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Erin Burnett Outfront
GOP Senators: Hegseth Faces Tough Road To Win Confirmation; U.S. Caught Off Guard By Ally's Martial Law Declaration; Market Analyst Predicts Bitcoin Could Get To $225,000. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired December 03, 2024 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:42]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
The breaking news, Hegseth in jeopardy. Trump's pick for defense secretary now facing a very rough road to confirmation with more senators balking over serious allegations of misconduct. Tonight, our KFILE with new reporting on Hegseth's criticism of Trump himself.
Plus, protests growing tonight after the president of South Korea declares martial law. The United States completely caught off guard, about how many troops we have on there. And all eyes now are on how North Korea will respond.
And bitcoin madness. One market analyst predicting it could hit $225,000 from $100. Is this actually the real deal or the craziest bubble ever? I'm going to ask a top Fed official.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good -- good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, in jeopardy. That's Trump's pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. And tonight he is in trouble.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a top ally of President-elect Trump, tonight calling the allegations of sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse by Hegseth, quote, disturbing. Several other Republican senators telling our Manu Raju that Hegseth has a tough road to win confirmation.
Now, this has Trump's team scrambling to try to shore up support. We are just learning that Hegseth will be back on Capitol Hill tomorrow to meet with Republicans sitting down for a Fox interview as well. It all comes as Trump's transition team announces it has signed a major agreement with the Justice Department, a deal that paves the way for Hegseth background check.
Today, Hegseth was trying to convince lawmakers that he can do the job after a report in "The New Yorker" went through details of a whistleblower report and it laid out allegations that Hegseth was pushed out as the head of two veterans advocacy organizations, two of them for, quote, financial mismanagement, sexist behavior and being repeatedly intoxicated on the job. And after "The New York Times" obtained this extremely troubling email
from Hegseth's mother back in 2018, in which she wrote, quote, you are an abuser of women. Hegseth's mother told "The Times" that she apologized for what she wrote. Only four Republicans need to side with all the Democrats in opposing Hegseth's nomination to tank his chances. That is why it is in jeopardy tonight.
And amidst all of this, our KFILE is uncovering more questionable comments from Hegseth when it comes to the military, including his support for using the United States military against American protesters and for waterboarding -- waterboarding, which is now forbidden under both American and international law.
He also called Trump, quote, all bluster very little substance.
Now, we have full coverage of this breaking news that is developing by the minute as these things do, especially when you start to see one domino. The question is, will you see more?
Manu Raju is OUTFRONT on Capitol Hill. Kristen Holmes is in West Palm Beach, and the KFILE's Andrew Kaczynski is here with me in New York.
I want to begin with you, Manu, OUTFRONT on Capitol Hill, of course, as I said, sometimes when you get one domino, its just whether it pushes over and then all of a sudden, something in jeopardy becomes dead. What are you learning from Republican senators tonight?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Republicans are indicating that Hegseth has an uphill battle for confirmation. There are a number of Republican senators who are uncertain. And remember, in order to get confirmed, assuming all Democrats will vote against him in the new Senate, Hegseth cannot lose more than three Republican votes on any party line vote. And right now, Erin, there are more than three Republican senators who have concerns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU (voice-over): Pete Hegseth now facing a tough road to become the next secretary of defense.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Some of these articles are very disturbing.
RAJU: The former Fox News host and military veteran has tried to weather a series of damaging stories about his personal conduct, including allegations of sexual assault.
Are you concerned?
SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): Of course, it's concerning, but I look forward to visiting with Pete about it, and seeing -- I'm interested in who Pete Hegseth is today and who he is going forward.
SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): We'll be asking questions. But look, the president always gets the benefit of the doubt on his nominees. RAJU: But there's little margin for error since just four GOP defections could derail the nomination with all Democrats in the 53-47 GOP Senate likely to oppose him.
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): This nomination is doomed.
[19:05:02]
RAJU: Several GOP senators are undecided, including Joni Ernst, a survivor of sexual assault who has spoken out against such crimes in the military and told CNN today she planned to have a, quote, frank and thorough conversation with Hegseth later this week, all amid key demands amid undecided senators for more information about Hegseth's past.
What's your level of concern about him right now?
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): As I've repeatedly said to you, I believe that we need an FBI background check to evaluate the allegations.
RAJU: Hegseth has faced a series of damaging stories, including about a 2017 incident when a woman alleged he sexually assaulted her in a California hotel room, but no charges were filed, as Hegseth entered into a financial settlement with the accuser and later contended their interaction was consensual.
PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE: The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared.
