Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
CNN International: Russia Detains Uzbek Suspect Over General's Assassination; Mass Graves begin Found after Assad Regime's Fall; Trump Hosts Procession of Business Leaders at Mar-a-Lago; Parts of Trump's Deportation Plan Echo President Obama's; House Panel Secretly Voted to Release Ethics Report on Matt Gatz. Aired 9-9:45a ET
Aired December 18, 2024 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ERICA HILL, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Live pictures there of Washington D.C., the Federal Reserve said, deliver its interest rate decision in just
a few hours. It's 09:00 a.m. in the U.S. capital. I'm Erica Hill in New York. Thanks for joining me today on "Connect the World". I'm in for Becky
Anderson.
Also, ahead Russia, detain the suspect in the assassination of a top general in Moscow. Investigators in the West trying to piece together a
motive after a 15-year-old girl opened fire at her school. And Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos the latest to visit Donald Trump, that's set to happen
today. The latest tech billionaire that is to make the trip.
The stock market here in New York set to open in just about 30 minutes. Investors, of course, waiting on that big decision from the Federal
Reserve. You see the futures there trending up for the most part, the NASDAQ down slightly. We'll continue to keep an eye on that for you
throughout the morning.
Russia now has a suspect in custody. Just one day after the assassination of one of its top generals, a 29-year-old man from Uzbekistan has been
detained by authorities. Russian state media identifying the man as Ahmed Karbanov and aired a video in which he appears to confess.
Important to note, though it is unclear whether that confession was made under duress. Russian investigators say Karbanov was recruited by Ukraine
Security Service to help kill Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who headed Russia's radiological, biological and chemical protection forces.
And also alleged that the suspect had planted the surveillance camera and a bomb, but claim it was in fact, Ukrainians who triggered that device,
detonating it remotely from Ukraine, the Kremlin again today calling Kirillov's killing a terrorist act, saying this is just further
justification for Russia's war against Ukraine.
Ukraine has not commented on this suspect. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is following the story for us at the scene of the bombing in Moscow. And he's going to
walk us through now the day of the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One of Russia's top generals and an aide just seconds before the fatal blast.
We're not showing the moment of the explosion in this video obtained by CNN.
PLEITGEN: Russian Investigators say the bomb with about 300 grams of TNT was hidden in an electric scooter parked just outside the entrance of that
building. As the general and an aide walked out, it blew up, killing them both.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Russian Investigators say the device was detonated remotely. The blast so powerful it shattered windows several floors up in
buildings across the street. At first, we thought that cement might have been unloaded or something similar, this resident says. But the blast was
so loud it did not seem like construction work. It was very scary.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was the head of Russia's nuclear, chemical and biological defense forces often accusing Kyiv of planning to use
chemicals on the battlefield. The Ukrainians, for their part, accused Kirillov of overseeing the use of chemical substances against their forces,
and have claimed responsibility for assassinating him, calling the general quote, an absolutely legitimate target.
And saying such an inglorious end awaits all those who kill Ukrainians. The general is not the first, but the highest ranking Russian military
official, the Ukrainians claim to have assassinated. Moscow furious, launching both a terrorism and a criminal investigation. Investigative
actions and operational search activities are being carried out aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the crime committed, the spokesperson
said.
Asymmetric warfare like this brazen drone attack inside Russia two days ago is how the Ukrainian forces are trying to level the battlefield as Vladimir
Putin's army has been making significant gains on nearly all front lines. The lieutenant general's assassination comes just hours after Putin met
with his top military bras, ripping into the Biden Administration for its support of Ukraine.
In an effort to weaken our country and impose a strategic defeat on us. The United States continues to pump the virtually illegitimate ruling regime in
Kyiv full of weapons and money, sends mercenaries and military advisers and thereby encourages further escalation of the conflict, Putin said.
And Russian politicians have vowed revenge for the generals killing while acknowledging his death is a major loss. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: I want to bring you now, Clare Sebastian, who is an extensive reporting, of course, from Russia, joining us from London.
