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Trump Names Kimberly Guilfoyle Ambassador to Greece; Interview With Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT); Public Anger Growing at Corporate America?; New Evidence Links CEO Murder Suspect to Crime. Aired 11- 11:30a ET

Aired December 11, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: 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 executives? Could that raise in crime inspire copycats?

Plus, a notable new role for Kimberly Guilfoyle, where president-elect Donald Trump is sending a loyalist who is engaged to his oldest son.

And, later, is Bill Belichick about to enter the college ranks? "The New York Times" says the legendary Super Bowl coach is considering it.

Hello. I'm Jim Acosta, and you are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All right, we do begin with the breaking news this hour, a major new development in the ambush killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Two law enforcement officials tell CNN that fingerprints from the murder scene match the suspect 26-year-old Luigi Mangione.

Also new, a law enforcement source tell CNN Mangione was found with a notebook of a hand written to-do list for carrying out a murder. The source says one chilling notebook entry says, what could be better than -- quote -- "to kill the CEO at his own bean-counting conference."

This is Mangione right here just before his arrest munching a hash brown at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania. An employee there alerted police. This is his latest mug shot. Mangione faces five charges, including second-degree murder. He is fighting extradition back to New York and has been denied bail at the time being.

Let's discuss all those and more with CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller and CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig. He's a former state and federal prosecutor.

John, what are we learning about these fingerprints?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, these are prints that were recovered from items at the scene of the murder along the pathway that the gunman fled along, and that included one print was recovered from a plastic bottle, where they also recovered DNA, another print recovered from a phone that was left behind or dropped, as well as DNA.

But the key here is, they were able to get the arrest fingerprints from the Pennsylvania authorities in Altoona, which is a normal part of the booking process. But then they were able to take those prints, which they didn't have access to, because, remember, prior to this, he didn't have any serious criminal activity or arrests that would have caused his prints or DNA, for that matter, to be in the system.

They took the booking prints. They compared them to the latents that they recovered on the evidence at the scene and they say they have a match. That is a step forward, because there is always the argument -- and it's inherent in the failure to wave extradition -- that that's not me.

Tying him to the scene is the first forensic scientific clue that says, beyond all the circumstantial evidence, that's him and he was there, allegedly.

ACOSTA: Yes, Elie, based on what John just laid out to us, I can't imagine that he is going to be successful in this fight against extradition. I mean, I know he is entitled to due process rights. This is part of that process, but I can't imagine he's going to be successful in this.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Of course, Jim.

Look, we try to steer away from predictions, but I will make one here. He's not going to be extradition. He will be sent from Pennsylvania to New York. It's important that people understand, as you said, Jim, this is a constitutional right that a defendant has. He can challenge his extradition.

But the question here is not, is the person guilty? The only question is, is this human being sitting here in this courtroom in Pennsylvania, is this the same Luigi Mangione who's been charged with murder and other crimes in New York? It's a very low legal bar. Even the fingerprint alone can probably prove it or the other notes that you just referred to, Jim, would probably be enough to prove it to link him to that crime scene to say this is the guy.

He will wind up back in New York and there he will face murder charges.

ACOSTA: Yes, John, what about the notebook and some of the things that he apparently wrote in this notebook, a to-do list, I guess, musing about killing a CEO at his own bean-counting conference?

I mean, this sounds like a very methodically, driven suspect here.

MILLER: It is. And he almost paints that picture himself of himself in the three-page note that police recovered. And that's a note that is written as if he's not there to talk to them. It describes -- it's addressed to the authorities.

And he says, putting this together was relatively simple. It just involved some social engineering, probably his reference to how he figured out what hotel Brian Thompson was staying in. And he said, CAD, which we believe is computer-aided design, which is a system that engineers use in projects.

[11:05:00]

But beyond that note, there's the spiral notebook. And in the note, it says, in the spiral notebook, you will find some to-do lists and some basic planning things. Going through the notebook, They find some rationalizations written out in handwriting about Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber.