RAJU: This week, "The New Yorker" reporting that Hegseth was forced out of running two veterans groups over, quote, serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety and personal misconduct, including allegedly being intoxicated on the job.
A Hegseth adviser called them outlandish claims from a petty and jealous former associate.
Mr. Hegseth, can you respond to these allegations in "The New Yorker" article?
The last time the Senate voted down a cabinet nominee was in 1989. That's when George Bush's pick of John Tower to serve as defense secretary was defeated amid allegations of womanizing and drunkenness.
Hegseth has now faced similar allegations. Do the standards now just changed?
CRAMER: Well, I don't think there's much question that that the tolerance for certain things has changed, but I would say in many respects grace abounds all the more and I think that's not such a bad thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU (on camera): And as part of that "New Yorker" investigation, it detailed a whistleblower report outlining allegations of misconduct against Pete Hegseth. I just caught up with the chairman, the incoming Republican chairman of the Senate armed services committee, Roger Wicker. I asked him, Erin, if he wants to see that report, and he told me, I'm sure, I will see it -- Erin.
BURNETT: And that's going to be very important, right? I mean, there's so many, so many layers to the questions that they have. This is not just about one incident of alleged sexual assault, mismanagement, other issues as well.
I want to go to Kristen Holmes live from West Palm Beach, Florida.
Because, Kristen, when it comes to the issues that Hegseth is facing to confirmation, there are many layers to this. Is Trump's team still confident Hegseth can survive this?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, it depends on who you talk to. There are some people particularly in public, who are saying that they are completely confident. But if you talk to a number of people in private, and they don't have that same level of defiance when it comes to Hegseth getting confirmed.
One thing to keep in mind here is what exactly happened when Matt Gaetz withdrew his name. That came from Donald Trump. Donald Trump was making personal calls to senators. He was listening to what senators were saying. And in the end, Gaetz just had a math problem that they didn't believe they were going to get over.
And I was told by a source close to Donald Trump that he was warned consistently, Trump, that he was going to essentially expend all of his political capital on getting Gaetz confirmed. We are now in a similar situation. Yesterday on the Hill, Hegseth met with roughly a dozen various lawmakers they came out of it. Nobody had a real bad word to say. Many of them saying they didn't even bring up the allegations.
Today, a very different story. And Trump transition team is watching all of this very closely, wondering if Hegseth has the math.
Now, the other part of this that has been unfolding behind the scenes is this concern from Hegseth allies in particular in Trump world about these drinking allegations, particularly given the fact that Donald Trump himself has spoken out against how he doesn't like people who get too drunk.
He has a complicated relationship with alcohol. He doesn't drink. But his brother was an alcoholic, and he doesn't like it when people around him or people in public get too drunk. These kind of allegations are something that bother the people close to Donald Trump, who know this about Trump.
So the two parts that they're watching here are one. Trump's reaction to this, and two, Trump's reaction to the senators' reactions to meeting with Hegseth.
BURNETT: All right. Kristen, stay with us. I want to now get to KFILE with a new investigation here this hour that could be very relevant for Pete Hegseth support, not just from senators but also from Trump himself.
So, crucially, as Kristen is referring to, KFILE is uncovering some extreme points of view from Pete Hegseth and some very harsh criticism for Trump himself personally.
Andrew Kaczynski joins me now.
So, Andrew, let's start with some of the opinions that Hegseth has expressed that you have unearthed, especially in the context of what we're looking at tonight, right? A nomination in jeopardy, in particular, how he thinks the government should deal with rioters in the United States. What did you find?
ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: Yeah. So as riots and protests were breaking out across the American cities in the summer of 2020, Hegseth, who was then a host of "Fox and Friends", the morning show on Fox News, came down on the side of using the U.S. military to possibly quell some of that unrest.
[19:10:12]
He cited a couple of examples, in particular, that we found, one of which was that autonomous zone that got set up in Seattle. The other was sending the national guard to D.C.
And this is something that I think we should note that did according to some polls, actually have majority support sending the U.S. military to break up riots, not protesters, but riots. That is something that wasn't necessarily -- it was controversial, but not necessarily out of step with public opinion.
Take a listen to some of his comments that he made on that in 2020.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEGSETH: The question is, do you send in the troops, do you say, hey, this isn't going to happen anymore? Or do you let Seattle sort of implode on itself? Its the idea of you caught your kid with cigarettes underage, and do you take them away right away, or do you force them to smoke every cigarette in front of you in the entire pack to learn the lesson of what's not going to work?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KACZYNSKI: And, Erin, this is something that sort of he'd have direct oversight, right, as the secretary of defense being, you know, sending the U.S. military into American cities. And this was really reflective of a hard line approach that we found in our investigation of his view on the U.S. military. That included support for waterboarding, pardoning U.S. soldiers who had been convicted or accused of war crimes targeting cultural institutions in foreign countries as if they were considered military assets.