[09:05:00]
So, Clare, we look at this Ukraine not commenting on this suspect, the arrest of this Uzbek's suspect in Russia, but in terms of the narrative
that we are hearing from Moscow. Does this ring true to you?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, I think the narrative that this was carried out on orders, according to Russia's Investigative Committee by the
Ukrainian Security Services. We do have a source familiar with the operation who told CNN on Tuesday, that that was, in fact, the case, that
this was an operation carried out by the Ukrainian Security Services.
And we have seen an increase in recent months. This was the fourth such assassination on Russian or Russian occupied soil carried out either
claimed directly or indirectly by the Ukrainian Security Services or Defense Intelligence in the last two months. So that does ring true, in
terms of the nationality of this being an Uzbek national, according to the Russia Investigative Committee and the FSB.
Or look, Russia does rely heavily on the presence of migrant workers, particularly from Central Asia. Especially now, when the war has caused
even greater labor shortages than there were before. And human rights groups have accused Russia in the past of racially profiling of
scapegoating central Asians.
There was a backlash that we saw after Tajik citizens were charged with the Crocus City Hall terror attack, that huge terror attack in Moscow in March.
Though, of course, that was linked, -certainly by the U.S. and others, to ISIS-K, which is active in that region as well. So, there are threads to
pull there.
I think what does ring true in particular here, Erica, is how these fits into the sort of crisis management playbook that we've seen in Russia. They
are clearly trying to appear like they are getting out in front of this. It was a security breach. It was a security failing. So, this arrest happening
some 24 hours later, just like we saw with those Crocus City Hall attacks in March.
Fits in with that, we also see deflecting from the Kremlin saying that this is terrorism from what they call the Kyiv regime, that it further justifies
what they're calling the special military operation, the full-scale war in Ukraine. And of course, they are distancing Putin from this.
He personally has not said anything about this yet that we watch and wait to see if he mentions that he's holding his major annual sort of public
call in session tomorrow.
HILL: Is there any way we should read this assassination when it comes to the broader context of the war at this point in the war, and especially at
this point you know, broadly globally, as you know, we have Zelenskyy in Brussels at this point.
SEBASTIAN: So, this is clearly coming at a critical juncture in this war for Ukraine, Erica. The clock is ticking down, with just over a month out
from Donald Trump taking office again in the U.S., which could ring in a really significant policy change. We just heard the President-Elect this
week, saying, for example, that he thinks it was a mistake to give Ukraine permission to fire Western long-range missiles at Russia.
So, I think what we see from Ukraine at this point, and in a similar vein to what we saw with their incursion into the Kursk region, which is still
ongoing, is them trying to seize the -- if not initiative, then at least show some leverage in any means possible. That's why we've seen, I think,
an increase in these assassinations far from the battlefield concerning military figures or figures connected to the Russian military.
These are things that Ukraine can do to show their hand, to show that they still have cards to play as we approach what may be a push from the west
and from the new U.S. administration towards negotiations.
HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Clare, really appreciate it. Thank you. Turning now to Syria, where, earlier today, the first domestic flight since the fall of
the Assad regime took off from Damascus airport. Separately, the U.N.'s refugee agency says it expects around a million Syrians to return from
abroad in the coming months.
Some 14 million have been forced from their homes since the start of the war, and the agency estimates more than half of those remain displaced
inside Syria. For a closer look at where things stand in this transition now, want to bring in Firas Maksad for us, always good to see you when we
look at where things stand.
First of all, in terms of the number of people, right. We know it is massive, the number of people who have been displaced. The fact that the
U.N. Refugee Agency is estimating some 1 million could try to return in just the next six months or so. How prepared is Syria to welcome those
people home?
FIRAS MAKSAD, SENIOR FELLOW AT MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Yes, Erica, good to be with you again. Syria is very ill prepared. And in fact, the new de
facto leader of Syria Ahmad Al Sharaa or Jolani, as we know him, seems to be very aware of that. In all the back-channel diplomacy that has been
unfolding over the past couple of days, whether it's with their western counterparts, their western interlocutors.
The U.N. or even some of the Arab diplomacy that's taking place here in the region. His emphasis is very laser focused on domestic. First,
consolidating power and then second, being able to provide not only for those millions of Syrians who are in neighboring countries, Turkey,
Lebanon, where I am today, Jordan, where I was only two days ago, but also the Syrians that are in Syria itself.
