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NYPD Divers Searched Central Park Lake Today; Defense Secretary Austin Announces $1B In Military Aid To Ukraine; Interview With Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA); U.S. Officials: Syrian Regime May Fall In Days; CNN Gets First Look Inside Aleppo, Syria, After Rebel Takeover; Trump Says He Still Supports Hegseth To Lead Pentagon; Trump Returns To World Stage At Notre Dame Reopening In Paris. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired December 07, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:05]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

And we begin this hour with breaking news on the manhunt and the murder investigation of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Tonight, we've learned that NYPD divers have been searching the lake in Central Park for evidence including the murder weapon.

This comes as were also learning tonight New York City police detectives are now on the ground in Atlanta in connection to this investigation.

Joining us now live from the Manhattan bus station where that suspect was last seen is CNN national correspondent Gloria Pazmino.

And Gloria, we've had a lot of developments just within the last couple of hours.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jessica.

In the last hour since we talked, we can now report that NYPD divers are searching for the weapon in that lake. They are diving and have been doing so for the past hour or so.

We have some video in which you can clearly see the divers going into the water. Now they're looking for the murder weapon as you said. Law enforcement officials telling me that's what the divers are doing.

Now, we know that the backpack was recovered yesterday. It was sent to a crime lab in Queens. It has been processed.

Inside of that backpack, the only thing they found was a jacket, a Tommy Hilfiger jacket? No weapon which explains why the police divers are now in the lake looking for more evidence.

The question here is did the suspect ditch the gun as he was making his way through the park on his getaway?

We know that after he shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, he got on the electric bike, got to Central Park, rode through the bike -- through the park, ditched the bike, potentially changed his clothes, then got on a cab at 86th and Columbus, and rode all the way up here to Washington Heights to this bus terminal behind me.

There is video of the suspect entering the bus terminal but never leaving the bus terminal. So police are operating under the assumption that the suspect left New York City on a bus right here behind me.

Now, this last piece of evidence that they have found today, the backpack. I should mention it also contains that jacket. It's unclear to us just yet if there might have been anything inside that jacket, anything they can trace from that jacket that might help solve the biggest piece of this puzzle that remains a mystery.

And that is, of course, the identity of this gunman. But now we can say with certainty that those NYPD divers are looking for the weapon in the lake of Central Park.

This is a location that most people are familiar with. If you have ever walked through there, if you have ever watched one of the many movies that feature this area of Central Park, it's the body of water that's directly in front of the boathouse behind Bethesda Fountain.

This is a very prominent part of -- part of the park and it certainly seems to suggest that perhaps there is video of the suspect in that area.

We know from the detectives that there's not a whole lot of coverage in terms of surveillance camera inside the park, but there is some.

Now they are looking through a lot of video evidence along with other important pieces, including DNA evidence that was found on a water bottle that the suspect left behind and also now this backpack.

We also know the maker of the backpack Peak Designs. We know that it retails around $275. So this is not just any regular backpack that you might see on the average person walking around.

And initially, the police had talked about just how distinctive the backpack is. So it is helpful that they now know exactly the maker. They have it in their possession, and they know exactly what was in it.

The question now is who this person is, and we know that the NYPD is working with Atlanta law enforcement because Atlanta is the location where the bus that the suspect took here to New York City originated from.

Now, that bus made several stops along the way. The NYPD also telling us last night that there are several stops that were made along the way. They are trying to backtrack and trace every single stop to see what they can find. But right now, Atlanta law enforcement helping the NYPD. The NYPD has

actually sent their own detectives there to work with the police department.

[17:04:45]

PAZMINO: Another important detail, Jessica, I think, you know, as I was walking inside the bus station behind me, you can see just how much camera coverage they have. There are cameras nearly in every corner of this bus terminal.

The bus terminal is operated by the Port Authority. They are working with the NYPD to review that video. But we've learned from detectives last night that it's not clear if there is a manifest of bus passengers and you can just buy a ticket with cash. You don't have to provide any I.D.

So he could have said his name was anything and gotten on the bus without many questions being asked, Jessica.

DEAN: Yes. And Gloria, we also have learned that the FBI is, of course, involved with this and that the reward for information has gone up as well. What more can you tell us about that angle?

