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Gaetz Seeks Restraining Order to Stop Release of Ethics Report; The Prisoners Left Out of Biden's Commutations; Boy Injured During Holiday Drone Show. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired December 23, 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:

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: -- that he was a congressman. Many of these allegations are about what was happening between 2017 and 2020, those years that he was in Congress. Gaetz and his lawyer have been denying these allegations, saying that they are false over and over again. But it is quite a significant set of findings from this draft report obtained by CNN.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I mean, he's been saying that they're false and he's also now responding on Twitter saying, at least in one post, giving funds to someone you were dating that they didn't ask for and that isn't charged for sex is now prostitution? There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve report, and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses. This is testimony from one of the alleged prostitutes that you won't see in the report. So, just talk us through now this response from Gaetz in terms of the restraining order.

POLANTZ: Well, what's happening right now in the federal court in Washington, Rahel, is Matt Gaetz and lawyers who are representing him are trying to get a judge to block the full release of this report by the House Ethics Committee, saying that they shouldn't be able to put this out. It would be defamatory and invasion of his freedom. Privacy. One of the things they specifically write in that lawsuit that's now on the books, once released, the damage to plaintiff's reputation and professional standing would be immediate, severe, and irreversible. Matt Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress. So, it would be an extraordinary and very unusual thing that the House Ethics Committee is deciding to do to release this report.

It is possible it comes at any moment well before a judge would ever step in here. But this is something that Matt Gaetz is filing in court. He filed his own declaration that he signed saying, everything that I'm putting in court is true. And that includes all of the denials that the allegations that the committee is making in his -- in their report, he's saying that all of those things are false.

SOLOMON: OK. Keep us posted on how this develops. Katelyn Polantz live for us there. Katelyn, thank you. And developing this morning, President Biden commutes the death sentences of more than two dozen federal inmates, but there are three that were left out. CNN's MJ Lee is live at the White House. MJ.

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There are 40 inmates that were on federal death row and President Biden today has commuted the sentences of 37 of them. Three men, notably, were not granted clemency. We'll tell you more about who they are after the break.

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[10:35:00]

SOLOMON: Welcome back and new this morning, President Biden announced that he is commuting the sentences of almost all of the federal death row inmates to life in prison. During his administration, the Justice Department paused federal executions unless the crimes were tied to terror or mass murder driven by hate.

Now, here are some of the inmates who no longer face execution. Shannon Wayne Agofsky, convicted and sentenced in 2004 for killing a prisoner in a federal prison. Meier Jason Brown, convicted and sentenced in 2003 for the fatal stabbing of a postal worker. And former police officer Len Davis convicted and sentenced in 2005 for having a witness killed in an internal affairs investigation against him.

Let's bring in MJ Lee now, who is following the story. And, MJ, in a statement, President Biden said, quote, "That these commutations are consistent with the moratorium that my administration has imposed on federal executions in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder." Of the 40 inmates who were on federal death row, MJ, the three people who still face execution after Biden's order are who exactly? Walk us through who they are and what they have in common.

LEE: Yes, Rahel, you know, first of all, it really wasn't clear until today whether President Biden would be taking this kind of action to commute the sentences of those inmates on federal death row, and it also wasn't clear if he were to do that, would he do this for all of the 40 that were on federal death row or sort of look at this on a case-by-case basis? And what we know now is that there were three men who were on that list of the 40 on federal death row whose sentences were not and commuted.

Take a look at these three. They were Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who killed at nine black worshipers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. There was also Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, of course, one of the two brothers responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing. And then, there was also Robert Bowers, this is the man who gunned down 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.

Right before the president's announcement, Rahel, I actually interviewed some of the family members of the victims of that Tree of Life Synagogue mass shooting. And they were really in a state of anguish and panic, even at the thought and the possibility of President Biden commuting Bowers' sentence. They basically said, look, it is really important to us that President Biden sort of respect the jury's decision and that they felt like Bowers had to remain on death row so that he could be completely isolated and on his own and not have the possibility of communicating with the outside world.