[09:10:00]
So, Jolani or Ahmad Al Sharaa, as he likes to call himself now has a very tall task in front of him. His focus will be domestic, and he's going to
need to work not only with the U.N. and the West, but also with these neighboring countries. It's a tough task ahead --
HILL: It's a tough task ahead. I know you are somewhat often optimistic, certainly after being in Jordan talking about some of those meetings over
the last several days that being said, you've also referred to this as a geopolitical earthquake and a sea change in comments to "The Washington
Post". Where do things stand? How well do you think this is going in just this short amount of time since, in fact, the Assad regime has been
overthrown?
MAKSAD: You know, I've been talking to some of the biggest skeptics of the new regime in Damascus, HTS, Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, whether it's in the Gulf
or even here closer to their borders, even those that have been very skeptical of what they refer to the DNA of the new regime, which is jihadi
and comes from Al Qaeda, even those seem to indicate that, so far, Jolani and HTS have been very cooperative, have reached out and are coordinating.
Again, demonstrating that the core interest right now for Jolani, the core priority is going to be -- That said, there is also a concern. Damascus has
always built itself as the beating heart of Arab nationalism. It's the heir to the Umayyad dynasty, the much famed Islamic and Arab dynasty based in
Damascus.
And right now, you look at the Syrian tapestry, it's being dominated by Turkey, but also Israel, that has pushed further into Southern Syria, only
20 kilometers or so now from the Syrian capital. Those are very concerning facts for the Arab countries surrounding Syria.
And I think in the days and weeks ahead, we're going to see some Arab demonstration of power and influence, both to put Jolani on notice in terms
of his jihadi background, but also to try and some to reassert some Arab influence in Damascus.
HILL: There's also the question of what he can do, frankly, to reassure world leaders. And there is a lot of talk. I know, again, you said you're
optimistic at this point, but there is so much talk about what we heard from the Taliban, for example, in Afghanistan, and what we are seeing now?
What is there that can be done in terms of reassurance and how much comparison should there be between these two situations?
MAKSAD: Well -- that's a great question. And on one hand, you've got the camp that says, you know, a leper doesn't shed its spots. It's in the DNA.
These are jihadis. May not be fooled. But on the other hand, there's the realization that if, in fact, HTS and Ahmed Al Sharaa its leader has
agency.
They can begin to distance themselves from some of the more troublesome actors on the ground, and also to govern using a coalition of forces. We've
got the Kurds in Syria. We've got more secular forces on Syria. So, powers around this region and also in the West are looking for those kinds of
clues to try and assess whether Jolani is somebody that we can work with or not.
There's also obviously the issue of chemical weapons. Jolani said that he's willing to give those up. There are concerns in these amongst the Israelis
about having a jihadi force on their border. He's time and again saying that he's no interest picking a fight with Israel or any of Syria's
neighbor, sending all the right messages.
But again, that said, all parties are very, very focused at this point in demonstrating their resolves, demonstrating that they will be ready to deal
with the worst possible scenario should untold, but it's important to give the new regime in Damascus at least the opportunity to do the right things.
HILL: Firas always great to have your insight. Thank you. Warming time, Syrians, at this point, of course, as they are trying to put things back
together, are also beginning to uncover the extent of the Assad regime's brutality. Mass graves being discovered around the country. One advocacy
group believes that hundreds of thousands of bodies, quote, tortured to death by the Assad regime could, in fact, be buried in those graves.
Melissa Bell reports.
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The tragic next step in the search of many Syrians for their loved ones, some of the first
images emerging of what are believed to be mass graves that may have been used by the regime to bury some of those who were first taken to the
detention centers and then tortured to death.
One at Qutayfah, which is on the outskirts of Damascus, not very far from the Syrian capital, where one advocacy group has been speaking of the truck
loads of bodies that were brought each week. What we understand is that four tractor trailers carrying 150 bodies each were brought twice a week,
between 2012 and 2018 to this particular site.
[09:15:00]
Now be the subject of a search for some of those bodies, in the hope that some may be identified. Another site in the southern province of Daraa also
now believed to be another of those mass burial sites, as Syrians try and establish the identities of some of the 150,000 people who have disappeared
to try and figure out if any of them may lie in these sites.
