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Laura Coates Live

Questions Swirl About Controversial Trump Cabinet Picks; "Morning Joe" Hosts Face Backlash Over Trump Meeting; Ex-FEMA Employee Speaks Out; Feds Accuse Diddy of Obstructing Justice from Jail. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired November 18, 2024 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: -- do something amazing like score a touchdown, that you send your signal that, hey, this is fun and we can all have fun and -- you know, it's okay to show what your patriotism out on the field. Why not?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I think dance is always appropriate. One thing I learned from Maria von Trapp --

(LAUGHTER)

-- song and dance, always appropriate.

UNKNOWN: At least we're not talking about kneeling during the national anthem.

UNKNOWN: Or before Zod.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: On that note, everyone, thank you so much, and thank you for watching "NewsNight." Don't miss me tomorrow morning, in 17 minutes, but before that, "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Tonight, Donald Trump works the phone for Matt Gaetz. Inside the pressure campaign to get his A.G. pick confirmed as new allegations emerge. Plus, an olive branch erupts into a thorn bush. The host of "Morning Joe" faced backlash for visiting Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Legendary journalist Bob Woodward weighs in. And Diddy (INAUDIBLE) a complaint against prosecutors as they accuse him of trying to taint the jury pool from behind bars. Tonight on "Laura Coates Live."

All right, there's one thing we know about Donald Trump's picks so far, is that he said what he said, and he's standing by what he said. Blow back, be damned. Look no further than Matt Gaetz, Trump's pick for attorney general. He is facing the possibility that a House ethics report looking into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use could very well go public. And tonight, the lawyer representing two women who testified to that committee is speaking out to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL LEPPARD, LAWYER FOR WOMAN WHO TESTIFIED AGAINST GAETZ ABOUT SEX ALLEGATIONS: She was invited to a party in July of 2017. She testified to the House that as she was walking out to the pool area, she turned to her right and she witnessed her client -- I'm sorry -- her friend having sex with Representative Gaetz, and her friend at that time was 17.

But she testified to the House that Representative Gaetz did not know her friend's age at the time they had sexual intercourse. And when he found out about her age, that Representative Gaetz stopped having sexual intercourse with her. He only started the sexual intercourse interactions later on when she turned 18.

The testimony before the house was yes, that Representative Gaetz paid my client -- both my clients for sexual favors throughout the summer of 2017, all the way to the beginning of 2019.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Now, to be clear, Gaetz denies all of this. The DOJ investigated him for alleged sex crimes. They never brought any charges. But the Ethics Committee is meeting Wednesday. And we know everyone who sits on it now has access to the report.

If you thought these allegations might give Trump some pause, well, maybe you have not been paying attention. (INAUDIBLE) counterintuitive is the name of the game. In fact, we're learning that Trump is personally calling senators to press them to confirm Gaetz who, and he has said, to be all in on this.

"The New York Times" is reporting that Trump is showing no sign of pulling his pick even though he has privately admitted that Gaetz may have long odds of being even confirmed.

So, what is the strategy? Taken from longtime Trump ally, Steve Bannon, he tells the Times, Donald Trump is a blunt force instrument applying blunt force trauma to the system. Translation? Triage. Prioritize the most concerning of the choices because you maybe can't block them all.

You consider his other controversial picks, maybe that makes sense. From Gaetz to Pete Hegseth, RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, they all appear to have a long road ahead. It won't be a good look for Republicans if they reject several of Trump's nominees.

Now, all those picks came, of course, at a breakneck speed, but we are learning that one post in particular Trump is struggling with. See, he has yet to decide who his treasury secretary should be. And apparently, it has been quite a fierce fight, especially between Trump transition co-chair, Howard Lutnick, and hedge fund manager, Scott Bessent. One source says the jockeying between them has become so intense it could end up as -- quote -- "a murder suicide with neither getting the position."

Joining me now, politics reporter covering Trump and national Republicans for Semafor, Shelby Talcott, former Democratic Congressman Joe Crowley, and Republican strategist Lance Trover. Good to see you all.

Lance, I'll begin with you. You heard from that attorney earlier tonight representing the two women that allegedly have testified before the House Committee and telling Erin Burnett that his client witnessed Gaetz having sex with her friend who was 17 at the time. He says or she had said at the time, the age was not known to Gaetz, an important point. But should Trump be going on a limb for this person knowing these facts as alleged?

