Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Today: Suspect To Appear In PA Court, Expected To Waive Extradition; Suspect Could Be Returned To Idaho Within 72 Hours Of Today's Hearing; Soon: FL. Gov. Ron DeSantis To Be Sworn In For A Second Term; McCarthy Faces Make-Or-Break Moment In Bid For House Speaker. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired January 03, 2023 - 10:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:33:04]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Just a few hours from now, Bryan Kohberger, the suspect, accused of brutally killing four Idaho college students, he's set to make his first court appearance in Pennsylvania, where he is expected to waive extradition to Idaho. Prosecutors there have charged him with four counts of murder and felony burglary.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: CNN Correspondent Jean Casarez, she's outside the courthouse where this will take place in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. So, Jean, how do we expect things to play out today.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think we're going to see a, no cameras in the courtroom. I will be in the courtroom, so I will come out and I'll tell you everything. But it's going to be a short proceeding. It's going to be a very formal proceeding here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. But it's also a very important proceeding.

I want to tell you, there is an increase even from the last hour of police presence here in -- around the courthouse. All the streets are blocked off. You've got the Pennsylvania State Police. You have the local Stroudsburg police, because the defendant himself is going to be entering, brought to this courthouse and has to enter through one of the doors.

Now, there's only four sides to this courthouse, so I just sort of feel an anticipation building because the hearing is not until this afternoon, but they have holding areas in this courthouse that he can be held in until the proceeding begins. But the whole point is that under the law, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania must surrender him if he agrees to then the other state where there are charges awaiting him, of course, that is Idaho.

And so, the judge is going to want to talk with him. The judge is going to want to hear from him that he is Bryan Christopher Kohberger. The judge is going to ask him some other questions, apprise him of the charges. His attorney will speak also, and the prosecutor of court, which is representing the state of Idaho in a sense, will also weigh in as far as that extradition is appropriate. We don't see any issues. His attorney has told us he will waive extradition to get back to Idaho, but this is the first step to then up to 72 hours later, that's how long they have to get him back to that originating state for those four homicide charges. Jim?

[10:35:18]

HILL: Jean Casarez with the latest for us this morning. Jean, thank you.

SCIUTTO: All right, so what does this all mean? To talk about this now Areva Martin, she's CNN Legal Analyst, Civil Rights Attorney. Areva, good to have you on this morning.

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Jim.

SCIUTTO: So, first of all, he is not challenging his return to the state of Idaho for next steps in this case. Does that surprise you? And are there any differences with how this will then progress there as to how it might have progressed had it stayed in Pennsylvania, at least for now?

MARTIN: No surprises, Jim, particularly when you look at the statements that his attorney has made. His attorney has stated that he's neither denied or admitted the charges, but yet he has said that he is anxious to go back to Idaho to face the charges because he believes he will be exonerated.

Somewhat of an unusual statement coming from an attorney given the seriousness of these charges --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MARTIN: -- but apparently, Kohberger believes that he can exonerate himself.

HILL: Areva, I think back to the beginning of this when police had said this was an isolated, targeted attack. Could those statements come into play at all in this case, and if so, how?

MARTIN: I think they're very important statements because we haven't seen what the sealed affidavit says --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MARTIN: -- about the evidence that the police have. We've heard some rumors about there being DNA evidence that links Kohberger to these crimes. Also, there's the issue of the car, this white Hyundai Elantra that apparently was seen at the scene of the murders. And it's the same car that he used with his father to drive from Pennsylvania to Washington.

Unusual that someone would use a car to commit such a horrific crime and then take what appeared to be a casual drive from one state to the other state.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MARTIN: So, interesting to see what that evidence says about whether this was a targeted attack, and if so, who was being targeted.

SCIUTTO: So now we will or at least may get a look at this affidavit as he gets back to Idaho here with the prospect that it's being unsealed. How much information is typically in a document like that in terms of the evidence that investigators already have?