PAZMINO: Yes, they have increased the reward to $50,000. Federal agencies involved in this investigation as well, multiple police departments.

And we've also learned that at least for now, at this stage of the investigation, there is nothing that indicates to police that Brian Thompson had any sort of interaction or any sort of connection to this suspect from what they know so far in their investigation.

They are looking at other potential angles. Was this a personal thing that this person have something that he wanted to do or say or against this person? That is all part of the investigation. But the FBI increasing that reward money as they continue to search for the identity of this suspect.

DEAN: All right.

Gloria Pazmino in New York, thank you for that reporting.

Joining us now retired NYPD captain, John Monaghan. He's also the author of "The Guns of Antwerp: The NYPD Takes Boston".

John, great to have you here with us.

As Gloria just outlined, we're getting a lot of new developments actually tonight.

I want to start first with that backpack that they have found. They now know it does not contain the gun what does that tell you?

JOHN MONAGHAN, RETIRED NYPD CAPTAIN: Well, that's why they're dredging the lake. And there's a pond there too they're going to have to dredge next.

Obviously, the gun wasn't there. You could tell the backpack was bulky from the photos that we saw of it yesterday. So it had a jacket in it. Now we'll be able to -- you know, I said this yesterday. The kid had or the shooter has -- he's taken a lot of measures, a lot

of precautions. Not enough, but he's put a lot of planning, a lot of thought into this. To think that he would leave something in the backpack that would let us identify him was very highly unlikely.

DEAN: Right.

MONAGHAN: But you know, there's been a lot of talk about the -- I'm sorry.

DEAN: No. Go ahead.

MONAGHAN: A lot of talk about the science of evidence. You know, the ballistics, the you know, the DNA, all this other stuff, surveillance cameras, drone footage.

The human element is the most important thing in an investigation. We have got at least ten, probably more than that. Human beings have come face to face with this man and had conversations with him.

We all know the clerk up at the hostel. There's two cab drivers, one that picked him up initially when he first came back in November, took him up to the Hilton. The cab driver that took him from Central Park up to the George Washington Bridge bus terminal.

Don't forget the clerk at Starbucks that he bought two power bars from. We've got a lot of people.

Now, if he did pay cash as your reporter just said, it's a possibility that means he went face to face with a ticket clerk at the George Washington Bridge terminal. Weve got a lot of people.

You know what, Jessica? I'll tell you what I think. Right now as we speak, I think we're very, very close.

If you listen to Joe Kenny, the chief of detectives of New York City, you see the statement he made today. He's preparing to take the case to court. That means we're very, very close.

I'm not saying that he's identified yet. When he does get identified, it's going to break in one of two ways. They're going to say we've identified him. Here he is. We've made the arrest.

Or it'll be a day or two down the road, and we've identified him. We can't find him. Here's a better picture.

Right now I'm pretty sure we've got DNA, we've got partial prints, we've got human beings who came face to face and talked with this man. They're very close if they haven't identified him already. We will know soon.

(CROSSTALK) DEAN: Do you think it's possible they do -- they know who this person is? They just haven't told the broader public yet?

MONAGHAN: Well, that's exactly what I'm saying, Jessica. They're not going to tell us until he's arrested or they've come to a point where they realize they can't find him without the help of the public. And then they're going to get a better picture out there than the one they have now.

You know you have to understand, when you see Joe Kenny and the new police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, given their interviews, they're only going to give out what they feel we need.

They've got a lot more -- a lot more. That's the picture they chose to show the public, you know, they have more. They have many more pictures. As your reporter told us, there's cameras all over that bus station.

And, you know, it's an interesting point Jessica, this guy has tried to dupe us. He turns left, he ends up going right. He went down one street through an alleyway to come back to the same street.

[17:09:52]

MONAGHAN: He does this a lot. He's developing an MO. It's almost like a pattern.

He went into that bus terminal and they don't have video of him coming out. And I know Joe Kenny knows this because we worked together in that precinct 25 years ago.

There's a tunnel that goes from that bus terminal down to the New York City subway system. And then it's a quick ride down to the Port Authority on 34th Street.

