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Jason Miller is Interviewed about Biden's Pardon and the Incoming Trump Administration; Trump Wants Hostages Released; Manchin Suggests Trump Pardon. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired December 03, 2024 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: Might be open to pardoning Hunter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUGH HEWITT, HOST, "HUGH HEWITT SHOW": Will you pardon Hunter Biden?

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENT-ELECT: I wouldn't take it off the books. See, unlike Joe Biden, despite what they've done to me, went after me so viciously, despite what - and - and Hunter's a bad boy, there's no question about it, he's been a bad boy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: And, of course, the president-elect is no stranger to legal problems himself. While special counsel Jack Smith dropped Trump's federal charges in the wake of his election victory, they could, in theory, be brought back, leading to questions about whether Trump would accept a pardon on the off chance it was offered to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Jason, would Donald Trump accept a pardon from Joe Biden?

JASON MILLER, SENIOR TRUMP ADVISER: At this point, I don't know what Joe Biden is going to pull. I think it's nonsense. If it's some aspect of some PR play, he might try to do it. But President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong. That's why everything is disappearing. That's why he's focused on actually serving for this second term here. And so the reason why he won with such a mandate, the American public saw this as nonsense.

INGRAHAM: But that - so - wait, would President Trump say no to a pardon though? Come on.

MILLER: No, I'm not going to go and put words in the president's mouth. But everyone sees exactly what's going on.

INGRAHAM: (INAUDIBLE).

MILLER: This is a complete media manipulation by Joe Biden. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, joining us now, senior adviser to Donald Trump, Jason Miller.

Jason, thanks very much for being here. It's nice to see you.

JASON MILLER, SENIOR TRUMP ADVISER: Good morning.

HUNT: So, when the - when the president-elect saw this news about Hunter Biden's pardon, he wrote this on his Truth Social. Quote, "does the pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 hostages, who've now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of justice."

On the subject of pardons, I want - I'm curious to know, does President-elect Trump plan to pardon all of the people who are incarcerated because of their actions on January 6th?

MILLER: Yes, well, Kasie, good morning.

So, let's go and unpack this a little bit. I think what we saw with Joe Biden and the Hunter pardon really goes to the heart of this politicization of our justice system. What we've seen over the past four years with Joe Biden. And that stance, quite frankly, in stark contrast to what we saw under President Trump. Where President Trump did not go after any of his political opponents. That's exactly what happened over this past four years.

So, let's go and just leave that there. The - part of why President Trump won by such a big margin, I believe, is because he has pledged to get politics out of government, get politics out of those - the weaponization of our justice system, and actually have justice be blind.

Now, with regard to your question regarding J-6 hostages, there's a serious issue with a number of people. They're being unfairly detained. And each of those cases will be looked at individually. It's not my place to go and give some kind of blanket statement about what may or may not happen. That's going to be up to the DOJ and their review process. But people should have the rule of law be applied to them equally, regardless of their party affiliation or who they might support.

HUNT: So, you're saying that the president might pardon some of the January 6th - people who have been convicted of crimes around January 6th, but not necessarily all of them?

MILLER: Well - well, hold on, I want to be careful here and make sure I'm being very direct with you. President Trump has said a number of times on the campaign trail that he's going to look at each of these cases individually, full stop. That's what he said. There's never been a declaration of some - something bigger, broader. And again, that's for something for the Department of Justice to go deal with when President Trump takes office again, not for someone who's a spokesperson from the campaign or transition team. Because, again, the whole point here is, we have to get politics out of the justice system. Justice should apply to everybody equally.

HUNT: So, of course, our viewers saw coming in here what you had to say about the prospect of President-elect Trump accepting a pardon for the things he has been accused - charged with under our justice system. You've said then you didn't want to put words in the president's mouth.

I suppose the next step of that, and considering the technicalities around how Jack Smith ultimately dropped these charges in such a way they could be brought back, would President-elect Trump consider pardoning himself?

