Minnesota Officials Say FBI Blocked Them From ICE Shooting Probe

24:50That's the name of the woman who was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis yesterday. She described herself on social media as a, quote, poet and writer and wife and mom, unquote. CNN's Omar Jimenez is on the ground in Minnesota learning more about who she was and what happened in her final moments. Mother of three, a partner and a poet. 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, as described by those who knew her. Her neighbors now mourning their loss. If we can help, we're going to help you. You know, that's the community. She was shot and killed near the site of an immigration enforcement operation Wednesday after dropping off her six-year-old son at school, according to the Associated Press.

25:33Multiple videos obtained by CNN show the moments before she was shot, at about 9.30 a.m. that morning. Video shows her car driving up to the scene about three minutes before the deadly confrontation with ICE agents. This is the South Minneapolis neighborhood where Renee Good lived. There's just a few blocks from where the shooting happened. And a day removed from the shooting, it's quiet. We get the sense that some of this neighborhood are on edge, heartbroken over what happened so close to them here. One of the neighbors we spoke to who didn't want to appear on camera describes Renee Good's family as a really sweet family, that her children would ask to pet the dogs that the neighbors would walk here in the community.

26:15And we get the sense that Renee Good wasn't in this community that long, but clearly already made an impression on many here. While Clark Holscher didn't know Good personally, they live a few houses down and would see her kids' sidewalk drawings during the summer. When we were talking earlier, you know, about Renee and about her kids, you were getting emotional. Yeah. What was going through your mind? What were you thinking? Oh, I mean, I just, I'm a parent. I've helped raise five children. I have two kiddos that are my own and just I can't imagine like that they came home and their mom isn't going to be there for them anymore.

27:01Good was a Colorado native who moved to Minnesota last year, living in the Twin Cities with her partner. Of her three children, according to the AP, a six-year-old boy whose father, a military veteran, died about three years ago, according to the Washington Post. and two other children, 15 and 12-year-olds from her first marriage, her ex-husband told the AP. He said she was a devoted Christian who took part in youth mission trips when she was younger. And she briefly lived in Kansas City before moving last year. Her former neighbor there says she wasn't a terrorist nor an extremist, as she's been described.

27:35That was just a mom who loved her kids, loved her spouse. She graduated from Old Dominion University in December 2020 with a degree in English. A growing memorial near the site of the shooting now bearing posters with her image. Candles and flowers left in the snow where she died. And we've been monitoring the protests that have broken down really in response to what's happened. So that vigil is at the site of where the shooting happened. Where we are is a little bit of a drive away, but outside a federal building where we've been monitoring. These protests that have sort of swelled and shrunk over the course of the day.

28:15At one point, just a few minutes ago, someone threw something at Border Patrol. They ran into the crowd and took down at least one person here. But it's all part of why we just heard Governor Tim Walz activate the National Guard on standby, to put them on standby to assist local law enforcement out of an abundance of caution as they monitor protests here in the city. A day removed from this shooting, Jake. All right, Omar Jimenez in Minnesota, thank you so much. Another look in Minneapolis. Those are Border Patrol agents behind the rail there with protesters on the other side. We're going to continue to monitor the scene.

28:48We're also going to talk to the New York Times reporter, or one of the four New York Times reporters, who spent nearly two hours interviewing President Trump at the White House, what Trump revealed about his plans for Venezuela, or lack thereof, and the phone call he took as reporters sat in and listened to his side of the conversation.

29:08See a nation's enduring love for baseball when Shohei Otani and Japan's biggest Major League stars return home to play in front of their fans for the first time. Homecoming, the Tokyo Series, now streaming on the CNN app. In our politics lead, it has been an exhausting year and we've only made it fully through the seven days of it. Remember these dates, January 3rd, January 5th, January 7th. Last Saturday, the U.S. removed Venezuela's president from office in a major military operation. On Monday, Maduro and his wife appeared in U.S. court on drug charges. Just yesterday in Minneapolis, an ICE agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman.