[23:05:01]

LANCE TROVER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, FORMER SPOKESPERSON FOR DOUG BURGUM'S 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Yeah, look, I think that this is the crux of it all. Donald Trump is going to stand by his man, which appears he is going to. This is going to one place, and it is going to the United States Senate.

But I do think we need to take a step back and look. Yeah, the just -- the Biden Justice Department declined to pursue charges, and according to "The Washington Post," it was because the witnesses had credibility issues.

So now we're on to this House ethics thing which, you know, I mean, say what you want about it, but they're about to -- they're going to decide on Wednesday whether to break their precedent of 30 or 40 years and put out a report on somebody who's no longer a member of Congress. So, if they do that, in my opinion, they lack a lot of credibility going forward. Joe maybe disagrees with me on that, but that's what I think.

So -- but now, we're going to the Senate where this is going to be some secret vote at a launch for leadership. This is going to be a public vote that they're going to have to take. So, if those senators want to tell the guy who just got 76 million votes, 312 electoral votes, they want to say, you can't have your guy for attorney general, well, we'll see how that turns out for him.

COATES: Joe, what do you think? Should the report be released? Wouldn't it be helpful, at least, to either fend off the criticism or attacks or maybe even buttress the senator's choice if they know what's in the report?

JOE CROWLEY, FORMER NEW YORK REPRESENTATIVE: Well, objection to that.

COATES: He is totally objecting this entire time.

(LAUGHTER)

CROWLEY: No, is that he didn't just simply retired to become a citizen again.

COATES: Hmm.

CROWLEY: He literally retired because he knew if he retired, it would end -- would theoretically (ph) end the investigation and would squash the report from becoming public.

COATES: You mean because he could have stayed on until he was confirmed in some way?

CROWLEY: Well, he could have stayed, yes. As long as you could, you certainly can. There is no reason why you would leave unless you make sure you're actually confirmed. So -- and he's going on to one of the most important, most critical positions in our government.

Here's someone who was accused of statutory rape, of having sex -- sexual intercourse with a woman under 18 years of age, and was using illicit drugs, and amongst other things we may not even know about at this point, and now was going to head our Justice Department. He was investigated by them. They chose not to bring charges. It doesn't mean there wasn't any guilt there. They didn't say he was innocent. They just -- because they didn't -- maybe -- then they can convince the jury. But that doesn't mean that the person is innocent.

COATES: Shelby, what about the point that Lance is making about in terms of, are you to look at Trump who has his political power and he believes a mandate, although there is discrepancy what that mandate really is for the voters and him. Are senators going to put their necks on the line for Gaetz or would they maybe keep their powder dry for others? What?

SHELBY TALCOTT, POLITICS REPORTER, SEMAFOR: Well, that is the whole point. And when I talk to people close to Donald Trump's campaign and involved in the transition, that's the point that they're arguing. Whether or not it's true is another story. But they're telling me when I say, do you really think that Matt Gaetz has a chance to get confirmed? They say, well, 76 million people voted for Donald Trump.

And so, if these senators want to come out publicly and deny what Donald Trump has chosen, what he has said he is going to do, then that is on them, and they're going to essentially suffer the consequences.

Now, do I think that this Matt Gaetz choice was sort of a head fake and some 4D chess? No. I think -- you know, every conversation I've had with people close to Trump indicates that it is -- sometimes, the simplest answer is the correct answer. He likes Matt Gaetz. He has promised to drastically reshape how government is run, and he believes that Matt Gaetz is a person who is going to do that.

Now, coincidentally, if Matt Gaetz doesn't get confirmed, does it help him potentially get RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard confirmed? Yes. So maybe he's also now thinking, okay, this could be sort of something that ends up being beneficial, but I don't think that it was the initial thought process behind picking him.

COATES: Well, one person he didn't name was Pete Hegseth who, of course, also has, and there are very different contexts, first of all. But both he and Gaetz have denied allegations that have been leveled against them. For his part, he has attorney revealing to CNN that he did pay a woman who accused him of sexual assault. He, of course, denies the wrongdoing, says it was consensual. There was reporting from Maggie Haberman of "The New York Times" tonight, though, Lance, that Trump might be more willing to tolerate this category of accusations because he himself feels that he was unjustly accused of something similar even through a trial as well. Is this a blind spot for Trump?

