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Senate Votes on War Powers Resolution; Outrage in Minnesota. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired January 08, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Outrage and grief in Minnesota. Protesters clash with police one day after immigration agents shot and killed a U.S. citizen and mother of three.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is unacceptable. A member of our community was killed in this very spot protecting her neighbors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: This morning: How will the calls for accountability be answered?

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

And we begin this hour in Minnesota and the fallout from yesterday's fatal shooting by an ICE agent.

BROWN: This morning, tensions have flared. Protesters clashed, as you see, with armed officers one day after an ICE agent shot and killed a U.S. citizen.

The Trump administration says 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good tried to run over officers and they claim that the ICE agent was just acting in self-defense, but others say Ms. Good was needlessly killed in an altercation that could have been de-escalated.

You're about to see the video. And a word of warning: It may be disturbing to watch. Here you see ICE agents right here with the mask on approach her SUV and then try to open her side door. She backs up the vehicle as that door is trying to open. Then she goes forward.

An agent by her driver's side bumper opens fire. She speeds off and crashes into another car just a short distance away. BLITZER: Local and state officials are lashing out at the killing.

Family and neighbors remember Renee Nicole Good as a loving mother of three children. Her ex-husband tells the Associated Press that she had just dropped off her 6-year-old son at school when she encountered ICE agents.

Her mother told "The Minnesota Star Tribune" -- and I'm quoting now -- "Renee was one of the kindest people I have ever known. She was extremely compassionate. She's taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate. She was an amazing human being."

BROWN: So let's take a closer look at what happened. And we want to warn you again the images may be disturbing.

CNN's Josh Campbell, who is a former FBI agent, breaks down the video moment by moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Let's put this video under the microscope and walk through it. I can tell you I have watched this over two dozen times right now.

The focal point is going to be the front left fender of that vehicle and the agent that is then beyond it who decides to open fire. Now, the way agents are trained, first of all -- and the police chief alluded to this in the press conference -- is that they're not permitted to fire into a moving vehicle solely for the purpose of disabling the vehicle.

When you look at that video, you can actually see that vehicle making contact, the front left of that vehicle, with the ICE agent who is there. But, again, it will come down to a matter of question, could that agent have moved out of the way? They're not required to retreat. There's no duty to retreat when facing someone who may be potentially violent.

Now, there's another thing to point out too. And that's the angle that we see from the bystander is that it appears, just before the shots are fired, the front wheels on that vehicle turn to the right. That's an indication obviously to us from that vantage point that the driver is about to move out of that location toward the right.

That's why this is such a powder keg, because there are essentially two aspects of this. There's the policy, the law, what agents are allowed to do, and there's an issue of judgment. Just because you can do something, should you? That is why we're going to continue to see, I think, see this outrage, because that agent's decision to pull his weapon, if he indeed found himself in a situation where he's in fear for his life, caused the death of a local resident there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[11:05:03]

BROWN: Yes. And Josh joins us live.

So, Josh, the tactics you see in these videos, are they consistent with your training?

CAMPBELL: Well, the big question here is going to be what was going through the mind of that agent at the time that he decided to open fire and, as I mentioned, were there other options that were available?

Now, an agent who is in fear for their life and they can articulate that, they are permitted to use deadly force. But, again, the question is, are there other available means? In a situation like this, where you have someone who you don't know to be violent -- we know that the person that was killed here was not the subject of any type of enforcement herself -- do you chase the vehicle?

Do you follow it? Do you make a traffic stop? Do you take down the license plate? Again, there are other options that are available. And so that will be the big question here. I think one thing that all of us have been watching very closely is the messaging from the Department of Homeland Security.

And I think this is important from a law enforcement perspective. We heard the secretary of homeland security come out very quickly, just after the incident, and essentially exonerate the agent. Typically, the way these work is, you have a shooting investigation that can take weeks or even months before the decision is actually rendered on the judgment of the agent. Here, it happened very quickly.

BLITZER: All right, stand by.

I want to go to Ryan Young. He's in St. Paul, Minnesota, for us.

It looks like it's really heating up where you are, Ryan. Set the scene.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Wolf, it's gotten a little more heated because Greg Bovino has decided to start walking the line here. He's been out here for the last four or five minutes, walking the line, talking to his Border Patrol officers, giving them a pat on the back, speaking to some of them, looking directly into the camera.

In fact, at one point, I asked him if he was doing -- how he was doing. He was like: "I'm OK." I asked if he wanted to talk (AUDIO GAP) that was here. He didn't answer that question. So, as we walk this direction here, I just want you to get an idea.

You guys, you see all the officers that are lined up here. You can see Greg Bovino walking the line. He's standing back and looking toward the crowd of people and protesters. Most of the protesters were getting ready to leave. And then, at some point, when he appeared, it sort of reignited folks being angry and starting to yell toward this crowd.

