, during that visit Vladimir Putin vowed closer cooperation with his key military ally as he held talks with his counterpart Alexander Lukashenko. He said Russia's military is conducting exercises in Belarus and also said Russia is training Belarusian air force pilots to fly jets capable of carrying a "special warhead."

Well, CNN's Clare Sebastian is tracking all the developments for you and joins us now live from London. Clare, Ukraine is deeply concerned think that there might be a joint ground offensive by Russia and Belarus in the making. Do we know more, was anything said after that bilateral meeting?

[02:15:10]

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there was no specific mention of any future plans that could involve Belarus, Laila. I mentioned really from the two leaders of the word Ukraine. But there were those dropping of hints that talk of military cooperation, present, as you say, confirming that there were Russian military exercises going on on Belarusian soil, talk of training Belarusian pilots on jets equipped with what they called Special Warheads which can only really mean nuclear.

And all this talk of security cooperation, of economic cooperation between the two sides. Also led to a question of what Russia's intentions are when it comes to Belarus. A country over which it already holds significant sway whether it intends to go further and even take control of that country. Have a listen to what President Putin had to say on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): Those unscrupulous outside critics either don't understand what they're talking about, or they say it on purpose. Misleading people who don't know much about the topic. It is not about absorption. It is about the coordination of economic policy. Just as it's done by many other integration associations. Everything else is superficial, nonsense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: It's clear the two countries do need each other. Russia has supported by the Russian President Alexander Lukashenko when he had to deal with widespread protests against his rule, and Russia needs Belarus in this war because it's -- of its strategic position. If nothing else, that part of the invasion in February was launched from Belarusian soil. And of course, that is an immediate concern to Ukraine which we know is beefing up security on its northern border.

This may have been a visit, Laila, designed to rattle Ukraine and keep up even sort of the specter of a potential attack over that border.

HARRAK: And on a related note, E.U. were -- the E.U. agreed on a gas price cap. What kind of impact will it have?

SEBASTIAN: It's not exactly clear yet what kind of impact it will have. It was set at -- as you say 180 euros, $190 per megawatt hour which is much less than they had previously been discussing. But overall, that is still above what gas prices are right now in Europe. Some way above. The idea was -- is to sort of stabilize the market, prevent those destabilizing price spikes that we saw over the summer.

But there are a lot of caveats, a lot of conditions and there are concerns that this kind of control over market prices could have a destabilizing effect overall. As you noted, the Kremlin has called this unacceptable and said that it interferes with the market. But it's not going to have that much impact on Russia. One because as I said, it's above where gas prices are currently trading.

And two, because Russia's gas deliveries, Gazprom recently said to non-CIS countries, to countries outside the former Soviet Union are down 45 percent so far this year largely because of their own decisions to cut off gas to various countries. So not too much impact on Russia as of yet. We don't know exactly how they will respond to this.

HARRAK: Clare Sebastiana reporting. Thank you so much for your continued coverage.

Still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, British court upholds the U.K.'s controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. We'll explain how the policy will work.

And the party is rocking in Argentina where the World Cup champions are getting a hero's welcome. We'll show you what the homecoming looked like in Buenos Aires just ahead.

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[02:20:48] HARRAK: Now, for the first time in 36 years, Argentina's football team has returned home as the World Cup champion. And tens of thousands of people have turned out to cheer their heroes. Now players have been making their way to the team's training site in an open top bus. They'll spend the night there before the official celebration gets underway later today.

Well, earlier, the players got off their plane in Buenos Aires with the trophy in hand. The country has declared a national holiday today. It's the third title for Argentina and the first for their superstar Leonel Messi.

Well, for more on the celebration, Stefano Pozzebon has this report from Buenos Aires.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): What we're expecting is just another explosion of collective joy and celebration for the historic triumph for this team. Argentina is a country that breathes football like no other around the world perhaps. And the really now celebrating the third time they won the FIFA World Cup has been a moment of celebration that has not stopped frankly here in Buenos Aires since the moment where Argentina did manage to get that final penalty.