TROVER: Well, I mean, I don't know that it's a blind spot for Trump. I think a lot of it is that these are people he likes. And look, this is -- he is picking people who are a shock to the system. And so, I get it. A lot of folks in Washington don't liked these picks. And so, there's a lot of outrage that's coming from inside the beltway.

But again, I go back to 76 million people and 312 electoral votes. I think this country is looking for a different direction.

[23:10:00]

And so, I think he does feel he has a lot of capital to spend, and he appears ready to spend it on all of these folks.

COATES: But the direction, though -- excuse me, one second, the direction that he's pointing, though, Matt Gaetz as an attorney general is a very clear indication of where he believes the view should go. I mean, he is somebody who you know has talked about retribution, about weaponized government. The directive is not just something different, it is in a particular direction towards perhaps vengeance?

TALCOTT: Yeah, I mean, again, this is somebody who has been close -- when it comes to Matt Gaetz, somebody who has been close to Donald Trump for many years and who is aligned with Donald Trump on what Donald Trump wants to do with the government, which is drastically reshape it, which is change the FBI, change all of these things.

Now, I think the thing that's notable about Pete is Donald Trump's campaign was caught off guard by these allegations. And so, it is a little bit different.

COATES: Yeah.

TALCOTT: I do agree with Maggie's reporting that he doesn't necessarily care about it because he is someone who has also been accused of something similar, but it is not something that the Trump campaign went into when they picked Pete knowing, as opposed to Matt Gaetz, where we've known about these allegations for years.

COATES: You have new reporting as well, speaking with you for a second, on who the FBI pick might be, even though we know we're supposed to have an FBI director that has a tenure that's longer than a presidential tenure for good reason. That hasn't been the trend sometimes. But who is the fight between?

TALCOTT: Yeah, the fight is between Trump loyalist Kash Patel and Mike Rogers. And so, there's sort of two different factions who are --

COATES: Who just lost the Senate race in Michigan. TALCOTT: Correct. And there are two different factions that are sort of warring over this. The MAGA Republicans are all in for Kash Patel because, again, they view him as somebody who will drastically reshape everything, and then the Mike Rogers pick is sort of the traditional establishment figure.

And that war is heating up internally. There's a lot of folks who are privately vying for each of them. Mike Rogers would have an easier confirmation process, but as we've seen with Donald Trump's picks, that doesn't necessarily mean that's who he's going to decide on.

COATES: What do you make of those two picks?

CROWLEY: Well, I know Mike.

COATES: Yeah.

CROWLEY: I know Mike Rogers. Always got along with him very well. I think both Democrats and Republicans. He has, I think, respect from both sides of the chamber, of the aisle. I think Kash is a more unknown figure for Democrats. I think what he had done in Oval is more bombastic than Mike had been, although Mike went a little MAGA during the race, which is understandable.

But what I think is actually interesting, Laura, is that I don't think that Donald Trump really gives a rat's butt about the Senate. He doesn't care. I mean, he demonstrated that back in 2022 when he almost single-handedly delivered the Senate to Democrats by his actions in Georgia.

And so, you know, it's all about headlines. It's about what keeps us out in front of folks. I think he's having fun with this as well. I think he likes seeing people sweat, especially, he has really -- don't much regard for John Thune. John was not one of his people. If this makes John sweat a bit, I think he's okay with that.

COATES: Well, here's somebody who is a bit of a headline, Brendan Carr. That's Trump's pick for the chairman of the FCC, Joe. And he wrote the agency's chapter, apparently, in Project 2025, which we were told is not associated at all with Trump.

And here's what he wrote about the agency's main goals, what they should be: Reigning in Big Tech, a TikTok ban, supporting Elon Musk's Starlink Technology, just to name a few.

What's it going to mean? And also, he mentions, of course, as well, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, that he believes there should be some tweaking there, as many also do. What does this mean for the next four years in terms of Big Tech?

CROWLEY: Well, I think for a lot of Big Tech folks, they thought this was a new beginning for Republicans, and particularly with this administration.

COATES: Elon Musk is there. CROWLEY: Musk is there, but there are a lot of tech folks from Silicon Valley who got behind this president. And I think it's an awakening. This nomination really speaks volumes to them about the direction that the Trump administration is going in, and it's not pro- Big Tech.

COATES: Lance, how do you see it?