29:51And all this while, the Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to take over Greenland. In response, one social media user has posted, Thanks for the free seven-day trial of 2026. I'd like to unsubscribe from whatever the hell this is. Here now, CNN's Jamie Gengel and New York Times White House and national security correspondent David Sanger, who is part of the four-man team, four-person team that just interviewed President Trump for about two hours. David, thanks so much for joining us. Here's what President Trump said about the limits of his power as commander-in-chief as he sees it.

30:25He says, quote, yeah, there is one thing that can limit his power, my own morality, my own mind. It's the only thing that can stop me, unquote. That is quite a view of the powers of the presidency. It certainly is. And it was one of the more revealing moments. You know, you had that remarkable exchange back and forth with one of his aides, Stephen Miller, on the question of power and the limits on the presidency. And he basically said, this is no time for legal niceties. It's a time for raw power. And we were sort of probing to try to figure out, does the president sign up to that? And he worded it a little more softly.

31:12But the essential answer was, yes, I'm not particularly interested in international law. He said, depends on how you interpret it. He said he wasn't particularly interested in treaties. In fact, at one point I asked him if he was concerned about the fact that our last remaining arms control treaty with Russia is going to expire a month from, I think, today or yesterday. And he said not particularly. You know, like he can live with it. We can negotiate a better one, you know, over time. This would be the first time in 50 years we're without arms control treaties. So he is a man who wants to live without constraints.

31:51And I think he sees it in the international sphere, Jay. He's got more ability to do that than at home where he's got the Supreme Court and federal judges and Congress and others hemming him in. Yeah. Jamie, what do you think? I think you have to take him seriously and literally. And Venezuela is an example of that. But look, when we look back at Trump 1.0, what did we call it? The chaos presidency. Now he is, but there were people around him, General Kelly, General Mattis, people who would say no to him. Trump 2.0, he is emboldened and there is no one there who will say no to him. And David, during your interview, the situation in Minneapolis was unfolding.

32:36The president posted on social media his reactions to the video. You were there when he watched the video. Tell us about that. So he had posted this before we came into the Oval Office. And we asked him about it. Just to be clear, he had declared that the officer had been run over and had gone to the hospital. And, you know, whether or not the car nicked the officer, we don't know. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but like he was not run over. That's right. So we pushed back a little bit. Zolincano Youngs raised this with him. He said, well, look to me like he was run over. And then he called for an aide who came over with a laptop and we all gathered around the Resolute desk and watched it in slow motion.

33:21And several of us said, President, doesn't look to us like anybody's run over there. And he did kind of back off then. It was kind of like real time fact checking with the president, which you don't usually have the moment to go do. And then he admitted that he was a bit concerned about some of the things that ICE was doing. He didn't criticize this particular one. But as the conversation turned later to other events, it turned out he had been quite angry when they arrested all of the Hyundai workers who had been at that plant in Georgia and detained them and sent them back to South Korea, even though they were here beyond, in many cases, some of their visas.

34:03Yeah. And Jamie, on Venezuela is an exchange when President Trump was asked, how long does he plan to run, quote unquote, Venezuela? President Trump, let's listen in. Only time will tell. Three months, six months, a year, longer? I would say much longer. I would say much longer. So do you remember back when he said, Russia, are you listening? I would say this is another version of that, which is Russia, you know, if I can do this, if I can go in and run something for a couple of years, well, how do you have the moral high ground to say to Russia, you know, don't make a deal with Ukraine or China with Taiwan?

34:47We asked him about that straight up. And I said, if you're Xi Jinping, how do you read this? And he said, well, I don't think he'd go into Taiwan while I'm president. Do you sense that there actually is a plan for Venezuela? Because if there is one, it has not been laid out to the American people or according to those briefed on Capitol Hill to Congress. Only the vaguest of one. I asked him if there had been models that he had looked at for occupation. and maybe he misheard the question or maybe he interpreted it differently than I had intended it, but he gave me the models for U.S. operations like the kind that removed Maduro and was describing how effective this one was.