And in the days leading up to this announcement, they were basically pleading with the president to not include Bowers in any kind of commutation action that he might take, even writing letters to the president. I wanted to play a little sound of an interview with sisters, Michelle and Diane Rosenthal, their two brothers, David and Cecil, were both killed at the Tree of Life Synagogue, and you get a sense of just what a painful consideration this has been for some of the family members of the victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE ROSENTHAL, BROTHERS KILLED IN TREE OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING: Until you sit in a courtroom and have to hear how your loved ones were killed, until you have to see pictures that I chose to look at as part of my healing, and that sounds crazy, but I don't think you are in any place to judge on how the families feel.

[10:40:00]

DIANA ROSENTHAL, BROTHERS KILLED IN TREE OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING: We feel like we went through the process and we followed the justice system and we patiently waited and we went through a trial that lasted for three months, not just taking our lives, but also taking the jurors' lives and all of the resources, the defense, the prosecution, the judge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And I did get back in touch with both Michelle and Diane this morning, and, Rahel, they both tell me they were so relieved to learn that Bowers wasn't on that list of people whose sentences were commuted. It just goes to show you what a complicated issue capital death penalty is, particularly, of course, for some of these families whose lives were directly affected by the actions of some of these inmates. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yes, absolutely. But important to keep the families of these victims a part of the conversation, as you did. MJ Lee, appreciate the reporting. Thank you.

And coming up, drone show disaster. A boy is seriously injured when a drone falls out of the sky and onto him during a holiday show. Now, the boy's mother is speaking out.

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[10:45:00]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. More than 170 people were stranded for hours over the weekend high above a popular Colorado ski resort. According to the Associated Press, the gondolas at the Winter Park Resort automatically stopped Saturday when the system detected a crack and part of the lit. It took about five hours for rescuers to lower everyone to the ground. They had to use ropes, but no one was injured. Now, to Florida. A holiday light show featuring drones in Orlando took an unexpected turn this weekend. Video shows multiple drones colliding and then falling to the ground and into the crowd below. A seven-year- old boy was hit in the chest by a drone and had to undergo open heart surgery, according to local reports. Let's get to Nick Valencia, who joins us now. Nick, what more do we know? What more are you learning about the child that was hurt?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just a crazy video. Can you imagine just being in that audience and seeing those drones fall? In fact, in one of the videos that we're going to show you, you can overhear a child say, are those drones supposed to do that?

According to WESH TV in Orlando, that seven-year-old boy had to undergo open heart surgery. The boy's mother said one of those drones hit her child with such force that it left an imprint on his chest, damaging one of his heart valves and leaving him bleeding from the mouth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADRIANA EDGERTON, MOTHER OF INJURED BOY: One of the drones just like lost it, I guess, went haywire. It literally looks like a bird that was diving for fish. Not only is he laying there like, you know, the EMTs are trying to help, but he was losing consciousness. His heart beat kept stopping. I was freaking out that I was going to lose my baby because he was losing consciousness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: God bless that family and that little boy. He's recovering in the hospital. We mentioned footage from the scary incident over the weekend shows multiple drones colliding midair, falling to the lake in the land below where audience members were in lawn chairs or on picnic blankets. This was during their 6:00 p.m. Show. They had an 8:00 p.m. show schedule, but that was canceled.

Sky Elements Drones is the company that was operating the show, and they've released a statement saying that they are working with the FAA. And here's what they're saying in part of that statement. We are diligently working with the FAA and the City of Orlando officials to determine the cause and are committed to establishing a clear picture of what transpired. Millions of people see our shows annually, and we are committed to maintaining the highest safety regulations set forth by the FAA.

And for full disclosure, the Sky Elements does perform more than a thousand shows per year, and it's currently contracted with the City of Austin to perform in their New Year's Eve schedule. We mention that because CNN will be hosting part of our New Year's Eve coverage from the City of Austin, where this show, from this Sky Elements drone, they'll have a part in that coverage. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Clearly, still a lot of questions there. Nick Valencia, thank you.

VALENCIA: You got it.

SOLOMON: I want to take a short break, and we'll be right back.

