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Biden Team Finds More Classified Documents at Second Location; Murder Suspect's Neighbor Says He Asked About Idaho Killings; Corrupt File Caused FAA Ground Stop, Massive Delays. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired January 12, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour now this Thursday, I'm Jim Sciutto.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Erica Hill.

Any moment now, President Biden set to speak about the economy. This, of course, is in the heels of new data this morning which shows inflation on a downward slope. We're going to bring you those remarks live. We're also, of course, watching to see if the president will make any comment or answer any questions about his legal team discovering another batch of classified documents.

SCIUTTO: The White House has yet to address this latest news. Republicans certainly have plenty to say. We're going to discuss both the legal and political ramifications facing the administration now.

Plus, in the next hour, the man accused of killing four Idaho college students will make his second court appearance. It comes as a neighbor reveals what the suspect allegedly said about the killings just before he was arrested.

HILL: First, though, more on President Biden's legal team finding more classified documents at a second location.

SCIUTTO: CNN Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez joins us now. What do we know about this latest discovery and I suppose the question is, are they looking for more?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The second question, I think, is very, very much an important one for the Justice Department as to what they do next, right? But what we know, Jim, very limited information, which is that there was a second set of documents that were discovered in a subsequent search.

We heard the White House, they put out a statement earlier this week in which they said that a set of documents that include classified documents had been found in a -- and turned over after November 2nd. This is the first time they addressed this.

What they didn't tell us was the complete story, which is that, subsequent to that search, they had done additional searches and found another set of documents. It's unclear why they didn't disclose that from the outset. And, really, what they've done is created a perception that they're hiding something, which has made it perhaps even more likely that Attorney General Merrick Garland is going to have to appoint a special council, which is something that you're hearing Republicans already discussing. Listen.

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REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): Where is the raid? Where is the pictures? Where is the special counsel? What is a batch? What does that mean? We know it is more than one. So, is this two documents, is this 2,000 documents? What is the location? The double standard is obvious and then the tons of questions I think every American has.

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PEREZ: And, look, for the Justice Department, the question now for the attorney general is do you think that this is something that needs a special counsel because of the perception that has been created in part by the handling of this by the White House.

Just to make it clear, though, obviously, there is a big difference between this and the Trump investigation, where you had an obstruction, according to the Justice Department, obstruction by the former president and his team who kept saying that they had turned over everything when really they had not.

SCIUTTO: And they resisted. I mean, there were subpoenas, they resisted --

PEREZ: Exactly, and over a period of months.

The White House here has said initially that there were ten documents -- I'm sorry, a fewer than a dozen, is what they said. We've reported that there were ten documents of various classifications. But we don't know anything about how many documents are included in this second set that were found.

SCIUTTO: Understood. More to learn. Evan Perez, thanks so much.

HILL: Joining us now to discuss, former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti. And we should note, Renato, you, of course, worked previously with John Lausch. He's the U.S. attorney investigating the discovery of these classified documents.

I want to pick up on something that we just heard there. We heard Jim Jordan railing about this using the word raid. I think it's important to clarify of things. Number one, there was no raid at Mar-a-Lago. Was there a subpoena? Yes, there was? There were pictures to show how the documents were found and what they were.

When it comes to the question of a special counsel, he's calling for a special counsel here, just bring us into the fold here. What would constitute a reason and do you see a reason in the case with what we know about these documents with the President Biden, what would be the reason that a special counsel would be needed? What is that threshold?

RENATO MARIOTTI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Sure. So, first of all, a special counsel is necessary when there is, in fact, a criminal investigation and they're at the stage now where their determining whether or not there is any reason to open a criminal investigation. I think on the face of it, it doesn't appear that there is.

What my former colleague is investigating right now -- and, by the way, I should note that John was appointed by President Trump as the United States attorney. I think that is part of the reason why he was given this responsibility. He's taken an initial look to determine whether or not there should be a criminal investigation.

If there is, I do think a special counsel would likely be appointed because there would be an apparent issue, there would be a potential conflict of interest. The standard on the regulations is whether there is a conflict of interest or other ordinary circumstances.