MILLER: Well, just like I said last night when I was speaking with Laura Ingraham, this entire notion that Joe Biden is putting out there, that some of the media might be trying to discuss, I think is really kind of silly because President Trump did nothing wrong. And so, again, I'm worried about the precedent of what Joe Biden is setting here. Again, we didn't see, at the end of the Trump term, any of that. What we're seeing here with Joe Biden and his family members I think does set a bad precedent.

And again, when we take a look at this, I think that President Trump is going to really govern and lead just as he promised with this reform agenda.

And let's take a look at who he's putting in as the director of -

HUNT: Yes, but, again, I - I - just the direct question -

MILLER: Right.

[06:35:01]

HUNT: Is he considering - would he consider pardoning himself? Would President-elect Trump consider pardoning himself?

MILLER: That would never be something that I would weigh in on. That would be something for the legal team to discuss. And again, President Trump did nothing wrong.

HUNT: Has it been discussed behind the scenes?

MILLER: That's not something that I would have been a part of. And again, that's not something for myself to go and comment on because President Trump didn't do anything wrong.

I want to get back to the point here about who President Trump is putting in to lead this reform agenda with the government, to get politics out of Justice. Pam Bondi, I think, will be a fantastic attorney general. I think she's someone who's tough, fearless and is really going to make sure we root out some of the corruption.

Kash Patel, who's been nominated to head up the FBI. This is someone who not only was a lead hostage negotiator, he was the deputy Director of National Intelligence. He was the chief of staff over the Department of Defense. Someone who's been a prosecutor and a public defender. Kash Patel is going to do a fantastic job as director of the FBI.

HUNT: Let me ask you about another one of the nominees on the table, and that's Pete Hegseth. We learned more information about some instances in his past in "The New Yorker" over the past couple of days. And there also was a letter in "The New York Times" from his mother who had wrote - who had written, in the course of his divorce, questioning his character. And this is - this is his mother who writes this. "I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man and have been for years. And as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that. But that is the sad, sad truth."

Was the Trump transition aware of this information about Pete Hegseth's past, and are there any concerns inside the transition about it?

MILLER: Well, so when it comes to Pete Hegseth, there aren't any concerns. And we feel very good about his positioning for being confirmed by the Senate.

Now, we have to take the process very seriously. This is one of the rare times where you're going to hear me say that the process, when it comes to this, is very important, and that's because the Senate takes it so serious to go and have the one on one meetings, to have these confirmation hearings, to give senators the chance to kick the tires and get some of these questions answered on their own.

Now, with regard to Pete, family conversations sometimes are very tough. And in the case with his mother, his mother did go and take that back and say that she was sorry for that. And right - I believe that Pete Hegseth is ultimately, when he has a chance to present his case, it's going to come across very clearly that he's going to be a great person to lead the DOD, and that he didn't do anything wrong.

Now, again, the letter in "The New Yorker," or the - the - whatever they called it in "The New Yorker" with their piece that they ran, that was basically just innuendo and gossip. There wasn't anything of -

HUNT: It was a report from the top of the Concern Veterans of America, the organization that he led, that he was later shown the door of because of allegations of financial mismanagement, in addition to some of the more personal allegations.

MILLER: But - but we need to be clear here. Again, when I say it was innuendo and gossip, it was written by a disgruntled former employee. And so, again, this was not some - some legal finding or something in the court of law, this was a former employee who was very much - very much did not like Pete.

HUNT: It was extensive - it was an extensive, actual report that it was used to remove him from his post. It was not a single allegation or anonymous employee who was upset.

MILLER: Again, I would - I would take issue with the characterization of that. I would say that this, again, was a disgruntled former employee, full of innuendo and gossip. And Pete Hegseth, again, let's talk about Pete Hegseth's bio for a moment. So, a two-time bronze star recipient who served in combat, who's been in Iraq and Afghanistan. He's exactly -

HUNT: No one's disputing his - his service record. I'm not saying that. It's - the question is, is - is he qualified to run the most lethal fighting force with like a trillion plus dollar budget or not?