Through the net, we're seeing that people are celebrating late, until very late on Sunday or early on Monday. And even now on the streets of Buenos Aires, there are still people outside celebrating. The image of Lionel Messi and his teammates are painted on the -- on the sides of these (INAUDIBLE) plane from the Argentinian flag carrier Aerolineas Argentinas that just landed in Buenos Aires.

But also, those images are on most of the screens and commercial screens and projections around the city of Buenos Aires. It's really a team that managed to capture the spirit of this nation to embody the whole spirit of the -- of the country, of 45 million Argentinians in the middle of a deep economic crisis, with polarization -- political polarization, I'm referring to, found the reason to be proud of being Argentina, found the reason to be together. All together the entire people proud of being Argentina.

HARRAK: While in Paris, the French team also received a hero's welcome after its stellar performance in the final.

The players watch from a balcony as a crowd of thousands gathered to cheer them on. Fans were waving flags, setting off fireworks and chanting the names of their favorite stars. They said despite coming up short against Argentina, their effort was worthy of a celebration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I really wish we won, it's sad but at soccer, at the same time, it was a superb match. We got off to a bad start, we reacted afterwards with of course Mbappe, we are knocked out, but satisfied to have fought well through the competition to have never given up. We will get over it in the days to come and everything will be fine. It's almost Christmas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Britain's High Court has upheld the U.K.'s plan to deport many refugees to Rwanda for processing. The arrangement has been highly controversial since it was announced back in April. CNN's Nada Bashir reports from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice over): Another life lost in Britain's icy waters. Another reminder of the dangers faced by migrants attempting to cross the English Channel from Northern France.

As many as 40,000 migrants have braved the dangerous crossings since the beginning of this year alone. Now the government is doubling down on its plan to tackle illegal migration.

[02:25:01]

RISHI SUNAK, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: When legal proceedings conclude on our migration and economic development partnership, we will restart the first flight to Rwanda.

BASHIR: It was an 11th-hour legal intervention which grounded the first deportation flight in June. Now, after months of deliberation, High Court judges in London have ruled that the policy is in fact lawful. Despite fierce criticism from lawyers and refugee advocacy groups.

SOPHIE LUCAS, LAWYER FOR CLAIMANETS: There are serious concerns around the functioning of the asylum system in Rwanda, as well as serious concerns about political freedom of expression.

BASHIR: Under the government scheme, thousands of migrants arriving in the U.K. illegally could be deported to Rwanda to have their asylum claims heard there.

Among them is Yousef (ph), a Syrian refugee whose name we have changed to protect his identity. He was one of more than 100 asylum seekers due to be deported to Rwanda in June.

YOUSEF, SYRIAN ASYLUM SEEKER (through translator): I want to live in peace in the U.K., to work and build a future here for my wife and son. It just breaks my heart, there is no future for my son in Syria.

BASHIR (voice-over): Yousef (ph) says he fled his war-torn hometown of Daraa in Syria in 2017, leaving behind his family in hope of building a new life for them overseas.

Yousef's (ph) journey took him from Syria to Lebanon, and then onwards to Libya, where he says he was detained for eight months before fleeing to Europe.

YOUSEF (through translator): We were given very little food or water. They would beat us, torture us. Then, after I left Libya, I traveled across the sea to Italy. It was a very difficult journey.

We were stuck at sea for about three days. One more day, and I think we would have died.

BASHIR (voice-over): Like many refugees, Youssef (ph) then travelled to Calais (ph) in Northern France where he spent weeks living in a squalid refugee camp waiting to be smuggled on a small boat to the U.K. It's this very crossing that the government is now clamping down on, despite widespread concern over how effective and how ethical the Rwanda deportation deal really is.

COLIN YEO, IMMIGRATION LAWYER: There's no evidence that it's putting anybody else. We were talking about people who have fled really serious problems, civil wars, massive human rights abuses in their own countries.

BASHIR (voice-over): While the High Court has now ruled in favor of the government. The court has also ruled that all potential deportation cases must now be considered on an individual basis. And campaign groups say they are still considering all legal options to appeal the judgment. But for those fleeing some of the worst hardships imaginable, the prospects of being turned away is almost too much to bear.