Listen to him here talking about his views on waterboarding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) QUESTIONER: What are your thoughts about Hagel taking waterboarding off the table?
HEGSETH: It's a mistake, absolutely a mistake. I -- and thankfully, the next commander -- who was it? Brennan, recently, the CIA director, said that that he wouldn't follow orders if he was told to.
Well, guess what? I don't think you're going to be the CIA director under a President Cruz or President Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, you know, interesting to see that in the past and of course, as a, you know, as a public figure, right as a television host, there's -- there's a long record of what he said.
You also found and this is particularly crucial when it comes to what role Trump is going to play in forcing this nomination. That Hegseth had a history of criticizing Trump. What did you find there?
KACZYNSKI: Yeah, he was harshly -- harshly critical of Trump in the 2016 Republican primary for lacking national security experience. He mocked Trump for relying on the cable news for military advice. He attacked Trump for opposing the Iraq war. He attacked Trump for saying the U.S. shouldn't have gone into Afghanistan and then Trump reversed himself on that then he attacked Trump for flip flopping. He really was arguing. And this sort of goes against at the time, at least, that the whole America first idea, he really argued that Donald Trump was not hawkish enough on the military.
Listen to him here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEGSETH: You wouldn't want a top tier presidential candidate getting all of their military advice from watching "Meet the Press". There's a lot more nuance. There's a lot more detail.
Foreign policy and national security is not about TV shows. They're going to have to walk back a little bit from this idea that he gets it from the political shows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Huh.
KACZYNSKI: And look, that's not the only criticism we found. Some of them were deeply personal on Donald Trump. He even attacked him as a, quote armchair tough guy. That was his quote, and then attacked him for getting deferments from the Vietnam War. Listen to him here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEGSETH: It's typical Trump, all bluster, very little substance. He talks a tough game. But then when pressed on it, he's an armchair tough guy, I hate to say it, but this is a guy who said -- who said that John McCain is not a war hero, yet, he sought his own five military deferments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KACZYNSKI: So it's going to be interesting to see here, Erin, how Donald Trump squares both -- you know, those comments from 2016 versus what he's saying today.
BURNETT: All right, Andrew, thank you very much.
And as promised, I want to bring back Kristen Holmes.
Kristen, you're in West Palm Beach, obviously speaking to the to Trump's inner circle constantly.
All right. Let me just get your reaction to KFILE's -- this incredible reporting here that last sound bite about Trump from Hegseth, where Hegseth says typical Trump, all bluster, little substance, armchair tough guy and called him out for slamming John McCain as Trump sought his own five military deferments.
How does this impact Trump when he hears things like this now?
HOLMES: Well, obviously, he doesn't like to hear things like this. I mean, it's destroyed relationships in the past when he's heard these past comments. Now, one thing to keep in mind here is maybe Donald Trump already knew about this, right?
One of the things that we had heard from the transition team was they tried to pull old clips of these various candidates so that Donald Trump would have a good idea and not be surprised by any negative comments. But I will tell you one thing -- if he wasn't aware of this, he certainly is now.
We know that the Trump transition and people in Trump's orbit always pay attention to Andrew's reporting. They always pay attention to these clips that come out and they comment on them.
[19:15:05]
So the likelihood of him potentially learning about this is near 99 percent, that he would learn about these comments if he didn't already know. And we know that Donald Trump doesn't like people talking badly about him particularly when you're saying things like armchair tough guy, insulting him for his insults on John McCain, which he stood by even after McCain died.
I mean, these are things that he has stood by. So we'll see how that plays out as well. But again, as I said, they're watching both the allegations. They're watching both Trump, this is the transition team as well as how the senators are reacting to Hegseth. This is clearly going to be how Trump reacts to Hegseth.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Kristen.
And, of course, they should watch every word that Andrew has reported and they have when whether it was Kamala Harris's comments on trans all of those things were found by KFILE.
OUTFRONT next, breaking news. Fear and confusion consuming a key U.S. ally after South Koreas president declares martial law. And tonight, concerns that North Korea may be about to take action on this chaos.
Plus, Elon Musk's plan to gut the government is quickly taking shape as a Democrat now gets on board, wait to see just how much government waste our Harry Enten has uncovered.