MILLER: Yes. Yes.

HUNT: And this report seems to suggest he might not be.

MILLER: No. And I would disagree with that. And again, this is why you've seen so many senators come out and say that they've been impressed by Pete Hegseth in his meetings. They do think that he's the type of person to lead that mission under President Trump.

HUNT: All right.

MILLER: And I want to go - one other thing. Pete Hegseth is someone who has been shot at in combat. That's exactly the type of person that we want leading the DOD before any commitment is made to put our troops in harm's way.

HUNT: All right, Jason Miller for us this morning. Grateful to have you on the show today. Thanks very much for coming on.

MILLER: Thank you.

HUNT: All right, coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, there will be hell to pay. Donald Trump's threat to Hamas as he prepares to return for office.

Plus, pardons on the mind after President Biden pardon's his own son. One key senator suggests the president should pardon his successor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY KIMMEL": Biden released a statement saying that the charges in Hunter's case were politically motivated and his son was selectively and unfairly prosecuted. In other words, the Biden presidency is now entered the grandpa doesn't give a damn about what you think phase.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:44:23]

HUNT: Seven weeks out from taking office, President-elect Trump delivering a warning to Hamas in the form of a Truth Social post. He is demanding that all hostages in Gaza be released before his inauguration or there will be, quote, "all hell to pay," end quote.

That is a shift in position from the CNN debate between President- elect Trump and President Biden in June, when Trump advocated for turning Israel loose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENT-ELECT: You got to ask them, as far as Israel and - and Hamas, Israel is the one that wants to go. He said, the only one that wants to keep going is Hamas.

Actually, Israel is the one. And you should let them go and let them finish the job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:45:02]

HUNT: Let them finish the job.

Our panel has returned.

Jonah Goldberg, I mean, one of the things we've seen Trump do over and over again is say things that are basically, you know, threats of policy, right? You saw Justin Trudeau from Canada fly down to Mar-a- Lago in the wake of a tariff threat.

How do you look at this dynamic in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas in terms of the incoming Trump administration? I mean Lindsey Graham is out there basically saying, Trump has said he wants this ended before he takes office. Is that going to actually impact things?

JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I kind of think this is - first of all, I think morally it's the right thing for the president of the United States or the president-elect to say, release - release our fricking hostages, right? I mean I think there's been way too much, sort of, muted rhetoric about - on that point from the State Department and the Biden White House.

Moreover, I think this is kind of a no brainer move for Trump because by saying this, if for whatever reason hostages are released beforehand or there is some sort of deal, he will take credit for it.

HUNT: Sure.

GOLDBERG: And then it, once elected, at least gives him leverage - he has so conditioned his supporters, and really, frankly, his opponents to think that you don't have to take him literally when he says things, that people will just say that this is good - this is - this is - you know, carry a big stick kind of diplomacy kind of thing.

MATT GORMAN, FORMER TIM SCOTT PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: Yes, and, look, I met with some of the hostages fams about two weeks ago, and I think they're understandably very desperate for some answers on this. And I think they were very curious to see how the Trump team would handle this. And they were really trying to find ways in to convey their message to him. And it sounds like it's been received, I think - and I'm heartened to hear that because I think you're exactly right, Jonah, a, if it get - if they get released it's almost like Reagan in '80 as he takes office. Take - take credit for it. And at the end of the day, who cares? Like, they're home at that point. And I think it's heartening to see that.

MARK PRESTON, CN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, what's interesting about Trump, too, is that his - his unpredictability and his - and his recklessness in many things I think does give pause to these other world leaders. So, if there is a plus of Trump on the world stage other than him, obviously, working with Russia and the likes of North Korea and what have you, his unpredictability, and folks are scared of him. You're right. Trudeau gets on an airplane, they come down here. Macron has him over to France. You know, he - he makes a statement about Hamas. I am sure Hamas is more scared and concerned about Donald Trump as president than Joe Biden.

