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Woman Set On Fire In Subway Car; NYPD Person Of Interest In Custody; Trump Discuss Plans For First Day In Office; Trump Reacts About Musk; Mangione Due To Face State Charges; Navy Pilots Shot Down Over Red Sea by Apparently Friendly Fire; Matt Gaetz Ethics Report Will Be Released. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired December 22, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN Newsroom, I'm Jessica Dean in New York, and we begin with breaking news tonight. A manhunt underway in New York City after a truly horrific attack on the subway. The NYPD saying a woman sleeping on the train this morning was deliberately set on fire. The woman, who has yet to be identified, has since died. We've learned New York police are set to hold a news conference on this investigation very soon. We're keeping our eye on that.

Meantime, CNN's Gloria Pazmino is tracking the story from New York and Gloria we understand police are searching for the people -- person who did this and there are photos. What more are you learning?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Jessica. We're watching as police officials there get ready to have this briefing in the next few minutes, but this is just a horrific and senseless attack from the details that we have learned in the last few hours. Police tell us that there was a woman who was asleep inside of an F train in Brooklyn at the Stillwell Avenue train station in Coney Island. That is the end of the line there.

And the train was not moving. She was asleep inside of the subway car. And early this morning, police tell us that a man approached her and set her on fire. As she burned, the man walked away and left the station. Police who were who were patrolling the platform at the time saw the scene, tried to put out the flames and called EMS who responded. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Now you're looking at images that the police have released. This is the person they are looking for. They say that he is about five feet, six inches tall. He's 150 pounds, approximately 25 to 30 years old. And he was last seen, as you see it there, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt. Now this is happening as there's been a lot of concern and a lot of focus, Jessica, on the safety of the city's subways.

In fact, the governor, Governor Kathy Hochul here in New York, announced last week that she was deploying an additional 250 members of the National Guard -- DEAN: Gloria, sorry, I'm going to interrupt you. We've got Jessica

Tisch, the police commissioner. We're going to listen in. Thank you so much, Gloria.

(LIVE VIDEO)

JESSICA TISCH, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: -- carried out one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being. And it took the life of an innocent New Yorker. But at this hour, I am pleased to announce that a short time ago alert NYPD transit officers took a person of interest into custody. I want you to know that this apprehension was another in what has become a series of joint efforts involving different crimes between the police and the public we serve.

In today's case, we were able to get incredibly clear and detailed images of the suspect from the initial incident. Then we asked the media to broadcast those images far and wide so we could use the viewing public as a force multiplier and New Yorkers came through again. It was just before 7:30 this morning when our person of interest and the victim were both riding an F train to the end of the line at Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn.

As the train pulled into the station, the suspect calmly walked up to the victim who was in a seated position at the end of a subway car. The suspect used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim's clothing, which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds. Officers who were on patrol on an upper level of that station smelled and saw smoke and went to investigate.

What they saw was a person standing inside the train car, fully engulfed in flames. With the help of an MTA employee and a fire extinguisher, the flames were put out. Unfortunately, it was too late. and the victim was pronounced on the scene. Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car. And the body-worn cameras on the responding officers produced a very clear detailed look at the killer.

After the NYPD disseminated those images, three high school age New Yorkers called 911 to say that they recognize the suspect. Other transit officers responded to that 911 call and also spotted the man wearing the same gray hoodie, distinct wool hat, pain splattered pants, and tan boots already on another moving train.

[17:05:04]

Police radioed ahead to have the train stopped. Then, Transit District 2 officers boarded the stop train and walked from car to car until they located and arrested the person of interest without further incident. The person of interest also was found with a lighter in his pocket. I want to thank the young people who called 911 to help. They saw something and they said something and they did something. This is another example of great technology and even greater old-fashioned police work with a huge assist from the public.

Now our Chief of Transit, Chief Joe Gulotta, is going to provide more specifics.

JOSEPH GULOTTA, NYPD CHIEF OF TRANSIT: Good afternoon. Once again, we're here talking about the great work that the public does alongside our offices. A 911 call was received that this individual is recognized at the J and York Street station on the F line. Our transit sergeant responded to that location, met with these young high school students, looked inside the train and saw an individual that he recognized from wanted flyers that we got out earlier. He confirmed that it was our individual wearing the same clothes and hat and radioed ahead.