35:33I think they gave a lot more focus to getting Maduro out than how they would run the country day to day. That reminds me of a lot of different military operations. You and I covered this together from the White House once, right? It was a few years ago. But what was fascinating about this one, to my mind, is it's an occupation without really being there. It's sort of a virtual or remote control one where we've got this big armada that's sitting offshore. And the message is you're going to do things our way or they're coming back again. And you wonder how long that can last, especially when you are dealing with a government that is basically Maduro's pits.

36:16And, Jamie, this has been a whirlwind seven days. What do you think could come next? OK, who the heck knows? But but I think, you know, to where you started with that tweet about unsubscribe, you know, buckle up. I do think the one question is going to be Republicans voted to release the Epstein files. It was a major break. When they start seeing what he's doing at a certain point, they want to get reelected. You know, the midterms are coming. Twenty eight is coming. Is there a point where they break with him again? Talking about Epstein files, we're going to be interviewing Congressman Tom Massey, the Republican from Kentucky, who helped push that Epstein files release bill in Congress just a few minutes away from there.

37:05Jamie Gengel, David Sanger, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. More breaking news just moments ago. The House of Representatives approved a bill that the Speaker did not want to even be voted on, a three-year extension of the Obamacare health care subsidies. Democrats pushed for it. 17 Republicans bucked Republican leadership and voted for it as well. You're going to remember, of course, the fight over funding these subsidies led to the longest government shutdown in American history, 43 days. We'll have much more on the vote ahead. Thank you. Go to V-A-N-T-A dot com slash com.

38:29permitting requirements, burdensome credit card debt. Others forced to leave the cost just too expensive to rebuild. The mayor of Los Angeles, Democrat Karen Bass, joins us now. Madam Mayor, thanks for joining us. On top of this expensive and slow recovery process, it's also emotionally taxing. People are still, many of them, outraged. Many who believe the fires could have been prevented or the response could have been much better. Blame county officials, the fire department. As the mayor who oversaw this devastation, what do you say to people who blame you for being outside the country, for example, when the fire started or for the budget cuts that affected the city's fire department and on and on?

39:08Sure. Well, thanks for having me on, Jake. And let me just be clear. The part that is represented that I represent in the city of Los Angeles is only Pacific Palisades. But you are absolutely correct. I mean, this was devastating. People are grieving and traumatized. And remember, people are just coming off of the holidays. So even though compared to other fires, the process has been going along very quickly. We have over 400 homes that are actively under construction now. Over 800 homes have been approved. And so building is happening. But as you just described, people have a myriad of problems.

39:50From the insurance industry that was canceling plans even before the fires to now they have to deal with their mortgages and they've been out renting for a year. So I've been advocating for banks to extend the mortgage relief called forbearance for another two to three years. The Bank of America jumped up right away and have extended their forbearance, trying to advocate for them to add that time on the back end of the mortgage. So if you had a 30-year mortgage, you now have a 33-year mortgage. I also signed over 13 executive directives to expedite the city bureaucracy because I don't want the city bureaucracy to be a hindrance.

40:31We talk to the community members all the time. And when we find out that somebody has hit a roadblock or a speed bump, we jump on it immediately. We're trying to do everything we can to make people from the Palisades be whole. The Los Angeles Times reported that months after the Palisades fire, a draft of the Los Angeles Fire Department's after action report was sent to your office for refinements. The Los Angeles Times says Fire Chief Jamie Moore, the new chief that you selected in October, said at a fire commission meeting earlier this week, quote, it is now clear that multiple drafts were edited to soften language and reduce explicit criticism of department leadership in that final report, unquote.

41:10The L.A. Times says that you deny working with the fire department on any changes to your report. But do you know if anyone from your office was involved at all in these reported, quote unquote, refinements? No. And let me just explain, too, because these reports are highly technical reports about what a fire department does. So in terms of my particular staff, I don't have any firefighters on staff. And so I think what the fire chief pointed out was that he believed that things were watered down to protect other people within the fire department. You know that I relieved the fire chief shortly after the fire stopped and called for a whole transformation of the leadership, appointed a new fire chief.