That's according to the International Commission on missing persons. Still many relatives frantically searching for their loved ones in their hopes
that they might be alive. But these are the clearest indication yet. The first tangible proof of what we've long heard about from outside of Syria
during the Assad regime, of the brutality of its secret services, the brutality of its detention centers, with many of those bodies now, no doubt
beyond recognition.
It's unclear, also, for the time being, how many people may have been buried there. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
HILL: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, traveling to Southern Syria on Tuesday, holding a briefing on Mount Hermon Syria's highest peak.
Netanyahu and Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated that the military would remain on Mount Hermon, quote, for any length of time
required.
Israeli forces captured the summit and the surrounding foot hills after the fall of Bashar Al Assad's regime. Mount Hermon is the highest point in the
region, which of course, makes it a prize military Assad. It overlooks Lebanon, Syria and Israel. The CIA Director, meantime, expected to travel
to Doha as early as today to continue talks for a Gaza cease fire and hostage release deal.
Those discussions coming as Israeli forces continue to pound Northern Gaza. Health Officials in the Enclave say Israeli attacks have killed at least a
dozen people in Gaza overnight. Top officials from the U.S., Israel, Qatar and Egypt are all touting progress in those cease fire negotiations.
Hamas, for its part, signaling cautious optimism. Still ahead here on CNN, investigators trying to piece together a motive, after a teacher and a
student were killed in a school shooting in the state of Wisconsin. And another tech billionaire making the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago. So just what
is on the agenda for Jeff Bezos when he sits down with Donald Trump?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Authorities say determining the motive for the deadly school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin is top priority. And at the moment, they say it
appears to be a combination of factors. Police are speaking with students at Abundant Life Christian School to determine whether bullying may have
been behind the suspect's attack, according to Madison's police chief.
Investigators also looking through the online presence of the suspect, of course, to gather evidence and information. CNN's Whitney Wild joining us
now with more from Madison. So, in terms of where things stand and what we're learning. What have we learned overnight, Whitney?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, "The Washington Post" is reporting that she had a very turbulent childhood, and they piece
this together through using divorce records from her parents.
[09:20:00]
They were married and remarried multiple times. There was a custody agreement that was in place that had this child shuffling between her
parents homes every two to three days. Additionally, Erica, is part of that custody agreement, she was required for therapy. And according to "The
Washington Post", that was, you know, more or less in an effort to try to get the court to better understand which parent she should be with.
And again, what we know is that this custody agreement was split, you know, during the week. Further, Erica, we have spoken with a child whose locker
was right next to Natalie Rupnow's. And what she described was a child who had not really blossomed socially. She said she didn't really have a friend
group. She was new.
And in fact, Erica, when she got to this school, she went by Samantha. The child we spoke with, didn't even know her name was Natalie. And so, the
clear picture that is coming into focus is one of a turbulent personal life. She's new. She's at a school where she's not really blossoming.
And it is becoming clear that there's a possible issue of isolation here for this child. More broadly, there are major questions about whose gun it
was and how she got it. Law enforcement hasn't given any detail on that yet. Other than to say that the fire arm is being traced.
Again, as you mentioned, there's also a big question about motive, and law enforcement is reluctant to define the motive at this point, saying only
that it was a mix of factors. And then finally, Erica, there was another big question about whether or not she had targeted that classroom
specifically.
The police chief addressed that question yesterday and said, as far as he's concerned, everyone was targeted, everyone was in equal danger. The ripple
effect here is enormous. There are people that we've spoken with at CNN whose children were very near to the shooting, here is what one father told
us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLEN LEWIS, FATHER OF FOUR STUDENT AT ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: Students knew what to do, and they hid in the corners of their classrooms.
My third-grade son mentioned that his teacher stood between the door and where the kids were hiding with scissors, ready to do whatever he had to do
to defend the kids in that class.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILD: Erica, there are still people at this moment fighting for their lives. The last we heard from law enforcement was that there were still two
people in critical condition, two people in stable, two people who had been shot were released. What we know is that a full-time teacher was killed, a
teenage student was killed, but law enforcement has not told us who they are, Erica.
HILL: We really appreciate it. Thank you. Take a look at the Trump transition now. Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos heading to Florida today, where
he'll meet with the U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump, just the latest in a series of meetings at Mar-a-Lago involving Donald Trump and tech
billionaires.