Our officers in District 2 stopped that train at Herald Square and was able to keep the doors closed, walk the train, and place this very dangerous individual in custody. This is amazing work done by the public and the police working together. Once again, someone saw something, we got it out through technology in numerous ways, and we were able to make a quick arrest on this nothing less than heinous crime that occurred in our subway system. Thank you. I'm going to pass it off to Chief Kemper from the MTA.

MICHAEL KEMPER, MTA CHIEF OF SECURITY: Thank you, Joe. Chief Gulotta. Commissioner. You know, I've been in conversation all day with the chairman and CEO of the MTA, Janno Lieber, as well as the President of New York City Transit, Demetrius Crichlow. And before I give some remarks, we all want to offer our sincere and deepest condolences to the family of the victim of this brutal, senseless homicide that occurred early this morning in Brooklyn.

The MTA team has been involved, myself included, from the inception of this incident, working hand in hand with the NYPD, to offer closure or get to a closure of this case. You know, just about a year or so ago, Governor Hochul funded a project to install video cameras in every single car of every single train in the New York City subway system. The chairman, Chairman Lieber, Demetrius Crichlow, took that and challenged their team at the MTA to get those cameras installed by the end of calendar year 2024.

And as I stand here now, we're proud at the MTA to report that 100 percent every single subway car in New York City is outfitted with video surveillance on each train in the city. So that challenge was met and, you know, just recognition and congratulations to the team at the MTA for getting that done. It was it was not easy to do. But today's brutal murder was captured on one of those on-board train video cameras. It offered detectives immediately answers to questions that they had. What happened?

It offered them images of the perpetrator. It allowed them to take those images and release them to the public. And it allowed the public to see something and say something. And that's why we're standing here now reporting that an individual is in custody, a person of interest is in custody. So, now we're calling upon the rest of the justice system to step up and do their jobs. There must be strong, swift consequences on this person, and I use that term lightly, who committed this brutal "

(END LIVE VIDEO) DEAN: You are listening to the press conference where we have learned that a person of interest has been taken into custody after an atrocious crime this morning where a woman was set on fire while riding a train. All right, I believe they are taking questions now. We're still trying to learn more about the people involved. Let's listen.

[17:09:57]

(BEGIN LIVE VIDEO)

UNKNOWN: Could you tell us a little bit more about each individual involved here, the suspect and there's some rumors that he may have been a migrant, a new arrival to the country. Can you talk about that? And there's also some rumors the victim may have been a homeless. Could you -- was she in need? Can you talk about her, please?

GULOTTA: So as of now, we're still investigating that. It's all part of our active investigation.

UNKNOWN: Nikki (inaudible).

UNKNOWN: I don't the mic then. Was there any interaction between the suspect and the victim? Did they talk at all on the train? Was she ever asleep? It was first reported she was sleeping, but she wasn't asleep?

GULOTTA: All right, so like I said, that's going to be part of the investigation. She's definitely there. She's motionless. So, to say if she's asleep or not, we're not 100 percent sure, but it appears that she's motionless at that spot. There is no interaction between the two and when the incident happens there is no interaction between the two.

UNKNOWN: Is there any reason to believe they knew each other from a prior incident?

GULOTTA: We don't believe they knew each other, no.

UNKNOWN: Brian, New York Post.

UNKNOWN: Sorry, initial video appears to show a police officer walking by the (inaudible) subway car and (inaudible). What happened with that situation?

GULOTTA: Okay, so yeah, I went and spoke to these officers and I'll say this, they responded, it was numerous officers responding, not just the one officer to this heinous crime. What our officers saw and they had to deal with and they were trying to get fire extinguishers. I commend that one officer who stayed there to make sure he kept the crime scene the way it's supposed to be. Make sure he kept an eye on what was going on. So, I think he did his job perfectly as his fellow officers went and got MTA workers, got fire extinguishers and eventually were able to extinguish the individual.

UNKNOWN: All right, we have time for one or two more. Sonia Rincon, WABC. SONIA RINCON, REPORTER, WABC-TV: So, (inaudible) a victim is burned

like that. It's hard to identify them. Has she been identified? Do we know her age? Has her family been notified?

GULATTO: So that's all pending. We do not have an identification at this time, though.

RINCON: Is it hard to identify burn victims with the state of "

GULOTTA: Yeah -- yes, it is. And we will be, like I said, it will be part of our investigation as we go further.

