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Erin Burnett Outfront
Sheriff In Guthrie Case: "We Have DNA," "Don't Know Whose It Is"; TMZ: Received Third Email From Person Claiming To Know Guthrie Kidnapper; Don Lemon Pleads Not Guilty To Federal Charges, "I Will Not Back Down". Aired 7-8p ET
Aired February 13, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:27]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
The breaking news, the sheriff in the Nancy Guthrie case tell CNN, investigators have DNA evidence. Unclear tonight, though, who it belongs to, as the sheriff also confirms, officials have several, quote, "good leads".
Also breaking this hour, TMZ reporting it's received a third letter from someone who claims to know who kidnapped Nancy Guthrie. TMZ's Harvey Levin is OUTFRONT.
And more breaking news. Don Lemon speaking out after pleading not guilty to federal charges.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett on this Friday, and we begin with breaking news OUTFRONT this evening, a major development in the Nancy Guthrie investigation.
The Pima County sheriff confirming that investigators have DNA evidence. Now, the sheriff is not saying exactly where that DNA is found but they are calling it significant. And the sheriff is also telling CNN that investigators have the DNA from Guthrie, her family, her landscapers and her housekeepers. Okay?
And they don't know who the DNA belongs to, right? So obviously, you would presume they've run all those checks, and it wasn't this DNA. And while there is still no indication of where Guthrie could be, the sheriff did tell CNN, quote, we got some good leads. We remain hopeful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF CHRIS NANOS, PIMA COUNTY, AZ: So, we're just chasing down leads. I've got 400 cops out there chasing down 30-some-thousand leads.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And those 30-some-thousand leads he refers to have been pouring in ever since authorities released the doorbell cam video, which showed the masked suspect outside Guthrie's home the night she vanished. Now, as for Guthrie herself, the sheriff does say he believes she will be found. And it all comes as we've got this new video tonight. Okay? That's Nancy Guthrie's pool and those are maintenance workers at her pool today. They were there for 20 minutes cleaning the pool.
Now, Guthrie's home, of course, is a crime scene surrounded by law enforcement hunting for DNA. And the pool company shows up. The sheriff's department says a member of the family contacted the company and asked them to service the pool. So, obviously, a bit jarring, but that's what we saw today on the activity.
Ed Lavandera is OUTFRONT, live in Tucson, Arizona.
And, Ed, a very revealing interview that you had with the sheriff on this investigation, on the leads and on this -- this, this crucial revelation about DNA, even as he's telling you, they've checked it against the landscapers and everybody else who would regularly be at the home.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. So, the question is, is this actually the suspects DNA or is it someone else that they just don't have the match for and cant discount? All of that are questions that just remain in the air at this point.
But this comes as clear that they are getting a staggering amount of tips and clues. Help from the public, but still, almost two weeks into the search for Nancy Guthrie still no sign of where she might be.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says DNA has been recovered from gloves, and that DNA has also been found on other evidence in Nancy Guthrie's house.
LAVANDERA: The DNA tests that have been done, has anything come back and pointed --
NANOS: Yes.
LAVANDERA: -- toward anyone in particular?
NANOS: Well, no. We have DNA, so if trust me, if we knew who it was, we'd be on it. But we do have some DNA, and we're continue to work with those with the lab on that DNA analysis.
LAVANDERA: Is that DNA that you have, you believe might be the suspect's? It just doesn't match anyone in a lab or?
NANOS: What we have is we have some DNA and we don't know whose it is. So we'll keep looking.
LAVANDERA: Well, that's significant.
NANOS: It is, yeah. LAVANDERA: And that was from the house?
NANOS: I'm not telling you where it was, but we have DNA.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): This comes as multiple news reports accused Nanos and his department of withholding key DNA evidence from the FBI. One source confirmed the reports to CNN. Another source tells CNN, the stories are overblown. Sheriff Nanos says it's crazy to think he wouldn't work with the FBI.
NANOS: The FBI and the Pima County sheriff's department are joined at the hips. We want to find Nancy. The story of the FBI being blocked. The sheriff blocked. I would never -- why would I do that?
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The release of the doorbell camera video showing the suspect approaching Nancy Guthrie's front door has generated an avalanche of leads for investigators. The sheriff says the video was released within two hours of it being turned over to investigators.
NANOS: When we put that video out, that photo of that guy in the front doorway, that generated in a matter of hours, almost 5,000 calls.
[19:05:02]
Those leads, every single lead is looked at.
LAVANDERA: You said last week that there were multiple cameras in the house. Are there additional videos that have been recovered from the other cameras that you can say exist?
NANOS: What I know is those cameras were given to the same company, I believe is Google Nest to say, look what can you do for us? They developed that one. It was -- it was iffy for them. They don't know, but they're working on it. I pray and hope.
LAVANDERA: Do you think Nancy Guthrie will be found?
