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Report: Ransom Note Demands $6M, Deadline Today At 5 PM; Maxwell Pleads The Fifth In Deposition With Oversight Committee; Officials Release New Details About Brown University Shooting. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired February 09, 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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[11:01:24]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, deadline day, the search for Nancy Guthrie intensifying hours away from an ominous deadline, from her purported captors demanding millions of dollars.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And pleading the fifth, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell choosing not to answer questions during her deposition up on Capitol Hill as lawmakers prepare to see unredacted versions of the Epstein files.

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.

New this morning, a critical new deadline is bearing down in the abduction of Nancy Guthrie. That deadline, 5:00 p.m.

BROWN: CNN affiliate KGUN reports the apparent ransom note demands $6 million in Bitcoin and then threatens her life if that deadline is not met. Her adult children, Camron, Savannah and Annie have issued another plea to this kidnapper -- alleged kidnapper, promising that they will pay the ransom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NANCY GUTHRIE'S DAUGHTER: We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us and we will pay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So let's go live now to CNN's Ed Lavandera in Tucson. What more are you learning today, Ed?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Pamela. Well, we're now entering the second week in the search and the investigation and the abduction of Nancy Guthrie. And the tone of that video much different from the other family videos that they had put out earlier in the previous week. We do not exactly know officially what that suggests as investigators say they continue to look for the suspect or the suspects in this case.

But so far, officials still saying that they do not have a suspect or a person of interest. But throughout the last couple of days, we have seen intense law enforcement activity, not just here in the neighborhood where Nancy Guthrie lives, but also at the daughter's house, which is about a 15, 20 minute drive from where we are here.

We saw law enforcement activity once again here yesterday in this neighborhood, searching the property underground, what appeared to be like underground tanks here in the neighborhood as well as recanvassing, retalking to neighbors, asking them if they've seen anything suspicious or suspicious vehicles. They say all of that work continues.

So it's almost like there's two different fronts here as investigators, federal investigators, really kind of focus on the ransom note and trying to get to the bottom of that. Meanwhile, other investigators working the grounds here in this neighborhood, trying to find for that one key piece of evidence or some sort of clue that could lead them to who might have abducted Nancy Guthrie more than a week ago now. Pamela?

BROWN: Yes, Ed Lavandera, thank you for bringing us the latest there. Wolf?

BLITZER: I want to continue this conversation right now and bring in John Miller, CNN's chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst. John, this latest video seems to convey a different tone and message than the family's first. What stands out to you?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, it's a message that is clearly constructed very carefully to respond to whatever the note that they got from the people claiming to be the kidnappers late last week were saying. So they are communicating not directly, but indirectly through the media, which is a very difficult way to communicate in a case like this in any kidnapping. And I think that's one of the challenges.

[11:05:12]

But the tone was somber. It was not read from a long script. It was just under 19 seconds. And, you know, some of the wording about we want to return no longer insisting on a proof of possession or a proof of life was a definite change of tone.

Now, you can interpret what that might or might not mean. But right now it's a case where they're still trying to determine exactly if the people sending the notes and they believe the people who sent the first note and the second note are the same. But if they in fact are kidnappers or involved in some elaborate extortion, right now, anything's a possibility.

We've seen them come back to the house on numerous occasions, go to the other sister's house, looking around, expanding their search. So it's filled with different possibilities, and they're not focused on any one in particular as the only lead. BLITZER: The first video stressed that Nancy Guthrie was in great danger. She's 84 years old, as we all know, and doesn't have the critical medications that she desperately needs to stay alive. This is now, what, day nine without that medicine. What do you make of that not being mentioned in this latest video?

MILLER: Well, I think that's a sign, and now it's up for interpretation. But, you know, we know this does not appear to the kidnapping have involved a gentle extraction from the house. We know from the pictures we've seen and from the statements of the sheriff. There is blood on the front steps by the front door. The DNA shows that's her blood. Considering what you pointed out, her age, the need for medications, what the family described as her brittle health condition, on a normal day, that would be a very high risk victim.

And remember, when you're the kidnapper, you're not just holding the person you're kidnapped, you are responsible for the care and well- being of that victim while you have them. And, you know, these are real questions about what is her status now?

BLITZER: Yes, real question indeed. There's been no mention of the family receiving what's called proof of life, but they say they will pay the ransom. Is that unusual?

MILLER: I think the difficulty we're in is the nature of that communication. You know, when you have a kidnapper who reaches out through the media and then gets a response through the media, usually the next step would be to create a private communication, direct with the family, where you could get into these sensitive areas and specifics. What are the mechanics? How do we get this done? How do we pay? How much? Is there a negotiation there? What about the transfer of the person back to us? How will that happen? But when you're communicating through multiple television outlets and then being answered by social media, we're not seeing a lot of that unfold.

BLITZER: It is also so heartbreaking. John Miller, thank you very much. Always good to get your assessment on what's going on. Pam?