MARTIN: Well, I think we're going to learn a lot more, Jim, because that affidavit had to provide sufficient information in order for there to be the warrant that was issued for his arrest and for the hold that we're seeing taking place in Pennsylvania. So there has to be some evidence that links him to this crime.

And then we have to keep in mind that once he gets back to Idaho, he's going to be arraigned. He's going to have to answer before a judge in Idaho -- to the charges and the prosecutor is going to have to lay out some evidence that will allow this court to hold him over, to hold him, presumably without bail, given the seriousness of these crimes.

So we're going to have to learn a lot more than what has been told so far to the media as it relates to how is he assessing. His family said that they were completely shocked by the arrest as well as Kohberger himself, apparently through his attorney has stated that he was surprised.

So we have two very different stories being painted, one by the prosecutors that they have all the evidence that links him to the murder, but yet the family and Kohberger himself speaking through the lawyer saying that he will be exonerated.

SCIUTTO: Goodness. So many questions still to be answered. We look to learning more information. Areva Martin, thanks so much.

MARTIN: Thanks, Jim. Thanks, Erica.

HILL: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis about to take the oath of office for his second term as governor. The festivities could be a showcase for his presidential ambitions. We're going to take you live to Tallahassee next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:43:39]

HILL: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis begins his second term in office today, but the political world is focused more on --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: -- what's possibly next for him in the form of a potential 2024 presidential bid.

SCIUTTO: A lot of talk. I'm sure he's aware of it. CNN's Jeff Zeleny joins me now -- joins us now from Tallahassee. Jeff, the theme of the inauguration is the free state of Florida. Sounds like a national campaign message perhaps for 2024. I mean, is this an audition?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, there's no doubt this is certainly being seen as an audition.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

ZELENY: We're just, of course, beginning the calendar year 2023, but all eyes are on Tallahassee, at least until that speakers race in a couple of hours on Ron DeSantis. Of course, he was reelected by an overwhelming margin, about 20 percentage points, the biggest margin here in four decades in the once competitive state of Florida.

But certainly, his inauguration and his speech afterward is going to be closely watched by other Republicans. Is he going to embrace and double down on the occulture wars that really have made him so popular inside his party? Or is he going to give more of a broader national message or a mix of both?

Aides I'm talking to say that the governor says he feels no rush to announce a presidential bid. That will not happen today. Any announcement, of course, is expected to come after the Florida legislative session, which is in May or June.

[10:45:01]

But you can be certain that all other potential Republican candidates are watching this today, because there's no doubt that Governor DeSantis in the -- how he handled COVID-19 and really pushed back against government restrictions, talking about freedom in schools and businesses is -- you know, has been one of the anthems of his campaign.

Many donors are here, many officials, some former Florida governors are here as well. I'm told Jeb Bush will be here. So this is certainly a big moment for the state, a big moment for Governor Ron DeSantis. The question is, of course, another Florida resident Donald Trump is the only announced candidate in this race. He has a rivalry with Governor DeSantis.

The Trump name is not being mentioned here by people I talked to. So certainly interesting, as we begin this New Year, think about the next and where Governor Ron DeSantis fits into that. Jim and Erica?

HILL: Yes, interesting. I will say in upstate New York over the weekend, I saw a gentleman with a t-shirt that said Ron DeSantis 2024, Make America Florida. So we'll see.

Jeff Zeleny, appreciate it.

ZELENY: There you go.

HILL: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, the actor Jeremy Renner is in an ICU recovering from two surgeries after he was injured in a snowplowing accident. We're going to bring the latest coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:38]

SCIUTTO: Update from Capitol Hill, Representative Scott Perry giving an update on negotiations. Let's listen in.

REP. SCOTT PERRY (R), PENNSYLVANIA: -- accept the status quo. We have been able to force, to force some rules changes to make things better. Even so, even so, we gave out -- and look, we've been working on this since last summer. I worked personally on it since last summer when I went to the leader and said, I anticipate this moment.

