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The Situation Room

Feds Investigate Suspected Illegal Biolab in Las Vegas Home; Nancy Guthrie's Pacemaker Last Sent Signal to iPhone 2:00 a.m. Sunday; Trump Ally Ed Martin Leaked Grand Jury Material; Calls for Gabbard to Testify About FBI Search in GA. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired February 04, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, new this morning, federal authorities are investigating a suspected illegal biolab found inside a Las Vegas home. According to Las Vegas police, the home is owned by a man who was arrested in 2023 in connection to another biolab investigation in California. During that previous investigation, authorities discovered materials possibly associated with several infectious diseases, including hepatitis, COVID, HIV, and malaria.

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SHERIFF KEVIN MCMAHILL, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITICAL POLICE: The nature of that earlier investigation raised significant concern for what we might encounter in this new case. While it is unknown whether similar materials were present here at the Las Vegas residence, the possibility required us to proceed with extreme caution.

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BROWN: Officials in Las Vegas say they found refrigerators containing vials with unknown liquids. FBI Director Kash Patel says the agency is currently testing those materials.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: What we have to do is take these thousand samples, ship them across the country, which we did overnight, and have our lab analyze them. And once we have those results, then we can produce further charges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. Joining us now to discuss is retired FBI Special Agent Daniel Brunner. He is now the president of Brunner Sierra Group, LLC. Hi, Daniel. So, walk us through the significance of this.

DANIEL BRUNNER, PRESIDENT, BRUNNER SIERRA GROUP LLC AND RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, it's extremely significant, and it's a great discovery that the Las Vegas Police Department, Las Vegas Law Enforcement, and coordinating with the Las Vegas Division, because there's so many different possibilities that could end up, you know, harming the community, harming Nevada and greater, or harming the West Coast if something were to get out that wasn't controlled, wasn't being analyzed, it wasn't being -- something irregulated labs like this are a danger to the community, and I'm glad that they are able to look at this.

Because you have to look back, and all the way back to the anthrax attacks, those were conducted by an individual, you know, attacking certain people. If this person who's running this lab wanted to do harm to a certain, you know, group or certain people, a certain government, it's unknown the amount of damage that they could have done. We saw with COVID, we saw that the spread could happen quickly. So, this is a great discovery, and I'm grateful that the law enforcement in Nevada are taking care of this.

BROWN: You certainly don't want anyone going rogue with stuff like this, right? And I do want to note that the owner of the Las Vegas house says he is not involved in any kind of a biolab being conducted there. But authorities say there's no threat to the public, that everything was contained to the garbage. How do they determine that? Can they be so sure without the test results from the liquids found there?

BRUNNER: Well, I think that one of the things is when your hazmat teams walk in, they walk in gradually, they're testing the air, they're testing the waters, I'm sure, surrounding the house to see if there was leakage, to see if there was any seepage or surrounding areas. And I'm sure that all of that is being conducted very meticulously. Everything is being documented. Everything is being meticulously collected. Fortunately, this isn't a spill or something worse.

So, I think the fact that they're saying that there isn't a threat to the community is because they're conducting the logical tests moving in towards the house, and then they start able to collect it. And if they don't see any refrigerators leaking, if they don't see anything along those lines where the detectors most likely would have caught them in advance of their entry into the house, obviously these samples will be collected and determined at Quantico to see if there are additional charges to the individuals that were renting or leasing this home from the homeowner, and then to see what should not have been held in a private residence or controlled laboratory.

[10:35:00]

BROWN: So, what are the challenges involved with an investigation like this? What do they pose when agents are potentially dealing with these unknown substances?

BRUNNER: That right there is the key word, Pam. Unknown substances. You don't know what kind, especially the unknown liquids. They don't know how volatile. So, they have to treat it as incredibly dangerous, incredibly volatile situation. They don't know what it is. If this is an extreme contaminant, you know, along the lines of, you know, Ebola or things like that, which would be incredibly dangerous to the community and incredibly deadly if released accidentally, they have to treat every single vial, even if it's labeled something that they know that is, you know, cholera or COVID they have to treat it. That is the most dangerous liquid that they've ever encountered.

So, they have to treat it correctly. And then when they're able to correctly administer it and test it at Quantico, then the Quantico laboratory can definitively say, this is what it is. Until then, everything has to be treated as incredibly dangerous.