So I'm sure we got detectives looking at the footage down at the Port authority at 34th street as well.

There's a lot of eyewitnesses. They're more valuable than any of the science. I mean, if the DNA you know, there's got to be in a database for the DNA or for the prints to mean anything to us.

It means you got to be not just arrested. You know, if you apply for certain jobs, you apply for a pistol permit, different things like that, you get fingerprinted. I know a lot of employment requires it, but he's got to be in the system somehow for that to -- for that print to help.

DEAN: Yes. And you mentioned the divers which we do know that we will and as Gloria reported, they are they are said to be looking for the gun. And you said it sounds like what you think is they're going to go through all the bodies of water there and make sure it's not in there or find it.

MONAGHAN: Well, if they don't find it in the lake -- the lake, you know, he went into the park and it looks like he left somewhere in the 70s, maybe up as far as the 80s.

So the lake's not far. The reservoir, which that thing is a half mile long. I hope they don't have to dredge that. That's further north. That's up near 85th Street.

We don't think he stayed in the park that far north. The backpack is near the lake, so. Yes. Dredge that lake. When they finish, and they come up -- if they come up with negative results, will they go to the reservoir? I don't know.

There's five bodies of water in Central Park, but only -- only really the lake is the only one that's along his route that he took. So it makes sense to start there anyway.

DEAN: Certainly. And what do you make of the NYPD detectives being in Atlanta? We know that's where that bus route started. But what does that tell you about kind of how they're expanding this investigation geographically.

MONAGHAN: Again -- well, I call it shoe leather.

It's you've got to meet the people face to face who came face to face with him. Being on the phone with Atlanta PD, having Atlanta PD talk to the people who sold him the ticket, who were at the bus station when he boarded that bus, that's not enough.

You got to send your people down there. I'll bet we got a team of detectives out in Minnesota right now, too talking to the family, neighbors. Did he coach youth sports? Did he belong to some civic organization or fraternal organization like the Elks Club or something?

You need to have face to face communication. You know, experienced detectives can read people. You've got to meet them face to face. So we're in Atlanta and were other places, too.

And now, now with this bus terminal thing, we're everywhere. We're in a lot of places I'm sure.

DEAN: And I want to ask you about something you said just a little bit ago about how he kind of created this MO. That you kind of start to see these patterns that he had developed just on going off all of your experience and what you have -- your lived experience zooming out for a second.

Just the fact that this is so planned out, so thought out, not there are some mistakes that clearly were made. But what does that tell you about this suspect and the level of planning? What are you -- what are your thoughts on that?

MONAGHAN: He has a real purpose. This is very important to him. Initially, I thought maybe someone hired him because it didn't seem like it was a personal touch to the final shot.

But now your question actually, Jessica is making me rethink that because he put a lot of planning to this. This is very important to him. He put a lot of thought into it.

Now, some of what he's done could be a smokescreen, a subterfuge, the writing on the bullets. It may be related to the denial of coverage and the animosity for the health care industry. It could well be. And that he meant that.

But here's something, Jessica, that those bullets, their live rounds, they're inside the magazine of the gun. They're not going to end up on our crime scene unless the gun jams and he's got a racket to clear the jam. That's how a live round jumps out of the gun.

You don't go into a shooting expecting a gun to jam. So he wrote, I mean, we did have one of the words I understand was on a spent shell. One of the words was on a live shell. Did he plan on emptying that magazine and firing all his shots.

Like to -- he put these words on those on the bullets that stayed inside the magazine. And the only reason they came out is for an unplanned event, the gun jamming.

He put a lot of thought into it. I don't think he's the sharpest knife in the -- in the drawer there but he did put a lot -- I'd say it's important to him. I say it is very important to him.

DEAN: Very interesting.

All right. Captain John Monaghan, thank you so much for the context, the analysis. We really appreciate it.

MONAGHAN: Appreciate it. Thank you.

DEAN: And we have breaking news now. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin just announcing a $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine.

CNN's Oren Liebermann joining us now from the Reagan National Defense Forum, where this was announced.

Oren, tell us more.

[17:14:51]

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: This was a very unusual speech coming from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. And I think that's a reflection of the fact that these are his last few weeks in the Pentagon, after virtually the entire Biden administration, being the Secretary of Defense.