Also tonight, a bizarre twist in the search for a missing woman. A 30 year old woman whose father killed himself while searching for her has been found alive. Why her family says this search is still far from over.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:20:55]
BURNETT: Breaking news: a key U.S. ally erupting into chaos. At this hour, people once again taking to the streets of South Korea after the country's hard-line president took a page from Kim Jong-un's playbook and declaring martial law.
It was an absolutely stunning move. No one expected it. Stunning and lightning. And it ignited massive protests immediately.
Troops stormed the national assembly as part of a martial law. The White House says that the United States, with tens of thousands of troops in Korea, was caught completely off guard. Think about that. The U.S. State Department calling it a serious and grave concern.
At the Pentagon, now all eyes are on North Korea, watching to see if Kim Jong-un takes advantage of South Koreas most unstable moment in 40 years. Especially concerning because South Korea is home to 30,000 American troops. As we know, Pyongyang has been ramping up missile launches, most recently firing off what it claims is the world's strongest missile, a missile that could one day, of course the whole point, the whole goal for them is to equip it with a nuclear warhead.
South Korean President Yoon is someone President Biden calls a friend, has personally met with nine times in just the past two years, that he's the one who made this move today, and now tonight, the White House is scrambling monitoring an unfolding, unpredictable and unstable situation, minute by minute.
As the world watches South Korea, just to the east, Japan scrambling up a navy ship and surveillance jet after a Russian sub was spotted off the coast of the island near Taiwan.
Putin, of course, extremely close to Kim. Both leaders watching the chaos in Seoul play out and tonight, it is not just the chaos in South Korea. It is, of course, as I point out most unstable moment in more than 40 years, part and parcel of an incredibly unstable moment around the world from Ukraine, where a former top general says world war three has already begun, to mass protests in Georgia and an uprising and mass rebels in Syria. Germany making plans right now to turn buildings into bomb shelters. They've told the public.
And all of this no doubt, will be a test -- a major test for president-elect Trump and his incoming administration. Trump, of course, has made no secret of his love for Korea, which is facing its most challenging period in decades.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I love South Korea. They're wonderful people, extremely ambitious.
I get along great with South Korea.
I get along great with the people in South Korea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All about South Korea, of course, is also talked about his love letters from Kim Jong-un and North Korea.
Mike Valerio begins our coverage OUTFRONT live in Seoul, where there is a heavy police presence.
I first want to begin, though, with Oren Liebermann standing by at the Pentagon, because, Oren, South Korea -- ally doesn't even really describe the tightness of the relationship with the United States, right? And there are 30,000 American troops there right now which just adds to the holy -- wow. The Biden administration had no idea this was happening, was totally taken by surprise.
How worried are they about this situation now?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: If the concern has abated, it has only done so perhaps by a little bit after South Korea's president pulled back on his institution of martial law after several hours. As you pointed out, the move caught the U.S. and realistically probably caught North Korea completely by surprise. It's not just an alliance that goes back decades. As you pointed out, there are nearly 30,000 U.S. troops in South Korea. This is a relationship that goes through military, political diplomatic and much more, especially as the U.S. tries to focus on that region. South Korea is a critical part of those plans.
To underscore how close President Joe Biden has been with South Korea, he hosted a democracy summit there earlier this year, and this all adds to the difficulty of this particular moment. Now, there haven't been any major changes in terms of the U.S. military, no additional rules or curfews, no force posture changes. The State Department however, did cancel consular visits and warned U.S. citizens not to go near any demonstrations.
And that gives you an idea of the sense of the concern over this moment. As you pointed out, the U.S. is also very closely watching what's happening in North Korea, because this is the type of moment that Kim Jong-un tends to take advantage of, especially because the South Korean president blamed North Korean communists on his reason for instituting martial law.
[19:25:07]
And yet, the Pentagon watching the situation, but no indications yet that North Korea is going to attempt to launch or some sort of action like that, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. And, of course, as you point out, they probably equally as taken by surprise, perhaps there's a moment to see what they actually will do.
Oren, thank you very much.
And as Oren is speaking, CNN is on the ground in South Korea tonight as the country has been plunged into chaos. Mike Valerio is OUTFRONT from Seoul, where he was there, as the turmoil unfolded in real time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Soldiers clashing with citizens in a shocking scene outside of South Koreas parliament as crowds chant -- dismiss the martial law -- after the country's president declared nationwide military rule the first time since 1980 in an unusual late night TV address.
YOON SUK YEOL, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA (through translator): I declare emergency martial law to defend the Republic of Korea from the danger of North Korean communist forces.
VALERIO: All this in response to a number of actions by the opposition, including rejecting a budget bill and attempts to impeach officials from Moon's administration.