NANOS: I -- yes, I believe she'll be found. And I believe that we are working as hard as we can to do that as fast as we can. Sometimes it just doesn't work that way. But we are working hard.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: Erin, this is our first chance to ask the sheriff questions about the state of the investigation since late last week. A couple of other things, you know, we've been talking about, there have been reports that investigators were looking for possibly a white van in the area. We asked the sheriff about that.
He really wouldn't give us a clear answer as to -- if that is indeed the case. They said they're looking at everything and we also asked the sheriff about whether or not they've been able to pinpoint exactly how this suspect might have driven into the neighborhood where Nancy Guthrie lives. And he says so far, no clear indication that they have that route just yet. BURNETT: Wow, which is incredible in some senses when you think about
where at two weeks, tomorrow night here from this.
Ed, thank you very much.
And everyone's here with me now.
So, Chip, you know, you heard the sheriff talking to Ed there. And when -- I mean, he said a lot of important things by the way, that stuff about the van is really important they still don't know how the person got into the neighborhood with all this door cam video they have. That in itself is stunning.
But he says they've got DNA. Now, we don't know if the DNA they have is merely somebody who is innocent and would have been around the house that they haven't thought of or don't know about. But we do presume that this DNA doesn't match known landscapers, housekeepers, family members or others that they may have been looking at.
How significant is this DNA?
CHIP MASSEY, FORMER FBI HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR: Well, it could be everything and it could be nothing, right? Because, you know, it's great as an eliminator to, you know, so they already have the DNA of the family. They already have, you know, people around them. The DNA that's collected from that glove.
I'd want to know where that glove was, where that DNA was collected from. Was it in the house? Was it from the roadside? All those are going to be extremely important.
BURNETT: Yeah, absolutely. I mean because, you know, we don't know. I mean obviously, there are certain people who would be around the house all the time whether its family or landscapers that their DNA would be there regardless.
WALLACE ZEINS, FORMER NYPD HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR: Correct. And one of the things, you know, once they determine the DNA, where that DNA is from, they have another outlet. We have genetic DNA. There's a company in Texas that NYPD uses and they sent it there it can actually tell your race, creed, color, your religion.
BURNETT: Without any match, right? So, you don't know who it is but it will give you all that.
ZEINS: They'll give you more data, pertinent data, that's very important. But it takes a longer time to get the results.
BURNETT: How long does it take?
ZEINS: Sometimes, it can take two months, three months.
BURNETT: Oh, so it could take. Okay, so that -- that -- that's an extraordinarily long time.
ZEINS: It's used a lot in cold cases. BURNETT: Right. Which we pray this will not become. But we are two
weeks in here.
Of course, John Miller, the sheriff, you know, did say DNA has been found on several gloves. Now, the DNA that they're saying was found, they're not saying where or on what. So, we don't know if it is on the gloves, but they are saying they've got DNA on gloves.
And in fact, I guess as you drive around, there are gloves on the side of the road everywhere, including in Tucson, Arizona. And they found gloves as far as ten miles away from home. And they don't know if any of them are involved or not.
Is this telling or does this make you say, wow, if we're looking at every glove we're finding on the road ten miles away, we're a long way away from an answer here.
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: It shows that they have broadened the collection, which is a good thing because, you know, you could have nine gloves that mean nothing if you find a glove that actually connects to this, it's going to be tremendously significant.
And you know, if the DNA is on the glove, if DNA was found within the home, if those two matched, that means something. But even DNA found in the home, if you end up developing a suspect down the road and you say, Chip, have you ever been in that house? And they say I have never been anywhere near that house, and you've collected DNA from inside, now you have a false exculpatory statement, now you have a suspect who just went from being a suspect to being a major prime suspect.
So, all of this collection, whether it solves the case today or next week eventually is going to be significant.
BURNETT: Right. It adds up.
I mean, Mary Ellen, what do you -- what do you think here about the DNA? And the fact that we're hearing this again from the sheriff? I mean, we know there's many teams out there, right? Youve got FBI, you've got others, right? But this is the sheriff saying this.
MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, FORMER SENIOR FBI PROFILER & FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Sure, I think the DNA has to be exploited and investigated but it also has to be probative.
[19:10:00]
So -- and I heard several of, of your guests say that, you know, they have to go back and they have to see who has been in that house. So, they have to create what's called an elimination database to make sure that they can eliminate people. That could have been a contributor to that DNA. And they -- we don't know how long the DNA has been there.
So, it is a really good thing. But unlike TV, it doesn't automatically within seconds identify the name of the person that contributed it. BURNETT: You know, Wally, the other odd thing about this and that this
is the incongruous images of the pool cleaning team coming, right? Now, the family asked them to do that. I presume the family didn't do that without the FBI or somebody saying, it's okay, right?
I mean, I don't know, but I would presume that. But there's this odd thing of people coming in and out and originally this not being a crime scene then it becoming a crime scene even as they're hunting for DNA. You got people walking in and leaving DNA.