TROVER: Well, I think the voters have spoken pretty loudly, too. I agree with you. I think Silicon Valley may be a tad surprised by it, but I think a lot of Republican voters out there are (INAUDIBLE), let's take on Big Tech.

COATES: So, do you think (INAUDIBLE) talking about the mandate, that when the voters is a decisive victory for Trump, I mean, trifecta for Republicans --

TALCOTT: Yeah.

COATES: -- that they -- they know the same mandate that Trump is going with. The mandate was you're in charge. But every aspect of it, you think, is carte blanche?

TROVER: I think Donald -- the voters have known Donald Trump now for going home with, well, longer than eight or nine years. He ran -- first ran for president eight or nine years ago. From the time he came down that escalator, he has had one approach and it is that Washington is not working for you, somebody needs to go in there and take a sledgehammer to it and break it up, and I'm the one to do it.

I think voters are very clear-eyed about who he is and what everything that comes with him. They went into this election knowing everything that was about him. If you look at all the polls, it's Kamala Harris a lot of times they didn't know things about, but they always knew who Donald Trump was at the end of the day. So yeah, I think voters absolutely understood.

CROWLEY: But if this is not draining the swamp, he's only adding more sludge to the swamp right now. I think that's a perception he has with some of these nominees, particularly Matt Gaetz.

[23:15:04]

COATES: Well, we'll see how the Senate feels about it. Thank you, everyone. Up next, MSNBC's "Morning Joe" facing backlash after hosts, Joe and Mika, went to meet Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUNNY HOSTIN, LAWYER, AUTHOR, TELEVISION HOST: I don't think you need to sit down for 90 minutes at Mar-a-Lago and kiss his ring to be able to speak truth and to be able to cover a story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I'll ask legendary journalist Bob Woodward about that and much more next. Plus, hurricane relief workers in Florida allegedly told to skip homes that had Trump signs. The now fired FEMA employee at the center of the scandal joins me tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. And after years of, well, an icy relationship, Donald Trump and the hosts of "Morning Joe" seem ready to play nice. Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski today are revealing that they traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with President-elect Trump last week. "Morning Joe" helped boost Trump's political career, but they had a falling out after Trump won the White House.

Now, well, they are signaling it is time for a new chapter. Trump telling Fox News -- quote -- "Many things were discussed" -- unquote -- during his meeting with the hosts, and he -- quote -- "appreciated that fact that they wanted to have open communication." Now, as for the hosts, they say this, they say this meeting won't stop them from criticizing Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKA BRZEZINSKI, MSNBC HOST: As for us, we also let him know that we will continue to speak truth to power and push back hard when called for, as we have with all presidents.

JOE SCARBOROUGH, MSNBC HOST: Don't be mistaken. We're not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump. We're here to report on him and to hopefully provide you insights that are going to better equip all of us in understanding these deeply unsettling times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Well, joining me now, legendary journalist, associate editor of "The Washington Post," Bob Woodward. He's also the author of "War: Chronicling the Presidential Campaign Amid the Backdrop of War in Ukraine and also the Middle East." Bob, thank you for joining. I have to know what your thoughts are on this "New York Times" reporting, first of all, that Trump has admitted, it seems, that Gaetz may have a difficult time being confirmed as attorney general.

BOB WOODWARD, AUTHOR, ASSOCIATE EDITOR FOR THE WASHINGTON POST: You know, I don't know. Obviously, that's a future that has not occurred. But what I do know from Trump, going back eight years ago, interviewing him in 2016, one of the things -- I asked about power, what is power? And he said, real power is -- I even don't like to use the word, but real power is fear. That's something Trump realized eight years ago, maybe all of his life, and realizes now. You have to scare people.

And so, he has threatened, he has gone through all these charades. You know, we're going to appoint this person, we're going to appoint that person. I think one problem is the public and those of us in the media are looking at this kind of like, oh, that's a zoo, and we're outsiders watching it. What I think we have to realize, we're in the zoo. Everyone is in the zoo. He's going to be president for four years.

Having chronicled 10 presidents going back to Nixon, they had extraordinary power.

COATES: Hmm.

WOODWARD: And Trump is going to use it. He used it at his first term, maybe not adequately from his own point of view. So, he is going to use it, and we better be frightened.

COATES: Well, it might not surprise the people to know that there is some notion that, according to reporting, he's pushing senators to agree with his controversial picks, including not to mention Tulsi Gabbard for DNI, and also Pete Hegseth, as you know, for defense secretary. Are these positions more than about loyalty? Is there anything else going on in terms of the decision to have both of these figures and stick with them?