RON LEE, REPORTER, NY1: Ron Lee, New York1. Can I just ask you about the additional deployment of National Guard, like, resources? Were there any at that station with (inaudible) to detour the curve (ph)?

GULOTTA: Well, I'll say this. We had officers at that station all night and the officers that responded were at that station, saw the smoke, smelled the smoke and responded right to the scene.

UNKNOWN: (Inaudible) WNBC.

UNKNOWN: Question about the surveillance cameras on the subway car. Number one, is this the first time you've been able to make a major arrest using those cameras? And then second, did those surveillance cameras show the victim prior to her being set on fire? Did she appear to be homeless person? Is there any information that you've been able to gather based on those cameras and what she was doing on the train? Where she got on, stuff like that?

GULOTTA: So, we have not been able to identify who she is yet. But what I will say about these cameras, which is really important, this has been a phased rollout and we talk all the time with the MTA about how important it is. This has solved many crimes through the system. It is a game changer for us in the NYPD and it makes a tremendous difference. So, this is not the first time we've used these cameras. As they rolled out, they've been an intricate part of our investigations with the Detective Bureau on solving crimes.

UNKNKOWN: All right, final question, Kendall Fox5.

KENDALL GREEN, REPORTER, FOX 5 NEWS: Police made contact with the suspect while the (inaudible) going on? Is there a reason why he wasn't arrested right then?

GULOTTA: Yeah, I can discuss that. So that individual arrived here, it looks like in 2018, from Guatemala. Just want to put that point out, and that's all we have on him right now. But with that being said, uh, no one on the scene identified him so -- as being there. So, our officers, when they responded, had no indication he was part of this incident. Nothing led us in that direction.

Once again, the cameras put us there and put us in that direction and we were able to figure out that he was involved in it later on after we got the camera video footage back. And the body -- worn camera, worn by the officers was a really big piece of getting that wanted flyer out. That picture was so clear. So that was an intricate part of this investigation as we went forward.

UNKNOWN: All right. Thank you everyone for your time and attention.

(END LIVE VIDEO)

DEAN: Okay, again, listening there to authorities here in New York City talking about this person of interest that is now in custody in this horrific crime that happened around 7:30 this morning. A woman riding a subway car here in New York was set on fire and ultimately died after being set on fire.

Joining us now is Felipe Rodriguez, a retired NYPD detective sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Thanks so much for being here with us. I just want to start first to your reaction to this information that we're getting. A couple things stood out to me. One, that they were able to find this person and act on it a lot in part, in great part, due to these surveillance cameras that they have installed on these subway cars and the technology, and then these teenage kids here in New York played a role by calling in after seeing that photo.

[17:15:08]

What more is standing out to you as well as you were listening to that?

FELIPE RODRIGUEZ, RETIRED NYPD DETECTIVE SERGEANT: Well, the key thing was getting the identification through the body worn cameras. You know, this is definitely had been a step up in technology. And the fact that the MTA was willing to spend all that money to make sure that every train now has CCTV footage and be able to use that as an investigative tool is a huge step forward. At this point, what we're trying to recognize is, you know, what is the motive still? So that's going to take a bit of, you know, CCTV investigation and going through the footage to try to find out what was the motive.

DEAN: It was also interesting to hear the MTA security officer kind of impassionedly saying, now it's time for the justice system to go to work, and we expect them to really dig in here, and we want a strong response. Essentially, the undercurrent is we have to nudge you to have a strong response. Did you get anything from that? Can you help illuminate some context around those comments?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, it's correct. You know, right now, law enforcement feels, you know, they've been abandoned pretty much. The officers are continuously making arrests. The prosecutors, you know, in their wisdom or whichever way, you know, in their feelings, feel that people shouldn't be prosecuted. But once again, I always say, remember, there's five to six percent of these people that are really out there just committing continuous criminal activity.

You know, in the 80s and 90s, we had something called the Transit Recidivism Program. And these individuals, no matter how minor, their cases were all taken seriously. And that program has gone away. We need to go back to the basics and hold people accountable. DEAN: And we're not getting much information on the victim. They said

they don't have an identification on her yet. They said it did not appear that they knew each other. It didn't appear that they had any interaction previous to the suspect lighting her on fire. All they would say is that the person in custody now did arrive in 2018 from Guatemala. How hard is it to kind of put the pieces together on the people involved here?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, you know, it's going to be a forensic, you know, you have to go back to the coroner and try to see if we're able to even pull identification. I've been to a couple of these calls where people have been, you know, accelerant has been used and they've been put on fire. They're very difficult calls, even for the officers. You know, that the trauma they go through is something that they're going to have to live with. And they're going to have to try to see if they could get any sort of identification from that person.