So, as you see this happening now, Wolf, there hasn't been any sort of sort of confrontation between officers, but he has certainly gotten folks a little riled up. He's not talking to anyone at this point. We're trying to get him to answer a few questions about the operation.

But -- bro, I'm not trying to walk through here. Relax.

So, at the same time, we are just sort of watching this crowd and seeing how he's interacting with his officers. It's been severely peaceful for the last half-hour to 45 minutes. In fact, there was one protester who showed up who wanted to yell and get into Border Patrol officers' faces.

Protesters actually stopped that from going on any further. So you're seeing this playing out right now. And some of the folks in the crowd continue to yell obscenities toward him or try to ask him questions about what the next steps should be.

So, Wolf, this is all playing out as we speak. And this has been continuing since 7:00 a.m. this morning, when protesters first showed up.

So, as we see...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: And are they mostly -- Ryan, are they...

YOUNG: They're asking everyone...

BLITZER: Are the protesters mostly mentioning Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old mother of three who was in her vehicle in that SUV, and this ICE agent simply shot through the front window and wound up killing her?

YOUNG: Yes, they have been screaming the name and they have been screaming at these Border Patrol agents, calling them murderers. They have been asking them to leave the area.

And then this has been continuing. And so at some point in the last 20 minutes or so, when he showed up, most of this crowd has now turned into the media, because a lot of the protesters are going back into the neighborhood to watch what happens next.

There are some people who feel happy that these Border Patrol agents are stuck here, because they believe that they're stopping them from being out there on the streets. And as we talked about before, a lot of these guys here have been talking nicely with protesters even after being screamed at.

And there's been others who have been sort of agitated by the aspect of what's been going on here. So there's been a back-and-forth. But at the same time, the one thing I will tell you, the protesters have not been allowing anyone who they believe is agitating the situation to stand here and yell directly in these Border Patrol faces.

But at the same time, as you see it now, as he walks this line, the people are screaming louder and louder toward him, trying to get him to answer any questions. He realizes he's being watched. And he realizes that the people are more energized by his presence here.

[11:10:05]

One other thing I should mention, Wolf, we're told that one of the exits off the highway has been blocked to stop more protesters from reaching this location. That has been effective in deterring people from coming in this situation.

(SHOUTING)

YOUNG: And as you can hear, the crowd is now using language that we're trying to shield you from a little bit, as they're saying, "Eff ICE."

And that's -- this has all gotten going in the last 10 minutes or so, and as we continue to listen to these people are being upset.

BLITZER: So do the protesters seem to know Gregory -- who Gregory Bovino is, who has now emerged right in the middle of the crowd of agents who are standing on the streets where you are in Minneapolis?

YOUNG: Yes, so he's standing here. He seems to be having a laugh with some of his commanders and having a conversation with them.

Obviously, it's been a tense morning, so it seems like he is walking the line like a commander may do. He's brought another group of troops with him as he's walking through this crowd. Some of these guys have been out here for more than two hours standing on their feet to keep the separation between the protesters.

So I just want to show you this real quick. You see the protesters here, and then you see him right there. And they're screaming in his direction, hoping that he will answer a question. But so far, he's been ignoring most of the people, making sure they are patting each officer on the back.

I will tell you, a lot of the guys here obviously have been here for quite some time standing here, as they have been making sure that no one can block the agents who are coming in, in these cars. The caravan here is what a lot of folks wanted to stop. They wanted to stop this caravan from making it to this facility.

And with this blockade, no one's been able to stop it. But, Wolf, we wanted to show you Bovino as he was marching along the lines here.

BROWN: And let me go to Josh Campbell just to get your take, Josh, on Gregory Bovino. He is the Border Patrol chief who has been overseeing a lot of these controversial raids.

What do you make of him showing up there on the scene at this time, when tensions are really flaring there in the community after the killing of the victim?

CAMPBELL: Well, what we're seeing here is certainly not accidental, because so much of this immigration enforcement effort that we have seen across the country has largely been about messaging, public messaging, getting imagery out there.

And I have to say, I mean, from the perspective of a law enforcement leader, it could be him wanting to come out there and try to buck up his own troops, which leaders often do, to say, look, I'm going to come out, thank you for what you're doing. So that's one aspect.

But, clearly, there is a public messaging aspect, because he's been there for so long, just kind of waiting around at times, looking back into the crowd. And one thing that we have noted throughout our coverage, especially when we have talked about excessive use of force incidents that were questionable, as you mentioned, Pam, there's always a big question about de-escalation.

Is this something that you want to try to bring down temperature, the temperature with the public, particularly in a volatile situation where you have someone who has been shot and killed by law enforcement? This is somewhat of the opposite. Again, we have seen someone who is himself somewhat of a lightning rod throughout some of this immigration enforcement effort out there.