WOODWARD: I think it's -- you're driving down the road in your car and check engine light goes on. What do you do? You pull into a grocery store? No. You look for somebody who can do what you need done to your engine, right?

Trump has totally abandoned the rational approach to getting people to do the things that need to be done in government. I mean, we are in this zoo, and he's in charge for a long time and has lots of power. We should not kid ourselves. I believe from doing books on him, spending hours interviewing him, that he's trying to recreate the imperial presidency.

[23:25:00]

COATES: But he has said, Bob, just on that point, Trump's former joint chief of staff, General Mark Milley, actually, he told you Trump is serious about retribution. But then today, Trump told Fox News -- quote -- "I am not looking for retribution, grandstanding or to destroy people who treated me very unfairly." And he says he'll give people a second and a third chance. You've written multiple books about him. Is that possibly true?

WOODWARD: Well, look, we're in a transactional environment. He can say anything. But I know from the past, this is a man who knows real power is fear. And he likes to scare people. And now, he has scared the whole country and to a certain extent the whole world by putting people in or saying he's going to put people in key jobs who have no real experience in that area, no track record.

COATES: But then why is that fear? That's the -- they're not a cabinet of advisors, they're a cabinet of implementers?

WOODWARD: Well, it gives him the power as president to put those people in and fire them. COATES: Do you think that that has motivated -- I'd love to hear your evaluation of that meeting between Trump and "Morning Joe" hosts, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. They used to have a pretty chummy relationship, for lack of a better word, back in 2016. And then you've got this reporting that they -- and they have admitted that they went down there. Nikki Haley posts on X that this was all about ratings, that they need Trump for some level of survival. How do you think Trump would see this meeting?

WOODWARD: Well, I don't know. But he will use anything. He invited them down there. Terrific reporters. And, of course, they're going to go.

COATES: Should they have gone?

WOODWARD: What?

COATES: Should they have gone?

WOODWARD: Of course. I mean, you're a reporter. You want to talk to everyone. You want to listen. You want to understand, see what's going on. But my experience and the proof in the way Trump operates is he really likes to scare people. He likes to frighten people. Look at these appointments. People are going, where did this come from? What's he doing here?

COATES: Uh-hmm.

WOODWARD: My answer is he's trying to create, recreate the imperial, all-powerful presidency. Now, why? To implement whatever comes to mind. I know him well, and his mind is like a roulette wheel. Any number can come up. You can't predict it. You don't know where it's going. We do know that he's going to have the extraordinary power of the presidency.

COATES: Really important points. Bob, we'll look and see how this all unfolds. If fear is a strategy, what will be the result? Thank you so much for joining.

WOODWARD: Thank you.

COATES: Still ahead, FEMA's chief under fire and about to face a grilling on Capitol Hill, this after a staffer told hurricane relief workers to skip homes with Trump signs. So, what really happened? Former employee in the center of it all, live with me to explain her side of the story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:30:00]

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COATES: A political storm over the federal response. Hurricane Milton will hit Capitol Hill tomorrow. A House oversight hearing is going to probe allegations that FEMA workers skipped over going to homes with Donald Trump political lawn signs. Now, FEMA claims that a rogue employee told workers in Florida to bypass those homes and Republicans have cried foul, claiming it was all politically-motivated.

FEMA fired that woman, Marn'i Washington. They say it was -- quote -- "A clear violation of FEMA's values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation. This was reprehensible." Florida even sued Washington and FEMA.

Well, now, Ms. Washington is firing back, saying that it's common practice for FEMA teams to avoid some places when it is based on hostile interactions. With me now, former FEMA official, Marnie Washington. Marnie, thank you so much for joining. I understand this has been very difficult for you. You have received death threats and you don't feel safe.

MARN'I WASHINGTON, FIRED FROM FEMA AFTER HURRICANE MILTON CONTROVERSY: No, I don't. And thank you for allowing me on your show and for giving me a voice. Um, it's -- it has been a tumultuous event and an uphill battle. But what I'd like for the American people to know is before I even deployed to Florida, that this was the work culture there.

I was on two teams in Florida. And the first team, when I arrived, they were implementing avoidance and de-escalation. And unfortunately, that trend ran with those Trump campaign signs. So, before I even had my own crew in Highlands County, this was the practice. And it's verifiable.