What does all this mean?
ZEINS: Well, one of the of course you know, anyone that walks into that home definitely has to have their name identification checked. I believe by anyone. We do that at every crime scene.
BURNETT: Yeah, yeah.
ZEINS: And on this particular situation, maybe they're on a regular schedule where they come in. Maybe the family forgot, as you said. But also, keep in mind the pool is full, it's full of water. The FBI or whoever is working that investigation there can say, you know what? I want to look at the pool filters.
And they're the ones that can get the pool filters out of there without any type of compromise of the pool filters tipping over, where they might have to empty the pool, but it could be used as part of helping --
BURNETT: It could have been, right.
ZEINS: -- the investigation.
BURNETT: An interesting angle that perhaps many didn't think of.
All right. So, John Miller, we know that the FBI has identified the backpack that the suspected kidnapper was wearing. Okay in that image, right where you saw that reflective black, 25-liter Ozark trail hiker pack is what it's exactly called. Okay? So we see it there in the image, right? TMZ was first to report that then they referred it.
So, we actually went and got one because it's so far one of the most important pieces of information, right, that they've got. Okay. This is the -- you see pictures of it. This is the exact same model. This is the Ozark trail. Okay?
Now, what's interesting about this is that we bought it at Walmart, a Walmart in New Jersey. Okay. So, this is carried at Walmart's across the country, I would presume in Arizona as well. But I mean, my point is a standard Walmart issue.
MILLER: A Walmart private brand.
BURNETT: Okay. So, this is you can get it anywhere. It sells for $10.88, $10.88. Now we put stuff in it so that it looked the way it looked on his
back. Now, I'm just thinking back when Luigi Mangione was captured, right?
MILLER: Identified that backpack.
BURNETT: That backpack in Central Park. And they said that was when people said, oh, maybe this person isn't this ruthless, so sophisticated genius. They just dropped their backpack in Central Park. The backpack was important.
I mean, how big of a puzzle piece could this be? I mean $10.88 for this?
MILLER: I mean, it could be in that. Did the person buy it? Buy it with cash or credit card? If they bought the -- if they bought it with cash and that can be isolated or identified, then you have video of them at the cash register. If you've been to Walmart, you know the cameras are pointing there.
BURNETT: Right.
MILLER: It also means you could back up through that video system, because they have cameras all over the store to track shoplifters and other things and develop a video profile. But then there's the possibility that somebody ordered it online from Walmart. And then you have electronic records of who ordered it online, who ordered it online, and concentric circles from Tucson.
So, it's not a smoking gun but it is something that is a structured piece of data that you can search backwards from.
BURNETT: Yeah. And okay so, Chip, as I was saying, you know, we put something in it so that people could see because on his back its clearly packed, pretty tightly packed. Okay. And just to, just to everyone understand some backpacks have a little bit of stretch. This one doesn't, okay? It doesn't. When you fill it, you fill it.
It's not going to get extra stuff to keep bulging out. When you look at the size of it, okay, what do you. And you see it full in his back what's your theory as to what was in it? If you think about the fact that this person was going in either, we don't know.
At this point, burglary gone wrong, intent to abduct, we don't know.
MASSEY: Well, presumably, I was -- you know, we're thinking is that if he's going in with an empty backpack, then I'm saying burglary. I'm saying he's going in for goods, cash grab jewelry, whatever. But it's full. It's pretty tight, like you mentioned.
BURNETT: Yeah.
MASSEY: So what's in it? Well, likely, we're going to have zip ties. We're going to have duct tape. We're going to have all the typical elements that you would associate. And we have known with kidnappers and what they use to restrain people. It could also be a large cover for her to, to come out with without
looking too obvious.
BURNETT: Yeah.
MASSEY: It could also be used after he's used that for his -- for the kidnapping. He could throw that -- his mask in there, his gloves in there.
BURNETT: Right, right, anything like that. Right? It just -- you see just how full it is there in that one picture.
Another thing when we first saw the doorbell cameras, Mary Ellen, that I don't know stood out to me and I know stood out to you is on the back. And I'm sitting here with lights, so now you can actually see it with the way our lights are shining because when I'm looking at it here. I don't see the reflection.
But look at our -- everyone here can look on the camera. You see it there, okay? These are the reflective bands. And I know, Mary Ellen, that you think these are very telling. How come?
O'TOOLE: Well, I think they're telling, because if you're going to enter somebody's home the -- and you're dressed up like that. So, your face is protected, your arms are protected, your hands and so forth, it's not likely you're going to go into the house and flip on all the lights. So you're going to have to operate and move around in the cover of darkness.
So, anything that you can wear or carry in your hand to help illuminate the inside of the home is going to be helpful. And it's consistent with what we're seeing. As he walks on the porch and has, again, has gone to a lot of effort not to be seen. It would be a huge conflict to think he went inside and just lit up all the lights so that she could see -- see him coming in towards the room where she was. That doesn't make any sense to me.