And so this is no accident, what we're seeing there. I will point out, it's worth saying that the Border Patrol agents that we're seeing, this was not the same agency that the officer was who opened fire yesterday. So that's obviously worth noting as well. Border Patrol is there as part of a number of federal agents that are protecting this federal facility, as we have seen in many parts of the country.

There have been questionable incidents by Border Patrol certainly across the country. So I'm sure people in the crowd, if they follow the news, they're certainly aware of that. But, again, a lot of this is about messaging. It doesn't appear that de-escalation is the theme that we're seeing.

And the last thing I will point out as well, as I mentioned a little while ago, the messaging from leaders, this is something that is very interesting with law enforcement. I have heard this from a number of different sources since this immigration crackdown actually took place.

And that is, there's a question about, even if an agent does something that is questionable, in this modern era, will there be accountability? I can tell you, I worked in law enforcement. It is a difficult, difficult, dangerous job, it's worth pointing out.

But every law enforcement officer that goes out on the street, they know that the stakes are high. And because of the incredible powers that they have to literally use deadly force against someone, there will be accountability. Every action that they take is going to be double-checked and triple-checked.

You have internal affairs divisions. You have obviously the courts and prosecutors. But so often over the course of the last few months, we have seen the Department of Homeland Security leadership and the Department of Justice come out to quickly exonerate agents.

In the words of one law enforcement source that I talked to who works at a federal agency, he said this is essentially sending a signal to ICE and some of these other agents that they're essentially untouchable,.

Because, if your own leadership is coming out quickly and saying you did have everything absolutely right, not waiting for a robust investigation, you have to wonder what that will do to the psyche of these agents as they're out there trying to decide, shoot or don't shoot, if you already know that, at least if past is prologue, there hasn't been a lot of accountability.

[11:15:20]

BROWN: And we're waiting to hear from the DHS secretary, Kristi Noem, who made some very strong remarks shortly after the shooting yesterday, saying that it was an act of domestic terrorism.

And everyone we have spoken to has said that it's just too early to know, right? We haven't seen the full picture. We haven't seen all the facts. And there were some serious questions raised by that video. And now we're learning, Josh, from the AP that Minnesota investigators say that they can't access evidence after that fatal ICE shooting and that the FBI won't work jointly on the probe.

What do you make of that?

CAMPBELL: That does not surprise me with the current FBI.

Obviously, the FBI director is a very -- a political loyalist of the president. He's made no secret of that. We are in a different era, where, in past times -- to be sure, the federal government does have the right to protect an investigation. But we have seen the past where they will work jointly with state and local investigators as well.

Again, the goal is to have transparency, but also to have trust among the public that an investigation will actually be done thoroughly and fairly. And so that is certainly notable if we're hearing now that the federal government isn't even going to share information with their local counterparts.

This is also worth pointing out, and this -- not to get too legalistic, but federal agents do enjoy broad immunity in certain cases when executing the official duties of their job. And we have heard many local lawmakers, specifically in Democratic areas, threaten to prosecute federal agents, threaten local prosecutorial action.

I don't think we have really seen that tested yet. If one were to do that, a local prosecutor, certainly, the first goal would be to try to get access to evidence. Doesn't look like that's happening here. I will be interested to see what the FBI actually comes up with and how they lay out the results of their investigation.

They're obviously looking into this shooting. And I will be interested to see how long this actually takes. As I mentioned, in the past, when a federal agent opens fire, sometimes, the investigation into that can take months. We will wait and see how this plays out.

BLITZER: And we will wait with you.

Josh Campbell, thanks very much.

Ryan Young, who's on the scene for us in Minneapolis, thanks to you as well.

We will take a quick break. Much more coming up right after this.

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[11:21:58]

BROWN: Well, shortly after an ICE agent shot and killed a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem placed the blame on the victim, Renee Good.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: ICE agents repeatedly ordered her to get out of the car and to stop obstructing law enforcement, but she refused to obey their commands.

She then proceeded to weaponize her vehicle and she attempted to run a law enforcement officer over. This appears as an attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to agents, an act of domestic terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: People who were at the scene, they are questioning and challenging that narrative from Kristi Noem.

Sarah Saldana served as the director of ICE for three years under President Barack Obama. She's joining us right now.

Sarah, thanks so much for joining us.

What's your response to what happened yesterday in Minneapolis, first of all?

SARAH SALDANA, FORMER ICE DIRECTOR: Well, I react first as a human being and the terrible tragedy that has occurred.

This is a young woman with a child, I understand, at least one. And I cannot say enough that we need to respond. There will be an investigation, but I urge and hope that those protesters and others who are concerned about what happened proceed calmly and peacefully. I really would love to hear that from people who have authority, unlike what I have right now.