It might take a while, depending on the degree, you know, first- degree, second-degree burns. And at this point, backtracking now to the perpetrator, we're going to have to get assistance from the federal government and see, you know, what port of entry, where he crossed legally or illegally, and kind of backtrack through that. So, there's still a lot of pieces that we have put together and that's why, you know, NYPD detectives do the job that they do. They do a great job, but, you know, we still have quite a few bit of questions that we need answers for.

DEAN: Yeah, and you make the point of just how traumatic this particular crime truly is when someone is burned alive like this. Felipe Rodriguez, thank you so much for your analysis on this. We really appreciate it.

We are going to continue to follow this breaking news. Again, a person of interest is in custody in New York After a woman was killed after being lit on fire in a subway car. We're going to stay on top of that, other top stories. We're going to take a break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:00]

DEAN: President-elect Donald Trump making his first public remarks in Phoenix since nearly sending the government into a shutdown. Earlier today, Trump spoke about several hot button issues, including taking back the Panama Canal, renaming America's tallest mountain, and his border and immigration policy plans that would start on his first day back in office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: On my first day back in the Oval Office, I will sign a historic slate of executive orders to close our border to illegal aliens and stop the invasion of our country. And on that same day, we will begin the largest deportation operation in American history, larger even than that of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. (END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The incoming president also giving his take on his relationship with Elon Musk and address a persistent talking point among Democrats that Musk is acting and will act as a shadow president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The new one is, President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk. No, no, that's not happening. But Elon's done an amazing job. Isn't it nice to have smart people that we can rely on? No, he's not going to be president, that I can tell you. And I'm safe, you know why? He can't be, he wasn't born in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: For more, we're joined by Democratic strategist, Julie Roginsky, and Katie Frost, Republican strategist and former executive director for the Georgia Freedom Caucus. Good to see both of you. I do want to get to immigration in just a moment, but let's start there where the president-elect kind of dropped off talking about Elon Musk. Katie, I just want to get your reaction to his take there on what's being said about Musk.

[17:24:59]

KATIE FROST, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, it's great to see both you ladies again. You know, this is of course the latest talking point we're seeing coming out of the Democratic Party, which is highly ironic considering the Wall Street Journal report that dropped this week talking about how President Biden has been struggling to do the job since very early in his presidency. So apparently now it's a good point of concern for Democrats. The idea that there might be someone other than the elected president trying to call shots when that's exactly what's been happening for the last four years. I would love to know who's been the shadow president of our country for the last four years.

DEAN: And Julie, I just want to get your thoughts on it as well.

JULIE ROGINSKY, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, it sounds like this is getting a little bit to Trump, right? Anybody who decides to elevate themselves to even pretend to be on par with Trump, Trump eventually gets rid of it. So, I don't give this bromance much time. Katie, the difference is Elon Musk, who's not elected to anything, who's not appointed to anything through a confirmation process, is basically calling the shots and was calling the shots last week.

He came out first to scuttle this bipartisan deal that led to a tremendous amount of chaos. And you have the speaker of the house himself, acknowledging that he was continuously talking to Elon Musk throughout this whole process. Who is Elon Musk, but an un-elected billionaire who has his own interest with this budget and who obviously is a result of those interests decided to scuttle a deal that would somehow shock or rebel shocks impact his business in China, among other things? And so, look, this is Trump reminding people and reminding Musk, I

think, that he's paying attention. So very clearly this is getting to Trump and I'm glad I'm going to sit back as I keep saying and drink my martini and watch this chaos unfold because this is what the Republicans asked for and they're getting it.

DEAN: Yeah, I guess Katie, I do -- I am curious what you think about Julie's point there that Trump felt the need to talk about this. I mean, he's known for paying attention about what's being said. He watches news, he reads -- you know, he's paying attention to kind of what's out there in the ether. And clearly, this was something he felt like he needed to address.

FROST: Well, he knows we're talking about it here.

DEAN: Right.

FROST: It's clearly become a talking point that the Democrats are trying to push. So, he's preemptively going to address it. That's the exact same thing Speaker Johnson did with his gaggle with reporters after the bill was passed in Congress. This is something people are asking questions. So, they're going to preemptively answer that.