BROWN: All right. Daniel Brunner, thanks so much. Wolf?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Pamela, we have some breaking news on the search for NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie's mother, a source now telling CNN that Nancy Guthrie's pacemaker sent a signal to her phone Sunday at around 2:00 a.m. The phone was left behind at her home. That was the last time the phone recorded a signal from the pacemaker.

BROWN: Investigators believe the 84-year-old was abducted from her home right near Tucson, Arizona, in the middle of the night. Celebrity website TMZ and local newsrooms in Tucson, at least one, say that they have received an apparent ransom note. It remains unverified, but authorities say they are seriously investigating all tips.

Joining us now are CNN Law Enforcement Analyst Jonathan Wackrow and CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter. Brian, I know you've been reaching out. What are you hearing from people close to the family?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, this is notable that we've heard from the sheriff's department again this morning, reiterating that there is no suspect. I would suggest to our viewers, beware of what you read on social media right now. You know, there are some amateur investigators, and maybe not so amateur, who are coming up with theories, who are spreading ideas. But it is notable that the sheriff's department felt it had to come out this morning and say, once again, there is no suspect in this case. And the department went on to say, while we appreciate the public's concern, the sharing of unverified accusations or false information is irresponsible and does not assist the investigation.

People close to the Guthrie family tell me they remain hopeful that she will be found, that she will be released. They say whoever is holding her can just drop her off at a hospital, at a fire station, even a grocery store. You know, everybody in the Tucson area recognizes Nancy Guthrie now. Her face has been everywhere. Just drop her off, they say, and no questions will be asked. So, the family continuing to plead for help as this race against time continues. Unfortunately, every hour that goes by makes this even more concerning.

BROWN: Right, because also she has critical medicine that she's supposed to take daily that she's been without now for four days. Jonathan, as an investigator, what is the significance of Nancy Guthrie's iPhone recording that last pacemaker signal around 2:00 a.m.?

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST AND FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, listen, the pacemaker is a signal, right? And I view this as really a proximity marker. But, you know, it's really important to understand that while it's showing that Ms. Guthrie was within proximity to her phone, it's not giving us the condition she was in at the time.

So, what we don't know is what were the atmospherics of the residents at the time that this Bluetooth signal was sent from the pacemaker to the phone. Was she awake? Was she, you know, currently being held hostage? Was she in movement? So, all of the things that, you know, still remain outstanding in terms of questions that we have are unanswered just because of this signal. But what it does tell us is that at that moment in time, she was within proximity of that phone. Again, it's another data point.

But I also want to put a finer point on this. Pacemakers cannot be traced like cell phones, right? They're Bluetooth signals. But they can help establish a more defined timeline of where the individual was at a particular moment in time. So, while it is an important discovery, it's not the breakthrough in the case that everyone is hoping for.

BLITZER: And, Jonathan, it's Wolf. What's being done to determine if a so-called ransom note is actually authentic?

WACKROW: Yes, Wolf, great question. When it comes to any type of abduction case, speed matters, but accuracy matters most. And when it comes to these ransom notes, right, plural, we now know that there are multiple. They're never taken at face value. Why? Because you have to first authenticate the note itself in the origin, understanding, was there a credible delivery pathway?

[10:40:00]

Law enforcement looks for signals in that. Was this -- were these notes pre-staged after, you know, public information came out? Was there post-event placement? There's a lot of things that law enforcement looks for. And also, thinking about how the note was written, is there demand credibility? Are they asking for a billion dollars, or are they asking for something that is more reasonable? All of this information, you know, is known to law enforcement. They know how to address and validate these notes.

And at the end of the day, if it was a written note somehow, there's a forensic examination of that note that may be beneficial. If it's a digital note, they look for any types of digital trace in that. But really right now, the signal from law enforcement yesterday and the frustration that we heard signals that these notes may not be credible because they may not be actioning off of them at this time.

So, again, it's more noise in the background that may be a distraction for law enforcement. But to the sheriff's point and the FBI, every lead must be, you know, run down and, you know, examined as to its authenticity.