YOUSEF: Id they send me to Rwanda then it's over for me. After all the struggles are faced and long journey, I've taken to reach this point will be devastating. I would kill myself.

Nada Bashir, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: And Canada officials at the U.N.'s Cop 15 Conference have reached a landmark deal. They hope it will stave off human caused mass extinction and save Earth's biodiversity. It's been called a 30 by 30 deal from one of its goals to protect 30 percent of the planet by the year 2030. More than 190 countries have signed on to the sweeping agreement. It lays out 23 targets including a pledge to phase out or reform $500 billion of subsidies that are harmful to nature. The U.N. Secretary General hailed the deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETRAY GENERAL: Delegates at the Cop 15 U.N. biodiversity conference in Montreal, agreed on a new global diversity framework. We are finally starting to forge a peace pact with nature. This framework is an important step for determined diplomacy. And I urge all countries to deliver.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Well, all that sounds good on paper but the deal is legally non-binding. The Democratic Republic of Congo has said that it can't support the agreement, complaining it was rushed through without the right process. Just ahead. The January 6 Committee wrapped up its historic investigation. We'll tell you how former President Trump is responding to its unprecedented findings. Plus, the U.S. Supreme Court allows a Trump-era immigration policy to stay in place for now. But still some border officials say they're gearing up for a massive influx of migrants.

[02:30:00]

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HARRAK: Now, for a recap of our top story, the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th insurrection is recommending four criminal charges against Former U.S. President, Donald Trump. The Committee held its final public meeting on Monday to publish the executive summary of its report and wind down its business before disbanding. Here's how one Democrat made the case for charging Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): Ours is not a system of justice where foot soldiers go to jail and the masterminds and ringleaders get a free pass. We believe that the evidence described by my colleagues today, and assembled throughout our hearings, warrants a criminal referral of Former President Donald J Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Well, the Committee says Trump should face charges of obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make a false statement, and aiding or assisting an insurrection. Well, it didn't take long for the Trump camp to respond to those criminal referrals issued by the Committee.

However, there is a distance of opinion on the matter between the former president and his advisers. Kristen Holmes has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Former President Trump responded to those criminal referrals by the House to the Department of Justice, saying on truth social that these folks don't get it, that when you come after me, people who love freedom rally around me. And he added, that what doesn't kill me makes me stronger.

Now, President Trump -- or Former President Trump has routinely referred to any sort of legal peril, any investigations before he was an office as a witch hunt, as a hoax. And he is correct in that many of these instances, including the impeachment, including even as recently as this summer, the search of his Mar-a-Lago home have galvanized his base and caused Republicans to rally around him. But advisers that I have spoken to say, they are concerned that that is not what is going to happen here, particularly after Former President Trump launched that 2024 presidential bid.

We have seen donors and Republican voters moving further and further away from President Trump, essentially saying they don't want to deal with his "baggage." Now, his advisers are concerned that this is just going to add to that baggage. Now, this again comes as former president is launching his third campaign, we are expecting him to start campaigning on the ground in early next year. But it remains to be seen whether or not he still has that support from his base as we move forward. Kristen Holmes, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: U.S. President Joe Biden met with Ecuador's president Monday to discuss efforts to stem the flow of migrants to the United States. Mr. Biden says both countries have made historic strides on migration, and the leaders pledge to uphold their country's respect for human rights.

[02:35:00]

They're meeting comes as a Trump era emigration policy known as Title 42 has been allowed to stay in place for now. A ruling by Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts has blocked a lower court decision to end the policy, after more than a dozen Republican led states fought the Biden administration to keep it in place.

Well, now, the Biden administration and the ACLU representing families challenging Title 42 will have to file their response to the Supreme Court ruling by Tuesday evening. While Title 42 is actually part of a U.S. law that deals broadly with public health and social welfare issues. It allows the federal government to take emergency action to keep contagious diseases out of the country. But the policy had rarely been used before then President Donald Trump implemented in March of 2020.

It's since been extended multiple times, including by the Biden administration, back in April. The CDC said that order was no longer needed with COVID cases on the decline. But still, the policy has remained in place.