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I (INAUDIBLE) test, but I don't think there is going to be enough here to open a criminal investigation.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you this, because there are so many things about this case that are usual. We're dealing with a current president, of course, a former president when it comes to Trump. Legally, when you have cases like this, when officials are found with classified documents, are they more likely to be charged for holding them, right, or resisting giving them back, right? Because you have those two issues with Trump and there was many months of fighting. Biden gave them back right away, although he held them but shouldn't have held them. But what is the most likely path for a criminal indictment?

MARIOTTI: Very smart question, Jim, and a good one. The issue is whether or not you're willfully retaining the documents. And you mentioned there was an appearance of a double standard here a moment ago. Actually, both of these individuals, Trump and Biden, were treated in the same way.

Trump was given every invitation to provide those documents. As Erica noted, he was given a grand jury subpoena. There was letters that were written. There was actually a personal visit to Mar-a-Lago by the Justice Department, asking for the documents back. He refused the documents. That is willful retention. I refuse to return these documents even though I know they're the government's property. These are mine, I'm not giving them to you, come and take them, which, of course, they ultimately did.

President Biden, it is a very different situation. As soon as the documents were found, at least reportedly, he returned them. He didn't want them. That is inadvertent, and so that is not willful retention.

HILL: There is also -- and I think very important question of timing that is not being answered. So, this did, right, this happened just before the election, in the days leading up to the election, in early November. Would there ever be a reason for those investigating that they would ask that this not be disclosed?

MARIOTTI: Well, it is a good question. I mean, typically, I will say that when there are ongoing criminal investigations, you shouldn't be disclosing details. I could understand a request for a period of time to keep this quiet. That said, I do think there are legitimate questions about the timing of this disclosure and I think it is hard for me to see why there needed to be a delay until this time for this fact to be revealed.

SCIUTTO: Renato Mariotti, thanks so much, as always.

MARIOTTI: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Coming up next hour, the suspect charged with murdering four Idaho college students expected back in court for a hearing today.

HILL: And this comes, of course, as we're now hearing more from family members of the victims and also from a neighbor, a neighbor who says they spoke with the suspect after the killings.

CNN's Josh Campbell is in Moscow, Idaho, this morning. So, Josh, there is this court appearance today. What is expected to come out of that? What could we potentially learn here?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning to you. This is what is called a status hearing in the prosecution of 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger. Now, this is expected to be largely procedural. We'll have wait to see whether there was anything of substance that comes out of this.

But as we've been noting over the past few days, this hearing is an important precursor to what is called the preliminary hearing, where prosecutors may actually put forward more evidence, more witness statements as they try to build their case and move this on to trial.

Now, an attorney for Bryan Kohberger has indicated that he expects his clients will be exonerated, but, of course, that comes after authorities have already unsealed a trove of potentially damning evidence, including the suspect's DNA, allegedly matching dna at the crime scene, similarity there. Police also tracked the suspect's vehicle movements and his cell phone allegedly placing those in the proximity of the house where those four college kids were murdered.

So, again, a lot of damning evidence there. We'll have to see how this defense actually contends with those issues.

Now we're also getting some chilling new detail about Bryan Kohberger from people who knew him. One of his neighbors spoke with CBS News and said that after these murders, Kohberger, in discussion, actually brought it up in his opinion and he believed that police didn't have much evidence, didn't have many leads. He also said that he believed that this was a crime of passion. Of course, Kohberger, as we've been reporting, was a criminal justice major, studying for a PhD.

And so there are a lot of questions still surrounding the motive in this investigation, the motive in this case, and whether he actually had any connection to these four college students. Waiting for a lot of those details to come out, but, again, he is expected to arrive here at the court, here, in just about an hour's time where this hearing will proceed. I'll be inside of the court. We'll, of course, keep you updated as this case continues, guys.

SCIUTTO: Classes, they have resumed yesterday, but so much fear on the campus in the wake of this. I wonder what the feeling is like now particularly since he's in court.

CAMPBELL: Certainly mixed emotions and students that we have been talking with, a lot of students have said that their sense of security, their sense of community was shattered following these four brutal murders.

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That incident itself actually causing many of them to change their behavior in public, students saying that they now go out in groups, they're more aware of their surroundings.