Bezos, of course, owns Blue Origin, the space company in competition with Elon Musk. SpaceX also owns "The Washington Post". And you may recall that
he told the newspaper's editorial board that it should not make a presidential endorsement just in the final weeks of the campaign, a
decision that was roundly criticized for its timing. Alayna Treene has more now from West Palm Beach.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: You're exactly right, Erica. Jeff Bezos was just the latest in a series of tech Titans to fly to Mar-a-Lago to meet
with Donald Trump directly before he takes office on January 20th. But Bezos, like many other CEOs that Donald Trump has been meeting with, had a
hostile relationship with Donald Trump during his first term for one, Donald Trump criticized Bezos for buying "The Washington Post" at the time.
But also, Amazon had lost out on a $10 billion Pentagon contract to Microsoft. We later learned that Jim Mattis's speech writer, the former --
the speech writer of the former secretary of defense, said that Trump had called Mattis directly at the time and said, quote, screw Amazon out of the
opportunity.
So again, they always haven't met eye to eye. However, we do know that Bezos is approaching this administration much differently than he had in
the past. For one, he was behind the decision for "The Washington Post" not to endorse a candidate before the 2024 election, something that was very
controversial.
But he also was quick to congratulate Donald Trump once he had won the election, saying that he wishes him all the success in his leadership over
the next four years. Now, for Trump's part, he's also keeping a much more open mind, I'm told, in these meetings, he is welcoming these different
CEOs when they ask to meet with him and to come down to Mar-a-Lago to talk face to face.
And I think a key question is really, what will these different meetings, have to do with their relationships as they look ahead? Could this affect
policy? Will Donald Trump have a much more open conversation with them and remain in repeated contact with them once he is in office?
These are things that are unclear, but I will add as well that remember what Donald Trump said on Monday when he addressed this at a news
conference. He said that during his first term, he felt like all of these different leaders wanted to fight him. Now he believes that they want to be
his friend.
[09:25:00]
So that is a cue for some of the contours of how we're seeing these relationships shape up before he even takes office, Erica.
HILL: Alayna Treene, appreciate the reporting. Thank you. I will just -- to speed on some of the other stories on our radar at this hour, a Filipino
woman who had been on death row in Indonesia now back in the Philippines after years of negotiations, 39-year-old, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso had spent
nearly 15 years in prison for drug trafficking.
She claims she had been duped into being an unwitting accomplice and drug courier. An extradition here eight now scheduled for Thursday for the
suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson. On Tuesday, prosecutors in New York announced charges against Luigi Mangione, including
murder as an act of terrorism.
He's currently in jail in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested last week. A new milestone in space to Chinese astronauts, breaking the record for the
longest spacewalk, according to China man space agency, the China man space agency, rather. It lasted nine hours on Tuesday, which beats the previous
record by four minutes that had been set by a pair of U.S. astronauts in 2001.
Two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station since June. They're going to be there a little bit longer. Suni Williams and Butch
Wilmore's mission, which was, of course, meant to last a week, was unexpectedly extended, extended again. Now it's been extended again due to
technical fault with their Boeing Star Line, or spacecraft. CNN's Kristin Fisher has the details on this latest delay.
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE & DEFENSE ANALYST: You remember, Butch and Suni, they were supposed to come back on that Boeing Starliner capsule on its
maiden test flight back in June. It didn't happen because NASA deemed it to be unsafe. So, they've been waiting up at the International Space Station
as part of a crew rotation, right?
So, you have to wait until the next crew and the next spacecraft is ready to come up there and relieve you. So, Crew-9 came up now they're waiting
for Crew-10. That was supposed to be in February. Now we just learned it's going to be delayed one month until mid to late March of 2025.
And the reason why, according to NASA and SpaceX, I'm quoting here, they say they need extra time to complete processing on a new Dragon spacecraft
for the mission. So, this is, you know, SpaceX has a lot of Dragon spacecrafts. They've been used quite frequently. It's the primary means by
which NASA astronauts get to and from the International Space Station.
So, they've been planning on getting this new one up and running. It's just not quite ready to get. So, for Butch and Suni, it means they've got to
wait at least one more month.
