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Rudy Giuliani in Court; Family and Friends Mourn New Orleans Victims; Interview With Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY). Aired 11:30a- 12p ET

Aired January 03, 2025 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:32:27]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Well, right now, a live look at Capitol Hill where the vote for House speaker will begin shortly. Mike Johnson is fighting to keep the job, but he's facing significant headwinds with the tightest majority in nearly 100 years.

Joining us now is Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis of New York. She is the assistant whip for the House GOP Conference.

Congresswoman, thanks for joining us on this very busy Friday morning.

Do you think Johnson has the votes for a win?

REP. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS (R-NY): I do.

I believe that Speaker Johnson will receive the gavel today. I'm not 100 percent sure it will be on the first round, but I don't think it will take that long. I think that there's been a lot of progress made over the last 24 hours to make everyone happy and united going into this.

And I think, at the end of the day, look, we need to just get this job done. The American people are waiting for us to get to work. They want workhorses, not show horses. So we need to do this in the least dramatic, least painful way possible and just get to work for the American people to make sure we do the job of securing our border, ramping up domestic energy production, getting our economy back on track and extending those tax cuts that President Trump used to stimulate the economy and lift Americans out of poverty, as well as drive down unemployment to record lows.

BROWN: So what progress has been made in the last 24 hours that you're referring to that gives you so much optimism right now?

MALLIOTAKIS: Well, I have spoken to a couple of the holdouts over the last 24 hours, and it seems that Speaker Johnson is listening to their concerns.

He's working to address those concerns, as he has others. Look, I spoke to Speaker Johnson last week about some of the concerns I had regarding a lack of communication, how we need more of a member-driven process, how we need to make sure rank-and-file members can get pieces of legislation to the floor to secure legislative wins for their constituencies back home.

And so I think he's making some changes and he's taking the feedback that he's receiving from members seriously, because he wants to improve the way this Congress works. And because we have a slim majority, you need to have that type of consensus and buy-in.

So I believe that, in an hour or so, you will see us be united going into the chamber and focusing on the bigger pictures, that we need to get this country back on track. We need to focus on national security, on our economy, on being energy-independent. And that really needs to be the overall picture here.

We can't be focused on any petty differences, but let's work united to get the job done.

BROWN: So I obtained this letter from a group of conservatives that's floating among the holdouts remaining. And it details the performance of the House under Speaker Johnson in their view.

[11:35:10]

The document lists 26 instances where it says the House Republicans failed and only four instances of successes. And here's part of what it says. I want to read it.

It says: "Since November 5, Republicans added over $300 billion in additional spending to the deficit and hastened Social Security insolvency by at least six months, passed five separate continuing resolutions, each with more Democrat votes than Republican votes, passed an additional $61 billion for Ukraine with zero border security policies."

So what do you say to that?

MALLIOTAKIS: Well, look, I share some of those concerns, but what this group fails to recognize is that we had a Democrat president and a Democrat Senate. We controlled one-third of the federal government with a very slim majority, the slimmest in history.

And so of course we have to negotiate with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. And I think that is the real main issue here, is that it's an all-or-nothing. It is my way or the highway with a certain group of individuals within our conference.

At government, business, relationships, there's a give-and-take. It's about negotiating and getting the best possible outcome. And, quite frankly, if Republicans stuck together more and were more united, we wouldn't have to go to Democrats to get votes for certain things. But because they always want everything and don't even want to negotiate sometimes within the Republicans in our own conference, we have no choice but to work with Democrats to avoid a debt default, to avoid a shutdown of our government, things that would be detrimental and critical.

So, I would say, the more united we are today and moving forward, we can really make a big difference. But understand that we still will need to work with the Democrats, because we only have 53 votes in the Senate. For most pieces of legislation, you will need 60 outside of the reconciliation budgeting process.

And so you're still going to have a give and a take and a negotiation. That's just the reality. And the sooner they accept that and recognize that, the better off we will be. We will always do what's in the best interest of our constituents.

And, yes, getting our debt under control is -- should be first among that. But we need to do it in a responsible manner. And, really, let's just work within our conference as best as possible and try to address these issues that they raise, which are significant.

BROWN: And you had said earlier in this conversation that you had spoken to a couple of the holdouts and it's given you some of this optimism. Who have you spoken to specifically and are they now saying that they will vote for Johnson?

MALLIOTAKIS: Well, I don't want to mention the names of my private conversations, but I will say I have spoken with two of the members who are among the list that's being floated around.

It seems that they want to reach an agreement here. They want to have a better understanding that we're going to take our debt seriously. And I understand that. We are now about -- it's 120 percent debt-to- GDP ratio.

When I was born, it was about 35 percent. So it is a serious problem. We need to get it under control. But we also need to recognize that we need to come to that agreement of what that number will be and how we're going to get there collectively as a group, or else you start upsetting other factions within the party.

So it can't just be a group of 10 people that are dictating what's happening here without consensus from everyone else. And that is what teamwork really at the end of the day is all about.