Yoon Suk Yeol said the moves were intended to, quote, incite rebellion and accused opposition lawmakers of trying to destabilize the country.
CHO KUK, FORMER JUSTICE MINISTER, LEADER OF THE "REBUILDING KOREA" PARTY (through translator): This decision is a crime. Is this someone who we will let run this country? No. Will we let this slide? No.
PARK GEON-WOO, SOUTH KOREAN CITIZEN (through translator): It doesn't make sense, as far as I know, this is the first martial law declared since the Gwangju Democratization movement. It is really happening in the 21st century.
VALERIO: Broken windows and rifle wielding soldiers standing at the national assembly building as tensions between the presidency and opposition lawmakers spills into mass protests.
We're here in the crowd and there are two military vehicles that are trying to get out of here. We're just a few blocks away from the national assembly. There were some soldiers that were saying their military vehicles are trying to leave the area and get back to their base. Protesters, of course, voicing their huge outrage and dismay at this moment.
The extraordinary measure the president insists, was to do away with what he claims are groups sympathetic towards North Korea.
Hours later, Yoon forced into reversing his decision after lawmakers voted to overturn his order, leaving a rattled South Korean public reeling from the political chaos.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIO: And, Erin, as we begin a new day here in Seoul, South Korea, let's reset the scene just over my right hand shoulder, you see a banner there on the bottom that says in Korean "impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol now".
I can report that thankfully, since we filed that nighttime video, we no longer have military vehicles that are coming up and down this main thoroughfare in front of the heart of South Korean democracy. So now, in terms of everybody back home in America and watching around the world, what is next -- the question is, what will South Korea's president do? Will he resign or will he be subjected to a potentially lengthy and dramatic impeachment proceeding, Erin?
BURNETT: All right. Mike, thank you very much. Of course, at the least -- you know, it's chaos, it's instability. And you can't just put that back in the bottle.
I want to bring in now, Democratic Senator-elect Andy Kim of New Jersey. He currently sits on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees. He's also the son of Korean immigrants.
So, Senator-elect Kim, I really appreciate your time tonight.
You know, you're looking at a situation here, a perilous moment, the most in 40 years. And yet, at the -- in the center of this, President Biden did not get any heads up at all, even though he has met with the South Korean president, who made this decision nine times in the past two years, calling him a, quote, great friend. How concerning is this in the context of 30,000 American troops sitting in South Korea right now?
SEN.-ELECT ANDY KIM (D-NJ): Well, it's incredibly concerning. I mean, my -- as you mentioned, I'm the son of Korean immigrants. My parents were born at the end of the Korean War, never would I have imagined that over 70 years after that, that we would see this type of decline and this type of chaos when it comes to democracy in South Korea.
This is a perilous moment incredibly perilous region of the world. And Korea, we had hoped would be a sense of a pillar of stability. But right now, we don't know what's going to even happen as the sun rises in South Korea right now in terms of this coming day.
So this is very concerning. And something that is just really shocking to me.
BURNETT: And, you know, when you talk about that democracy summit that Biden had held there, right? And to see something like this called into question in this, in this fraught moment for the world.
[19:30:08]
We spoke today, Senator, to a long time journalist who had been in Korea for a decade. And she told OUTFRONT that the South Korean president is basically very frustrated that he cant do more to rein in North Korea and specifically, she mentioned the frustration with Kim Jong-un's decision to help Putin in Ukraine and to send those tens of thousands of Korean soldiers into Ukraine as a grave and direct threat because of what Kim could get from Russia in return, right? Because of all the military, the aid that could come to North Korea.
Senator, as you're -- here, going to be on the -- you're on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, look, do you believe that somehow here, all roads right now are leading to Putin?
KIM: Well, no, I don't think all roads are leading to Putin. I think right now, we see a crisis within South Korea and yes, I'm sure it's impacted. I mean, the fact that there are thousands of North Korean troops in Ukraine fighting on behalf of a Russian dictator should be something that is deeply alarming but what we see right now is clearly a leader in South Korea who just took a step far beyond anything that should have happened in a democracy, declaring martial law.
It is not a time for finger-pointing anywhere, but himself. And over the course of the next couple hours, I'm sure he's going to have to confront whether or not he's going to resign or face impeachment. I'd be very surprised if he survives this.
BURNETT: So in this context, of course, the person who's going to be running the Pentagon and the Defense Department is crucial. We know who the president-elect is. We don't know who the defense secretary will be, but we know who Trump wants it to be, Pete Hegseth. And if he's confirmed, he will be.