Well, meantime, border cities like El Paso, Texas are preparing for a surge of migrants if Title 42 is lifted. Officials say an emergency operation center has been activated to coordinate response efforts to ensure the community remains safe. CNN'S Rosa Flores has more from another border town, Brownsville, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm in Brownsville, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley, and what I've noticed that the Supreme Court decision to keep Title 42 in place has done is really bring down the temperature of the anxiety on both sides of the border. Now, on the other side of the border is Matamoros, Mexico. We have video of thousands of people who are camped out on that side.

Here, on the U.S. side, there's been a lot of anxiety by both city officials and nonprofit organizations who serve migrants and welcome migrants into this country because they were worried that a huge spike in migrants entering the country could make it difficult for them to meet their demands. They, of course, have limited capacity.

Now, what this means on the border, when it comes to operations, is that border patrol agents will be able to continue to do what they've been doing since March of 2020, and that is to return migrants back to Mexico very swiftly without legal consequences. But you've got to give this a reality check for the states that we're asking the Supreme Court to keep this in place.

If you actually look at the data, since earlier this year, the United States has really been able to use Title 42 less and less. Why? Because the demographics of the migrants who are coming to the border has changed. Before, when the migrants who were coming to the border were from Mexico and Central America. The U.S. government was able to apply Title 42 very swiftly because Mexico would take those migrants back.

However, a few months ago, the demographics changed. The U.S. government actually said that the surge was being driven by migrants from Nicaragua, from Cuba and from Venezuela. And Mexico was not taking them back. And because the U.S. government has fostered relations with these countries, the U.S. government couldn't deport them back either. And so, they had to take them in.

Now, in regards to the news, this latest news from the Supreme Court that Title 42 is still in place, I was able to talk to some migrants who are in Matamoros, Mexico in those camps, and from that drone video that you're about to see. And what these migrants tell me is that they are happy, they are joyous, why? Because they want to come into the U.S. legally. And they say that that's the sentiment in Matamoros right now, because there have been so many exceptions to Title 42 that have been granted by the United States, and what all that means is that the U.S. government has allowed migrants to come to the port of entry that you see behind me and also a handful of other ports of entry and seek asylum, asked to be processed by federal authorities, and that has been done thousands of times. Thousands of migrants have been able to do that in the past few months.

And so, the migrants that I was able to speak to said that they want Title 42 in place so they can enter the country under an exception to Title 42. But again, the latest news and the reaction that we're seeing here on the ground is that it has dropped the temperature of the anxiety here on the border.

Rosa Flores, CNN, Brownsville, Texas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: And we are learning more about the gunman who shot and killed five people in the suburb of Toronto, Canada over the weekend. Authorities say the shooter killed by police was 73-year-old Francesco Villi. Reuters citing Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail says court document show the gunman has a history of confrontations with his condo board.

[02:40:00] And police say three of his victims were condo board members. They say at a news conference on Monday, a motive was still under investigation.

And we want to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of one of her own. CNN Senior Investigative Correspondent, Drew Griffin. He died Saturday after a battle with cancer. Anderson Cooper looks now at the incredible legacy Drew leaves behind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST (voiceover): During his nearly two decades at CNN, Drew Griffin was known for his tenacious reporting.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Are you worried you will be indicted before the election, sir?

COOPER (voiceover): His interviews were unwavering.

GRIFFIN: I don't think you really understand how votes are cast, collected, and tabulated in this country.

COOPER (voiceover): And he gave a voice to those who didn't have one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't expect it to be easy. We don't expect the truth to be easy.

COOPER (voiceover): Drew was a gifted storyteller, dedicated to seeking the truth, and holding the powerful accountable.

GRIFFIN: Why do you continue to push that the lie the 2020 election was stolen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not a lie.

GRIFFIN: It's a lie, you have no proof. So, we've look at the facts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You haven't -- I'll tell you what --

GRIFFIN: You don't have the facts.

COOPER (voiceover): And Drew's stories had real world impact.

GRIFFIN: Well, if Uber doesn't release the number of drivers who are accused of sexual assault, so CNN decided to count it up ourselves.

COOPER (voiceover): After CNN questioned Uber about a string of sexual excellence by a driver's, the company made major safety changes to its app, and revised its policies.