We would like to avoid this moment. So let's start working on all these issues right now. Issues that will work for the American people. Because the American people don't care who the speaker is. The American people care that they're paying $5 for a dozen eggs. They care that they can't afford their energy bills.

They care about a wide-open border and rampant crime in their communities. They don't care about this. So how are we going to fix this if we keep doing the same things and getting the same outcomes? So, in the summertime, we were rebuffed. I went back in the fall, not really interested in talking.

Once we get a very slim majority after we were told there was going to be this huge red wave, well, then the conversation got a little interesting. But even so, even so, what do you want? What do you want? We said, you're the guy that wants to be speaker. Tell us if you want to earn our vote, how we're going to transform this place so that there's a different outcome for the American people.

Tell us how you're going to do that. Yet nothing. So finally, he said, put something down. I want to know what you want. So we did in the beginning of December. And even at that point, even at that point, there were people that said, I will not vote for Kevin McCarthy. But yet I'm still working to try and avoid this moment that we're at right now. The whole time. The whole time.

And so that's one question you should ask yourself. Instead of saying to these folks that are standing with me, why have you brought us to this point? Well, we surely haven't come here alone. There's one person that could have changed all this. All right?

So, we send the letter, you see the letter, you see what's in it, and we start working on some things in trueness and fairness, some things, I think on the Jermaine-ness and single subject, I think we got to a decent place. But it was like pulling teeth and it took three weeks.

And none of the other stuff was being worked on during that period of time. And some of the big issues for people, the rules that hold the speaker, the most powerful person on this side of the building accountable, that Thomas Jefferson wrote, that stood for over 200 years, that speakers from Democrat to Republican during Civil War, World War, pandemic, close majorities, large majorities.

Somehow whatever Thomas Jefferson wrote is not good enough now. Is not good enough now.

HILL: Listening to Representative Scott Perry there of Pennsylvania who just came out. Manu Raju is with us. Manu, no shortage of drama this morning as expected. We saw this in a statement from Congressman Perry earlier today, but basically saying, look, we've been trying to work on things.

Kevin McCarthy hasn't really been here until the 11th hour. What more are you hearing out of this meeting? Doesn't sound like -- certainly this mind wasn't changed, what we're hearing right there.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kevin McCarthy has a serious math problem as we head into this consequential vote that will elect next speaker and the House cannot govern until the next speaker. And a number of conservatives who are planning to oppose him are indicating they have not changed.

Bob Good, a Congressman, just came out, told me nothing has changed. Andy Biggs, who's putting himself as an alternative to Kevin McCarthy to siphon up away enough votes to deny him, the necessary 218 become speaker, indicated that he is still running. Matt Rosendale, another one of those hardline members, said that McCarthy has lied about some of the concessions that he has made behind closed doors.

And also Chip Roy, got in -- who's a Congressman from Texas, got into an extended and heated back and forth with Kevin McCarthy about some of those concessions that McCarthy has made. Now, you just heard from Congressman Scott Perry. He's another one of those members who have been skeptical, indicating he's going to vote no. Sounds like he is still --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

RAJU: -- going to vote no. He also with Kevin McCarthy got into an intense back and forth. There was a lot of raised voices, I am told. This happened through the course of the past two hours where McCarthy said that he has earned this job. He said that he has made --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

RAJU: -- these concessions. He signaled he has done negotiating. Some of his allies have threatened recourse for these members, all of which points to a big problem -- math.

[10:55:03]

Kevin McCarthy needs 218 votes --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

RAJU: -- to become elected speaker. He doesn't have it yet.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Lauren Boebert speaking there at CNN's reporting. She used the word BS to respond to McCarthy speech. There's going to be more to come.

Manu Raju, thanks so much.

HILL: Thanks all of you for joining us today. I'm Erica Hill.

SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim Sciutto. "AT THIS HOUR" with Kate Bolduan starts right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. At this hour, an NFL player is in critical condition at a Cincinnati hospital.