But to use a bomb, he wrote, innocent people could be caught up in the carnage. Shooting would be the way to go, and then that line about what would be better than to shoot the CEO at his own bean-counting conference justifying his actions.

ACOSTA: And, John, one other thing that has been on my mind is, what is going on with this back pain issue with Mangione and how that potentially might play a role in all of this? What do we think?

MILLER: Well, it clearly is a factor in his personal narrative, the things he writes about on other online platforms prior to this murder about the agony of having the pain, the pain never going away and suffering from it.

We also have to get to the place where, was this a factor with UnitedHealthcare at some point? Was it their insurer or did his medical insurer do something that disappointed him so much that it turned him against the industry in general and UnitedHealthcare was just the biggest?

No mention in anything that I have either seen or heard about of Brian Thompson specifically. He seems at least at this point to be a symbol of the health care industry, because he heads the largest.

ACOSTA: Right.

Well, and Elie, I talked about this with Karen Agnifilo in the last hour. I want to ask you about this because it's been on my mind. And that is, we're seeing there's new images this morning of wanted posters that have been posted on lamp posts and that sort of thing around Manhattan. There's all this online chatter elevating, putting this Mangione character on a pedestal and so on.

And I'm just wondering, as somebody who was a prosecutor, Elie, are you worried what might happen at this trial? And could you have a wayward juror who is sympathetic to all of this stuff?

HONIG: It's a great question, Jim.

So I don't think I would be overly concerned as a prosecutor with all this bizarre, in my view, inexplicable elevation of this person, who's a cold-blooded killer who left a family without a father. And here's why. There's two reasons.

First of all, we have a jury selection process. This case will go to trial, in all likelihood, in Manhattan for murder. And so people who are obviously biased, people who are posting these wild sort of praise of this guy on social media, they will be filtered out. The other thing that people need to understand is, it's one thing to pop off on social media and praise this guy or try to make him some sort of hero.

It's another thing to walk into a courtroom. It's a very solemn, serious, formalized setting to get sworn on to a jury to take an oath to do your job, to judge the case impartially, to be instructed by a judge that these are the laws you have to follow, to sit there with 11 of your fellow civilians and to say, because I like this guy or think he's cool or something like that, I'm going to let this guy go on murder.

I just don't see that happening. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic from the prosecutor's point of view. But I think there's a big difference between expressing social media memes and actually going into a courtroom and tanking a murder case.

ACOSTA: Yes.

And, John, from a law enforcement standpoint, I have to think that the copycat concern inside the NYPD right now has to be real.

MILLER: It's very real.

In fact, yesterday, the NYPD sent to hundreds of other law enforcement agencies across the country an intelligence analysis piece written by the analysts of the intelligence bureau, basically with a finding saying that this murder and the swirl of online activity around it, the positive reactions that it is getting in certain corners of the Internet may serve as a catalyst to inspire others towards similar radicalization or pathways to violence.

ACOSTA: Yes, that's something we will be watching.

All right, Elie and John, thank you both very much. Really appreciate it.

As we're just talking about officials with the NYPD tell CNN that CEO wanted posters have been seen around the city as fears grow that copycats could target other corporate executives for violence.

We get the details from reporter N.J. Burkett of CNN affiliate WABC.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

N.J. BURKETT, WABC REPORTER (voice-over): NYPD commanders say the risk to corporate executives is undeniable, that last week's public execution of Brian Thompson in Midtown could inspire other extremists.

The department's intelligence bureau is sounding the alarm. "Based on observed initial online reactions, there is a risk that a wide range of extremists may view Mangione as a martyr and an example to follow."

The warning is based on an analysis of Mangione's writings and the social media reaction to them and his declaration -- quote -- "Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming." Counterterrorism officials fear it could be interpreted by some as Mangione's call to action.

[11:10:05]

Deputy NYPD Commissioner Rebecca Weiner:

REBECCA WEINER, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, NYPD COUNTERTERRORISM: We, of course, have been on the phone with all of our partners here in the city to make sure everybody is doing what they can to protect everybody that needs protecting.