But we understand that confirmation is in real trouble tonight. Multiple Republican senators have been telling our Manu Raju that Hegseth has a tough road to confirmation. So from the conversations that you're having with your new Republican colleagues, do you believe at this point that Hegseth can be confirmed or do you think this nomination is all but dead?
KIM: Well, think about it in the context of what we were just talking about. You know, the challenges globally that we face, the threats that are out there. You know, the one thing that I would want in a secretary of defense, and I say that as someone who worked at the Pentagon, I worked in the office of the secretary of defense. I worked in the Situation Room, saw previous secretary of defense there briefing the president.
What I want is someone with stability, someone who is going to be a pillar, someone who is going to be able to provide the kind of guidance, advice and command to the most powerful military in the world and I will tell you, when I hear some of the allegations, when I hear some of the reports that are emerging, it is not just very concerning. It is downright disturbing. In terms of what is being put forward. And he very much will have to answer for this. And I'm glad that a lot of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle
are raising concerns and saying that we need to hear these answers, because this is one of the most important jobs in the entire world at a time of immense global instability.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Senator Kim, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.
KIM: Thank you.
BURNETT: All right. Next, Trump saying that Canada could become the 51st state, making the suggestion in the context of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flying down unannounced to visit him at Mar-a- Lago to try to beg off tariffs.
Plus, the bitcoin boom. The cryptocurrency continuing to surge. Is this actually legitimate? The Fed's Austan Goolsbee is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:38:02]
BURNETT: Tonight, a Democrat joining forces with Elon Musk, Congressman Jared Moskowitz, the first from his party to join the caucus supporting President-elect Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, otherwise known as DOGE, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
This as Wall Street investors are increasingly wary that Musk and Ramaswamy can deliver the $2 trillion in spending cuts they're promising.
Harry Enten is OUTFRONT now.
Now, I mean, Harry, here's the reality actually doing it. Sure. I mean, it's easy to rain on that parade.
Let's just take a step back for a second, though, and say everyone can get on board with cutting waste, fraud and abuse, which is what they say, right? Everybody -- everybody can.
So tell me something I don't know.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yeah, look, here's something you don't know.
How much government waste and just government spending errors, payment errors over the last 20 years? My goodness gracious, look at that, its $2.7 trillion since 2003. How about in the last year? It was $236 billion.
Now correcting for those errors is easier said than done but there is no doubt that there's government waste and government waste that everyone can agree upon, Erin.
BURNETT: That's right. And I understand, right, the getting rid of it, fixing it. That's a separate thing. But just being able to acknowledge that its there and putting numbers on it is crucial.
So as Musk wants to cut, cut, cut obviously from the -- from the federal government and he wants to cut federal employees as well. He's made that clear. His bottom line actually has been going up recently.
Just how rich is he right now?
ENTEN: To quote Jackie Wilson, his wealth becomes higher and higher. I mean, my goodness gracious, over the last year and since election day, look at these numbers. A year ago, according to Bloomberg's billionaire index, it was $222 billion. On election day, it was $264 billion. Just in the last month. Holy Toledo, nearly $100 billion richer. Elon Musk is now than he was a month ago -- I think its $89 billion as you're doing the math on your calculator.
BURNETT: I'm just -- yeah, 35 percent increase. I was just quickly doing that. I was doing the increase.
Okay. That's incredible. I mean, return anybody would look for go ahead and annualize that one.
[19:40:02]
Okay. But this is after a judge again struck down a $100 billion pay package --
ENTEN: Yeah.
BURNETT: -- that Musk wanted. Why I'm laughing. It's just sort of the numbers become almost, you know --
ENTEN: Comical.
BURNETT: Yes.
The vast majority of his wealth, though, he's got rockets. He's got -- he's got other things.
ENTEN: Yeah.
BURNETT: But it still comes from Tesla, right?
ENTEN: Yeah. It absolutely comes from Tesla. And just look at the growth in the Tesla stock over the last year. I mean, my God, look at this -- 49 percent up. Compare that to the baseline. The S&P 500 is only up 32 percent. And Apple, of course, a great stock, only up 28 percent. The bottom line is Tesla. And big part because of Elon Musk has been a massively successful stock.
BURNETT: Massively.
All right. Thank you very much, Harry.
ENTEN: Thank you.
BURNETT: And I want to go now to Austan Goolsbee, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
So, Austan, can we talk about the waste, fraud and abuse and I know they're easy words to throw around, much harder -- easier to diagnose than to treat. But we just heard about $2.7 trillion in federal payment errors that that Harry was laying out, money essentially lost to sloppiness. And he had more than $200 billion just last year alone. Just on that.
So Musk and Ramaswamy are heading up this Department of Government Efficiency. And they say they're going to slash waste, fraud, abuse and stupidity.