HILL: Wow. That is something. Still to come here on "Connect the World". Jerome Powell taking center stage, investors waiting watching for the Fed
chief later today, as they also search for hints about U.S. interest rates next year. We have a preview for you just ahead.
Plus, President-Elect Donald Trump, promising quick action and big changes on day one when it comes to immigration, as his plans take shape, some say
they have already had unexpected similarities to those of another president. We'll take a closer look at who.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:30:00]
HILL: Welcome back. I'm Erica Hill in New York. You're watching "Connect the World". At the top of the show, the arrows were mostly pointing up. The
DOW, of course, has closed down for nine straight sessions. Take a look at where we stand now, just about a minute after the opening bell here in New
York City, the recent slump has been mild.
Today's session, there is some hope. Could bring some cheer to investors as we look at where things stand as I noted just about a minute into the
trading day here in New York. This is also, of course, interest rate decision day for the U.S. Federal Reserve. America's central bank will hold
its final meeting of the year this afternoon.
And the last one before U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump is inaugurated next month. Investors are watching closely to see if the Fed follows
through on expectations of a rate cut. CNN's Matt Egan has a preview for us.
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: So, there's really not much drama over what the Fed is going to do today. The real suspense is over what comes next. Now,
the market is pricing in a 95 percent chance of a quarter point cut from the Fed today. That's basically a slam dunk. The Fed almost has to cut
rates today, because if they didn't, they'd really be freaking out markets, and they don't like to do that.
So, this would be the third cut in a row, and it would mean that interest rates are about a full percentage point below where they were back in
September. If you're a borrower, this is good news, if you're someone who is trying to pay off credit card debt or get a car loan or get a mortgage.
It's nice to see that rates are finally coming down, but the bad news is that the Fed is also likely to signal today that they're going to tap the
brakes on these rate cuts next year. They're going to be issuing new guidance and projections today. And in the past, in September, Fed
officials were penciling in four interest rate cuts in 2025.
Now the thinking is they might be signaling three cuts, or even two or fewer. And when you think about it, it really is an awkward time for the
Fed to be cutting interest rates. There's no need to come to the rescue of the economy, it's still growing at a very solid pace. The unemployment rate
has come up, but it's still pretty low, and the war on inflation has stalled out in recent months.
We know that food prices and housing costs remain stubbornly high, and then there are these risks that the Trump agenda could potentially reignite
inflation, specifically mass deportations. If you're deporting millions of undocumented workers, it's not clear they'll be able to do that, but if
they did, that could cause shortages of workers in agriculture and in construction.
And then there's this brewing trade war between the United States and China, Canada and Mexico that could also raise prices as well. So yes, it
does look like an interest rate cut from the Fed is imminent today, but this could be the last cut for a while.
HILL: Matt Egan reporting there. Matt, thank you. Well, as Matt mentioned, President-Elect Donald Trump has vowed he will kick millions of
undocumented immigrants out of the U.S. when he does return to office. He says he's going to implement what he has done the largest deportation
operation in American history on day one back in the White House.
While those exact plans are still taking shape, there's a good chance they end up looking a lot like what we saw from another president in the recent
past, Barack Obama. Here CNN's Priscilla Alvarez with more.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President-Elect Donald Trump and his team have floated some draconian measures when it comes to detaining and
deporting undocumented immigrants at a large scale, but the basic elements of the plan and what some of his Trump aides have said publicly are similar
to what the U.S. has seen before.
Including, most recently during the Obama Administration and the person at the helm, Tom Homan, a veteran of immigration enforcement, was also at the
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency during the Obama Administration, at a time where the then former president was considered to be, quote the
de porter in chief.
[09:35:00]
Now where there are similarities, it is, for example, prioritizing public safety and national security threats. Now, Obama did that, and President
Joe Biden did that. The difference, however, was that, during the Obama years, ICE agents, if they were going in to arrest someone that they were
targeting, could also potentially pick up those who also had an undocumented status in the household.
How some Homeland Security officials called this term, quote, collaterals. And that is something that Tom Homan has said he would do again,
essentially going to pick up those that they are trying to target, but not leaving people behind who may also be undocumented. Then too there is
family detention on that front, President Joe Biden ended family detention.