GRIFFIN: Excellent reporting, thanks to you and your team.

COOPER (voiceover): Drew exposed serious issues VA hospitals across the country, revealing a broken system, veterans dying while waiting for care. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This particular veteran was screaming, please, do whatever you can, don't let the VA do this to another patient, or another veteran. We do not deserve this type of treatment.

COOPER (voiceover): That led to the resignation of the VA secretary and an overhaul of the VA scheduling system.

GRIFFIN: Gas here in --

COOPER (voiceover): The covered business and terrorism, the environment, and politics.

GRIFFIN: Mr. Birch. Mr. Birch --

COOPER (voiceover): And there were many people over the years who did not want to answer his questions.

COOPER (voiceover): Please talk to us, director. Director Helman?

Did the background checks of those companies not reveal the fact that you are accused of torture, and murder?

Do you know, Alex Firgman (ph), a convicted felon, who, apparently, runs one of these clinics and has been billing the State of California for several years despite the fact there have been complaints?

COOPER (voiceover): Drew won most of journalism's big awards, but that's not what motivated him. He cared about people, and how they were impacted.

GRIFFIN: Get out, dude.

COOPER (on camera): While he covering the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, he ended up rescuing a man from floodwaters.

GRIFFIN: No, don't go backwards. All right. Sir, are you all right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

GRIFFIN: All right. Hold on, hold on.

COOPER (on camera): His job as a correspondent took him all across the country.

GRIFFIN: It wasn't that long ago these wild pointy grasslands were just that, wild. Now, almost everywhere you look it is a gas rig.

COOPER (voiceover): And to different parts of the world. But his favorite place was home. He was deeply devoted to his family, his wife, Margot, and his three children, Ela, Louis, and Miles, as well as two grandchildren.

Drew Griffin will be missed by all of us.

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HARRAK: A Los Angeles jury has found disgraced former movie producer, Harvey Weinstein, guilty of three sexual assault charges, including rape. But he was acquitted of another charge and the jury couldn't reach a verdict on three others. There were four accusers in all, including the wife of California's governor. CNN's Natasha Chen reports.

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NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The jury found Weinstein guilty of the three counts that were related to the first Jane Doe accuser. Now, this case involved four women accusing him of rape and sexual assault charges for a total of seven counts to which he pleaded not guilty. But, again, the jury only found him guilty on those three counts related to the same accuser.

For the second accuser, and the fourth accuser, the jury could not come to a decision and those were declared mistrial. For the third accuser, the jury found him not guilty on that sexual assault charge. Now, the fourth accuser, over the course of the trial was identified as Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and the wife of California governor, Gavin Newsom.

The attorney for Jennifer Siebel Newsom released a statement saying in part, well, we would have preferred that those jurors had found them guilty in all counts, we understand that it was a complex trial made more difficult by the defense team's argument that a woman who was assaulted must forgo her chosen career or be accused of consent after the fact. That attorney also said that, you never know how politics may play into things, regarding her client's marriage to the California governor.

The attorney for Harvey Weinstein also released a statement, specifically referring to this first accuser where he was found guilty on those three counts. The attorney said, Harvey is obviously disappointed. However, hopefully, because with this particular accuser, there's good ground to appeal based on time and location of alleged events. He is grateful the jury took their time to deliberate on the other counts, and he is prepared to continue fighting for his innocence.

Now, this Los Angeles jury deliberated for 41 hours that is far longer than the jury deliberated in New York and his New York trial where he was convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison. He is appealing that case. And so, what happens in this case becomes very interesting now with these three guilty counts he could be facing up to 24 years in prison on this trial. And the jury is supposed to reconvene tomorrow to hear more arguments about the sentencing and guidelines. Back to you.

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HARRAK: The former head of the cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, has agreed to extradition from the Bahamas to the U.S. But it comes after a difficult back and forth between his legal team and prosecutors in Bahamas. CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more from reporting from Nassau.

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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bahamian prosecutors say they come on Monday to the courthouse behind me expecting to finalize an extradition agreement that would allow Sam Bankman-Fried to leave the Bahamas, essentially end his fight against extradition and go to the United States where he is facing federal charges for his alleged role in the meltdown of the FTX crypto organization and trading house.