Do you hope they'll succeed?
AUSTAN GOOLSBEE, PRESIDENT, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF CHICAGO: Well, you know, at the Fed, you're out of the fiscal policy business. So we kind of take the -- what's coming from -- from Washington on the fiscal policy side, as those are just part of the conditions. And if they're going to affect prices or they're going to affect employment and growth, then -- then we'll run through the scenarios.
I think it's worth, in fairness to them, they're talking about cutting spending. They're also talking about things that that they're arguing would increase the productivity growth rate. If you could increase the productivity growth rate, that would -- that would be a huge positive. You could grow faster with without inflation.
So I think everybody wants them to succeed at doing that -- that part of the equation.
BURNETT: All right. So, you know, on this front, you know, sort of how you get there. Can you increase productivity without prices rising? Can you cut deficits in a healthy way? Can you cut the debt -- the national debt? Which is -- which is, of course, excruciatingly high.
So, President-elect Trump just posted an AI-generated image of him standing next to the Canadian flag and he had joked with Prime Minister Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago that Canada should become the 51st state. And he did that because Trudeau -- Trudeau had warned him that, look, if you put all these massive tariffs on goods coming from Canada that you've been talking about, it's going to kill the Canadian economy and Trump's response, you know, to that was, look, you got on a plane, you flew here unannounced to meet with me.
It raises the question, Austan, as to whether is it possible that these tariffs actually could work to slash U.S. deficits, to fix major problems if they are used as a negotiating tool? That gets a world leader to get on a plane without even telling you about it and come knocking on your door begging to talk.
GOOLSBEE: Again, we're in the space of fiscal policy, so the Fed is not going away. If Congress or the president want to put in tariffs, I'm an economist. You're never going to hear me say, good things about tariffs. If they serve a purpose, a negotiating purpose, all power to it. At the end of the day, tariffs are going to increase prices and the --
whether it's Canada or whether it's uncertainty in Korea, the modern supply chain is extremely -- there are a lot of steps to it. And we just went through a period where supply chain problems and supply side damage was fundamental to at least a lot of the increase in inflation.
So let's just hope that we don't get in a circumstance where inflation gets rising again, because then the Feds got to deal with it.
BURNETT: And the Fed also, of course, you know, you're in the business of dealing with money supply and all -- all of those pieces. In that context, I'm very curious, Austan, as to how you see the whole cryptocurrency situation, right?
I mean, you just look at bitcoin and the way it's pricing, right now. I mean, the surge and I know Trump has said you know, he supports, you know, reserve -- reserve currency of bitcoin, I mean things that would completely and utterly transform the way monetary policy in the United States has ever even been conceived.
A coin today cost $96,000. It was 800 bucks eight years ago. I know it's a hard question to answer, but I guess it's just as simple as this. Austin, when you as you sit on the Federal Reserve, do you think that any of this is real? Is bitcoin a real thing as you see it?
GOOLSBEE: Well, it depends what real means. Presidents of the Federal Reserve banks were forbidden to -- to own cryptocurrency, bank stocks, a series of things we're not allowed to engage in ourselves.
[19:45:05]
I think the part of cryptocurrency that's a speculative investment. They're speculative investments all over the place. People can -- can invest in those things. I think the argument that that would be a strategic reserve of cryptocurrency, that's to me, stretching the words of what a strategic reserve is. There's a strategic petroleum reserve because regardless of the price, you want to have that for a use case in case there's a supply disruption.
What the "use" case are of these cryptocurrency investments, it's a little harder for me to see.
BURNETT: Well, you just gave me an analogy that I actually can truly understand, and that's tangible on crypto, which is the first time that's happened. So I appreciate that. I hope that there's some out there who may feel the same way after this conversation. I appreciate it. It's always good to see you, Austan.
GOOLSBEE: Yeah, great to see you.
BURNETT: All right.
And next, anti-Putin protests erupting now for the third day running. Is the Russian president on the verge of losing a key ally?
And a wild turn of events in the search for a missing Hawaiian woman whose father actually killed himself during the search for her. She has turned up alive, but where?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:50:29]
BURNETT: Tonight, a brutal crackdown against anti-Putin protesters. This new video that we just have into CNN, as you can see, shows violent clashes. This is what's happening on the streets of the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, filled with tear gas. Protesters shooting fireworks at police. Some of the stories that have been described about how protesters are being treated are foul. Anti-coup protesters have now been clashing with police for six straight days.
And Matthew Chance is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another night of mayhem on the streets of Tbilisi, the capital of the former Soviet Republic of Georgia is now torn between Russia and the West.