BROWN: Actually, I just wanted to ask John one more question. You know, you were talking about the difference in tone of the two videos. I'm wondering, John, what you made of in the second video when Savannah said please return her so that we can celebrate with her, how did you take that?

MILLER: Well, in listening to my former FBI colleagues this weekend, you know, at least three of them brought up the idea that the word so that we can celebrate with her, does that mean a celebration of life, which would be indicating that she may no longer be with us, or does that mean celebrate her coming home? All of that mixed with the tone is the things that are raising these questions, but the simple fact is we don't know.

BROWN: Yes.

BLITZER: Yes, good point. John Miller, thank you very, very much. And to our viewers, this is important. If you have any information at all that could help investigators, please call the numbers on your screen. The FBI tip line is 1-800-CALL-FBI and the Pima County Sheriff's Department is 520-351-4900.

BROWN: Still ahead here in the Situation Room, unredacted Epstein files are now available for lawmakers to view. I'll speak to an attorney for survivors of Jeffrey Epstein about what they're hoping comes from it.

[11:09:53]

BLITZER: And Puerto Rico and pure joy on the main stage over at the Super Bowl. We're breaking down the unforgettable moments and Easter eggs in Bad Bunny's historic halftime show. Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

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BROWN: Breaking news Members of Congress just emerged from a closed door deposition with Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The convicted sex trafficker appeared virtually from prison before the House Oversight Committee as part of the panel's probe into Epstein. The chairman of the committee, Republican Congressman James Comer, said Maxwell pled the fifth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY), CHAIR, OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: Just to be clear what the -- what her attorney said, Maxwell didn't say. Her attorney said that she would answer questions if she were granted clemency by --

[11:15:08]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By the -- President Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And joining us now to discuss is Jennifer Freeman. She represents several survivors of Epstein's abuse and is a partner at Marsh Law Firm. Thanks for coming on, Jennifer. Just first off, how are the women you work with feeling about Maxwell's appearance and her pleading the Fifth during that appearance today? I understand several survivors shared a new letter with members of the panel ahead of that deposition.

JENNIFER FREEMAN, ATTORNEY FOR SURVIVORS OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN: Well, it's not surprising that she pled the Fifth Amendment and it's certainly good that she appeared. But it's very disappointing to not get her testimony since that's very important. There's been so little real evidence provided and that could have been part of it.

BROWN: What is your response to Maxwell's lawyer saying that she would speak if granted clemency by President Trump?

J. FREEMAN: Again, not surprising, but it really is an ask that isn't realistic and it was not likely to be given. So it really kind of is a pyrrhic ask. You know, it's something you ask, but you know it's going to be denied. So it really isn't very meaningful.

BROWN: So you're confident that she will not be granted clemency?

J. FREEMAN: I do believe she will not be granted clemency. I'm less confident that she will stay in prison, but I do not believe she'll be granted clemency at this point.

BROWN: Why are you less confident she'll stay in prison?

J. FREEMAN: Because of the way she's been treated, because she was given such a friendly chat with the number two in the Justice Department, Todd Blanche, and because those questions were virtually no follow up and because after that she was moved to a minimum security prison. So she's been given a lot of special treatment, a lot of special favors.

Compare that to how the survivors have been treated, which is their names have been improperly revealed, their identifying information revealed, nude photographs were revealed. So when you take a quick comparison, it's very frustrating and disappointing for the survivors.

BROWN: In a nutshell, how would you describe DOJ's handling of the release of these files so far?

J. FREEMAN: Well, I think you can look at it as it certainly feels incompetent, it feels intimidating to survivors and it feels intentional. And that's what's so particularly frustrating to survivors because they feel like, how could they have gotten this so wrong? It doesn't make really sense.

When you think about it, how could this have happened? It's not that difficult to redact documents and it's certainly not that difficult to look at a nude photograph of a young girl or a young woman and say, this should not be produced.

BROWN: Well, as you know, members of Congress can begin viewing the unredacted versions of the publicly available Epstein files at the Justice Department starting today. Is that something the women you represent are comfortable with? What do you hope comes out of that?

J. FREEMAN: Well, that's a really good question, Pamela. I do think that's a good step. I would like the survivors attorneys also to be given the unredacted evidence, the unredacted information, because what seems to be completely redacted, very consistently redacted, are the stories that the evidence provided by the various survivors.

Thankfully, the 1996 statement by Maria Farmer was produced, which was a very positive development. But the rest of the FD302s, the witness statements, have been so seriously redacted. And then you have to wonder, well, what did the government do after that? They have these statements from the witnesses, and how did they follow up? Certainly I don't see in those, and I haven't read every single page yet.

But from what I've seen in those 3 million pages, I do not see evidence that the government actually made an effort to follow up on those specific stories, the specific names provided by the survivors. And you have to wonder, I mean, is this the Epstein class deciding what the Epstein survivors should be -- how they should be treated?