BURNETT: Wally, I also just highlighting here the price point. Luigi Mangione had an expensive backpack, and he was a rich kid. This backpack is $10.88.
Now, I don't know exactly what it might be in Tucson, whether it's the same at every single Walmart. It was $10.88. This is as inexpensive as backpack can get.
ZEINS: It tells you that person financially is not in the highest area, or that person was in a hurry and needed to go into some place and get something.
MILLER: Or that person is buying a cheap pair of gloves, a cheap mask and a cheap backpack because his first intention is to use it in furtherance of his crime, and his second intention is to get rid of it right away.
ZEINS: Right.
MILLER: So there's no sense buying $100 backpack?
BURNETT: No. And we just don't know.
And, John, I guess, do we have any sense of when you talk about Walmart having cameras on things? It was interesting talking to the Ring camera founder last night with all the data coming in. You know, we live in this world of A.I. where people say, well, why can't you search through it and give me the five pictures that look like this and boom, boom, boom, right? Like as it would in a TV show.
But as we hear you can, you know, with A.I. now, how easy is it for Walmart? I mean, do they have the state-of-the-art modern cameras on all their stores? Do we even know? I mean, to look for a camera on the backpacks in the Tucson area stores and see what happened over a period of time, that simple?
MILLER: The one things that that major department stores have and retain is multiple cameras. I mean probably second to casinos.
BURNETT: Yeah.
MILLER: The largest number of cameras to track, shrink shoplifting employee theft. The other thing they have is retention because if someone calls up or files a lawsuit saying I slipped, fell and hit my head in that Walmart, you know, three months ago.
BURNETT: They need to have the data.
MILLER: So I think I think the fact that it was a Walmart, a major department store that is very technically savvy, I know their security people is probably a good thing if they get the kind of data that leads them to what store, what purchase?
BURNETT:" Right, which is, as you point out very significant. Second, only to casinos, but also that Walmart would have for the reasons that they would have it and retain it.
All right. Thank you all very much.
And next, breaking news, TMZ receiving a new email demanding more money in exchange for the identity of Nancy Guthrie's kidnapper, as the site claims it may have identified the type of jacket the suspect in the video is wearing. TMZ's Harvey Levin is next, with new reporting.
And Nancy Guthrie's neighbor OUTFRONT. She says her front door is similar to Nancy Guthrie's. So, what could that tell us about how the suspect got into Guthrie's home?
And the woman Jeffrey Epstein once called his great defender is gone, resigning from her position at Goldman Sachs after our KFILE reported more on her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:23:26] BURNETT: All right. Breaking news. Now, let's go to Bob Krygier. He spent 25 years with the Pima County sheriff's department. Just retired last month.
So, Bob, you know, as were trying to understand, the sheriff has just said moments ago the breaking news to Ed Lavandera that they have many leads. They have DNA. You know, we have the feeling that this is moving. And we all hope incredibly rapidly that perhaps we may be there, that we could -- Nancy Guthrie could be coming home.
How soon, you know, when you, as a member of the SWAT teams, when would we know if something is really going on with those SWAT teams? How would you -- soon would we know?
BOB KRYGIER, RETIRED SWAT COMMANDER: Well, if they had good information, especially on a location for Nancy that would take place immediately, you'd see -- you'd see some movement with urgency. If it were just typical follow up that required a SWAT response, sometimes, you know depending on what the information was, where it was, things like that could -- if there's no exigency involved and no one's safety is at risk, that's going to take a little longer.
You're going to have to organize the team. You have to get the team together. You're looking at probably an hour at a bare minimum from the text going out -- the page going out for the team to mobilize and to get out there. But again, if something related to safety, especially Nancy, were involved, you probably would know around town because you're going to see a lot of cops probably driving really fast to get some places.
BURNETT: Just the urgency of it. And is your feeling, Bob? And obviously, you know, I mean, we don't know what we don't know at this time, but that given the fact that this has been almost two weeks and that were talking about an 84-year-old woman, and we know she is both physically frail and you know, and with physical health issues that you're feeling is that this would be a -- this would be an all hands on deck immediate situation?
KRYGIER: Absolutely. If there was any bit of information that said that she was alive, she was safe, or at least there were signs of life. We knew where she was. Everyone would be going there. There's the emergency aid doctrines in play, so even without a warrant at that point, we could go and do what we could to, you know, bring her home as safely as possible.
BURNETT: Wow. Even -- even without a warrant, which is -- which is significant. I mean you know, because you've been in these situations, Bob, what a SWAT team does when they get to a location, right? When they swarm in and get there. And obviously, we all hope that this will happen very soon, right, for Nancy Guthrie and her family's sake.
What happens then when they get there?