Well, Obama had expanded it, and it is something that is expected to make a return as well. Now the numbers bear out how Obama became what some
immigrant advocates and Democrats called the Deporter-in-Chief, that included, for example, 2.9 million deportations in his first term and 1.9
million deportations in his second term.
Compare that to Trump's first term, and he was around more than 1.5 million people, but in any given year, Obama reached around -- sorry, 400,000
people that they were able to deport, many of which were recent border crossers. So, while he did reach big numbers in one year, they were still
limited and how many deportations they could execute on.
Now, of course, the other part of this is that the circumstances have changed, including who is crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. So, while there
are about 1.4 million people with pending deportation orders. Many of those can't be returned because there aren't diplomatic relations between the
U.S. and those countries, or because they are still going through some sort of process.
So, this can all become very complicated, very quickly. And of course, Donald Trump has also cited, for example, the Eisenhower Administration and
their aggressive and unprecedented sweep of undocumented immigrants. So, there is still room here for those draconian measures that Trump has
floated before that could be baked into plans moving forward.
But the basic elements of it are ones that are quite common in the way that Immigration and Customs Enforcement carries out its operation. And those
elements of it are similar to what was seen before, most recently under the Obama Administration.
HILL: I want to get straight to some exclusive new reporting. This story just breaking here, CNN has now confirmed a House panel took a secret vote
to release the ethics report on Former Congressman Matt Gaetz. That investigation, of course, was looking into allegations of sexual
misconduct, drug use and possible bribe.
And we're learning it is now set to be made public very soon. My colleague Manu Raju, joining me now from Capitol Hill with more of this new exclusive
reporting. So, a secret vote. When did that happen? When could this actually be released, Manu?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this happened earlier this month, and it could be released as soon as this week. The
precise timing of its release. It's unknown, but we are hearing that will occur after the final day of voting in this congressional session. That
could be today, that could be tomorrow, that could be Friday.
The final day is a bit uncertain, as they're concluding the year end business here, but this is no doubt, a significant reversal. Remember, last
month when Donald Trump had named Matt Gaetz to be his Attorney General pick. At the time, there was a lot of concerns about what was in this
ethics committee investigation looked at the allegations of illicit drug use, sexual misconduct and receiving impermissible gifts and the like.
Gaetz has long denied all those allegations, but all these matters had concerned Republican Senators, and it was uncertain. In fact, it looked
very unlikely that he would get the votes to be confirmed as Attorney General. At that point, while he was being under consideration, the House
Ethics Committee actually voted to not release the ethics report.
Republicans said that they would -- they didn't like going ahead with a report against someone who had resigned from Congress. Remember Gaetz
abruptly resigned from Congress after Trump picked him for that seat, but since then, Gaetz has withdrawn from that consideration of Attorney General
and Republicans were grabbed, were so meeting with Democrats behind the scenes on what to do with this report.
And ultimately, we are told that, in fact, they did vote secretly to publicly release this report. Now this could come out any time, and it's
expected to be explosive, significant ramifications on Gaetz, who still has eyes on potential future office being involved in Republican politics. He's
going to be an anchor for the conservative station OAN next year as well.
So, we'll see ultimately, when it comes down, how it looks. But this reporting suggests that perhaps some Republicans changed their mind and
voted with Democrats to release it. And of course, Gaetz is someone who has long had pretty icy relations with Republicans and Democrats alike on
Capitol Hill.
We'll see if that's the reason why there was a change of -- But no doubt about it, significant news and reversal here on the Hill, Erica.
HILL: Yeah, absolutely an important update, at that Manu, really great to have you. Thank you. Right. Stay with us much more to come here on "Connect
the World" after a quick break.
[09:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Hollywood Star Tom Cruise has spent years playing military heroes. Turns out his service, though may be more than just make believe. The U.S.
Navy now honoring him with the Distinguished Public Service Award, saying he significantly boosted its recruitment of pilots through his lead role in
the 1986 action film "Top Gun".
Cruise is a licensed pilot. He of course, played Naval Aviator Maverick and then reprised that role as a captain in the 2022 sequel. "World Sport" is
up next with Carolyn Manno, right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
END