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[10:50:00]

SOLOMON: Well, it was a nail-biting finish for the Washington Commanders, topping the Philadelphia Eagles in the last two minutes of the game. But it's another loss that has a lot of Eagles fans concerned. Quarterback Jalen Hurts leaving the game after this play left him with a concussion. Let's bring in our Patrick Snell who joins us. The Eagles have just two games left of the regular season, Patrick. I think a lot of people are wondering sort of what the path looks like to hopefully clinching the NFC East.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, they have a chance, I'll say that. The short answer is very much yes, Rahel. Fascinating weekend. Again, the Eagles went into yesterday's game against the Commanders, needing a win to claim their second division title in three years. Instead, though, they're now worried about the health of their starting quarterback.

As you mentioned, Jalen Hurts leaving the game in the first quarter after his head slammed onto the turf during a scramble and he would not return. This is always concerning to see. But then all eyes turning to Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels' team down by 14 points going into the fourth quarter where they would battle all the way back to give themselves a chance to win it in the final seconds. Daniels throwing his fifth touchdown pass of the game, finding Jamison Crowder in the end zone for the score. Washington winning at 36 to 33, snapping Philadelphia's 10-game winning streak. High drama indeed.

Now, the Cowboys were officially eliminated from playoff contention hours before their game in primetime. Even kicked off, but they ended up playing some of their best football with absolutely nothing at stake, I will say. Dallas never trailed last night. But Tampa Bay, keeping it close in the fourth quarter. Baker Mayfield's touchdown pass to Ryan Miller, cutting the lead there to just two points with less than three minutes left on the clock.

The Buccaneers getting the ball back with a chance to win the game. Mayfield trying to avoid the sack, flipping the ball to Rachaad White, who turned up field. But the Cowboys forcing a fumble. The recovery sealing the 26 to 24 victory and cost the Pewter Pirates control of their playoff fate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BOWLES, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS HEAD COACH: We lost. We fell back in the pack. We got to eat. It can't spend too much time on it. We had our chances. We had our chances just like everybody else. But it's a long season. We got two more games to go. We got to take care of us and then let everything else take care of itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SNELL: Meantime, the quarterfinal matchups are set in the college football playoffs after historic first round over the weekend. Penn State will meet Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve. Then we'll ring in 2025 with a triple header. Texas facing off against Arizona State that in the Peach Bowl, then Ohio State getting a rematch against Oregon in Rose Bowl, then Notre Dame and Georgia will meet in the Sugar Bowl. It is all to play for, Rahel. Busy, busy weekend.

[10:55:00]

SOLOMON: Lots of drama this weekend. Patrick, if you might stay with me for a second, because I wanted to get your take on this moment that is really sweet, really remarkable. This is Tiger Woods, his son, Charlie at the PNC Championship on Sunday. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You had seen everything from a Woods dressed in red and black on a Sunday. There was this from 15-year-old Charlie Woods at the par three fourth. At the PNC championship, he wasn't sure it went in, but it was a 7 iron ace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: That is 15-year-old Charlie Woods hitting his first ever hole in one and Tigers' heartwarming reaction. Charlie and Tiger competed in the annual golf tournament that features father-son teams. Now, despite the younger Woods' spectacular play, the title went to Bernhard Langer and his son, Jason, who won the tournament for the second consecutive year. But, Patrick, what a sweet moment that you really don't often see in any sport.

SNELL: No, it was absolutely fantastic. You think of Tiger Woods, Rahel, a 15-time major winner, but I bet you seeing his 15-year-old son do that is extra special. I want to clarify, though, because according to the broadcast, he didn't actually see it. He was taking a break at the time, but he was there within seconds to share the love. And look at that, wrapping his arms around his son. Absolutely wonderful to see.

You know, I was saying 15 majors to his name, Tiger Woods, but seeing the 15-year-old son actually achieve that has got to be right up there with all this career achievements. Wonderful to see. And of course, there's always so much focus on Charlie Woods when you have a last name that is Woods. Will he turn pro? I tell you what, if and when he does, the expectations will be very high indeed, but a wonderful family moment indeed.

SOLOMON: Yes, perhaps a window into what's to come. All right. Patrick, thank you.

And coming up for us, blockbuster allegations involving Blake Lively and her "It Ends with Us" co-star. Why she says there was a campaign to ruin her reputation. We'll be right back.

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