COATES: When you say, excuse me, avoidance and de-escalation, you know, you shared the field guidelines with us, which urge workers to remove themselves from a hostile situation if they feel unsafe for any reason and if they feel threatened. Were there reports of hostility in the neighborhoods that you were responding to as a result of the presence of signs or otherwise?

[23:35:04]

WASHINGTON: Yes, we've had people verbally express to us that our presence was unwelcome and unwanted. Some people had some tact about it and some people were not so nice about it. But all of this information was communicated with my task force lead, which is my direct support supervisor. So, I did not act on my own volition. Everything we did was out of the focus of safety and making sure our team felt comfortable.

COATES: Who gave those orders? You appear to be conveying them, but you weren't the one where they originated. Is that right?

WASHINGTON: That's correct. All of my orders come from my task force lead, Chad Hershey (ph). His whole mantra of this entire deployment was to make sure people felt comfortable and make sure that they felt safe. And that's because we were in what FEMA categorizes as political hostile territory.

COATES: Do you know how they define politically-hostile territory? Was it -- was it a particular campaign that you were feeling that way towards or was just the idea of the times that you were in, at the times of the relief being requested?

WASHINGTON: Again, before I was even deployed to Florida, there are accounts of Trump supporters being very passionate about their political stance. And unfortunately, that led to them saying they would either do bodily harm to female workers or they would do threatening, take threatening actions towards female workers. And that was the trend, not just in Florida, but you will see that in North Carolina as well and Georgia.

COATES: Do that translates to avoiding all homes that had a Trump sign or were there select neighborhoods that you implemented that trend in or responded that way?

WASHINGTON: That's an excellent question. It was only selected areas where there were teammates felt uncomfortable. They did not feel safe and they feared for their safety.

COATES: So, if this was something that you were following from FEMA's protocol, you didn't -- you didn't invent it, you didn't originate it, it was already a practice, you say, before you even got down there, why are you taking all the heat?

WASHINGTON: It is the surge capacity team that leaked that information and they did it with the correct timing after President Trump took office. So, this raised questions of violation of the Hatch Act, which clearly there's not because we registered Trump supporters. We've given them service as well, just we avoided the areas that were hostile.

Unfortunately, I ended up with doubled the teammates. We were supposed to only have five. I ended up with 11 teammates. And half of those teammates proved to be anti-FEMA. They were quite critical of the entire deployment process while we canvassed Highlands County.

COATES: Do you think you're being scapegoated? Because, you know, FEMA noted in your dismissal letter that you had no prior disciplinary action, none. But this alleged misconduct totally outweighed your positive record. What did that feel like when you read that?

WASHINGTON: I'm certain I'm being scapegoated because my superior has been demoted in the past for giving the wrong orders. So now that this person is my superior, I've done my best to not only serve him well, but also serve the Highland County well as well.

But I'm the scapegoat here because it doesn't make any sense. You have someone with a clean record that comes highly recommended, and then you have someone that has been demoted in the past for egregious acts. Yet you retain this person and promote them, but yet fire me and basically leave me out to be scrutinized and lie and tell the American people I was working on my own volition. I don't create policy, FEMA does. I just implement it in the field.

COATES: Well, the FEMA administrator, Criswell, is going to be testifying at tomorrow's hearing. Marn'i, given all that you're experiencing, what do you want to hear from her? WASHINGTON: It would be nice if Ms. Criswell would be human and come to terms with the fact that FEMA has not addressed the safety concerns that the crew leads and the specialists experience out in the field. There are plenty of reports that discuss hostile encounters, is how FEMA describes it, and our method is avoidance. I don't understand why we're hiding that from the American people.

[23:40:00]

If someone feels unsafe, what employer subjects their employees to a hostile work environment? Nobody does that.

COATES: Have you been asked to testify?

WASHINGTON: No, ma'am.

COATES: Are you surprised? Would you do so if they asked?

WASHINGTON: I will come forward.

COATES: You know, I am surprised that you don't have current counsel representing you, Ms. Washington. Have you tried to get counsel and been unsuccessful to anyone representing you here?

WASHINGTON: Yes. Apparently, a lot of people are afraid to take on this case because no one wants to deal with the government. It seems that the Stafford Act is layered and complex, and most people that have tried to hold FEMA accountable for egregious acts in the past, they failed.