That did not take place as very quickly in the hearing on Monday. Prosecutors and Bankman-Fried's local attorneys faced off. There was finger-pointing and accusations. The local attorneys said that he had not been insulted, not been part of this agreement that apparently reached, apparently, according to prosecutors, with Bankman-Fried's U.S. attorneys. There were accusations throughout the hearing. And eventually, judge allowed at Sam Bankman-Fried's own request a call to take place between his local attorney and U.S. attorneys to try to work whatever differences have occurred.

Shortly thereafter within minutes, we saw Bankman-Fried be taken away under heavy guard back to the prison where he is currently being held. Some of his U.S. representatives said that he had been eager to leave the Bahamas and face his charges -- against some charges that can lead if he is convicted over 100 years in jail.

And one of the reasons behind that change in his legal strategy is that he is incarcerated at the moment at a prison in the Bahamas, that according to the State Department and human rights groups, is really unfit for prisoners. There's not enough space, not enough beds infested with maggots and rats, and it's a violent place.

[02:50:00]

And certainly, one could understand why a billionaire, a former billionaire like Bankman-Fried would want not to spend any more time there. But as the x-rays -- as the extradition negotiations have broken down here, it appears that he will be staying in the Bahamas behind bars for some time longer.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Nassau, the Bahamas.

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HARRAK: Nothing but silence so far from Elon Musk after Twitter users voted to oust him as head of the social media platform. The chief twit, as he calls himself, said he'd abide by the poll he created asking if he should step down. With more than 17 million votes cast, 57 percent said yes, he should. 43 percent said, no.

Well, in less than two months as Twitter's boss, Musk has courted controversy with every move, including mass layoffs, botched feature role offs, silencing journalists and reinstating previously banned accounts. His antics have even affected his other company, Tesla, which had its stock downgraded on Monday.

The maker of the hit video game, Fortnite, will pay over half a billion dollars to settle allegations that it misled millions of its players. The Federal Trade Commission fined Epic Games $275 million for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. The agency accused the company of gathering personal information of minors without the verifiable consent of their parents. The FTC says it's the largest fine it has ever in imposed for rule that enforces. Epic also agreed to refund $245 million to players who were misled into making unintended purchases.

Still ahead, it wasn't Grinch, it was a real-life thief. A woman caught going through Christmas presents under the tree in Robert De Niro's house. Stay with us.

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HARRAK: A good lesson for the holidays, a Grinch is no match for a good fella. Police in New York have arrested a woman they say was caught stealing presents from under Robert De Niro's Christmas tree. She allegedly broke into the actor's home early Monday while he was there with his daughter, though they never encountered the alleged thief, law enforcement source tells CNN the attempted burglary is a consequence of New York's recent bail reforms, which is putting many low-level offenders back on the streets quickly.

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JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: So, it's 2:45 in the morning. This is what I would usually be on the way home. The 19th Precinct specialty anti-crime unit, the public safety unit, is driving around. And they see a woman who seems to be checking the doors of commercial places. And they say, is that Shanice? Because she's supposed to be in jail. She's a known burglar in the precinct. They keep her under surveillance.

And she goes down some stairs into kind of a town house and doesn't come out. When they follow up and look down the stairs, they see there's a forced entry, the windows broken, the doors open. And there, amidst all the presents and an iPad and other things, is one of the most prolific burglars in the precinct who has broken in. So, they take or into custody.

[02:55:00]

Robert De Niro upstairs. He's asleep. He doesn't know anything about this until the police wake him up, and he hears all this activity. There's other people at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Well, the 70 nine-year-old De Niro known for classic films like "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull," and "Meet the Parents" was OK after the incident.

The Bank of England has unveiled new pound notes featuring King Charles III. His portrait will appear on the five, 10, 20 and 50 pound notes. They're expected to enter circulation it mid-2024. They'll only be printed to replace worn out bills and to meet any increase in demand. And they'll be in use along with notes featuring his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II. The bank says Charles is only the second British monarch to appear on pound notes.

And that wraps up this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Laila Harrak. I'll be back with more news after a short break. They keep it here.

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