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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Savannah Guthrie Posts Video Pleading For Mom's Safe Return; Hundreds Of Federal Agents Leave Minnesota; DOJ Under Fire Over Epstein Redactions. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired February 05, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:23]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Rahel Solomon. It is Thursday, February 5th, 5:00 a.m. here in New York.

And straight ahead on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: "Today Show" host Savannah Guthrie and her siblings are speaking publicly for the first time since their mom was taken from her Tucson home.

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, "TODAY SHOW" HOST: Your children will not rest until we are together again.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Border Czar Tom Homan is announcing a drawdown in forces in the state of Minnesota.

TOM HOMAN, BORDER CZAR: But that is largely contingent upon the end of the illegal and threatening activities against ICE.

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: The Justice Department under fire, facing criticism for over-redacting information about individuals who may have aided Jeffrey Epstein.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just a failure of complete justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

SOLOMON: "We need you to come home," those words, part of an emotional plea from "Today Show" anchor Savannah Guthrie and her siblings days after their mothers apparent abduction from her home near Tucson. The 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was last seen Saturday night. She still remains missing this morning.

On Wednesday, an increased law enforcement presence was seen outside her home. The Pima County sheriff's office called it a follow up at the property. On that same day came a gut-wrenching video from her children. In it, Savannah Guthrie had this message for her mom

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUTHRIE: You are God's precious daughter, Nancy. We believe and know that even in this valley, he is with you. Everyone is looking for you, mommy, everywhere. We will not rest. Your children will not rest until we are together again.

We speak to you every moment and we pray without ceasing. And we rejoice in advance for the day that we hold you in our arms again. We love you, mom.

ANNIE GUTHRIE, NANCY'S DAUGHTER: Love you, mom.

CAMRON GUTHRIE, NANCY'S SON: We love you, mom. Stay strong.

ANNIE GUTHRIE: We love you. We love you

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: President Donald Trump says that he is directing all federal law enforcement to help the Guthrie family and local officials and finding Nancy Guthrie.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is following developments from Tucson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As Savannah Guthrie and her brother and sister released that excruciating video with the heartfelt message to their mother, as well as a possible message to the abductors of her mother, if that's indeed what is happening here, we should point out that investigators have not been clear, or do not know if this is indeed an authentic ransom request. But as all of that dramatic moments were unfolding, there was a group of investigators that showed up here late Wednesday afternoon to return to what investigators have described as a crime scene here at Nancy Guthrie's home in Tucson.

I can tell you that we saw a group of about 12 or so investigators, which was a mix of sheriff's deputies as well as federal investigators. From what we could tell, they spent a great deal of time in the backyard looking through that area. We also saw a group of investigators going into the home through the garage.

And then as they were wrapping up, we did see at least one investigator carrying out several brown paper bags of what we presume is evidence.

I can tell you that we have no idea, no clue yet as to what exactly is in those bags or what prompted these investigators to return back here to this scene.

But it was significant because this is really the highest level of police activity that we have seen here at the home since Sunday afternoon, when Nancy Guthrie was first reported missing.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: All right. Joining us now to discuss is criminologist, behavior analyst and attorney, Casey Jordan.

Casey, we appreciate you being here this morning when you watched the video that Savannah posted, what clues did you glean from it? I mean, what stands out to you from an investigative standpoint?

CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST: Well, it was incredibly emotional, and I think that that is very natural. I mean, clearly, Nancy's three children are absolutely bereft and beside themselves with the situation. But the biggest things that popped out at me were, quite simply that they started with emotion. They described Nancy and how wonderful she is and how everyone loves her and how much her grandchildren want to see her and hug her.

[05:05:00]

And I really think that that's a classic appeal, not even a ploy to try to get her captors to share in that emotion and to perhaps have some kind of sympathy for that situation.

But the biggest thing that came through was that towards the end, they simply said, we want to bring her home. And two things we want to know that she's alive and that you have her. And that appeal was very strategic. It is a demand for proof of life.