We're also hearing from students, parents and teachers who say that, although they obviously continue to grieve the loss of these four college students, there is a palpable sense of relief that the man police believe is responsible for this is now behind bars and facing prosecution. It's worth pointing out, we talked to an executive at the campus who said their heightened state will continue for the foreseeable future, guys.

HILL: Josh Campbell with the latest for us on the ground there in Moscow, Josh, thank you.

So, what more can we expect from that hearing and also as this case unfolds moving forward?

SCIUTTO: Defense Attorney Misty Marris joins us now. And, Misty, I wonder, if you were Kohberger's defense attorney right now given the charges and given the evidence that at least the public has been able to see so far, what would your view be of the case?

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The case seems very strong from what we see right now. But keep in mind, every case has vulnerabilities from a defense perspective. So, as a defense attorney, I would expect Kohberger's lawyer to really go after some of that cell phone data, go after -- you can go after how it was collected. But also you can talk about, hey, well, he lived near this area, he went to school near this area. Just because he was in the vicinity, how long is the range for a cell phone to ping.

So, there is all of the different avenues to undercut some of the forensic evidence and that is what I would expect a defense attorney to do, to say, look, this is like a puzzle being put together. It is largely circumstantial, and to try and find those vulnerabilities, because, again, it is always the prosecutor's burden.

HILL: And what -- some of the comments that we've heard, we heard a student, right, he was in a class where Kohberger was a TAA, telling CNN just a couple of weeks ago. He seemed sort of preoccupied, distracted after the murderers, this his demeanor in class changed all of sudden. He had been really tough on everybody and that he was handing out hundreds with this new information about comments with a neighbor. Does of that actually -- do you think any of that will come into play?

MARRIS: 100 percent. It all matters so much, not only to the investigation but ultimately to what will happen at trial. So, when you think about it, investigators, they're not just looking at the planning and commission of the crime, they're also looking for what happened after. Was there a cover-up? What is the demeanor of this individual? How did he act?

There is over a month of time where based on what we know right now, Kohberger was going about his daily life. He was going to class. He was interacting with people. All of these statements are going to help investigators hone in on the big question, what is the motive.

And then when it comes to the courtroom, the way that somebody acts after this in those type of statements made are likely to come in, in some capacity, and it will show this is the change in demeanor and also what did he do in between that time frame. It is all going to be incredibly relevant and as for the investigation as well as trial.

SCIUTTO: Question on a different case, if you can. We've been covering the Anna Walshe case and the latest development and it is coming out every day, surveillance video of her husband at dumpsters after her disappearance. I'll ask you to do this again, as a defense attorney. Based on the evidence you've seen so far, at least indicators, I'm not calling it evidence, he hasn't been charged with this crime, what does that case look like to you?

MARRIS: So, as far as from a defense perspective, honestly, there is a lot of circumstantial evidence and no body murder cases are really the most difficult to prove. However, in this particular case, there is a lot of circumstantial evidence that I believe, based on what we know right now, could be the basis for charges.

Of course, a defense attorney is always going to go after exactly what I just said. They're going to say it's all circumstantial, you don't have a body. The body really tells the story. It tells you the when and the how. And that is how investigators can really backtrack into the rest of what they need to do in order to put together a case for the prosecution.

But I could see charges coming with a no body murder case, lots of circumstantial evidence here. But I think investigators are going to take their time. Remember, he's convicted in a federal case. He's going to be serving time. He's not going anywhere. So, there is plenty of time to hone in and get a really air-tight probable cause affidavit against him when the time comes.

HILL: So, to that point, there is the separate case but right now he's being held on these charges of misleading statements. How long can they actually hold him on that charge? MARRIS: So, it depends. Right now, he has a $500,000 bail set, he hasn't made it. But, really, I think the federal charges are going to be the ones because he's already pled guilty, he's going to serve time. So, he's going to be locked in, in that sense.

The reason that you see this arrest on the misleading law enforcement is because you want to get -- if you suspect somebody of this murder, in this very suspicious disappearance, you want to get them in custody.