And part of what he talked about is the value of foreign aid, how important that is for global leadership and how important it is for U.S. national security.

He sort of ticked through what he viewed as the accomplishments of the administration and of the Pentagon over the last four years. That includes new partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, the aid and security assistance given to Israel, and then of course, the aid and security assistance given to Ukraine that has allowed it to stand up to Russia for nearly three years.

Here is him presenting that and announcing a new aid package.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: And I'm proud to announce today the commitment of a new Ukraine security assistance initiative package worth nearly $1 billion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: So where he went from here is what made this so interesting. He made a forceful argument for why it had value in the past and why it continues to have value in the future. Why it's important that foreign aid continues. And although he didn't mention President-Elect Donald Trump, it was clearly trying to get at the view of some in the incoming administration who questioned the value of foreign aid, who questioned the value of sending military equipment to Ukraine.

This was Austin in quite a lengthy speech in 40 minutes, presenting his argument as to why that is so important for the U.S.

DEAN: All right. Oren Liebermann for us there in Simi Valley. Thank you so much for that reporting.

We're going to have more on that just ahead.

Plus, President-Elect Donald Trump back on the world stage at the reopening of Notre Dame in Paris, meeting with French President Macron and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.

And a major Putin ally's grip on power in jeopardy as rebels close in on the Syrian capital of Damascus. CNN is on the ground in Aleppo with major exclusive. We'll have it for you.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:16:42]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: We're following breaking news as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announces just moments ago nearly a billion dollars in new military aid for Ukraine.

Of course, this comes as President-Elect Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Paris today.

Democratic Congressman Adam Smith of Washington State is joining us now. He is the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee and joins us live from the Reagan National Defense Forum where those comments by Secretary Austin were made.

Congressman, thanks for being here. I first just want to get your reaction to this nearly $1 billion in aid for Ukraine. REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): Well, I think it's an important show of commitment to Ukraine. And there's a lot of talk around there needing to be a negotiated settlement.

Certainly coming out of President-Elect Trump's camp. I think that's probably true but you have to negotiate from a position of strength. And you can't do that if Ukraine can't defend itself. They are very dependent upon the U.S. and the 50-plus nation coalition that is supporting them.

They need our aid. They need our assistance to stop the Russian onslaught and force Putin to the negotiating table.

So I think it's the right move, and I hope that the Trump administration will continue that support for Ukraine when they come into office.

DEAN: And on that note, as I -- as I said, the president-elect meeting with Zelenskyy in Paris today. Zelenskyy called that meeting good and productive. We know that President-Elect Trump has said he's going to move to quickly end the war.

How do you think that's going to play out?

SMITH: Yes, I think that's unlikely to happen the way President -- well, the way Candidate Trump articulated. As we know, you know, Donald Trump has a tendency of saying whatever the problem in the world is, he's going to solve it.

Remember, Mexico was going to pay for the wall. It didn't quite work out that way. So I don't know that he has a specific vision. The only logical way it can play out is for Ukraine to be strong enough to stop Putin, force him to the negotiating table and get to a negotiated settlement.

But step one is stopping Putin, and he has upped the onslaught in recent weeks and months. And that has to be stopped.

So it could play out that way. But Donald Trump, thinking he could come in and just talk nice to Putin and 24 hours later, the war is over, that's not going to happen.

DEAN: I want to ask you about another conflict that were monitoring. U.S. officials saying Syrian rebels may overthrow the Assad regime within days is their estimation at this point.

Again, going back to Trump, he posted on his social media site Truth Social that the U.S. should absolutely not get involved in Syria. I'm curious what you think the best course of action is here.

SMITH: Well, I agree with Trump. You know, we cannot play a productive role in Syria. And getting dragged into another conflict that we can't really have a positive impact on doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

Now we are going to have to work with our partners in the region to manage this. We do have U.S. Troops in the eastern part of Syria now. That's not where this fighting is going on. But we also have tens of thousands of ISIS prisoners being held with our supporters in the Syria democratic front to try to hold those ISIS prisoners.