If you want us to take these ransom notes seriously, because they're really just trying to vet and find out if they're, you know, if a person who has submitted a ransom communication for bitcoin actually has their mother, they demand proof of life. So that was the biggest thing I took away is that they are trying to figure out whether or not any of these ransom communications are legitimate.

SOLOMON: Yeah, it was interesting when savannah said, we are listening, but we do need proof of life.

Casey, Nancy lives in a secluded area without a lot of street lights. We could see it a bit in Ed Lavandera piece there. How much more complicated does that make it for law enforcement in terms of gathering a digital trail of what could have happened?

JORDAN: Well, the digital trail is probably the number one thing they are working on right now. I mean, they can actually, but it's extremely time consuming. It's not like it happens on CSI on television.

They have to go through virtually all of the cell phones that may have been pinging off of the local towers. I mean, there's so many things they have to go through, but just from a physical terrain standpoint, you've got a lot of desert behind her house, and some of it is incredibly thick with brush. I mean, you couldn't even drive through it.

And that maybe suggests that whoever abducted her came from the desert side, not from the street side. Maybe on ATVs. I mean, we're all just speculating at this point, but perhaps removed her from the house going back into the desert behind the house.

And you know, that changes everything. If we are depending on neighbor's security cameras to give us a clue about, you know, cars in the area or people in the area, trespassers in the area, we may not have that, especially because we don't seem to have any images from Nancy's video either.

SOLOMON: Yeah, and it's been about five days since Nancy was last seen. There are obviously no arrests. Police have not pinpointed a motive. It doesn't appear that suspects have been identified. Based on what we've been able to hear in these press conferences.

Casey, what does that signal to you about the people who may be behind this?

JORDAN: Well, first of all, I want to remind everyone that the police know a lot more than we do. Let's not you know, they have they go on the record of saying there are no suspects, there are no people of interest, but they could be saying that while they close in on a suspect, because whoever has her is watching the news clearly. And that is why savannah put that out on social media, put out that appeal.

I mean, at this point, we are on day five. We know that Nancy needs her medication. And, you know, nobody wants to be morose at a certain point, we start to realize that without her medication and the pacemaker working properly, the chances diminish of retrieving this wonderful 84-year-old senior lady alive. And that will change the strategy of the investigation as time goes on.

But right now, everyone is holding out hope, especially the family. And if there is any chance of getting her back alive, you know the family is doing everything within their power to do that.

SOLOMON: Absolutely. But -- and I take your point that certainly law enforcement, they put out one thing, but they may know a lot more obviously than they are sharing with the public for understandable reasons. But does it give you a sense of the sophistication that might have been involved here, that at least at this point, I mean, they -- they haven't closed in on an arrest? I mean, what do you make of that?

JORDAN: All right. Just to state plainly, they they're clearly good at this. They are its a sophisticated, well-planned abduction. Whether the notes are from the captors or not. The bottom line is there are no footprints. There are no tire tracks. There is no video footage. The ring camera was taken from the front door.

And with all of their helicopters going over and the satellite imagery, if they're telling us the truth, that they really don't have any suspects or people of interest, that means that whoever has her did an a-plus job with this abduction. And I think we'll find out more soon. But, you know, you always wonder is, did the police have a lot of hold backs or are they truly stumped?

And I think there's a very good chance that what we see is what we get. I don't know that the police actually have any idea where Nancy is or who has her. That says a lot about the people who took her. They mean business.

[05:10:00]

SOLOMON: Casey Jordan, we appreciate your insights and analysis this morning. Thank you.

JORDAN: Always good to be here.

SOLOMON: President Trump is calling again for Republicans to nationalize elections. He says that he tapped Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to investigate because a lot of the cheating in elections is international cheating.

Here's more of what he told NBC News' Tom Llamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: There are some areas in our country that are extremely corrupt. They have very corrupt elections. Take a look at Detroit. Take a look at Philadelphia. Take a look at Atlanta. If we need to put in federal controls as opposed to state controls --

TOM LLAMAS, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: Uh-huh.