Protesters here are furious their government seen as increasingly close to the Kremlin, is delaying further talks to join the European Union.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We should be the members of European family, and unfortunately, our government tries the best not to let us and not to allow us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the Georgian government thinks that that Georgia is Russian and we will act as a Russian peoples do, and no one will come out in the street if -- if others are beaten, if and if others are disrespected but they are wrong in this, you know, this is Georgia and Georgian people are not like that.
CHANCE: For years now, the conservative ruling party, the Georgian Dream, has denied any formal links with the Kremlin. But by passing repressive laws like limiting civil society and gay rights, similar to those in Russia, it's thrown into question the country's future with the West.
Over in Ukraine, a daily sobering reminder for Georgians of the price of defying Moscow. Georgia suffered a brief war of its own with Russia in 2008, but avoiding this devastation of their Ukrainian neighbors in a conflict that began with a popular uprising known as the Maidan, is what the Georgian ruling party says now justifies its crackdown.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the attempt to organize the Maidan in Georgia is already over. I would call everybody to keep quiet, let's say, and to keep peace in this country. So we are responsible for that. I can assure everybody that there will be peace in this country.
CHANCE: But that's not how it looks on the streets of the Georgian capital, with police and pro-Western protesters outside the embattled parliament in what looks like a pivotal standoff. Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And next tonight, a twist in the case of the missing Hawaiian woman. She has just been seen alive but where is so important.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:57:11]
BURNETT: Tonight, a bizarre and mysterious turn in the search for a missing woman.
Hannah Kobayashi who did not get on a connecting flight to New York City, was just caught on surveillance video crossing the border into Mexico. And this comes weeks after she just completely vanished. Her father took his own life after searching for her unsuccessfully.
Nick Watt is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHIEF JIM MCDONNELL, LOS ANGELES POLICE: We reviewed video surveillance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which clearly shows Kobayashi crossing the United States border on foot into Mexico. She was alone with her luggage and appeared unharmed.
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mystery remains, but the LAPD is no longer searching for Hannah Kobayashi who they now say is voluntary missing.
MCDONNELL: She has a right to her privacy and we respect her choices.
WATT: But Kobayashi's family and friends say they still haven't heard from her, and its now more than three weeks since this. I can't explain all of it, she texted a friend, November 11th. Deep hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds.
MCDONNELL: To date, the investigation has not uncovered any evidence that Kobayashi is being trafficked or is the victim of foul play. She is also not a suspect in any criminal activity.
WATT: Here's what we know: before leaving Hawaii, the 30-year-old photographer supposedly en route to a gig in New York expressed a desire to disconnect from what police call modern connectivity.
LT. DOUGLAS OLDFIELD, LOS ANGELES POLICE: We know she doesn't have her phone on her. For what reason? We can't -- we can't say for sure.
WATT: November 8th, Kobayashi landed in L.A. with an ex. He made the connection to New York. She did not. She was spotted at the Grove shopping mall and elsewhere, seen with a man near the crypto.com arena.
ALAN HAMILTON, CHIEF OF DETECTIVES, LOS ANGELES POLICE: We have identified that individual. That individual was cooperative in the investigation.
WATT: But unclear if he shed any light on this mystery that has fed wild conspiracy theories from cults to hackers to kidnapers.
Her father flew to L.A. to find her.
RYAN KOBAYASHI, HANNAH KOBAYASHI'S FATHER: We're going to find Hannah. We'll get her. Yeah.
WATT: Ryan Kobayashi searched for his daughter for nearly two weeks. He did not find her and took his own life.
As you can imagine, the family is devastated. Hannah's aunt told reporters we also want to make it clear, Ryan died of a broken heart.
November 11th, Kobayashi picked up her luggage from LAX, took a metro to Union Station.
OLDFIELD: She used her passport and cash to purchase a ticket to get to the border.
WATT: Police say she crossed into Mexico, November 12th, at 12:13 p.m. at San Ysidro, south of San Diego.
MCDONNELL: We've basically done everything we can do at this point. She's left the nation -- left the country, and in another nation now. So --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATT: Now, there are still a lot of questions and Hannah Kobayashi family is still looking for answers. They released a statement that reads in part, our family remains hopeful that Hannah is safe and urges everyone to continue the search. The search is far from over and we are committed to doing everything possible to bring her home safely. They also say don't fall for speculative conclusions. I mentioned a lot of conspiracies surround this one -- Erin.
BURNETT: I'm sure. The least, of course, unsettling story.
Thank you very much, Nick.
And thanks to all of you as always.
"AC360" starts now.
