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Fingerprints at Murder Scene Match Mangione; Corporations Ramping Up Security for Executives; Break-Ins Targeting Pro Athletes; Drones Spotted Over Military Sites; Blinken Testifying About 2021 Afghanistan Withdrawal; Syrians Desperately Search for Loved Ones; CEO Murder Suspect Fights Extradition to NY. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired December 11, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: This is the first forensic link between the suspect and the murder we're told, but it could be weeks before Mangione is in New York to face charges as he fights extradition. We're looking at his latest mugshot. His attorney claims police may not have the right suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM DICKEY, ATTORNEY FOR LUIGI MANGIONE: Well, I haven't seen any evidence that they have the right guy. I can tell you that much. You know, there's identification issues that are present. And so, I don't -- you know, like I said, this is why I need to look at some things and they need to convince me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: His attorney, Tom Dickey, says Mangione will be pleading not guilty to the charges in Pennsylvania related to a gun and a fake I.D. He was denied bail just a short time after this incident outside the courthouse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUIGI MANGIONE, SUSPECT IN UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO'S MURDER: It's completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people. It's lived experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Investigators tell CNN Mangione kept a -- allegedly kept a to-do list in a journal that was taken from him during the arrest, including a disturbing portion about killing a CEO at his own, quote, "bean counting conference."

Investigators are still trying to determine how the shooter knew details about Thompson's stay in New York following the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO, Brian Thompson. Some corporations, we should note, are concerned about the safety of their executives and are reaching out to private security firms. CNN's Matt Egan is following that part of the story. Matt, it's only natural that these companies are going to be worried about this. What are they telling their employees?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Jim, there is a real sense of nervousness and even fear in C suites really across the country. This fatal shooting in Midtown Manhattan, not far from where I am right now, has been a real wake up call for business leaders and for boards of directors. The security firms that are paid top dollars to protect executives, they say that their phones have been ringing off the hook ever since this news broke.

One veteran security executive told me that corporate America is nervous. And he said, healthcare is the target now, but who's next? And so, yes, companies are considering a range of steps to try to ramp up security, including reassessing the security protocols that are already in place and the budgets. They're increasing the number of security personnel and the amount of technology in offices and even in the residences of executives, they're urging executives to delete their digital footprints, including stuff like the floor plans of their homes and any information that's out there about where their kids may go to school. And they're also enhancing mail screening.

There's also a sense that this killing really made it clear that companies need to extend the security blanket that exists for those top-level CEOs down to their lieutenants, because there are a lot of massive corporations out there, like UnitedHealthcare, that maybe the security for those division CEOs does not rise if it's close to the level that it does for the number one CEO, but perhaps it really should.

There's also this growing concern about the risk of a copycat, both because of the positive reaction that this has gotten online and also the level of attention that this suspect has received. And New York Police Department intel report obtained by CNN's John Miller said that the online reaction to the killing may signal an elevated threat facing executives in the near-term, with the shooting itself having the capability to inspire a variety of extremists and grievance-driven malicious actors to violence.

Jim, it looks like it's very clear that companies, really across the company -- across the country, are going to have to ramp up how much security that they spend to try to protect their executives.

ACOSTA: Yes, very valid concern. All right. Matt Egan, thank you very much. Still to come, an NFL quarterback, now the latest victim in a string of break-ins targeting pro athletes. What we know about the newest incident and who authorities believe could be the culprits.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:35:00]

ACOSTA: This morning, officials are investigating the burglary of Joe Burrow's home. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback is the latest high- profile athlete to be the target of a break-in while being in a -- while being away playing in an away game. Burrow's house was ransacked while he was in Dallas for Monday night's game against the Cowboys. This comes as some pro sports leagues are warning about highly skilled and coordinated thieves. The homes of Kansas City Chief stars, Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, were broken into earlier this year, along with NBA player Bobby Portis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBY PORTIS, NBA PLAYER: While I was at my game yesterday, I had a home invasion and they took most of my prize possessions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right. Joining us now is retired FBI supervisory Special Agent Rob D'Amico. Rob, thanks so much for joining us. What do you know about -- what do you think about this burglary of Joe Burrow's house? I mean, I suppose you know, if you know where the athlete lives and you know, you can look at an NFL schedule and see they're out of town, that might make an athlete vulnerable to this sort of thing.

ROB D'AMICO, FORMER DEPUTY OPERATIONS CHIEF, FBI HOSTAGE RESCUE TEAM, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT AND FORMER CHIEF, FBI COUNTER- DRONE UNIT: Absolutely. This is a true case of it's not going to happen to me because after Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, they should have started expecting that they're going to keep using this technique until they start doing things to stop it.