41:57I had an interim in for a while while we did the search process. They came up with a series of recommendations that are being implemented now. But there is also an independent investigation that is happening that was called for by Governor Newsom. And we should be getting the results from the Fire Safety Research Institute, essentially the state-of-the-art industry that evaluates fires. Quickly, if you could, before you go, I want to get your reaction to what's going on in Minneapolis right now. You've dealt with ice enforcement in Los Angeles. What's your take on this all? Well, you know what?

42:32I think this kind of thing was inevitable, and I think it is extremely tragic. What really worries me now is the massive recruitment and I'm sure expedited training of officers that are going to be deployed around the country. And so this is very scary because you have people going into neighborhoods and communities that they're unfamiliar with. They should have never been there to begin with. I don't think anything was happening in Minneapolis that required troops. But this is the kind of thing that happens. And of course, we were worried because we were the first experiment. And and I think that this is something we're going to have to be concerned about moving forward.

43:13What level of training? What level of accountability? Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, thank you so much for your time. Thanks for having me, Jake. This is CNN Breaking News. Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We start with the breaking news. Live images tonight from Minneapolis as protesters come and go. Some clashing at times as Border Patrol agents hold the line outside the courthouse. The scene one day after an ICE officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in her car. Here in Washington, D.C. today, earlier, Vice President J.D. Vance blamed the far left for the deadly shooting.

43:48Vance also lecturing the media about coverage of the case. That very ICE officer nearly had his life ended, dragged by a car six months ago, 33 stitches in his leg. So you think maybe he's a little bit sensitive about somebody ramming him with an automobile. I think the media prejudging and talking about this guy as if he's a murderer is one of the most disgraceful things I've ever seen from the American media. The vice president at the same exact time had seemingly no problems making prejudged assertions about the victim. That woman has as part of a broader left wing network to attack, to dox, to assault and to make it impossible for our ICE officers to do their job.

44:31A group of left wing radicals have been working tirelessly, sometimes using domestic terror techniques. CNN's Caitlin Collins is here with us in studio. Caitlin, a remarkable address. That's one word for it. Yeah, I'm being polite. Address from the vice president. I mean, and part of that soundbite there from the vice president, he was attacking CNN. He read a headline aloud over our coverage that has happened in the last 24 hours. I went and looked up the headline. It was relatively straightforward. It was certainly accurate. It was just that there was outrage in Minneapolis after the shooting.

45:06Correct. Which is a fact. That's like literally what the headline was. A fact. Right. It wasn't inflammatory. It wasn't a one-sided narrative of what people have said on the ground because you've seen the administration saying one thing, as the vice president did today. And by the way, we reported on this show yesterday about the fact that that ICE officer had that prior incident in June of last year. That's because you aired the comments from the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, as well when she was saying that in her press conference yesterday. Yeah, but then I also looked it up on the Department of Justice website.

45:35Right. So the fact that that wasn't part of the coverage, which is his main grievance there, is just not true. But putting that aside, I thought... I thought just I want to just because because the vice president traffics in straw men all the time, which is not necessarily the sign of somebody who's confident in his arguments. He says that the media has called this guy a murderer. I don't know who in the media has done that. We haven't done that. Sorry. And the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Fry, last time I checked, has also not even gone that far, even though he has certainly said other statements, including telling ICE to get the F out yesterday.

46:06He has said, as he did to me last night, they're waiting for the investigation to play out. So much less members of the media who would not go that far, because obviously we've shown the video. You can see and watch this. But I think what stood out from that press conference today that was incredibly combative and blaming the media and the left for the coverage of this shooting and the aftermath of it was we certainly heard him echo what we've heard from President Trump and from Secretary Kristi Noem. But also, Jake, they have come out pretty quickly and called this domestic terrorism right away.

46:34And they had very strong statements right out of this, even though there is a lot of nuance when you watch this video and a lot of things we don't know, like what was happening. and what led up to this video that we see there. But another comment that he made today, Jake, stood out where he was accusing the woman here of being part of this larger left-wing network. And he was asked by a reporter about whether or not that would justify her being shot as she was. Well, being part of the network doesn't justify being shot, but ramming an ICE officer with your car, that's what justifies being shot.