KRYGIER: Sure. So, the way the way typical missionaries work assignments are going to be made. We're going to know the locations that we're going to. We're going to have scouted and have seen it through video, through Google Earth, through all sorts of various means. Everyone's going to know literally within feet of where they're going to respond to were going to do our best to get in there safely to, to provide safety for the community, to provide safety for the officers and to provide safety for any suspects that are involved. And that's what we train for.
And it's going to be a choreographed ballet. There's going to be a lot of vehicles. Everybody knows exactly where they're going. We have probably seen the location within minutes of us getting there. So, we know where vehicles are parked and things like that. And then based on what your assignment is, folks are going to go to the back of the house, to the front door, maybe stay back behind cover and call people out to us all, depending on what the mission profile is.
And you know, different missions require different responses. But in essence, that's essentially what it is. You're going to see a lot of well-trained men and women knowing what their assignments are, and they're going to do it real well.
BURNETT: All right. And we hope -- and we hope they're going to be doing it soon. Obviously, they did earlier this week, right? And that ended up not being the individual that that kidnapped Nancy Guthrie. But we are hoping that this could happen again soon and they will have the right person.
Bob, thank you very much.
And more breaking news, TMZ tonight receiving a new email. It is the third demanding more money in exchange for the identity of Nancy Guthrie kidnapper. This person saying that they might know the identity of the kidnapper. The emailer increasing his price to $100,000 in bitcoin, which was up from $66,000 and $100,000. Of course, matches the amount now offered by the FBI.
I'm going to talk to Harvey Levin of TMZ in just a moment. But TMZ also is reporting that it has identified the brand and model of the windbreaker worn by the suspect seen on Guthrie doorbell camera. And that, of course, is on the heels of TMZ correctly identifying the backpack the suspect was wearing that we just showed you because we went then and bought one at Walmart, after Harvey's reporting $10.88. Police confirming this detail more than 24 hours after TMZ first reported it.
Joining us now, Harvey Levin, founder of TMZ. And obviously, Harvey, you've been breaking developments on this all the way along, including the fact that you received the original ransom note.
Now, you've got a third letter from this alleged tipster. They've now said they want nearly double the money or another, you know, 30-some- odd percent more after you were told yesterday there would be no more contact. What do you make of this latest email? I mean, do you think this is the same person and do you have any better feel for the veracity of it?
HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ FOUNDER: Yeah. Yes, I think it's the same person. And forgetting about what I feel about the veracity. I'm going to tell you something. The FBI and I'm going to go back to the ransom letter first.
They are intensely interested in this first ransom letter that we got. I can tell you that. I'm not going to be more specific. They are intensely interested in that ransom letter. They are also interested in these three emails we've received from this man who says he knows exactly who and where the kidnapper is.
Can I run this down? There's quite a bit here but I think it's important. So, this man sent us an email, about noon today, Pacific Time. And basically he says, I don't trust to tell. He said he wants TMZ, essentially to tell the FBI that he doesn't trust the FBI. And he knows the FBI doesn't trust him.
[19:30:01]
So, he says that's why he's going to go through TMZ. He says he wants the $100,000 reward but he wants it his way. What he wants is a fraction of a bitcoin worth $50,000 immediately put in his name and or put in his account and we have that. It's the same -- it's the same bitcoin address as the other two emails we got, and he said he will then immediately provide. This is a, quote, Erin, the name of the main individual along with his information for you to track.
I could just see by a gesture you made. You got that word "main". I found that really interesting because he's suggesting more than one person. But this is the main individual. He also says he will not touch the $50,000 until an arrest is made. And once that happens, they can then deposit the other 50 and he'll take the money.
He goes on to say that that he's gambling his safety and his possible freedom. The way I read that is that they might think he's somehow implicated, that he's, you know I don't know, close know, close to the flame or something like that. But he talks about, you know, compromising as possible freedom. Some ominous references to Nancy, to be honest with you.
But then I got to read this, and I haven't really publicized this yet, but I'm going to tell you what this says.
BURNETT: Okay.
LEVIN: It says -- it says that he said the manhunt of the main individual that can give you all the answers. Be prepared to go international.
BURNETT: Huh. So --
LEVIN: That to me again, I don't -- I can't tell you that this is a guy who actually knows, but he has to be talking about Mexico.
BURNETT: He has to be talking about Mexico. I mean, Tucson is, what 30 miles away? Very close.
And I -- look, I don't traffic in theories that we all see on social media, although we all know many of them have gotten a lot of traction, right? But that is something that many people obviously have realized. Just to state the obvious, the proximity to Tucson of the Mexican border.
Now we don't know whether the letter is real. I know that, Harvey, none of us know but that is obviously very important, as is, as you highlighted main individual.
Now, I know we've all -- had said, right, that she would have been. It's hard for her to move. There had initially been the idea that there was more than one person, I think. Then when the door cam video came out, right, people started honing in on one person. But just because there's one person on the video doesn't mean there's only one person.
I mean, stating the obvious, right? Yeah.