BROWN: So then, if you were able to see those unredacted files at the Justice Department, what specifically would you be looking for?

J. FREEMAN: I would be looking for what did the government do with the information that the survivors provided? They told a story, let's say this ex person sexually abused me, this person trafficked me. And then what did they do with that information? Did they then follow up with that person? Did they then interview that person? Did they seek documents from that person? Did they take the typical steps you take to investigate? Or did they basically just drop it, which is what they appear to have done with Maria Farmer's 1996 report, which is basically to do nothing.

[11:20:10]

BROWN: Jennifer Freeman, thank you so much for coming on.

J. FREEMAN: Good to be with you Pamela.

BLITZER: And up next, no apology growing outrage over the racist video of the Obama's that was posted to President Trump's social media account. The President shifting blame on but not saying sorry.

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BLITZER: New this morning, officials in Rhode Island are releasing new details about that deadly shooting that took place at Brown University late last year. Two students were killed on December 13th when a gunman opened fire inside a campus engineering building. Nine others were injured. This morning, officials released new police body camera video and audio from the response. Let's go live right now to CNN correspondent Danny Freeman. Danny, what can you tell us about the new audio and video that the police have just released?

[11:25:27]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, these new video and audio recordings really give viewers a close up look at the intensity of the aftermath of the Brown University shooting. Now, what we received was 20 minutes of police body cam footage. It's specifically from the perspective of the Providence Police Department's responding officer in charge, Wolf. That was essentially the main officer who controlled that scene afterwards.

And you can see in that body cam footage this officer directing teams to clear that engineering building in the minutes after that shooting to make sure that there was no suspect, was no active threat afterwards. Now, I'll tell you, Wolf, that many, many parts of that video is heavily redacted according to the Providence Police Department. That's because they wanted to protect the identities of many of the students, victims and frankly, to also shield a lot of the more gruesome images that was captured on that body camera.

We don't have any video of inside of the main auditorium where those shots rang out. But you can hear again that intensity in the officer's voice because at that moment he still believes that this is an active shooting situation. One thing I'll note, Wolf, is you can also really see chilling images of abandoned backpacks and coats in many of these study areas where clearly students fled after those initial gunshots rang out.

But Wolf, critically, we did not get very much new information really to the main question that so many people have had after that December shooting, which was what would have draw -- driven, I should say, that suspect Claudio Neves-Valente to open fire on these Brown students again back then and in addition go then and allegedly kill an MIT professor as well.

I want you to take a listen, though, to the mayor of Providence because he spoke directly to this outstanding question we don't have answer to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BRETT SMILEY (D), PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND: We've seen what the FBI has released from the storage unit in New Hampshire. And if there's one big outstanding question it's, why did these poor kids get targeted by someone? None of the camera footage will answer that question. And in fact, those questions may never be answered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

D. FREEMAN: And I'll remind you that suspect in this case, Wolf, took his own life, according to law enforcement, in a storage facility in New Hampshire. The mayor of Providence says that the purpose of releasing this video is to show transparency in this investigation. But he also noted in a press conference that there will be no additional videos released from this crime scene. So a little more light on that aftermath, but still questions about what made this person allegedly commit this act. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Danny Freeman with the latest. Thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: Wolf, there is growing backlash this morning as President Trump has yet to apologize after posting and then deleting a racist video depicting former President Barack Obama and former first Lady Michelle Obama as apes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: This disgusting video posted by the so called president was done intentionally. -- Donald Trump and his vile, racist and malignant behavior.

GOV. WES MOORE (D-MD): An apology is only meaningful if you have no intention of it happening again. And I think that there is no one who truthfully believes that Donald Trump has no intention of making these kind of statements or frankly, these kind of actions again.

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): You're seeing what I'm seeing, right?

CROWD: Yes.

OSSOFF: The President posting about the Obamas like a Klansman at 1:00 a.m.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: On Friday, the President said that he, "didn't make a mistake" and noted that his staff took down the video as soon as they found it -- found out about it. When asked if he condemned the racist portion of the video, he said, "of course I do." This all coming just hours after the White House defended the post and downplayed the response to the video, calling it, "fake outrage."

Here's what White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said about it Friday night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It was a meme that was posted by a staffer on the President's true social account. It was from a "Lion King" video depicting, as you pointed out, different Democrats as different animals. I think Kamala Harris was depicted as a turtle in this video meme. The President did take it down. He spoke with lawmakers today out of respect for them, including Senator Tim Scott, the post was removed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: All right, let's go live now to see the White House correspondent, Alayna Treene. Alayna, any other response from the White House about this?

[11:29:47]

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, we really haven't heard more and I think they're very eager, Pamela, to try and move away from all of this. What I find really interesting is that you played during that intro, you know, a lot of the reaction you're hearing from Democratic lawmakers across the country. But what I find even more notable is just the mass response we heard from some of the President's fiercest allies, Republicans, people like Senator Tim Scott.