BURKETT: Outside the New York Stock Exchange today, we found these posters praising Thompson's murder with a red X across his portrait, while singling out another executive.

A similar poster on Broadway had been ripped down. The source of the posters was not identified. Kathryn Wylde runs the city's most influential business group.

KATHRYN WYLDE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, PARTNERSHIP FOR NEW YORK: Business leaders all take very personally what happened to Brian Thompson, because he was a guy who was doing his job. And in a sense it could have been any of them, because there is vitriol in social media, across the board about corporate America.

BURKETT: Ms. Wylde says executives are stepping up their personal security while developing plans to strengthen ties to the community.

(on camera): Mangione didn't put those posters up.

WYLDE: No, you look at social media, at the posters on the street and you have to say this is not a one-person problem. This is a societal issue that we better figure out how to deal with.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: All right, still ahead this hour: She had become -- she had expected to become Donald Trump's daughter-in-law.

Today, Kimberly Guilfoyle poised for a new role, the president-elect naming her to a post in his administration. Why he says she is supremely qualified for it. That's ahead.

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[11:16:23]

ACOSTA: He's much better off this week than he was last week. That's what Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said about Donald Trump's defense secretary pick, Pete Hegseth.

The former FOX News host is back up on Capitol Hill today trying to lock down support after serious allegations of misconduct emerged against him. Hegseth will meet with three key senators who've been critical of the president-elect in the past. There they are right there.

Joining us now to talk about this, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. He's on both Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committee.

Senator, what are your concerns about Pete Hegseth? And have you picked up on something that we have been hearing in the reporting about Pete Hegseth? And that is that Trump world is putting a lot of pressure on some of these Republican senators to get to yes on Hegseth. Are you hearing any of that?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): There's no question that Donald Trump is heightening the heat, turning up the screws, and, to some extent, turning the tide for Hegseth.

Part of the threat is that they will encounter primaries in their states. Their fear is not Democratic opposition in these red states. It's the threat of a primary against them, inspired and supported by Donald Trump.

But they remain deeply concerned and troubled -- I think that's an understatement -- by his clear lack of qualifications and the serious allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual impropriety. He's never managed an organization of larger than 50 or so employees with minuscule budgets, compared to the $900 billion budget and three million military men and women that he'd be responsible for as secretary of defense.

And those organizations that he has run, actually, he has run them into the ground, squandering assets and revenues. So I think that the tie between financial mismanagement, sexual improprieties, alcohol abuse, we don't want a secretary of defense who's impaired for one minute, because he's on call every minute of the day and night.

And I think those concerns continue to be on the minds of my Republican colleagues. And Donald Trump has yet to overcome them. So I think there is still a significant chance -- in fact, I might even put it better than 50/50 -- that Hegseth will not be confirmed.

ACOSTA: Well, I guess that makes me want to ask about your reaction to what Senator Lindsey Graham said earlier this morning, that he's much better off this week than he was last week.

I suppose it doesn't necessarily mean that he's guaranteed to be confirmed. But I guess you're disputing this sense that his prospects are brighter this week? Or what is your sense of it?

BLUMENTHAL: His prospects are brighter this week, but by no means a lock-on confirmation. There are still Republicans who, if we had a secret ballot, would vote against him, five to 10 of them who have expressed to me that they really dislike and are opposed to Hegseth.

But whether they will vote for him really depends on whether they show the backbone and spine and vote on principle, not on politics.

ACOSTA: And, Senator, I want to ask you about something else. Over the weekend, Trump said members of the January 6 Committee should go to jail.

And you have said before that you oppose President Biden issuing preemptive pardons for Trump's rivals. Do you still feel that way? I mean, what are your concerns if you have the president-elect -- and it is kind of an extraordinary thing to hear president-elect talk in this fashion about wanting to see lawmakers go to jail.

[11:20:13]

Wouldn't it make sense to offer some preemptive pardons to some of those individuals?