LEVIN: And again, you're right. You and I can't tell if the veracity of this, what I can say is I know authorities are really interested in this they're really interested in the ransom letter, but they are definitely interested in these three letters.
What's perplexing to me is -- I mean $67,000 is a lot of money, but do you roll the dice and pay it, or do you roll the now, do you roll the dice for $50,000 to see if you get the information? We've checked the account. So far, nothing. I'm perplexed by that.
BURNETT: So far, nothing. Okay. And obviously the FBI has the account. They have the information. So, Harvey, I guess I'm just trying to understand if they're running down every lead they have, most of them are going to be completely bunk, even though they may be well- intentioned. And maybe some of those tips are going to lead them to the actual people or person involved.
Has the FBI told you what to do? I mean, are they just taking these letters from you and being interested? Are they telling you to respond? Are you responding? I mean, what are you -- is there a two- way street with this individual right now?
LEVIN: No, at least not with us. And I don't think with them either. It's -- these email addresses do not -- do not yield fruit.
BURNETT: Okay, okay, all right. Now because you identified the backpack 24 hours before law enforcement, and we went and got one to just to look at it, what could fit and everything. Harvey, you know, we went to the -- you know, a Walmart and got it. The $10.88 Ozark backpack. You were the first to find that.
You also now believe you've identified the jacket worn by the suspect. So what have you found there? We haven't confirmed those details yet.
LEVIN: Yeah. So here's -- here's what we're looking at. Initially, we saw this Aero Hex windbreaker, which we thought it might be. And there were similarities to it.
We have -- now, we've been digging all day. We think this is called the athletic works fusion knit jacket. And if you compare the qualities of this jacket, it's a Walmart jacket, which is interesting. It is a Walmart jacket. It's made of fleece. And we're trying to compare the two things. It's
got the same black horizontal stripe as what the kidnapper is wearing, the same type of zipper.
[19:35:07]
The material matches and the pockets match, and it is looking to us like this athletic works fusion knit jacket from Walmart is what it looks like this kidnapper is wearing.
BURNETT: Okay. Now, the athletic fusion wear. So, Harvey, I don't -- I don't know if you know the answer to this. First of all, many crucial things there but the obvious one is Walmart, right?
That would imply that the person went and bought all the -- now we don't know how long ago they did, and maybe they went and bought them all together. It's possible -- it's possible. And then Walmart really would be able to find this because now you've got a jacket and a backpack together, if they did buy them.
What -- one of the things that's said about the backpack was that it was $10.88, okay, at Walmart which is about as inexpensive as a backpack can get. Did you have -- do you have a sense of what the athletic wear fusion jacket costs?
LEVIN: Can I be indelicate for a minute? Alexa, do we know what that jacket cost? My producer who worked on this is not in the room right now. I'm sorry.
BURNETT: Okay. Well, when they get it, just -- they can yell it over, and you'll just jump in on whatever we're talking about and share it.
LEVIN: You guys let me know, okay? Okay. They're calling her right now.
BURNETT: Okay, great. So we're -- the newly surfaced doorbell camera that I want to show you now, Harvey is from about a house six and a half miles away. It's one of the many videos the FBI is looking into. Now, we're going to blur the man's face on this video. But you can clearly see his movements.
Now, can you walk us through what we're looking at in this particular video? Here's -- we're showing it. This is on a Ring camera. So, this again, I want to just emphasize the man is being blurred here. But you can clearly see his movements. And this is house about six and a half miles away from the Guthries.
Why could this be significant? Harvey?
LEVIN: Well, they're looking for anything, and we're not connecting the dots, but they are looking for suspicious activity this was recorded eight days before Nancy's kidnapping. And this man clearly is skulking around, and he caught the neighbor's attention. The dog started to bark. So, this is something that we're told authorities are looking at. And, you know we showed you one yesterday.
Erin, look, there are one or two things that are going on here. Either, this is a robbery gone bad or it was a targeted kidnapping.
And it's just -- I'm just going to give you an opinion now. It's just weird to me that this is just a robbery, because when you look at the guy at Nancy's door, he's got this this holster and this gun around his crotch, and that's not.
And that's not the way that you hold a gun. So, he seems very awkward with this gun. I don't know, he just doesn't feel like this trained robber and it just, you know, you can look at all these other people, but that doesn't mean that person is committing a robbery here and a robbery there. It presumes that this is somebody who's robbing people in the neighborhood. And I don't know that the goods are there to assume that. I just don't.
BURNETT: Yeah, yeah. All right. Well, Harvey, thank you very much.
LEVIN: Two other things.
BURNETT: Yeah.
LEVIN: Two other things. What did you say? $27 for that jacket
BURNETT: $27 for the jacket, okay. $10.88 for the backpack, $27 for the jacket. Okay.
LEVIN: And then the final thing I just want to say is we have not confirmed with law enforcement that that is the jacket or that's their operating theory. It's just what we've been doing. And it looks very much like that to us. So, I just want to make that clear.