But that is my view, certainly as the former ICE director and a member of law enforcement, including U.S. attorney here in Dallas.

BROWN: Kristi Noem, as we heard, said that she believed the victim here in this case, Renee Good, was using her car to run over the officer.

But we see clearly in the video that the officer walked up in front of the car. How can she be so certain to say such a thing?

SALDANA: Well, I don't know exactly the timing of her press conference or her comments that were made, but it was certainly fairly recently after the incident.

I think we're all taught, as managers of agencies and departments, that we really should keep an open mind on events and not proceed to characterize them. I'm very concerned about referring to this 37-year- old woman as a domestic terrorist. That only serves to inflame at a time when really calm is called for.

BLITZER: Secretary Noem spoke about how the officer who shot Nicole Good reacted to the situation. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOEM: It's very clear that this individual was harassing and impeding law enforcement operations. Our officer followed his training, did exactly what he's been taught to do in that situation, and took actions to defend himself and defend his fellow law enforcement officers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:25:00]

BLITZER: But, Sarah, when you look at what we know so far about this shooting, does it line up with how agents are taught to evaluate and respond to potential danger?

SALDANA: Wolf, your viewers will look at this video. It has been parsed, broken down, slowed down, and make their own conclusions.

I know what I see. I see two men right directly in close proximity to her who have approached the car. These are both agents or removal officers, I presume. One of them is literally eyeball to eyeball with her. He is not drawing a gun.

He is the closest to her and then out of nowhere comes this other agent. And if you look closely, he is reaching for his gun. It appears to me -- and, again, your viewers will draw their own conclusions -- that he's already drawing his gun before she's even proceeding forward, never mind that the wheels of the vehicle are turned opposite to him.

This is going to require a long investigation. I hesitate somewhat to speculate on the final outcome, but I know and I do also want to remind everyone law enforcement is not an easy task. It is a very difficult and dangerous job, but that's why you train for situations like this and the context and is it really necessary to even be drawing your gun, never mind shooting it?

BROWN: Yes, I mean, what do you do? What was the training and the thinking if an officer in this case -- like, you see the officer walk up to the front of the car, and then that officer might have perceived danger, right, and then took deadly force, took action and shot and killed that woman.

So what is the accountability if an officer puts himself in harm's way and then acts when that officer feels as though their life or their fellow comrades' life is threatened?

SALDANA: You have hit upon one of the points that will be scrutinized heavily during this whole investigation that's upcoming.

And that is, was it avoidable? Because that's the last thing you want is to injure someone, never mind kill them, in the course of an ordinary removal proceeding or detention or apprehension proceeding. People aren't supposed to die. Things can happen, but you shouldn't aggravate these situations.

We used to have something called community policing, where law enforcement actually worked with the community in operations like this. And that's just not happening here. I don't see law enforcement trying to draw the community together to explain what happened, to go over questions, to involve the community.

Because, in the end, the community becomes a very important part of law enforcement. And so I would hope that some of that does occur in the upcoming days and weeks. There is no need to be so aggressive in your tactics, and I would wish someone in leadership there would make it a point of talking about those issues and what could and could not have been a more proper response than what happened here.

That's what all of this is about, is training and making sure you're ready to respond appropriately, so that there is no injury and certainly so there is no loss of life.

BLITZER: Good points.

Former ICE Director Sarah Saldana, thank you so much for joining us.

BROWN: Thank you.

SALDANA: Of course.

BROWN: And we have some breaking news. The Senate is voting right now on a measure to limit President Trump's war powers in Venezuela.

BLITZER: The measure would block more U.S. military action against the country only days after a U.S. operation to capture President Nicolas Maduro.

CNN's chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju, is watching all of this up on Capitol Hill.

So, Manu, what are you hearing from senators this morning?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a cliffhanger vote, Wolf.

In order for this to be -- to move into the next step here in the legislative process, there would need to be a simple majority of senators voting to advance it. And so if all Democrats vote yes, that's 47 Democrats, they would need at least four Republicans to join with them.

And already right now, there are four Republicans, three who have actually voted yes, and there's going to be a fourth we expect to vote yes here in a matter of moments. So it's three who have voted yes, Senator Todd Young of Indiana, Senator Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.

Rand Paul of Kentucky, the co-sponsor of this measure,he has not voted yet, but that will be four. Then here's the big question. What will Senator John Fetterman do? He's a Democrat, of course, Democrat from Pennsylvania. He's actually been one of the more vocal Democrats supporting how Trump carried out that mission in Venezuela.

He is still uncertain how he will vote. He has not yet cast his vote. And I asked him just yesterday afternoon how he would vote on this measure.