TRUMP: -- remember this, they're really an agent. They're really accumulating the votes for who wins an election. If they can't do it honestly and it can't be done properly and timely, then something else has to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Officials in Fulton County, Georgia, are asking a federal court to return election materials seized by the FBI last week. The president claims that they will show the, quote, "true winner" of the 2020 presidential vote. His allegations of widespread election fraud have been repeatedly debunked.

Former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb explaining what he thinks the president's real motivation is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TY COBB, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE LAWYER: This is about precisely what he said nationalizing the elections. He wants control. He doesn't have control. I think this is basically to desensitize America, get them prepared for, interference that he intends, in the midterms and certainly in 2028. And to try to tamper down the uproar that would typically come along with that if -- if and when he does it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SOLOMON: And another major development, the office of the national intelligence director says that it obtained voting machines from Puerto Rico and tested them for security vulnerabilities. The office says that it found extremely concerning cybersecurity and operational practices, but did not provide evidence. A former senior U.S. intelligence official called the move amateur hour, saying it goes well beyond the offices authority or expertise.

President Trump, also talking about immigration in that same interview with NBC News' Tom Llamas, he says that he still wants federal agents to go after criminals like murderers, rapists and drug dealers. But in a broader sense, their tactics could change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LLAMAS: Speaking of Minneapolis, what did you learn?

TRUMP: I learned that maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch, but you still have to be tough. These are criminals -- we're dealing with really hard criminals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: President also says he doesn't believe polls that show him underwater on immigration. For example, a Fox News survey taken right around the time that Alex Pretti was killed shows 59 percent think that ICE deportation efforts are too aggressive, 24 percent say they're about right and 17 percent say they're not aggressive enough. The president also said that the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee good should not have happened, adding that neither one was an angel and no one feels worse about it than the people of ICE.

The Trump administrations border czar announcing a partial drawdown in Minneapolis. Tom Homan says that 700 personnel will be leaving immediately, with around 2000 federal agents remaining in the city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOMAN: My goal with the support of President Trump, is to achieve a complete drawdown and end this surge as soon as we can. But that is largely contingent upon the end of the illegal and threatening activities against ICE and its federal partners that were seen in the community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: More now from CNN. Law enforcement correspondent Whitney Wild.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Border Czar Tom Homan is announcing a drawdown in forces in the state of Minnesota, saying 700 immigration agents are going to leave the state effective immediately. He also talked about a new chain of command, saying that Border Patrol and ICE would work together under a single chain of command. He also laid out a targeted approach. He says that is the strategy going forward, that these are going to be targeted operations that prioritize national security and public safety.

But he also said they are still committed to the Trump administration's mass deportation effort and said, if you are in the state of Minnesota illegally, you are not being ignored. That he said again that they were committed to this mass deportation strategy here. He also laid out that there are still immigration agents who are going to continue to work on fraud cases, which really had been the pretext for this ramp up in immigration enforcement.

Homan said that this would leave around 2,000 agents on the ground, which, even though that's a reduction in force, 2,000 was still the high water mark that had been the biggest immigration action ever for the agency. And so those numbers still remain quite high.

[05:15:00]

But he said that this drawdown in forces is really the result of what he called unprecedented cooperation with local officials. And also during the press conference, praised Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over and over for their commitment to continuing to work together to find a path forward.

Whitney Wild, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Still ahead for us, the man who planned to kill Donald Trump from a sniper's nest near his golf course has learned his fate. Details on his sentencing after the break.

Plus, fresh criticism for the Justice Department and its handling of the Epstein files. The department is accused of failing to protect some victims while over-redacting information on alleged abusers.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:20:12]

SOLOMON: The man who planned to assassinate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course in 2024 has been sentenced to life in prison. Ryan Routh was convicted in September after plotting, stalking and lying in wait for the right moment to shoot and kill then-candidate Trump. The assassination attempt was thwarted by a secret service agent. The charges against Routh included attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate. The Justice Department feeling pressure after Epstein survivors, said that private information was revealed in the latest document release, officials insist that they acted swiftly to fix the errors, and lawyers representing survivors say that a resolution has been reached.