BLITZER: Except, Brian, with all this media attention, there's enormous media attention to these developments, doesn't that potentially attract false tips? STELTER: 100 percent, and I think that's what's on everyone's mind, this idea there could be people making trouble, making a bad situation even worse by trying to send in these notes. Listen, I'm told by a person close to the family, when this first occurred on Sunday, when Nancy did not show up for church and family members went over to the home looking for her, they initially thought medical emergency. The first thought was maybe she injured herself at home. She called 911, an ambulance showed up, she's at a hospital.

So, initially, family members, friends, they searched the hospitals, they searched the local community. The first thought was not kidnapping. The first thought was not hostage-taking. The first thought was not is there going to be a ransom note. The first thought was something much more, you know, unfortunately, mundane or normal, something that happens, you know, in the U.S. every day, someone who's elderly gets hurt and goes to the hospital. It was only until later, when she was not found in a nearby facility, that the questions began to come up about whether this could be something more sinister, something more criminal.

So, that helps us give some context for what happened in the first few hours. And the idea that the family did not immediately think about a possible kidnapping, that might tell you something about the context here, right? That there wasn't someone in her life that was known to be a threat, that there wasn't someone going around the house, known to be prowling around in the past. The first thought of the family was, is she in a hospital? Can we go find her right away?

BLITZER: All right. Brian Stelter and Jonathan Wackrow, as usual, thank you to both of you. And anyone, this is important, anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Pima County, Arizona Sheriff's Department at 520-351-4900, 520-351-4900.

BROWN: We pray she is found soon. Still ahead here in the Situation Room, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, joins us. We're going to ask Mark Warner about his effort to get the president's intel chief Tulsi Gabbard to testify on Capitol Hill and explain her involvement in the FBI search of a Georgia Elections Office.

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[10:45:00]

BROWN: Well, new this morning, sources tell CNN a Justice Department review found that one of President Trump's key allies there, at DOJ, Ed Martin, improperly leaked grand jury material. The sources say the material was part of an investigation into the president's political enemies, namely Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

CNN Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez is here with all the details. You have the story reported out with the justice team. It's pretty extraordinary, too, because Ed Martin is still the pardon attorney.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: He still is. BLITZER: Despite this finding.

PEREZ: Right, exactly. I mean, he's been removed from a couple of his other titles, including this head of the weaponization group, which is one of the things that he was really, which he really liked having because it had him inside Justice Department headquarters. So, what they've done now is essentially kick him out of justice headquarters where he had access to, you know, all of the top leaders of the department.

And so, what we know is this, is that the Justice Department late last year determined that Ed Martin had forwarded information from, that was grand jury information, to someone who was not authorized to have it. When he was confronted with it and asked about it, he denied that he had done so. But they have e-mails that show that he had indeed done this. And so, that's what led to this move. This is what finally got Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, to be able to remove him because he's been kind of a problem. And a lot of chaos has followed Ed Martin.

You remember from going back to last year when he took over as the interim U.S. attorney here in Washington, D.C. He was writing a Substack, which is very unusual for a top prosecutor. He was sending letters to some of the president's political enemies, making threats against them. He demoted and pushed out a prosecutor simply for working on January 6th cases. So, there's been a lot of chaos that has followed him.

BROWN: And the tweets. Remember, he had that controversial tweets.

PEREZ: Right. A number of controversial tweets over the period of the year. So, we've asked the Justice Department and Ed Martin for some comment, we received a comment from Todd Blanche's office. He essentially is denying something that we're not actually reporting, but he says there are no misconduct investigations into Ed Martin. Ed is doing a great job as pardon attorney. And we also heard from somebody close to Ed Martin who said that President Trump ordered Martin to fight weaponization wherever it's found. And he's proud of his work, obviously, in doing that.

[10:50:00]

Now, that weaponization work or the anti-weaponization work is still continuing. And Ed Martin's role, the fact that he's not involved, has really not changed anything, as we've reported. They're still working. As Paula Reid reported earlier this week, they're now doubling down and trying to bring some of the presidents -- the cases that the president wants, they want to bring those.

BROWN: But just to be clear, typically it's a crime to share grand jury information, correct?