So we're going to have to work with Jordan, with Turkey, with others in the region to figure out how to manage this because if Assad falls, chaos can follow, extremist elements could take over that government. And those ISIS fighters could wind up going free and jeopardizing the entire region.

[17:24:49]

SMITH: But there's not a military -- there's not a U.S. military solution to this problem.

DEAN: And knowing that, you did mention the troops, though, that are there, what do you think happens with them? Do they just stay status quo in eastern Syria at this point?

SMITH: For now, yes. Frankly our troops over there and our partners in the region are more threatened by Turkey right now than they are by the civil war going on in the western part of the country.

So we need to work with -- Turkey is concerned about the Kurds that we are working with and the degree to which those Kurds are part of the PKK that threatens Turkey. So continuing to navigate that problem is the big challenge.

But look, if the government falls and if you have a radical Islamist government in its place, what will they do with the situation in the east and those ISIS fighters? It is something we definitely need to be worried about.

And again, we've got to work with some partners in the region to contain that threat.

DEAN: And I want to ask you just lastly, you are, of course, as I noted at the Reagan National Defense Forum, a lot of national security officials there and others, elected officials like yourself. What are you hearing?

If -- what is the buzz about Trump's choice for DNI Tulsi Gabbard, of course her ties to Assad and Syria and Russia. Have you heard anything about that? What are your thoughts?

SMITH: Absolutely. I mean there's multiple different pieces to this. I mean, first of all, nobody knows exactly what's going to happen after January 20th. President-Elect Trump made a whole lot of promises in a whole lot of different directions. How that's going to come to pass is hard to say.

One of the big things that we're working on here is to reform the Department of Defense to make it more efficient, more effective to get it to buy the new equipment that it needs and innovate more quickly.

Look, Elon Musk has some good experience in that. J.D. Vance has some experience in that so there's reason to be, I don't know if optimistic is the word I would use, but certainly there are some folks that we could work with there.

But when it comes to the cabinet picks, when it comes to Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard there's a ton of concern about the role that either of those would play in this broader effort. There's just not a lot of confidence that either pick is going to be strong and in a position to really do the job and run the agencies that the president-elect has said they should be in charge of.

So there's a lot of concern about both of those picks.

DEAN: And we will see what the U.S. Senate, how they choose to go forward with it all.

Congressman Adam Smith, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.

SMITH: Thanks for the chance.

DEAN: Still ahead, we are on the ground in Syria with an exclusive interview with the rebel group's leader as they close in on Syria's capital of Damascus.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:27:29]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:31:56]

DEAN: Breaking news out of Syria as rebel forces have effectively cleared their path toward the capital city and they are, quote, "at the gates of Damascus."

This has been a lightning-fast offensive that has stunned the world and could mean a rapid fall from power for the country's president, Bashar Al Assad.

U.S. officials reportedly believe it is possible the capital could fall within a matter of days.

Our Jomana Karadsheh and her team were the first Western journalists inside Aleppo after the rebels took over. And she sat down for an exclusive interview with the rebel leader.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(GUNFIRE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Swift advances that have stunned the world --

(GUNFIRE)

KARADSHEH: -- and took the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad by surprise (GUNFIRE)

KARADSHEH: -- reigniting a civil war many thought was over.

We've come to Syria to see for ourselves what's happening here on. Our drive across towns left battle scarred by a decade-long war, signs of the regimes hasty retreat.

ABU MOHAMMAD AL JOLANI, SYRIAN REBEL LEADER (via translation): The seeds of the regimes defeat have always been within it.

KARADSHEH: In an undisclosed location in Syria, we sat down for a CNN worldwide exclusive with the man leading the offensive. Abu Mohammad Al Jolani and his group broke away from Al Qaeda years ago. Now he leads the armed rebels who appear closer than ever to toppling the Assad regime.

AL JOLANI: The Iranian's attempted to revive the regime, buying it time, and later the Russians also try to prop it up. But the truth remains this regime is dead.

KARADSHEH: It was Iranian proxies on the ground, and in the skies, Russia, that saved Assad.

(GUNFIRE)

KARADSHEH: But Russia is bogged down with its war in Ukraine and Iran is scrambling. It's most powerful proxy, Hezbollah, was decimated by Israel. It appears Assad's patrons have abandoned him.