47:06I'm not saying that funding some of this stuff justifies capital punishment. Nobody would suggest that. She tried to run somebody over with her car, and the guy defended himself when that happened. Next question. The investigation is still ongoing. I said next question. You know, it's interesting about that, Kalen. I don't know exactly what was in his mind. I don't know exactly what was in her mind. But I certainly think it's possible that he thought that she was doing that. And I certainly think it's possible that she thought she was just trying to escape and flee, which she shouldn't have been doing, obviously.

47:37But still, I don't understand how anyone can be so definitive about this. But you know what stood out to me, Jake, is actually I watched the entire press conference. He wasn't that definitive at other moments because, yes, in that moment he was, it seems pretty clear what he thinks, that she was trying to intentionally ram this ICE agent with her car and that he was justified in shooting her and killing her as he did. Later on, he said, look, if people want to say that we should have a legitimate debate about what she was really doing, was she panicking when she drove into this officer? Was she actually trying to ram him?

48:06The vice president said that's a reasonable conversation. That is not the same sentiment, though, that he echoed there in the moments that you just heard. So I actually thought that press conference was more all over the place than what we had heard from other officials in this administration who have been very adamant it was intentional, it was willful. They have defined it as domestic terrorism, which would require it to be a willful act on behalf of this woman if that is what they are arguing. Well, and also this question of an investigation when, A, the president, vice president, and Department of Homeland Security secretary have already declared that the ICE officer did nothing wrong.

48:37And, B, apparently they're freezing out any Minneapolis or Minnesota authorities from the investigation, which is not how it's usually done. All right, Caitlin Collins, thanks so much. And of course, don't forget to watch The Source with Caitlin Collins tonight on her show, New York's brand new mayor, Zoran Mamdani. That's tonight on The Source with Caitlin Collins at 9 o 'clock Eastern, only here on CNN. Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is the state's investigations agency, says the FBI has blocked it from investigating Wednesday's fatal ICE-involved shooting. According to the BCA, the FBI told the agency that the U.S.

49:11Attorney's Office had reverse course and would no longer allow the BCA access to case materials or scene evidence or investigative interviews. Let's bring in CNN anchor and chief legal analyst Laura Coates. Laura, initially the state was set to conduct a joint investigation with the FBI, which is how it is almost always done. Where does this investigation stand right now? You know, right now we're on the location outside the Wickel Federal Building, Jake, while there has been some attempts to provoke the ICE agents who have now moved everyone out of the area that was on the sidewalk, directly in front of the driveway.

49:48They pushed everyone out of the way with their force holding the line. And we are sitting here seeing really the essence of distrust and mistrust of this investigation. I've heard throughout the crowd all day today. People are furious. They're furious for the presence of ICE, and they're frustrated by the idea that they will not get, they don't feel, an objective or independent investigation. into what transpired. They have their own eyes who witnessed the multiple angled videos, but they also know that the scene was cleared quite quickly. And they have the additional information that they want access to as well.

50:22And they are frustrated and they are angry and they are saddened about what has transpired. And this mistrust, remember, dates back before the murder of George Floyd. It extended after the mass exodus of many officers from Minneapolis. After that the BLM protests and beyond continued to impact the city. Then you also had the restoration they hoped of some trust. And now the ICE agents' presence here has escalated the tension in the community. There has been a lot, a lot, a lot of comments made to the ICE agents who are holding this line. Some are threatening their manhood, their patriotism, their height, their race, particularly identifying and singling out black ICE agents as well, taunting them for being black and participating in what they perceive to be not, quote unquote, their America.

51:16There's a lot going on today, but everyone is looking to the attention that's happening as you're seeing all this transpire and these ICE agents continuing to hold the line. All right, Laura Coates in Minnesota, be safe. Thank you. We're going to continue to monitor that situation in Minneapolis tonight, the protests. The FBI now leading the investigation into how yesterday's shooting unfolded, freezing out Minnesota and Minneapolis authorities. Also ahead, President Trump lashing out at five Republican senators who voted to limit his military powers in Venezuela. We're going to ask a former member of the National Security Council about potential next steps for the U.S.