But I would go back to, you know, Julie said that no one elected Elon Musk. No one elected the White House staff that have been running the show on President Biden has been asleep at the wheel essentially for the last four years. So, I mean, you can talk about now, apparently the influence of billionaires is a concern.

It isn't a concern when George Soros puts a lot of money into electing people all across the country. It isn't a concern when Mark Zuckerberg wanted to get involved in elections. It wasn't a concern when Jack Dorsey owned Twitter, apparently now that it's X, and its owned by Elon Musk, it is a concern. So, there definitely seems to be a double standard at play here.

ROGINSKY: The next time, Katie, but the next time that, George Soros or Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey picks up the phone and tanks a bipartisan negotiated bill, you let me know that's never happened. George Soros has never to my knowledge, picked up the phone and called then speaker Nancy Pelosi and said, this is what you have to do. Nobody's even alleged that he's done that.

This is quite different. This is an unelected billionaire who is literally calling the shots and telling Republicans what they're going to vote for and what they're not going to vote for. And they acquiesce. They actually acquiesce to him. And so that's the part to me that makes no sense. Nobody elected Elon Musk. He came out first, tanked this bill, then Trump belatedly jumped in as a me too kind of, you know, me, I also agree with this.

But this was Elon Musk's mess that he made. And that's something that the speaker of the house acknowledged. You have members of Congress literally acknowledging they're consulting with Elon Musk before making decisions. That's nothing that we've ever seen before, at least in my lifetime. FROST: Well, I think one person's called "

DEAN: Go ahead.

FROST: I'll say one person's calling the shots is another person's call to action. You know, Elon Musk put out the word and the people responded and melted the phone lines. And look, if Taylor Swift had put out a tweet and the Swifties had melted the capital switchboard, which they crashed Ticketmaster, I have no doubt that the Swifties could crash the capital switchboard, we probably wouldn't be having the same kind of conversation. We'd be like, look at democracy in action.

Look, people are motivated. This is exciting. So, I would say it's not Elon Musk and it's not even what he's doing. It's the results people don't like. They didn't like that a quote, bipartisan bill that was really just a giveaway with Santa Claus had come to Washington and everybody was getting what they wanted. That got tanked and that's what people are upset about.

DEAN: It is interesting though he is --

ROGISNKY: You let me " will you let me know when Taylor Swift does that, Katie, you let me know when Taylor Swift decides to call to action about specific legislation and we could have that conversation.

DEAN: Elon Musk has jumped on phone calls with foreign leaders as well, which is interesting. I would like to talk more about that, but unfortunately, we are out of time. Julie Roginsky and Katie Frost, we appreciate both of you. Thanks so much.

FROST: Thank you.

[17:29:54]

DEAN: When we come back, healthcare CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione set to face state murder and terrorism charges in New York tomorrow. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Tomorrow, the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO is due in court to be arraigned on several charges from New York State prosecutors. The state case includes charges of murder and terrorism. Luigi Mangione is facing a parallel federal prosecution as well, including one count of murder. That opens up the possibility of the death penalty.

Joining us now with more is the CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson. Joey, thanks so much for being here with us. First, let's just start with what we should expect tomorrow.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yeah, Jessica, good to be with you.

[17:35:00] So, it's an arraignment and what that means is he'll be brought into the courtroom, he'll be apprised of the charges that he's facing, not that he doesn't know it already, but everyone is entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard.

And so, he'll waive a public reading of the charges, of course. He'll appear with counsel and to a plea of not guilty, and then the case will ultimately be put over. And at that time, of course, discovery and evidence will be exchanged, it'll be reviewed and evaluated, his attorneys will make certain motions to suppress certain evidence, and then it's game on in terms of a trial or not.

But tomorrow is simply an appearance for him to be apprised of the charges for bail conditions to be set. He'll be remanded. That is no bail will be there. He will not get out anywhere, and the case will then begin in earnest with respect to his guilt or lack thereof.

DEAN: And so much has been made, and we're looking at pictures now of that perp walk where there were just dozens of agents and officers. The mayor of New York walking behind him that day when they brought him here to New York City. Do you think it will be like this? It will be such a spectacle or do you think that they're going to try to tone things down a little bit tomorrow?