In Syria's second city, Aleppo, they're erasing every sign of the 50 years of the Assad dynasty's ruthless rule.

We're the first Western journalist here since the city fell.

(on camera): One of the first things that people did when rebel forces took over the city of Aleppo was topple the statue of Bassel, a symbol of the Assad regime.

This is an area where there were fierce battles with regime forces, and since then, in the past few days, there's been an airstrike that killed many people. You can still see the aftermath of that. The blood on the floor here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Some, forced out of their homes years ago, are beginning to return.

(on camera): Did you ever imagine this moment possible?

MOHAMMAD ALI JOUDEH, DISPLACED RESIDENT OF ALEPPO: We had a lot of dreams about getting back to Aleppo, but we didn't actually believe that this moment is going to be true.

(SHOUTING) KARADSHEH (voice-over): Euphoria of victory lingers in the air. But the apprehension is also palpable in this ancient city, home to minorities who have endured persecution at the hands of jihadists.

(on camera): Since the takeover of the city by the Islamist-dominated rebel forces, they've been really keen to send this message to the Christian minority of Aleppo that they will be safe and that they have nothing to fear.

[17:35:12]

KARADSHEH (voice-over): The pope-appointed Catholic bishop of Aleppo knows the threats all too well. Extremists have tried to kill him in the past.

Father Hannah Kliger says many terrified Christians have already fled as the rebels advanced. But he and other priests will not leave.

FATHER HANNAH KLIGER, POPE-APPOINTED BISHIP (through translation): We reassured our faithful that, God willing, everything will be OK, he tells us. "Overall, the security situation has been under control. It allowed us to assure people, no one will come near our churches and properties.

KARADSHEH: Rebel Leader Al-Jolani, who once vowed to bring strict Sharia rule to Syria, says those days are behind him.

AL-JOLANI: There must be a legal framework that protects and ensures the rights of all, not a system that serves only one sect, as Assad's regime has done.

KARADSHEH (on camera): People listening to this are going to wonder why they should believe you. You are still a specially designated global terrorist by the United States, with a $10 million bounty on your head.

Your group is a proscribed terrorist organization by the United States, by the U.N., by the E.U. and others.

AL-JOLANI: Now, I say to people, don't judge by words but by actions. I believe the reality speaks for itself.

These classifications are primarily political and at the same time wrong.

I define a terrorist as someone who intentionally kills civilians, harms innocents, or displaces people.

KARADSHEH: But what the U.S. and others would say is that you we're parts of groups that did exactly that.

AL-JOLANI: Personally, I have not done these things.

The situation must be understood in its historical context. I didn't go to Iraq with those intentions. I went to defend the Iraqi people.

When I returned to Syria, I didn't want to bring what happened in Iraq into Syria. That's why there were disagreements between us and ISIS.

KARADSHEH: Al-Jolani is already preparing for a post-regime Syria.

The revolution rises from the ashes and this time it seems it's flames are consuming the house of Assad.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Aleppo, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Jomana, thank you for that incredible reporting.

And still ahead, President-Elect Trump shaking hands as he returns to the world stage for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral.

He's also working to secure support for his pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. We're going to break it down all -- we're going to break it all down with our panel. That's coming up next.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:42:19]

DEAN: President-Elect Trump says he still supports Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon. Hegseth was on Capitol Hill this week trying to persuade Senators to support his bid after several damaging allegations of misconduct.

Listen to what President-Elect Trump said in a new interview when asked if any Senators have said they back Hegseth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: He loves the military and I think people are starting to see it. So we'll be working on his nomination along with a lot of others.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Since you bring him up, do you still have confidence in Pete Hegseth?

TRUMP: Yes, I do. I really do. He's a very smart guy.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Have you gotten assurances from Senators that he's going to be confirmed?

TRUMP: No.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Do you think he can make it?

TRUMP: No. I think he will, yes. I've had a lot of Senators calling me up, saying he's fantastic.

(END VIDEO CLIP) DEAN: Let's turn to our panel. Joining us now, Democratic strategist and former senior adviser to the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, Chuck Rocha. And CNN senior political commentator and former special assistant to President George W. Bush, Scott Jennings.