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So, I see this moving towards that but I don't think we're going to see an indictment soon. I think investigators are going to take their time.

SCIUTTO: Well, ultimately, two very sad cases for the families involved. Misty Marris, thanks so much.

MARRIS: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: And soon, President Biden expected to speak on the economy at any moment as a key measure shows inflation continuing to cool. We're going to bring you those comments live.

Plus, caught in a web of lies, embattled Republican Congressman George Santos says he is not going anywhere. Moments ago, he said he would step down but only if a very specific number of folks ask him to step down.

HILL: We have that for you.

Plus, ripped from his mother's armed by raging floodwaters, it is just a heart-wrenching story. The search continuing this morning for this five-year-old boy in California.

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LINDSY DOAN, MOTHER OF MISSING FIVE-YEAR-OLD: I want to switch places with Kyle. I don't want to be here. I want Kyle to be here. I wish Kyle was the one that was rescued.

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HILL: Airlines working to get back on track this morning after an FAA system outage forced a ground stop yesterday, which ultimately delayed more than 10,000 flights, another 1,300 were canceled. And now the FAA says all that chaos was sparked by a single corrupted file.

CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean is live at Reagan National Airport. So, this single corrupted file, do we have any information this morning, Pete, about how that happened? I mean, also the fact that that one file managed to bring down the whole network.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: It is pretty incredible, Erica. And it sort of speaks to the fact that what critics say is a need to update the FAA systems and to better fund the agency. The cause, that one damaged database file, according to the FAA, and the NOTAM system, the notices to air missions system, that provides critical data, add-on information that pilots need before they take off. They must read it.

The FAA, according to multiple government sources, knew that this was a problem on Tuesday evening. They tried to reboot the backup system and the main system. Those were both infected by this damaged file. On Wednesday morning, when they FAA thought it would have the least impact on airline travel, ultimately, that failed and that led to this nationwide ground stop, airports paralyzed across country for 90 whole minutes. We have not seen a nationwide ground stop since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I want you to listen now to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. He has directed an internal review of this. The FAA falls under the Department of Transportation. And it is so interesting here because the FAA really faced a lot of criticism from airlines after summer and winter cancelations. But now, the FAA is coming under a lot of scrutiny on its own. I want you listen now to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

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PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: These kinds of disruptions should not happen and my primary interest now that we've gotten through the immediate disruptions of the morning is understanding exactly how this was possible and exactly what steps are needed to make sure that it doesn't happen again.

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MUNTEAN: No doubt that this will come up in the FAA's reauthorization bill process that is just beginning now. We will see, as the FAA provides more answers, what exactly comes out of all of this. A lot of pressure on the FAA to make sure that this doesn't happen again, Erica.

HILL: Yes, absolutely, the last thing they want to see. Pete, I appreciate it. Thank you.

Some of these pictures that we are seeing out of California, I mean, just -- they really take your breath away. And then look at this graph that you see here, the drought monitor. The intense rain we've seen in California over the past few weeks has significantly eased the drought in the state. That's according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Of course, that doesn't mean it is completely gone away. And as we know, this is not all good news from this storm. The storms have been deadly, the state is bracing for more atmospheric rivers on the way over the next several days. Hundreds of National Guard members right now are also searching for a five-year-old boy who was ripped out of his mother's arms by raging floodwaters and apparently swept away.

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TYLER DOAN, BROTHER SWEPT AWAY IN FLOODWATERS: I'm just speechless from seeing that kind of just a rush of emotions, just a lot going on right now.

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HILL: CNN National Correspondent Camila Bernal is in San Miguel, California, this morning. This new round of rain, I'm sure there are some concerns that that could complicate the search, Camila.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is such a difficult search, Erica. It is the rain, it's the mud, it's the fog right now, it is the visibility and it is the water. This creek here that is still running, you can hear it and you could see it, it looks calm in certain areas, but it is not easy to search because of the terrain.

This is the area where that five-year-old Kyle Doan was last seen. And so I talked to his brother yesterday who was here for the first time. It was so emotional for him to see his mother's car, which is actually just a couple of feet up the stream. Of course, it is impossible to see with this fog at the moment.