51:49in the region.

51:56In our world lead, earlier today, President Trump called five Senate Republicans stupid. This is after they joined Democrats and in a 52 to 47 vote advanced a resolution that once passed will require any U.S. action in Venezuela to first go through Congress. The president says the vote impedes his authority as commander in chief, adding, quote, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley and Todd Young, the five senators in question, should never be elected to office again. This after Trump told The New York Times in a lengthy interview that the U.S. will likely be in charge of Venezuela for years.

52:30Joining us now to discuss National Security Council official under President Obama, Brett Bruin. Sorry about that. President Obama. I haven't said that in a while. You were stationed in Caracas, so you know this region. If President Trump were watching right now, what would you caution him about in terms of Venezuela? Well, let me pick up, Jake, on what you just said, that we're going to be running it for years. And right now, Trump's looking at it through these green-colored goggles. I mean, money. He sees money. He sees the oil. And yes, Venezuela has huge oil reserves, the largest in the world, but it's also got 25 years, 26 years of institutional rot, of corruption, of criminality, and obviously all of these drug traffickers that are running through.

53:15So we're going to get ourselves into a big quagmire. And the next time there's any major power outage, there's a crime spree, you know who's going to be blamed by Delce Rodriguez? Donald Trump. It's El Imperio. It's they who were behind these problems. So Trump wants to own the oil, but he also owns the problems as well. One of the questions I have is, it does not seem like the Maduro regime is gone. It's just Maduro and his wife who are gone. But his vice president now runs the country. Four of the six people indicted, not including Maduro and his wife, remain there and in power, including his son, including the head of Trenda Aragua.

53:52How on earth is any stability going to be returned to Venezuela after decades if the Maduro regime is still largely intact. And Jake, you mentioned I served in Caracas, but I also served in Iraq. I served in Tikrit on a forward operating base. And there, I think, you know, we are learning the wrong lessons from Iraq, which was Saddam Hussein was in power. You got rid of him. And he was that central point. In Venezuela, it's not the case. You had Hugo Chavez. But when he passed, there were a constellation of centers of power. You have Diosdado Cabello, as you mentioned. You have Delcy Rodriguez.

54:26You have Jorge Rodriguez, her brother. All of these are different centers of power, different interests. And yes, they're going to continue. And this is what I think is really important for Americans to understand, Jake. There has been a level of repression. You know, they're stopping people on the streets at these checkpoints. And it's not official checkpoints. In some cases, it is these colectivos, these militia groups that are stopping folks, harassing them, checking their social media, but also checking WhatsApp. SAP, it is a new level of repression that has entered in Venezuela. So Stephen Miller was on the show and he said, we control Venezuela.

55:00And he seemed to be suggesting that the armada's presence off the coast is enough to make sure that nobody in Venezuela does anything that we don't want them to do, which would be obviously the oil going to Russia or China or any of our adversaries, as Secretary Rubio talked about, the drugs continuing to flow, et cetera, et cetera. can they do that just by having an armada off the coast? Well, here's the problem. And you'll remember Obama famously said, you know, if you've got a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Well, if our only resort is to military means, including, obviously, we had to chase that oil tanker all the way across the North Atlantic.

55:41One, it's incredibly expensive. Are we going to sustain that? I think a lot of the Chavistas right now are betting that Trump is going to get distraction, that we are going, yes, to put up a show now, but then we're going to move on to Greenland. We're going to move on to some other problem in the world. And I don't see right now the sustained strategy. I don't see the plan. I don't see, for instance, because they're going to test us. Are we willing to go to bat for human rights violations? Are we willing to go to bat for, you know, problems that American oil companies are having just, you know, with infrastructure?