Gentlemen, good to have you both here with us.

Scott, we just heard from President-Elect Trump there talking about Pete Hegseth and his chances of being confirmed. It does seem like he's got a little more -- a little more firm footing under him. At least Trump is saying so publicly.

What do you make of the current situation?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, he's better off today than he was a week ago today.

DEAN: Yes.

JENNINGS: You know, a week ago, people were wondering if he was going to make it through the week. And now he ends the week having had some positive meetings on Capitol Hill.

Also, having had a number of people from his military service and from his time at FOX coming out on the record in their own name and saying, look, I've never heard or seen any kind of behavior like what -- like what's being described out of Pete Hegseth.

And then he ends the week with Donald Trump, the president-elect, giving him a strong vote of confidence.

Now, Trump was realistic and said, I have confidence in him. I think he's going to make it. I don't have assurances yet.

But that speaks to the nature of the process. Hegseth has to keep having meetings. He's going through an FBI background check. Eventually, there will be a hearing. Everybody gets to go on the record and say their piece.

And we're very early on in that process right now. But Hegseth, better off today than he was a week ago.

DEAN: Yes.

There is more -- there is more to go, Chuck.

Where do you kind of evaluate the current situation? And also to how Hegseth fits into the broader piece of these nominees? In effect, can he be, for lack of a better term, like a heat shield for anybody else that might have had some controversy surrounding them?

What do you make of the state of play?

CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, he's definitely plowing the field for a lot of folks to jump in there behind him to take the heat, as you say. I'm really concentrating on 33 percent of the Senate who doesn't have

to seek re-election for six more years. There's a reason why these Senators are elected to six-year terms and not two-year terms like the House.

The House is constantly in re-election mode. They're constantly scared of their own shadow. And they're really scared of Donald Trump. Not to say that the Senators can't be intimidated. Many of them can. But a lot of them cannot.

[17:45:10]

Scott's a creature of the Senate. He knows what I'm saying here.

Where there's 66 percent of the Senate is not up for four or six years. So there's just a different amount of pressure you can put on folks who, A, there's 100 guys over there who thinks they can be the next president themselves after him.

But just to say that, there's a lot of them who don't have to have an election in two years, who it's not as easy for Donald Trump to put heat on.

DEAN: And, Scott, just I know we're putting our like our crystal ball hat on for a second, but I am curious. We are going to have new Republican -- Senate Republican leadership when these Senate confirmation hearings start happening in this new Congress.

Obviously, Mitch McConnell has been in power for a long, long time. How do you -- do you think there will be much difference? Do you think it will be pretty much similarly run? How do you see that playing out?

JENNINGS: Well, you know, being Senate Republican leader, being a leader in any congressional conference is a little bit like being the caretaker at a graveyard. Everybody's under you but nobody's listening. I mean, these Senators have a mind of their own.

And they -- you know, they're not being told what to do by leadership. I mean, they can get advice and be guided.

But at the end of the day, as Chuck just pointed out, these folks have six-year terms and they all view themselves with their own individual agency.

Some of them may not ever run for re-election again. Some of them benefit from feuding with Donald Trump. And some of them take and have national security views that are far different than what Trump has laid out or what Hegseth has laid out.

All of this will, of course, go into the pot of a confirmation hearing, and we'll see what comes out on the other side.

But I do agree with Chuck, it's a little different in the Senate than it is in the House. It's easier somewhat to keep folks in line in the House. These Senators are a little bit more independent agents.

DEAN: Yes.

And, Chuck, I also want to talk about President-Elect Trump on the world stage in Paris today. He met with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, French President Macron for just over half an hour. He attended the Notre Dame reopening.

Is it surprising to you that we see Trump here, president-elect, not taking office for, what, six more weeks? President Biden is not there. What do you make of those dynamics?

ROCHA: You know, sources said last night on this program that he was pretty quick to jump on this invitation. Donald Trump is not one known to want to travel abroad. He's a homebody. He likes to stay in the comfort of his own house. He's a lot like Chuck Rocha in that instance.