So what I would say is, let's try to do what we can today to make this happen on the first ballot, because the American people have real issues that need to be addressed, particularly getting this economy and our national security back on track, securing this border, ending the mass illegal migration you have seen in cities of mine like New York, where criminal gangs have wreaked havoc.

It needs to be done, and we can't get there if we don't have a speaker.

BROWN: All right, Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, thank you for your time. We will see how it plays out later today.

MALLIOTAKIS: Thank you.

BROWN: Among the 14 people killed in the New Orleans attack was 27- year-old Tiger Bech, so many young people, including him.

And in just a few minutes, we're going to talk with his former high school principal about how he wants Tiger to be remembered.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:44:12]

BROWN: As new details emerge in the deadly New Orleans terror attack, we want to also focus on the victims; 14 innocent lives were cut tragically short just hours into the new year.

And so many of these lives, they were young people with so much ahead of them. Among the victims, Tiger Bech, a 27-year-old Louisiana native and former Princeton football player. He's being remembered as a -- quote -- "beloved teammate and a caring friend."

Bech had traveled to his home state to celebrate with family and was making his way back to his hotel with his best friend when they were caught up in the attack. Bech succumbed to his injuries hours later, his family says. His final message to their group chat earlier that night, simply: "Happy new year."

Joining us now is Marty Cannon. He was Tiger's high school principal.

[11:45:00]

How are you remembering Tiger? Tell us more about him.

MARTY CANNON, FORMER HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF TIGER BECH: Yes, Tiger was a great young man.

At the time that Tiger was playing here, I was on the coaching staff and teaching here at St. Thomas More. Tiger was a tremendous athlete. Just right from the start, he just boxed everything up with his athletic abilities, what he could do on a football field, probably one of the best athletes that I have ever seen and probably one of the best football players that I have ever seen.

Tiger could do things on a football field that would just blow your way. But Tiger was so much more than that, which I think is the reason that we're -- there's so much pain and suffering right now and a lot of hurt in our community, because Tiger was so deep, and Tiger was loyal, was charismatic, had some great friendships, loved coming back to his school.

I saw him right before Christmas when he came into town. And right off the bat, he wanted to know about my family. He wanted to know how our school was doing. He wanted to know how I was doing in my role as principal. And he was that kind of guy. He was worried about you. He was worried about other people.

He loved his family. And it was a -- it's a big loss for our community.

BROWN: It certainly is.

Do you have a favorite memory of him? CANNON: I just -- just from a football standpoint, some of the things

that he could do on a football field would just blow you away. We helped coach in an all-star game his senior year, and Tiger just didn't get a lot of looks from a lot of colleges. He -- I guess he didn't fit the mold for some people. That was their loss.

Tiger did some things during that all-star game. We had coaches from out of state that were like, this kid is amazing. And we said, we know. We have been telling everybody. And so that's their loss. Princeton got a star, and Tiger got something from Princeton as well. Tiger went up there and had a great career, got a phenomenal education and was doing well.

And so -- but one of my best memories I will say too is that Tiger always came back, always talked to the players, talked to former coaches, talked to the teachers. Tiger always came. And if we were in a vicinity, he was going to come and speak with me and just catch up.

And that just spoke volumes. And so I feel very blessed that I got to see him. I know that it was important for his family. I know they're going through a lot right now. And I can imagine that this is going to bring some healing long term that he got to spend this Christmas season with his family. Tiger was a great guy, ma'am.

BROWN: Yes.

CANNON: He's going to be definitely missed. He was one of a kind for our program and for the world.

BROWN: But what an impact he made in those 27 years.

Marty Cannon, thank you so much.

More news when we return.

CANNON: Sure thing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:51:54]

BROWN: And back to this morning's big story on Capitol Hill, a key test of president-elect Trump's power in Congress.

In minutes, the House will vote on whether Speaker Mike Johnson will keep that role in the new Congress. And, just moments ago, we heard from Johnson himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Press, go to your left. Press, go to your left.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Have you made any deals or negotiations?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I have made no deals with anyone, and I'm very proud to say that.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Press, go to your left. Press, go to your left.

QUESTION: Has anyone besides Massie told you they're voting against you?

JOHNSON: I think we have got -- we will have all the votes.

QUESTION: What does it say if you lose on the first ballot?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN's special coverage of today's speaker vote will continue straight ahead at the top of the hour.

But, first, Rudy Giuliani is in court today as a judge weighs whether to hold him in contempt over the assets he's been ordered to turn over. And this stems from the defamation lawsuit brought by two Georgia election workers after the 2020 election. Giuliani was ordered to pay Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss nearly $150 million.

Joining us now with CNN's Katelyn Polantz on this sort of ongoing fight here.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Ongoing fight that's heating up in court in Manhattan right now.

So, our reporter Lauren del Valle is watching the proceedings in real time, and the judge just said to Giuliani, "Your client will testify today," meaning Rudy Giuliani will have to take the stand to try and defend himself as the court considers holding him in contempt.