COATES: And here you are, waiting for a testimony on the Hill, asking a person to be human towards you. Marn'i Washington, thank you so much.

WASHINGTON: Thank you.

COATES: There is new trouble for Diddy tonight as the feds accused him of trying to obstruct justice from behind bars. The new allegations against him, next.

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[23:45:00]

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COATES: Today, Sean "Diddy" Combs's lawyers are accusing the U.S. government of a -- quote -- "outrageous violation of due process." They're saying the prosecutors obtained Diddy's personal notes from his jail cell. This accusation comes after the government alleged Diddy is trying to obstruct their investigation.

They're saying they used a telephone account of at least eight inmates to allegedly evade monitoring. They also say that he paid inmates through intermediaries, used three-way calls to reach unapproved contacts, and used a non-authorized third-party system to send hundreds of text messages to dozens of people, including some not- unapproved contact lists.

Now, Combs is due in court on Friday, where his lawyers are going to begin arguing for a third time to get him released on bond.

I want to bring in Neama Rahmani. He's a former federal prosecutor and the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers. Neama, let's start with these accusations that the government is leveling, that Combs is engaged with witness tampering. If true, how bad is this for him, not only for a bond hearing to be released, but also in the long run for trial?

NEAMA RAHMANI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, PRESIDENT OF WEST COAST TRIAL LAWYERS: Laura, you nailed it. It almost tanks his chance of getting bond for a third time. I don't think he had a good chance anyway because he's such a danger to the community.

But that's something that was raised during the second bond hearing, the number of times he tried to contact witnesses in the case. He is already looking at the possibility of a superseding indictment alleging sex trafficking of minors. And if obstruction and witness tampering come in, that really undercuts the two defenses in the case.

First, that the sexual contact was consensual, because minors can't consent, and then the jurors will hear all the evidence of Diddy trying to blackmail, bribe, pay off, threaten, intimidate these witnesses. And really, I think that's his only defense here. They go sideways or they do a 180 at trial and say that, you know what, despite filing these civil lawsuits and making these allegations, it really didn't happen the way I said it did.

COATES: And, of course, if you're unable to monitor the communications of the inmate, as you are permitted to do, you don't necessarily know if he's making statements that are nefarious or benign to witnesses or people not on a contact list. But what course of action then could authorities have to keep him from continuing these behaviors if he's already circumventing the processes?

RAHMANI: Well, they can take his phone privileges away entirely. In prison, there is no Fourth Amendment expectation of privacy. Guards can come in and toss your cell at any time. Those phone calls, there are signs, there are recordings, they are always recorded, and we hear time and time again where these jail calls come into evidence.

Of course, Diddy is sophisticated. He's allegedly trying to get around these restrictions by using other people's phones, numbers that they have in prison trying to make three-way calls. That's a no-no. I think it's getting very close to getting those phone privileges taken away entirely, which will make his defense even more challenging.

COATES: And yet his attorneys, they say that the government violated his due process. They think that they seized personal notes from Combs's jail cells. Prosecutors say the notes were seized in a pre- planned, nationwide prison sweep. He believes it's not the case. Did they violate his due process? Do they have an argument to say that they have? RAHMANI: They have an argument, and it's going to really depend on whether prosecutors conducted the raid with a team sometimes called the clean team or a filter team. But whenever someone is represented, what agents are supposed to do is have a second set of officials, whether it's attorneys, whether it's guards, officers to conduct the raid. That way, if those agents inadvertently run across privileged material, they'll either set it aside or redact it.

Basically, they won't be disqualified from the case because we know the attorney client privilege is the most sacred privilege under the law. So, this is something that all prosecutors know. Don't conduct the raid on yourself. You don't want to be a witness.

So hopefully, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York, probably the most prestigious in the country, followed protocol. And if they did, I think they'll be okay when Judge Subramanian conducts that evidentiary hearing tomorrow.

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COATES: Well, on Friday, they have a hearing where they're going to request again that release for a third time. Do you feel optimistic on behalf of his counsel that Diddy would be released pending trial?

RAHMANI: I don't think so, Laura. If Diddy were released, he would be treated very differently than any other criminal defendant. I mean, this is such serious accusations, allegations of racketeering, sex trafficking. And, you know, we're just getting more evidence. That has come out. Obviously, the video that CNN found. We saw the text messages related to that video that came out in the prosecution's filing.