(LAUGHTER)

ROCHA: But this was very special to him because he was really interested in Notre Dame. And kudos to the French president, who knows he's got to put up with, get along with or feud with Donald Trump for the next four years. So it's probably smart politics all around.

And for Donald Trump, it gives him a chance to prove a lot of Democrats wrong who said he'd be an embarrassment on the international stage, he'd try to start third world war. Not saying he won't do that.

But he gets a chance to start folks saying that he won't do it by showing up and being an adult in the room.

DEAN: Yes.

And, Scott, we had John Bolton on a couple -- last hour, and he just made the point to, look, typically, the thinking is there's one president at a time.

But in this case, just the visuals of it, you know, I'm looking at video right now of President-Elect Trump standing there with President Macron, meeting with Zelenskyy.

JENNINGS: Yes. And what and what video do we have from the last few days of Joe Biden? He was in Africa a little bit, but kind of avoided the press. We see Joe Biden out a little bit. We saw him at the tree lighting ceremony and he took his hat off and his hair was crazy.

I mean, thank God we haven't had a functioning president, let's just be honest, for God knows how many months. And thank goodness Donald Trump is willing to go represent this country on the world stage.

He's not taken office yet, but you can already see the attitude change of the American posture and the posture of the rest of the world to the United States of America.

We've had a weak presidency for four years. We will now have a strong president. Love him or hate him, this man projects strength. Joe Biden has projected weakness. I'm glad Donald Trump is there. This church, this cathedral reopening

is a big deal to Catholics and Christians all over the world. Thank goodness Donald Trump made this trip.

It makes America look good for the U.S. president to be engaged in a historical moment like this. So I'm glad he made the trip.

DEAN: All right. Chuck Rocha and Scott Jennings, we are out of time. But I thank you both for being here on a Saturday night. We appreciate you.

JENNINGS: Thank you.

ROCHA: Thank you, Jess.

DEAN: Still ahead, major developments in Syria as rebel forces now on the outskirts of Damascus. But where is President Bashar Al Assad?

[17:49:26]

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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DEAN: A New York jury will resume deliberations on Monday in the trial of Daniel Penny. The former Marine is accused of killing Jordan Neely by putting him in a chokehold on the subway last year.

On Friday, the judge dismissed the manslaughter charge against Penny after the jury returned deadlocked twice. That ruling clears the way for the jury to now consider the lesser charge, criminally negligent homicide. Penny is now facing a maximum sentence of four years.

TikTok is on the clock. A U.S. appeals court upholding a law that would ban the app in the U.S. unless it's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells it by next month.

More than 170 million Americans using the video sharing app -- use the video sharing app. But some U.S. lawmakers say they are concerned ByteDance could share user data with the Chinese government, posing a national security threat.

TikTok says it plans to appeal again, this time, to the Supreme Court. The deadline is January 19th, a day before President-Elect Trump's inauguration.

[17:55:02]

For many, this time of year is about giving back. But "CNN Heroes, an All-Star Tribute" salutes five extraordinary people who put others first all year long.

The star-studded show airs tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Take a look.

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ANNOUNCER: Sunday on CNN, it's a night that's good for the soul. CNN Heroes, an All-Star Tribute.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, guys.

ANNOUNCER: Meet the honorees and celebrate their life-changing achievements.

RACHEL RUTTER, CNN HERO: I'm an immigration lawyer, and we are representing children for free.

We help connect them with resources to help them be successful.

RON DAVIS ALVAREZ, CNN HERO: This orchestra offers more than just notes. This orchestra offers something for your soul.

YAMILEE TOUSSAINT, CNN HERO: We're normalizing that girls of color can do computer science and create something together.

They're reminded, I could do hard things.

STEPHEN KNIGHT, CNN HERO: We're finding that the bond between the animal and the human becomes their motivator to stay healthy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been scooped.

PATON MCGRIFF, CNN HERO: SHE is a nonprofit that creates sustainable education and employment opportunities for girls and women around the world.

It's so girl power. It's so fun.

ANNOUNCER: And find out who will be named the CNN Hero of the Year.

Plus, don't miss a special tribute to Michael J. Fox.

"CNN Heroes, an All-Star Tribute," Sunday at 8:00 on CNN.

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