HUNT: You think that's true?

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think there may be some element of truth to that. I would push back on the idea that the Biden White House has not been working relentlessly to try to get the hostages released. I don't think that's a fair assessment of where they've been. I think they have, you know, they have been working night and day to try to get that done.

You know, I do think there's an element of muscularity to, you know, Trump's willingness to just always kind of take the - the sledgehammer to a problem rather than taking a, you know, a finer screwdriver. Sometimes foreign policy actually does require nuance. I mean it's - you can't conduct U.S. foreign policy entirely by soundbite. But I - you know, I agree broadly that there is no - there's no downside for Trump in saying this. And, ultimately, if it helps get the hostages home, then that's a good thing.

HUNT: All right, coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, more on the pardon politics taking center stage and President Biden's final days in office. Will Biden give his next pardon to his biggest rival, Donald Trump? There's at least one person in Washington who thinks he should.

Plus, a new twist in the case of a missing Hawaii woman. Why police say she vanished voluntarily.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:53:03]

HUNT: All right, 52 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.

A woman who went missing from Maui last month, now being declared a, quote, voluntary missing person. The 30-year-old missed her connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York back on November 8th, worrying her family. But police have now found surveillance video of her crossing over the southern border into Mexico, unharmed, with her luggage.

The 57-year-old Russian woman who stowed away on a Delta Airlines flight from New York to Paris last week is set to return to New York today. She will be accompanied by six U.S. Marshals. The TSA is investigating how the woman slipped past facial recognition ID scanners and got past gate agents at JFK without a ticket.

The Supreme Court weighing whether the Food and Drug Administration followed the law when it reviewed applications for certain flavored e- cigarettes. The lawsuit follows a series of denials for vaping products that officials say are marketed toward minors with special flavors like pink lemonade.

And -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not going to stop. Oh, man. Oh, man. Holy hell. Wow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Yikes. A narrow escape for a milk delivery driver who got stuck on train tracks after a snowstorm in Erie, Pennsylvania. Police say he was able to get out of his truck just before the train hit and was not injured. More than five feet of snow fell on parts of the Great Lakes regions over the course of the past few days. Glad that he is OK.

All right, Joe Biden's decision to give a wide ranging pardon to his son, Hunter, further dividing many in his own party. On Capitol Hill, many Democratic lawmakers or Democratically-aligned independents have been speaking out criticizing the president for the move. But Senator Joe Manchin, once a Democrat, now an independent, believes that there was a way for Joe Biden to pardon his son and give himself political cover.

[06:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (I-WV): What I would have done differently, and my recommendations as a counsel would have been, why don't you go ahead and pardon Donald Trump for all his charges and make it, you know, it had been - it had gone down a lot - a lot more balanced, if you will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, my panel has returned.

Jonah Goldberg, what is Joe Manchin doing here?

GOLDBERG: He's going full Joe Manchin, right? This is what Joe Manchin does is he tries to find this sort of thing.

Look, I think, as sort of an academic exercise, I was saying during the break earlier, you can make a case that there's an argument for Biden to pardon Trump insofar as it would prevent the possibility of creating a precedent for presidents being able to self-pardon themselves. It would be a very institutional move. It would make people on the left very annoyed. I'm trying to - HUNT: I mean apoplectic I think might be the word you're looking for.

GOLDBERG: Yes. I like - I think there - there might be riots. And certainly in the slack channels of "The New York Times." So, like, at the same time, I think it's too cute by half. People would just say, you're using this pardoning Trump so you can pardon your son, and it would piss off everybody.

HUNT: Well, and, I mean, Kate, you know President Biden, considering how he feels about what happened on January 6th and about the democracy - our democracy.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes. Yes.

HUNT: Can you imagine this as a realistic possibility?