So, of course, we saw the video of Diddy allegedly beating or seemingly beating Cassie Ventura at the Intercontinental Hotel in 2016. But in the prosecution's filing, we're seeing the text messages that Cassie sent Diddy related to that beating. And this is all coming out. And obviously, during the second bail hearing, we saw that Diddy tried to contact a witness dozens of times. And now, apparently, he tried to call a witness 100 times. This is not getting better for Diddy. It's only getting worse when it comes to bail.

COATES: We'll see what happens. Neama Rahmani, we will follow the story. Thank you for joining.

RAHMANI: Thanks for having me, Laura, as always.

COATES: Now, to another courthouse, the wife of the undocumented migrant accused of killing Georgia College student Laken Riley, confronting him in a jailhouse phone call played in court during the second day of his murder trial, saying -- quote -- "I know you know something."

Rafael Romo has the latest on the case. It has become a political lightning rod over immigration and crime.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On day two of the trial for the men accused of murdering Laken Riley, an FBI special agent testified Jose Ibarra's cell phone was at the same location as Laken Riley's GPS for about 20 minutes, and at the time of the killing on February 22.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): I would say that they are very close.

ROMO (voice-over): Riley's smartwatch data presented in court in this stark graph captured her final moments as it shows her heart rate spiking and slowing down, then dramatically stopping, according to court testimony from a UGA police officer and a digital forensics expert.

SHEILA ROSS, PROSECUTOR: Her heart rate is still going until 9.28 a.m. Her encounter with him was long. Her fight with him was fierce. And that is what the Garmin data shows.

ROMO (voice-over): The state played a jailhouse call in Spanish between suspect Jose Ibarra and his estranged wife, Lailene Franco, in which she asked him, what happened with the girl?

UNKNOWN: She tells him that he has to know something, and he just continues to tell her, like, Lailene, enough, Lailene, enough.

ROMO (voice-over): Body camera video played in the courtroom showed the moment officers found Ibarra. It was late February, the morning after Riley was killed as she jogged on the University of Georgia campus. A UGA police officer on scene testified Ibarra and his brothers seemed to be in a good mood.

CPL. RAFAEL SAYAN, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA POLICE DEPARTMENT: It seemed very relaxed. There was a lot of laughing, giggling.

ROMO (voice-over): But another officer noticed something wrong.

UNKNOWN: What's the matter?

ROMO (voice-over): He told the court Ibarra's injuries looked like defensive wounds, including fingernail scratches and a puncture.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): I could see like wet flesh, like almost like it was fresh.

SAYAN: I could see there was a little bit of pus in it.

ROMO (voice-over): Ibarra has pleaded not guilty. He waived his right to a jury so the judge will decide his fate.

(on camera): The prosecution said in open court they expect to wrap up their case on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the defense says it should take them less than half a day to present their testimony. The trial resumes Tuesday at 8:30 in the morning here at the Athens-Clarke County Courthouse. Rafael Romo, CNN, Athens, Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: Rafael, thank you so much. Up next, a new reason why Netflix better get its act together come Christmas Day.

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COATES: Well, in case you missed it, I've got some really good news for you. Let's call it an early Christmas present from the one and only Beyonce.

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COATES: A Beyonce halftime show. it's like 2016 all over again. Only this time, it'll be live streamed on Netflix. And Netflix says Beyonce is going to bring out some special guests who are featured on her recent Cowboy Carter album. I know, I'll be watching. Of course, opening presents, too.

But if Beyonce wasn't enough for football fans, here come the Pop- Tarts. That's right. On December 28th at this year's Pop-Tarts Bowl, there'll be not one, but three edible Pop-Tart mascots. The flavor is frosted hot fudge sundae, frosted wild berry, and a third mystery flavor. The game's MVP decides which flavor mascot will get eaten by the entire team. Yes, free time, everyone.

And finally, the U.S. Postal Service unveiling a special edition postage stamp to commemorate beloved actress, Betty White. It's set to be released in 2025.

Thank you for watching and for being a friend. "Anderson Cooper 360" starts right now after a classic Rose moment.

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BETTY WHITE, ACTRESS: It's like that old Scandinavian saying, you can let two angry mackerel fight it out in a purse, but don't ever plan on carrying that purse to a formal affair.

(LAUGHTER)

Well, it loses a little in the translation.

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