I think it started these crews. They fly the people that are going to break-in like the morning of and then they fly them out the next day. So, anyone who leaves physical evidence is out of the country and the ones that are in the country, they try to keep clean and not get criminally involved. But they're the ones who do the reconnaissance and drive by, look for all the signs. They scout Zillow, they scout old MSL listings that the house was for sale to look at what was in -- what the rooms are like and how to break-in, and then they'll drive by see what the neighborhoods like.

[10:40:00]

ACOSTA: And apparently, the NBA warned some of these athletes these thieves could be have -- could have ties to transnational South American theft groups. Pretty sophisticated groups, I guess.

D'AMICO: Absolutely. I first saw this in Beverly Hills when I had a client out there. They're doing it on homes that were staged for sale, have unbelievable electronics in it. They'd fly the crews in the crews go to a rental truck that the ones here got, they would take all the high-end electronics and then they'd leave the next day. And all these South Americans, and there's plenty of people willing to come up, do this quickly, get paid and go home.

ACOSTA: And I have to think you've got some expensive sports memorabilia. You've got a lot of high value targets that these thieves might be interested in. Bobby Portis apparently posted this surveillance video of the burglary suspects at his home back in November. It seems the surveillance cameras didn't deter the suspects. I mean, this is pretty brazen stuff.

D'AMICO: It is. It used to be that they targeted someone who was at the Super Bowl and away from their house, but their family was home. I always tell them, don't put your family there because you're putting them at risk, if they bump into someone that they weren't expecting. But I think they've now gotten more brazen where they're doing home games, where they just know that they're going to be gone for four or five hours and no one's at the house. They probably looked before to see what he did at another home game to figure out if someone's at the house or not.

ACOSTA: Yes. So, I mean, you have to think they're going to be hiring security guards, upping the security at these kinds of homes because they're just -- no question about it, just targets. I do want to ask you, Rob, about another story that we're following, these mysterious drones that are being spotted over New Jersey. Apparently, two dozen mayors were reportedly meeting today to discuss this and used to head up the FBI's counter drone unit. What's your take on all of this?

D'AMICO: I think it is people telling him to look for drones because when we went out as a Counter Drone Unit, as soon as someone heard that we're there for the Super Bowl, the World Series, they started looking up in the sky and they started saying that all these lights were drones and they're actually manned aircraft. They have apps like Flightradar24 that can tell us what manned aircraft. They all look the same. To be able to judge distance.

So, I think they're self-propelling this notion that there's drones there when they're -- when they say they're all lined up, well, that's an approach for major aircraft. And frankly, drones can fly over these areas. They're G rated except for over military bases or airports. Secret Service may put one up over Trump's golf course if he's going to be up there and it is temporary flight restriction. But I think they're just self-imposing this hype. And even if someone was flying a drone, there's really not anything illegal about it.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, the governor of New Jersey has said the drones don't pose a safety concern, but you've got a lot of people looking up at the sky and getting video of these things. Is it because -- there's just a proliferation of these drones out there, a lot of people own them, all shapes and sizes? And so, they can give some people the willies if they're not expecting to see something like this flying over their neighborhood?

D'AMICO: They can. And it's going to get more and more because, again, they've gotten very cheap and people like to fly them. And now, you know, companies are going to start using them for deliveries. There's a whole series of things that drones are going to start taking over. I think people will get more used to it, but it does spook people highly.

ACOSTA: Yes. All right. Rob D'Amico, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

D'AMICO: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Good talking to you. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:45:00]

ACOSTA: Right now, Secretary of State Tony Blinken is testifying up on Capitol Hill about the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. 13 U.S. service members were killed in the final days of that withdrawal during the Abbey Gate bombing. During Blinken's opening statements this morning, Gaza protesters interrupted the Secretary of State. Take a listen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Committee will suspend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You killed hundreds of thousands in your cozy little office.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Restore order.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And fucking fly back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Committee will come to order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right. We'll continue to monitor this hearing. We'll bring you the latest. Meanwhile, later on today, Blinken will be traveling to Jordan and Turkey for talks on Syria. Families in Syria are still desperately searching for their loved ones taken and held in brutal conditions during the Assad regime. This was in one of the most notorious prisons there known as the human slaughterhouse. One woman told CNN she doesn't know where her husband was taken and has been looking for him for years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are no words to describe how I was feeling when I left, she says. I was holding on to the hope he would be released and our family would be reunited. They didn't even give me his body.