BURNETT: No, I think and it's important to make that clear. Obviously, you're right about the backpack 24 hours ahead. But I know this is with all your reporting. What it seems like we don't -- we don't yet know -- that that's real, you know, and they haven't confirmed it.
All right, Harvey, thank you very much.
LEVIN: Okay, Erin.
BURNETT: And next, Nancy Guthrie's neighbor is next. She's obviously very familiar with homes in Guthrie's neighborhood, and she'll be with us.
Plus, Don Lemon speaking out tonight after pleading not guilty to federal charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST: I will not back down. I will fight these baseless charges, and I will not be silenced.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:42:37] BURNETT: Breaking news, the Pima County sheriff telling CNN now that authorities have found DNA other than Nancy Guthrie's, and those in close contact to her, which we understand includes housekeepers, gardeners and family members at her property.
Now, he says they've received more than 30,000 tips in the case so far. The majority since that doorbell cam came out.
Guthrie's neighbors are on edge. No suspects named, 13 days after she was last seen. It will be two weeks tomorrow night.
OUTFRONT now is Laura Gargano, who has lived near Nancy Guthrie in Tucson for more than a decade.
And, Laura, I'm glad to see you again, although disappointed because, you know we all keep hoping that this nightmare is going to end and that she will be returned. She will be alive, back with her family. But I know, Laura, you have just been desperately like everyone in the neighborhood trying to do anything possible to help.
And you've pointed out something very interesting, and that is Nancy's door. In the community, I guess others have similar doors including yourself. You say you have the same door. What does that tell you, Laura?
LAURA GARGANO, NANCY GUTHRIE'S NEIGHBOR: What this tells me is. And I noticed it during -- I noticed the way the person on the video was staring at the front door that told me he wasn't that familiar with these doors perhaps because anybody who has these doors, they're -- they're really screen doors, but they're uber screen doors. They're extra secure.
And we don't do well with screens here because of all the bugs and the extreme weather. So, these are also protective over our doors and I have one at the back of my house and they're super secure and they're usually, they have metal frames and you're not going to break into those doors very easily.
So, I -- my initial reaction was he's not that familiar with that house and that door, because you're not going to get in those doors very easily. You're going to in my opinion, try to find another way in. And perhaps he was just looking at how they were going to get out.
BURNETT: Well and -- okay, that's a really important point. First of all, if and I -- and I know obviously this is just your, you know, informed knowledge as a neighbor. But you know, if it's not someone who knew her well or who knew that door, that obviously is a huge piece of information if that ends up being the case.
[19:45:04]
But also, what you're saying about the door being so -- I guess the assumption maybe many have had is that when he took the doorbell cam off and he stuck those weeds up by it, that somehow, he did get in the door. You're saying that it's possible it could have been another way. You're familiar with the layout of the home. So, what does that open to you in terms of a possibility of how this
individual may have gotten in?
GARGANO: Well, I don't know how he would have gotten in without a key, because these screen doors really are very secure. And so, my next thought was that he must have gotten in another way. And there are, of course, people have seen videos and photos, and there are numerous other ways around the house, such as screened, screened sliders sliding glass doors.
And also, I don't know, regular doors. She might have had a regular door off the garage, I'm not sure, but a lot of people have sliding glass doors. Of course, there's always windows. And that's just an observation.
But that front door to me isn't one that you're going to break into easily.
BURNETT: And you were familiar, you say, with the fact that that where she would have been, as we understand, which is sleeping, would have been in her bedroom on the on the left side of the house
GARGANO: Yes, I believe that that's the case and I think that may have been where they went around the side of the house. Looking at the videos, you can see that on the left side there are bushes and you can't see that very well from the street. And on the right side you can see the garage, and you can very clearly see the driveway in the side of the house so that would be a natural potential direction that he would have gone. But I don't know that. I'm just looking at the house from the front and having been there.
BURNETT: Well, I mean, it's obviously having been there and just the information that you have, I think it thinking gives people the opportunity to think outside the box. A lot of new information about that door and other ways into the home.
Laura, thank you very much. I am glad to see you again.
GARGANO: Thank you
BURNETT: And Don Lemon next pleading not guilty to federal charges. What are his plans to defend himself and a CNN investigation revealing Trump's Justice Department did not redact the faces of potential victims, including one young woman who says she's 15 in the picture.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news, Don Lemon in court today and vowing not to back down the former CNN anchor pleading not guilty to two federal charges. The charges are conspiring to violate someone's constitutional rights and interfering with religious freedoms. He was arrested last month as he was -- as a reporter livestreaming an anti- ICE protest inside a Minnesota church.
Whitney Wild is OUTFRONT. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST: I will not back down. I will fight these baseless charges, and I will not be silenced.
(PROTESTERS CHANTING)
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A protest inside a Saint Paul Church back in January landed journalist Don Lemon in federal court Friday. He walked into the Minnesota courthouse, flanked by his attorneys.