I also sat down with his father, who is extremely emotional. He says he is in shock. He says this is so difficult to process. But he described and recounted what his wife told him happened on Monday. Here he is.

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BRIAN DOAN, SON SWEPT AWAY IN FLOODWATERS: He was telling her, mommy, don't panic, it's okay. Everything is okay.

So, she got him out and as she was getting him out and trying to hold him, the current was there.

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It took him, bent her arm around and she kind of extended herself around the tree and that thrust caused her to lose contact with him. So, she couldn't keep hold of him.

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BERNAL: And that father also telling me that she feels extremely guilty, that the mom wasn't even eating because it was so difficult for her.

The entire family is really going through a lot right now. But they say they will search. They're doing everything they can because they want Kyle back home. And so they're going to be here throughout the entire time, whatever it takes.

You, of course, talked about the National Guard members. There are family, there are friends that are joining the search, everyone wanting to bring him back. But it is going to be difficult. The father, Erica, admitting that this could be a recovery. Back to you.

HILL: So tough, you're heart really just goes out to the family. Camila, I appreciate it. Thank you.

This just into CNN, the White House releasing a statement on the classified documents found by President Biden's lawyers.

I want to go straight to CNN White House Correspondent Jeremy Diamond who has more on this. So, what are we hearing, what are we learning from this statement, Jeremy?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, as you know, we reported yesterday that additional documents were found at a second location, additional to that initial batch that was found back on November 2nd.

Now, the White House is confirming that in an official statement from a special counsel, Richard Sauber, who is the special counsel here at the White House representing President Biden. And he notes here that these additional documents were found at the president's Wilmington, Delaware home. Most of the documents, in fact, all but one of those documents, according to Richard Sauber, were found in the garage, a storage place in the president's Wilmington residence garage. Another document consisting of one page that Richard Sauber says was discovered among stored materials in an adjacent room.

Now, Richard Sauber, in the statement, says that the lawyers searched the president's Wilmington home, they also searched his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware home as well. No documents, according to Richard Sauber, were found in that Rehoboth Beach residence. But notable, of course, that they conducted these additional searches following the discovery of these documents back on November 2nd at that Washington, D.C. office that President Biden had in his post vice presidency, that Penn Biden Center office.

Now, in a statement, notably, Richard Sauber also says that this review and this search of these additional documents was completed last night. That review was completed last night is the wording here of Richard Sauber. And the White House notes that, once again, they turned over all of the documents to the Department of Justice and making clear that they will continue to cooperate with the review by the Department of Justice.

Now, this answers some additional questions here certainly in terms of where exactly these additional documents were found. It doesn't say exactly when they were found. And what we're still waiting to learn, of course, is what prompted that initial search of the Penn Biden Center. They said that they were merely packing up that office but there are still certainly a number of questions around that and around the timeline of all of this. The White House providing a statement, though, in a clear sign that there are some questions that they needed to answer. There have been mounting questions and mounting criticism too on Capitol Hill as well, where both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have requested information from the Department of Justice and from the Director of National Intelligence about any potential national security concerns around these documents.

But, once again, the White House now officially confirming that a second batch of documents was found in President Biden's Wilmington, Delaware home, documents that did indeed have classification markings on them. We don't know exactly how many documents or exactly when they were found but they do say that they've now completed searches of the president's Wilmington home, his Rehoboth home as well. Erica?

HILL: And just to clarify, so based on the statement, the other locations were files from his vice presidential office might have been shipped in that course of that 2017 transition. So, there was the office of the Penn Biden Center, as you point out, both of the residences in Delaware. Is there any reason to suspect that there could be another location that needs to be searched or is this it, would only be these three areas?

DIAMOND: Based on the statement, it seems that they are saying that there are three potential locations where these documents could have been shipped. I would have been the Penn Biden Center. It would have been the president's Wilmington, Delaware home, as well as his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware home. They are not pointing to any other locations here.

We should note, of course, though, Erica, that when they initially confirmed that they had found these classified documents following multiple reports, they didn't say that there was the possibility of documents being found elsewhere.

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In fact, they very much left the impression that this was a comprehensive search that had been done and didn't leave the impression that anything else was going to come out.