JACKSON: So, in terms of what we saw there and what we're looking at there, I think that was about public confidence and that was to send the message that if you commit an act, any act of violence, certainly one of murder, we will find you, we will bring you to justice, and people at the highest level of government will be concerned about you and what you did and what you allegedly are responsible for and will go to the ends of the earth and extend all types of resources. So, I think that's what it was about, Jessica.

And I also believe, because it has been so public and people have such strong feelings about this, many of course, inuring to his benefit, I think the authorities wanted to show, no, not today, not tomorrow, not ever, we'll get you, we'll find you, and here he is.

DEAN: And so, you know, because I've talked to some people in law enforcement and adjacent to the justice system who said that was really a mistake. It elevated him. It made him look bigger than he actually is. Everybody wanted a piece of this, so that it was a lot of people trying to put their face with this big arrest. But you think this was actually, in your opinion, trying to telegraph to the public, we will come get you, we will come find you.

JACKSON: Yeah, I really do. I think people can have their opinions, and they will have their opinions and should. We live in a democracy. Everyone has an opinion of their own. But ultimately, whether you think it is overkill or not, and I do think it will continue, I think that he was elevated before that. Before that, you saw people and still selling St. Luigi t-shirts and other garments and items. You have posters. You have the social media reaction, which is unbelievably favorable to him.

And I think these were authorities saying, not withstanding, that public messaging of people who were tempted, apparently, Jessica, liked what he did, that this is unacceptable, this is a crime, we're going to come get you, we'll find you, and here he is. So, that's my take on it. But obviously, everyone has an opinion and those opinions should be respected.

DEAN: Okay. So, on that note, I want to play a clip from SNL last night where they -- well, I'll just let everybody watch it. There was a mention of Luigi Mangione. This is what happened. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN JOST, COMEDIAN: Luigi Mangione dropped --

(CHEERING)

Yeah. Yeah. Definitely woo --

(LAUGHTER)

You're wooing for justice, right?

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Joey, it is kind of remarkable that this is a suspect who is suspected of killing someone in cold blood on a street corner in Manhattan, and he is getting rock star reaction while they're telling jokes on SNL from the crowd.

JACKSON: Yeah, it's really amazing and it's not something we've seen at all, I believe, as we look there, free Luigi. I think it speaks to a larger issue about feelings really of not only corporate America but of the healthcare industry where people really have significant claims and valid claims that are being disrespected and denied and people are dying as a result of there being an emphasis on profits over health. And so, I think that's a reaction to that.

The real concern legally, Jessica, is how that plays out in a courtroom. There's something called jury nullification, and that is where a jury knows you did it, but they give you a pass for a variety of reasons, much of which they can sympathize and empathize with what you do. Now, many people may say, you're kidding, you're crazy. They'll never do it in this instance. I'm not so sure. I mean, the social media reaction is unbelievable. We saw it there in that clip. People are cheering for him. So, if you get jurors like that on the jury pool, what will their reactions be?

Last point to that, Jessica, and yes, I get that you can dismiss jurors for cause. What that means in English is that if a juror says, I hate the healthcare system, I hate the system in general, I like Luigi, I like what he did, you can excuse them, but you can't excuse everybody who doesn't show a bias but conceals it and gets on the jury and has it.

[17:40:00] So, I'm interested to see how the public perception plays out in a court of law when he's sitting before 12 jurors of his peers who have to decide guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. We'll see.

DEAN: Yeah, it does have legal ramifications or potentially could. Joey Jackson, thank you so much. Good to see you.

JACKSON: Thank you, Jessica, and you.

DEAN: Yep. A pair of U.S. Navy pilots are shaken, but okay after one of their own ships apparently shot them down. What we're learning about the incident of friendly fire near the Middle East. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Two Navy pilots are lucky to be alive after their fighter jet was shot down over the Red Sea in an apparent friendly fire incident. U.S. Central Command says the F/A-18 was operating in the waters of the Middle East when it was mistakenly fired upon by the USS Gettysburg. Our Julia Benbrook is joining us now from the White House. And Julia, what more do we know?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. Central Command is calling this an apparent friendly fire incident. They said that the two U.S. Navy pilots were safely ejected after their fighter jet was shot down over the Red Sea on Saturday. Now, initial assessments have found that one crew member did sustain minor injuries.