PEREZ: That's right. Generally, it is a crime or it can be a crime for you to violate grand jury secrecy. The question here is whether he might face any charges. We don't know at this point. The Justice Department has not determined that. BROWN: All right. Evan Perez, bringing us the latest. Thank you so much. Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you. And coming up, the Super Bowl countdown CNN's Andy Scholes is in San Francisco. Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, Wolf, we've reached the midway point of Super Bowl week here in the Bay Area. Coming up, we're going to hear from players on both teams about how it's what it's like playing for head coaches Mike Macdonald and Mike Vrabel.

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[10:55:00]

BROWN: We are coming down to Super Bowl LX. The New England Patriots are looking for a record seventh Super Bowl win. While the Seattle Seahawks are looking for their first Lombardi trophy in a dozen years.

BLITZER: CNN Sports anchor Andy Scholes is in San Francisco this morning for us. It's a big game. It's a huge moment. And it's going to be taking place at Levi's Stadium in the Bay Area. Set the scene for us, Andy.

SCHOLES: Yes, Wolf and Pam, another beautiful day here on tap as we get closer and closer to Super Bowl LX. Now, this game is going to be a rematch from Super Bowl XLIX. And back in 2015, you know, no one was surprised when the Patriots and Seahawks made the Super Bowl. But this time around, it is certainly a surprise. And both of the teams are here, thanks in large part due to the awesome job that their head coaches, Mike Macdonald and Mike Vrabel, have done with their respectful teams.

Now, Macdonald, he's been a rising star in the coaching ranks ever since he was on the defensive staff with the Baltimore Ravens. His defense was tops in the NFL this year. And in just his second season in Seattle, he's got them playing for a championship. And I spoke with a bunch of his players and they all said playing for Coach Macdonald, it's very unique.

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LEONARD WILLIAMS, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS DEFENSIVE TACKLE: He's just a super smart guy. We always joke about how he has a little bit of A.I. tendencies about him. Like we said that he's like been planted and he's learning how to be human day by day. But I think he's just tremendously smart. We joke about having a -- you need a Harvard education to play in this defense.

JARRAN REED, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS DEFENSIVE TACKLE: He demands greatness from us and you have to have that as a player. You know, you can't shy away from the work. So, you got to put the ground in to be able to go each and every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCHOLES: And while Macdonald has the Seahawks in the Super Bowl in his second season. Vrabel, well, he did it in year one in New England. And Vrabel he played linebacker for the Patriots, winning three Super Bowls and with the win, Vrabel, he'd be the first ever former player to win a Super Bowl for his former team as a player and a head coach. And all of the Patriots I spoke with said they just love playing for him.

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TREVEYON HENDERSON, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS RUNNING BACK: He's really passionate and he's done a really good job of just leading this team and helping us get to where we are now. And guys respect him a lot. You know, you know, he cares so much about us, not just as players, but as human beings. And I really respect him a lot for that.

KAYSHON BOUTTE, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS WIDE RECEIVER: Just great playing for Coach Vrabel. I mean, he's the reason why we're here today. Came in, talked about identity. Everybody believed in it. And I mean, I would say it paid off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes. So, the Patriots are four and a half point underdogs for the game on Sunday. But, Wolf and Pam, the underdog has won three straight Super Bowls. So, Patriots fans certainly hoping that that trend continues here in the Bay Area.

BLITZER: All right. Andy Scholes on the scene for us. Thank you very, very much. Pamela.

BROWN: All right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For Best in Show at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the Doberman Pinscher. Penny the Doberman Pinscher (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Westminster 150 goes to Penny.

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BROWN: Yay for Penny. Look, she is a beauty. The Doberman dazzled the judges and beat nearly 2,500 other pooches to win Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. ?Penny is the fifth Doberman to take the top prize. The Reserve Best In Show went to Cota, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, who was top dog in the sporting group.

And then there was the Toy Group, Cookie the Maltese was the big winner there. Look how adorable Cookie is. And the Lhasa Apso, JJ, which by the way is short for Jingle Juice. What stops in the non- sporting group. Congrats to all those pups. All right.

BLITZER: And the next hour of The Situation room starts right now. BROWN: Happening now, urgent search. The morning -- this morning we are learning more about a possible ransom note tied to the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mom, Nancy. She has been missing for four days now as investigators believe she was taken from her home and they're actively seeking help from the public for any clues.

BLITZER: And whistleblower warning. There's a new complaint accusing National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard of wrongdoing. She says it's bogus, but some --

[11:00:00]