The type of penalties, it could be fines. It even could be jail, because he isn't turning over the things that the court says he must. Back in October, this judge, Judge Lewis Liman in federal court in Manhattan, said he's got to give up his most valuable possessions, including a $6 million apartment in New York, to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss because he had defamed them.

And there's a court order, a jury verdict against him of $150 million. He's got a debt to them. And the lawyers have been chasing down this stuff, the apartment, a Mercedes-Benz. He gave them the Mercedes, but Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss' attorney says they don't have a deed, a title, or any right to ownership of that car.

And then, in that New York City apartment that they thought they were getting possession of, they say they don't have the keys, they don't have the lease, they don't have any stock of it. So they don't have it. It's not theirs yet. And then, also, they're missing a signed Joe DiMaggio jersey, something that could be quite valuable in Giuliani's vast collection of baseball memorabilia.

So now we're going to see what happens. This hearing's been going on almost for two hours now, but he is likely to take the stand. It's going to be a pretty busy day in court in Manhattan for Rudy Giuliani.

BROWN: Busy day all around today, my goodness.

Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much.

And thank you for joining me. I'm Pamela Brown.

CNN's special coverage of the House speaker vote with Dana Bash and Jake Tapper starts right now.

[11:55:42]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: We are live on Capitol Hill, where a high-stakes vote for House speaker is about to unfold.

It is a huge test of Republican unity in this new Congress and, of course, of president-elect Trump's influence over his party just weeks before his inauguration.

Welcome to a special edition of INSIDE POLITICS, "The Vote for Speaker." I'm Dana Bash.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: And I'm Jake Tapper.

We're just minutes away from the House being called to order. And Speaker Mike Johnson is facing difficult math in his fight to hold onto the gavel because of the Republican Party's razor-thin House majority, the smallest in almost a century.

Speaker Johnson can only afford to lose the support of one House Republican if every lawmaker shows up and votes. And one GOP member has already said he's voting no. President-elect Trump has endorsed Johnson and is predicting he will -- quote -- "do very well," but it's not clear if Republicans have dodged additional defections, leaving open the very real possibility of a floor fight, with multiple rounds of voting.

That could paralyze the House as Trump is on the brink of being sworn in as president again. And the scheduled certification of his Electoral College win this coming Monday, January 6, could potentially be at risk. We do not know how any of this is going to play out when the House convenes just moments from now.

CNN's Manu Raju is also on Capitol Hill.

And, Manu, you caught up with Speaker Johnson moments ago?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he is very willing to grind this out on the floor ballot by ballot if he does not get there on the first ballot.

In fact, I asked him if he's willing to do what Kevin McCarthy did for the first time in a century. That happened two years ago, when this went to multiple ballots, the speaker's race. McCarthy ultimately won in 15 ballots over several days. I said, Speaker Johnson, are you willing to do that if you don't get

there? He indicated he absolutely is. And, Jake, he also told me that Donald Trump has been making phone calls to members, urging them to get on his side.

Now, what the speaker's been saying to members who've been asking for concessions, Republican holdouts, he said to them he will not be cutting any deals with them. Instead, he's promised to engage them more in the legislative process. And he's implored them that they need to elect a speaker now to move the Trump agenda.

And there are warnings, including from the speaker's allies, like Congresswoman Womack of Arkansas, who told me earlier today that if they don't elect a speaker on the first ballot, it would send the wrong message to voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE WOMACK (R-AR): Put it in the bank and move on to our legislative agenda.

RAJU: What message would send if you guys have to go to multiple ballots here to elect a speaker?

WOMACK: That we're not ready to govern, that the people of America have given us this opportunity and that we're not prepared for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: But the math is always going to be a challenge in this razor- thin majority.

As you mentioned, Jake, just one Republican no-vote is all he can afford, assuming that all members on the GOP and the Democratic side vote for a specific candidate. And there are several who continue to hold out.

But, nevertheless, Jake, despite the uncertainty at this perilous time for the GOP, there is some optimism among the speaker's allies. They believe they can get there. They're uncertain if they can do it in the first ballot or this will drag on for some time, because there really is no alternative if Republicans can elect a speaker.

If they cannot elect a speaker, the House simply can't legislate.

TAPPER: And Speaker Johnson did allow the C-SPAN cameras to be live on the floor of the Congress as they gavel out the 118th Congress and gavel in the 119th.

We just saw an image of the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who broke her hip overseas and has been recovering. Good to see her back on her feet on the floor there. And we're going to continue monitoring the events on the floor of the House.

Let's go to CNN's Kristen Holmes right now, who spoke on the phone with president-elect Trump just a short while ago. Kristen, what did he tell you about the vote for speaker?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, he said that he was all behind Johnson, 100 percent.

He praised him throughout the entire phone call, talking about how good of a man that he was, something we have heard from him before, but making it clear that there was no one waiting in the wings, at least in his mind, to be speaker, and that he thought that Johnson was going to be successful today.

Now, I did ask him about our reporting, that he had been calling these holdouts, and he confirmed that he had, including speaking to Representative Chip Roy. On that specifically, he said he believed that Chip Roy would do the right thing for the country.