Here's what else we know at this time. According to CENTCOM, the aircraft, an F/A-18, was operating from the USS Harry S. Truman when it was mistakenly fired upon by the USS Gettysburg. The USS Gettysburg, a Ticonderoga class-guided missile cruiser, is a part of the Truman Carrier Strike Group, which entered the waters of the Middle East one week ago.

Now, as we've mentioned, this investigation is ongoing, but we do have an idea of the types of questions that would be asked in an investigation like this, including what the sailors on the USS Gettysburg saw, what they thought they saw, and why they fired. Jessica?

DEAN: And Julia, the incident comes after the U.S. carried out airstrikes against Houthi targets, Houthi targets in Yemen. Tell us more about that as well.

BENBROOK: Well, the U.S. has maintained a near constant presence of major Navy warships in the region since the start of the war in Gaza, and this apparent friendly strike that happened the same day as when the U.S. carried out airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen hitting a command and control facility as well as a missile storage facility. And CENTCOM says that the U.S. also shot down one-way attack drones and an anti-ship cruise missile. Now, those strikes did involve Navy F/A-18 fighter jets, but two U.S. Military officials have said that the downed jet that we have been speaking about was not involved.

DEAN: All right, Julia Benbrook at the White House, thanks so much for that reporting. Still ahead, what we expect tomorrow from a potentially explosive report on former Congressman Matt Gaetz. It examined allegations, including sexual misconduct and illegal drug use. We'll talk more about that. You're on the "CNN Newsroom."

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DEAN: Two sources familiar with the timing telling CNN the House Ethics Committee is expected to release its report on former Congressman Matt Gaetz tomorrow. The multi-year probe investigated several allegations against the Florida Republican, including whether he engaged in sexual misconduct and used illicit drugs. Gaetz has denied all allegations.

CNN's Brian Abel has the latest now. Brian, so much has been made of this report. There was back and forth over whether it would be released when he was potentially going to be the nominee for A.G., and now we're learning it will likely be released tomorrow.

BRIAN ABEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, we know that some of the individuals who've made these allegations, Jessica, talked to the Ethics Committee. So, we should expect to know more about what those people told committee investigators about Matt Gaetz and his behavior as well as who else the committee talked to and the committee's conclusions. It was earlier this week when we did learn that the House Ethics Committee had a secret vote to release its report into the conduct of former Rep. Matt Gates, and now we know when.

Multiple sources telling CNN the report will be released tomorrow. The release is a stark reversal by the committee, which just last month voted to shelve the report after Gaetz resigned from Congress once he became President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general. Now, Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration of that role after Trump called him to say that Gaetz didn't have the votes in the Senate to get confirmed.

This report concludes a years-long probe by the Ethics Committee into numerous allegations against Gaetz. Those allegations include whether he engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor, whether he paid for sex, used illicit drugs, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, and more.

Gaetz has strongly denied all of the allegations and has said the committee's investigation is a witch hunt, saying this on X after reports of the committee's decision to release the report. He says the Biden-Garland DOJ spent years reviewing allegations that I committed various crimes. I was charged with nothing, fully exonerated. The Post went on to say, it's embarrassing, though, not criminally, that I probably partied, womanized, drank, and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now.

We should note that it is rare for an ethics report to be released after a member has left Congress, Jessica, though it has happened on a couple of occasions in the past.

DEAN: Yeah, it certainly is rare and it will be interesting to see what it has to say. Gaetz also spoke today at the Turning Point Conference. Did he talk about this at all?

ABEL: Not directly, though he did allude to it. And it's interesting because Gaetz has said he has no plans of returning to the House next year. As a result, House Speaker Mike Johnson called the report a moot point and then advocated for it to not be released.

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But here's what Gaetz said this morning at that conservative conference.

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MATT GAETZ, FORMER FLORIDA REPRESENTATIVE: And some of you throughout this conference have even given me a few suggestions. My fellow Floridians have asked me to eye the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee. Maybe special counsel to go after the insider trading for my former colleagues in Congress.

(CHEERING)

It seems I may not have had enough support in the United States Senate. Maybe I'll just run for Marco Rubio's vacant seat in the United States Senate and join some of those folks.

(CHEERING)

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ABEL: Now, the exact timing of when the ethics report will be released tomorrow, that is still unknown. Jessica?

DEAN: Brian Abel, we'll keep an eye on it. Thanks so much for that reporting. Straight ahead, more on our breaking news, how New York police say technology and the public helped them find a suspect accused of lighting a woman on fire on the subway.

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