BLUMENTHAL: I strongly oppose preemptive pardons.

First of all, it's in some ways going to be perceived as an implicit acknowledgement of guilt. I'm a former prosecutor, United States attorney, chief federal prosecutor in Connecticut, and state attorney general for 20 years. I know and people should know that walking into a courtroom and making charges is far from proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

There is no evidence of wrongdoing against those members of the January 6 committees who brought those impeachment articles or who prosecuted them. And the likely beneficiaries of preemptive pardons would be the top echelon, and the underlings would still have the fear of that kind of prosecution.

But let's have faith in the criminal justice system and the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. I think any such unfounded, unjust charges against people who simply did their jobs would ultimately cause a backlash against Donald Trump, because there will be acquittals and the costs of their defense or investigation, I think, should be borne by a defense fund.

I would certainly contribute. Or by a pro bono legal team. I'd sign up. Count me in, because I think they are on the right side and we ought to make these cases a test case for the principle of justice.

ACOSTA: And, Senator, I do want to ask you about online safety because so many parents out there, including myself, are very concerned about online safety for our kids.

And over the weekend, Elon Musk and the CEO of X praised a bill you are proposing and pushed the House to pass it. The bill faces an uphill battle there over censorship concerns. But Speaker Mike Johnson is saying -- quote -- "I love the principle, but the details of that are very problematic."

What's your response to that and what's your sense of this Online Safety Act legislation?

BLUMENTHAL: You know, the details, Jim, have been resolved and worked over and edited over the last two, three years by myself and Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, in a very methodical and resolute way. The Elon Musk endorsement, I really appreciate his stepping forward,

along with Linda Yaccarino, and dispelling any doubt that this bill fully supports free expression and the First Amendment. Elon Musk is the champion among big-tech executives of First Amendment values and principles.

And what we have done in some of our changes is to make clear that there's no effect of censorship. And the opposition from big tech, spending millions of dollars on lobbyists and lawyers, is simply the result of their desire to continue to profit by driving toxic content at kids.

ACOSTA: Yes. Yes.

BLUMENTHAL: Your concern as a parent, my concern is mirrored by countless parents across the country, a diverse coalition that enabled us to win in the United States Senate 91-3. I hope we will give it a vote in the House. It'll pass overwhelmingly.

ACOSTA: Yes, I mean, it's got to be cleaned up and we have got to better protect our kids. There's just so much dangerous content out there. And the addictive nature of these apps and so on just makes it just a mess for parents out there.

Senator Blumenthal, thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right.

And from the FOX News set to the world stage. Kimberly Guilfoyle is president-elect's Donald Trump's pick to be ambassador to Greece. You might remember she was engaged to Donald Trump Jr.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is in West Palm Beach, Florida, for us.

Kristen, Guilfoyle is the latest person with close ties to the Trump family to get a new post in the administration. She's not the only one.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Jim.

And just to keep in mind here, she's very close to the family outside of that engagement. She's raised millions and millions of dollars for Donald Trump. But, as you said, she's not really -- just the latest in a group of people who have been brought on who actually have familial ties to Donald Trump.

Charles Kushner was named the ambassador to France. Massad Boulos, who is the father-in-law of Tiffany Trump, was named a senior adviser for Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. And now you have Kimberly Guilfoyle. Now, Guilfoyle has accepted this post.

And Don Jr. even wrote a glowing post about the decision to make her ambassador to Greece, saying: "I'm so proud of Kimberly. She loves America and she has always wanted to serve the country as an ambassador. She will be an amazing leader for America first."

[11:25:05]

Again, they're keeping a lot of things in the family now. We saw them do that the first time when he made Ivanka and Jared Kushner both advisers to the White House. This time, he is giving even bigger positions in different parts of the administration.

ACOSTA: Yes, he certainly is.

All right, Kristen Holmes, we know you will be following it. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

Still ahead this hour: Police in Wisconsin might have some new information about a kayaker who faked his own death. Should he pay back the $35,000 spent looking for his body?

We will talk about that.

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