When I would hear someone calling baba, dad, it was torment for me, Umm Firas says. What did these children do to be deprived of their father?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And joining me now is Arwa Damon, founder and president of INARA, the International Network for Aid, Relief, and Assistance. She's also a former CNN senior correspondent who has covered Syria extensively. Arwa, always just in awe of all the great reporting you do, and I know you just spent some time in Gaza. So, thanks for all the reporting that you do. What is your sense of what we've seen unfolding in Syria over the last couple of days? And I mean, this other storyline of these families searching for loved ones just underlines the brutality of the Assad regime.

[10:50:00]

ARWA DAMON, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR AID, RELIEF AND ASSISTANCE AND FORMER CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really does, Jim. And I think, you know, people may have forgotten that this regime, just in the last 13 years, killed half a million of its own people, imprisoned hundreds of thousands of them, tens of thousands of whom remain disappeared into the dark notorious prison system.

And we need to really appreciate what this moment is for the Syrian population, no matter how much debate there is around it or how many detractors there currently are because of who taking over, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and it's, you know, sort of Islamist roots that date back to Al Qaeda, although it has morphed and changed and matured over the years.

But when we talk about the Assad regime, fear of the regime, fear of detention permeated every single cell of every single person's fibers of being. Everybody was terrified of detention systems. And right now, those images that you see of the reunifications of the families who are so desperate, these aren't just families who had loved ones disappear over the last 13 years, these are families who had people disappear over the last decade.

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Arwa, I do want to talk about, you know, what may be on the horizon of the devastating food insecurity that we're seeing among Syrians. Millions were already depending on food aid there. How concerned are you that people have what they need to survive in the aftermath of -- I mean, it was extraordinary what has taken place in Syria over the last week or so. There's no question about it. But I guess the other question is what happens next and whether this is a bit of a tinderbox there right now? What's your sense of it?

DAMON: Well, here's the thing. First of all, it is a tinderbox. And no one who you talk to will or is under any sort of delusion that it's going to be easy and that it's not going to be messy. That's sort of a given. But what you hear a lot of Syrians saying is this is our mess.

And Syrians have been looking and they have learned from the last 13 years, and they've learned from what happened in Iraq, and they've learned from what happened in Libya. And if we take a look right now at what HTS, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, its leader Jolani have been doing and saying, it is the right thing so far.

Of course, everyone is also aware that it might just be lip service, but we also need to remember that, you know, as far back as 2012, I remember talking to, you know, some of the young Syrian activists on the ground, talking to members within serious political opposition who were saying, we're fully aware that we might need to have a revolution after the revolution. People are not going to give up on what they fought so hard for. Remember the core that started all of this were calls for democracy and freedom, and Syrians have been very active behind the scenes for the last 13 years, getting ready for the day after, even though, of course, no one expected that it was going to happen like this or this fast.

ACOSTA: And as you witnessed firsthand during your years of reporting inside and outside of Syria, millions of refugees fled the country during the civil war. And with the Assad regime gone, we're already seeing people scrambling into return. Is the country ready to handle that? I mean it, you know, they've got to put the pieces together here and then deal with all of that.

DAMON: Yes. And also, it's not as if the Assad regime rebuilt any of these swaths of Syria that it completely decimated. So, from, you know, the humanitarian perspective under Assad, Syria was never properly funded to begin with. Syrians were still going hungry and Syrians who lived in, you know, what we call the, you know, liberated or rebel-controlled areas were also really struggling when it came to just basic necessities of, you know, access to food, to clean water, to education.

And so, the country is already from that sense at least broken. The economy has been completely devastated and shattered. And nothing has really been done to try to rebuild that. So, you are, in many ways, kind of starting from scratch, which could prove to be an opportunity, but also ends up creating a very unstable situation for people who want to return, especially for those who are hoping that they'll be able to return to areas that were completely and totally obliterated.

So, there's going to be a bit of a scramble, I think, on the side of the humanitarian entities to try to provide basic services, not to mention, you know, a big push to try to get the funding that is going to be needed to do that. But this also provides an opportunity for the International Community that is woefully abandoned Syria to actually prove that maybe this time around, it's not going to.

ACOSTA: Yes. All right. Well, Arwa Damon, thanks. As always, great reporting. Great insights. Thanks so much for your time. We really appreciate it. Good to talk to you again.

[10:55:00]

All right. Just ahead, what we're learning about the new evidence linking the suspect and Brian Thompson's killing to the scene of the shooting as Luigi Mangione fights his extradition back to court. The latest on the investigation next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: The NYPD tells CNN that wanted posters have been seen around the city since last week's murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO on a Manhattan sidewalk. Wanted posters apparently of corporate --

[11:00:00]