BEDINGFIELD: Yes, no, I can't - I can't see a world where he does that. I think he feels so strongly about what, you know, the threat that - that Donald Trump's actions around January 6th, in particular, and the just continued election denialism of 2020, you know, pose to our democracy, I can't imagine a world where he would - he would say that there's any reason for there to be a pardon. And I - I think even if the political calculation seemed like there was some sort of, you know, kind of silver lining element for him, I - I just - it is too - it is too fundamentally at odds with what he believes about Donald Trump for me to ever see him doing that.

HUNT: Let's talk for a second about this pardoning himself question around Donald Trump because just a little bit earlier in the show I talked to Jason Miller about this, and he, honestly, he didn't answer the question, but he didn't rule out this possibility.

Let's just watch that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Would President-elect Trump consider pardoning himself?

JASON MILLER, TRUMP-VANCE TRANSITION SENIOR ADVISER: That would never be something that I would weigh in on. That would be something for the legal team to discuss. And again, President Trump did nothing wrong.

HUNT: Has it been discussed behind the scenes?

MILLER: That's not something that I would have been a part of. And again, that's not something for myself to go and comment on because President Trump didn't do anything wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Matt Gorman, do you think he's going to pardon himself?

GORMAN: I don't think so because I think the - we've talked a little bit about this too. The case had gone pretty cold. And it's not like he's going to come out, you know, after four years and, on day one, going to be hauled in front of a courtroom. That doesn't - that doesn't seem realistic.

And I think also, you know, as I understand it, I'm not a lawyer, thank God, but, like, you do have to admit some sort of guilt as part of the pardon. And Jason was very, very keen on saying that he did nothing wrong. And that's been their tack the whole time. So, I don't see that shifting in that case either.

PRESTON: Look, when you're Jason Miller, you don't ever make declarative statements of what you think Donald Trump's going to do because you just don't know what Donald Trump is going to do.

But I do think this past week, it's worth saying, is that we - we really did watch the final sentence of the final paragraph of the final chapter of the book that we're all so used to that told people how to run campaigns, how to act in campaigns, and how to govern.

There's a new book being written right now, and unless Democrats get on board and try to follow that, then they're going to lose.

HUNT: All right. So, today, I will leave you with this. If you are addicted to your phone, aren't we all addicted to our phones? Like, if you have one, is it impossible - is it possible to not have one and not be addicted? Anyway, you might, we all might, be afflicted with what "Oxford University Press" has named the word of the year. It's really a phrase. The phrase is "brain rot." Basically, it is a way of describing what's happening to your mind as you endlessly scroll through, quote, "trivial or unchallenging," end quote, material online.

The "Oxford University Press" says use of the term spiked 230 percent this year. If you're, I don't know, living under a rock and a bit unsure of what we're talking about, here was "SNL's" recent take on what "brain rot" might look like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, well, they tell me you're a tremendous success in terms of use and with regard to virgins. So, it's a great honor.

ON SCREEN TEXT: Kamala Here. I am begggggggging you for five dollars right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who do you work, work, work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's an evacuation order in place.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, this is part 55 of my beef with the Chilis on Jefferson Avenue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: I've been to that Chilis.

BEDINGFIELD: She's right, it's the worst. HUNT: Oh my gosh. All right, so the "Oxford University Press" also released their short list of other words that almost made the cut.

[07:00:02]

So, what are those? "Lore," "romantasy," "slop," and "demure." Oxford University clearly very mindful about their suggestions. And, of course, everyone get that reference here at the table.

GORMAN: Oh, yes, unfortunately. Unfortunately.

HUNT: OK, then we all have brain rot, right?

GORMAN: Yes. Yes.

HUNT: Like, that's like sentiment of (INAUDIBLE) online.

Oh, guys - OK, thank you, guys, for being here. You're very good sports. Thanks to all of you at home for joining us as well.

I'm Kasie Hunt. Don't go anywhere. "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.