Lemon is charged with conspiring to violate constitutional rights and violating the FACE Act, which bans using force or threats to interfere with religious practice. In court today, Lemon entered a not guilty plea on both counts.
Lemon speaking after the hearing outside the courthouse, while anti- ICE and pro-free speech demonstrators chanted.
(PROTESTERS CHANTING)
LEMON: This isn't just about me. This is about all journalists, especially here in the United States. For more than 30 years, I've been a journalist, and the power and protection of the First Amendment has been the underpinning of my work. Work the first amendment, the freedom of the press, the bedrock of our democracy.
WILD (voice-over): This federal indictment claims Lemon and others participated in a takeover style attack of Cities Church and engaged in acts of oppression intimidation, threats, interference and physical obstruction. The indictment pointing out that Lemon said during his live stream, he saw someone frightened, scared and crying.
LEMON: I'm sure people here don't like it, but protests are not comfortable and there are people here who are -- I'm looking at a young man who's in the corner. He's frightened. He's scared, he's crying. People are leaving church.
WILD (voice-over): However, Lemon also said he was not there to disrespect anyone.
LEMON: I'm just going to be as respectful as possible. I'm not here to intimidate anybody. I'm just here to chronicle and to get some answers and let people know.
WILD (voice-over): Lemon and another independent journalist, Georgia Fort, livestreamed a group of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters leading an action called Operation Pull Up as they rushed into the church on January 18th, interrupting the service.
LEMON: I'm just here photographing. I'm a journalist.
WILD (voice-over): Lemon has repeatedly said, even during his livestream, that he was present at the demonstration as a journalist, not as an activist. LEMON: I'm not going to get in the middle of it because I'm not here
as an activist. I'm here as a journalist. So --
WILD (voice-over): And after his arrest, where more than two dozen agents detained him and took his phone in Los Angeles, Lemon said this --
LEMON: I've spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILD: Erin, Don Lemon and another independent journalist, Georgia Fort, who was also charged in this case, filed a joint motion to disclose the grand jury proceedings, writing that this -- the governments conduct has been highly unusual, nakedly political and inconsistent with practice in this district, saying that everything about this case has been irregular, and so they can only assume that the grand jury proceedings were as well.
Back to you.
BURNETT: All right. Whitney, thank you very much.
And next, the DOJ claimed when it released the Epstein files, it had redacted every woman in any image. But that's not what CNN found.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:57:09]
BURNETT: Tonight, a CNN investigation revealing unredacted videos of young women, including at least one minor who says she's just 15, posted by the Justice Department as part of its Epstein file release. The video showing women's faces and bodies unblurred in some cases in compromising situations.
M.J. Lee is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESEPONDENT (voice-over): Unredacted videos of young women that CNN has censored here are among the millions of Jeffrey Epstein related files released by the Justice Department. An extensive CNN review of the Epstein files uncovered at least seven videos featuring unredacted women
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi from Deauville.
LEE (voice-over): This girl dressed in a bikini and heels, seemingly doing a model walk, says she is just 15 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, my name is (AUDIO DELETED). I'm 15 years old. I'm (INAUDIBLE) centimeters long and I'm from Riga, Latvia.
LEE (voice-over): It was only after CNN inquired about them that a DOJ spokesperson said Thursday the videos in question have been removed and are being reviewed for appropriate redactions.
This error message is now in the videos place. One of the videos included brief nudity when a young woman pulls up her shirt to expose her breasts after singing happy birthday.
The publication of these videos risked the potential revictimization of women who may have been abused by Epstein years ago. It was also in violation of the DOJ stated criteria on what information would be redacted in the Epstein files in order to protect the victims.
TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: To protect victims, we redacted every woman depicted in any image or video with the exception of Ms. Maxwell. We did not redact images of any men unless it was impossible to redact the woman without also redacting the man.
LEE (voice-over): Like so many other Epstein files, these videos are not accompanied by any information providing context about them, including who these women are, who took the videos, or the date that they were taken.
The DOJ has also faced fierce criticism for other improper redactions in the Epstein files, including publishing victims' names, birthdays and addresses, and the over-redaction of information about individuals who may have helped Epstein.
REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Your Department of Justice initially released nude photographs and even the identities of Jane Does, who had been protected for decades until your department released their names.
LEE (voice-over): Attorney General Pam Bondi was grilled this week by lawmakers in a contentious hearing and vowed that the DOJ was acting quickly to correct any mistakes.
PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: If someone's name was redacted, we said right away was not redacted and should have been meaning a victim. We went back and redacted it. We're doing everything we can based on the tight timeframe and over three million pages that we released that Donald Trump signed for pure transparency.
LEE (voice-over): M.J. Lee. CNN, Washington, D.C.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Of course, he signed that after spending months and months and months trying to avoid doing just that.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Anderson starts now.