But there is also concern about what some are calling the over- redaction of important details, namely people believed to have aided Jeffrey Epstein.

CNN's MJ Lee reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Justice Department under fire, facing criticism for over-redacting information about individuals who may have aided Jeffrey Epstein.

In a 2014 email released in the files, a person writes to Epstein, quote, "Thank you for a fun night. Your littlest girl was a little naughty," but the identity of the individual who wrote that message is redacted.

And in this image of Epstein's inner circle, from the files, we see associates like convicted coconspirator Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein's assistant Lesley Groff, but several others in the graphic are blacked out.

The release files also showed numerous email exchanges that appear to describe the procurement of women. "New Brazilian just arrived sexy and cute, 19 years old," a 2013 email to Epstein reads from someone at a Paris modeling agency. That sender's name redacted.

"I found at least three very good young poor," a 2018 email to Epstein reads. "Meet this one," the person continues, "not the beauty queen, but we both liked her a lot." This sender's name also redacted.

A DOJ official said in a statement to CNN. Any fully redacted names are of victims and many instances that it has been well-documented publicly, those who were originally victims became participants and coconspirators. We did not redact any names of men, only female victims. Names of law enforcement officers were also among the redactions.

Also included in the released Epstein files, a highly controversial draft indictment from the 2000s that would have charged Epstein, along with three others. They were described as having been employed by Epstein and having conspired to persuade, induce and entice individuals who had not attained the age of 18 years to engage in prostitution. Their names are redacted.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): So, you have a Justice Department that's leadership cared more about protecting the men who committed these crimes than the survivors who were victims of the crime.

LEE (voice-over): The law that forced the DOJ to release the Epstein files mandates the DOJ to make certain redactions, such as identifying information about victims and child pornography. Some individuals who helped connect Epstein with young women were also victims.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, acknowledging errors were made and that his department is working around the clock to correct failures to redact victims' information.

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: You're talking about pieces of paper that stack from the ground to two Eiffel Towers, and so the minute that a victim or their lawyer reached out to us, since Friday, we immediately dealt with it and pulled it down, and we're continuing to do that, we knew that there would be mistakes.

LEE (voice-over): Epstein survivors are outraged.

SHARLENE ROCHARD, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Publishing images of victims while shielding predators, it's just a failure of complete justice. Why should anybody come forward? Because the justice system is not going to be the justice system.

LEE (voice-over): MJ Lee, CNN, Washington, D.C.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Still ahead for us, the U.S. is mediating peace talks between Ukraine and Russia this hour in Abu Dhabi. Still ahead, the latest on the discussions to bring an end to nearly four years of war.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:28:32]

SOLOMON: The second day of peace talks between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. are underway this hour in Abu Dhabi. Ukraine's top negotiator says that the trilateral talks on Wednesday were substantive and productive. The U.S. is being represented by special envoy Steve Witkoff. President Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner, as well as other officials. Russia says that it will continue its attacks on Ukraine for now until Kyiv, quote, makes the appropriate decisions in the negotiations.

Let's go live now to London and CNN's Clare Sebastian.

Clare, what does Russia mean by the appropriate decisions?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this is the central territorial demand that Russia has made. I think Russia has made it clear that it wants not only territory in eastern Ukraine, that it controls militarily, but the section of the Donbas region which on that map, you see there is not shaded in red and is still controlled by Ukraine.

And Ukraine has said, we're looking at various sort of proposals that have been put forward by the U.S., be it a free economic zone in that area or a demilitarized zone, which would then have to be mediated by international peacekeepers, which is another red line for Russia. But they say if their troops have to withdraw, then Russian troops would have to do the same.

So, at this point, we're not seeing any movement on the big issues. But I just want to bring you a piece of news. There was a post in the last few minutes from Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, who's mediating these talks in Abu Dhabi, saying that they had agreed that the two sides to exchange 314 prisoners, the first such exchange. He says in five months. And he said that that's proof that sustained diplomatic engagement is delivering tangible results.

I think this is what we sort of have to look for in these talks, right? We're not getting closer.