56:13And who pays for that? Is it the U.S. government's problem to rebuild the roads out to the poor? Because they've been deteriorated over the last quarter century. And we saw when Delce Rodriguez, the vice president, now acting president of Venezuela, was sworn in, there were images of her hugging the ambassador from Russia, hugging the ambassador from China. We just learned that Rodriguez had what she called a warm meeting with the Chinese ambassador. Do you think what the U.S. did actually is driving Venezuela potentially closer to our adversaries, China and Russia? Not just Venezuela, but we're talking about Colombia.

56:49We're talking about Mexico. We're talking about Brazil. These are massive, massive countries, bigger economies, more important to our trade, to Americans' lives, Jake. And right now, with these threats, not just against Venezuela, but against other countries, I can guarantee to you that Claudia Scheinbaum in Mexico is phoning up Beijing saying, what can you do to help me with intelligence, with security? And yes, I'll sign over more resources to you. I'll provide you the level of access that you didn't enjoy before. And that's bad for our interests. All right, Brett Bruin, thank you so much. Really appreciate your expertise and your time.

57:22Coming up, two House members want a federal judge to appoint a special master to compel the Justice Department to release all of its files on Jeffrey Epstein without unnecessary redactions. One of those House members, Republican Congressman Thomas Massey, joins me next. And another live look in Minneapolis. Protesters there outside the courthouse in Minneapolis, as well as Border Patrol agents. We've heard a lot of yelling, a lot of profanity, small clashes at times. We're going to continue to monitor the scene and hope for peace. We're back in a moment.

57:54And our politics lead. Hey, remember the Epstein files? Well, two key lawmakers, one Democrat, one Republican on the House Judiciary Committee say the Justice Department can't be trusted to release all of the files on Jeffrey Epstein, despite the fact that there's a law requiring them to do so. So this afternoon, they asked a judge to appoint a special master or an independent monitor to oversee the process. This request comes a few days after the Justice Department said it's released less than 1 % of the Epstein files. And they're still reviewing more than 2 million documents. Republican Congressman Thomas Massey of Kentucky joins me now.

58:30He and Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California are asking for this special master. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us. So you don't trust the Justice Department to comply with the law. Why not? Well, it's not a matter of opinion now. They're not in compliance with the law. They've missed two deadlines. The first was a 30-day deadline. to release material to the public, and the second was a 15-day deadline to release some information to Congress. But what I'm concerned about is not the volume of material that they haven't released, it's specific documents they haven't given us, where we know there are individuals who will be named.

59:05They're withholding those documents. Also, we believe they're over-redacting the files in contravention of the law, the letter of the law.

59:43So, yeah. quote, my friends will get hurt, unquote. I'm sure you saw that. What's your reaction? Well, you know, I knew about that for at least a week or two before that was said, because Marjorie shared that with me privately the day it happened. So I have even more reason to believe that happened in the general public. That's what I believe. You know, I'm not concerned that the president is implicated criminally in these files. He may be embarrassed, but he's had embarrassing issues before. I think he has friends who are going to be criminally implicated. And if not, I think there are some serious reputational harm that's going to happen.

1:00:25Maybe you'll have names taken off of buildings and scholarships renamed as a result of these releases. But this, Jake, this gets to the meat of our law. We say in the law that you can't redact names to avoid embarrassment. Yet we see that the DOJ in a letter to Congress has said that they're going to use the Privacy Act as cover to avoid releasing names under the Privacy Act. The other thing that they've violated in our law is we say you have to release internal communications, including decisions about whether to prosecute or not. And now they're citing a FOIA standard that has no bearing on our law.

1:01:06And if it did, our law would override their law because it's a later law. They're citing FOIA standards that allows the government to keep internal deliberations secret. But the president signed this bill. They have to release this information. And that's why we're asking for a special master. So I guess the question is, what can you do about it, even if the president doesn't think that there are any limits to his power? You know, the Constitution suggests that there are three co-equal branches. You've threatened to try to hold U.S. Attorney General Pam Bonney in contempt of Congress if these Epstein files are not adequately released.

1:01:41When is your grace period for A.G. Bonney going to expire? Well, it expired today, but we're escalating the things that we can do, and we're starting with what we feel is the most polite, expeditious way to get to a release of the files, which is to ask for a special master. And we're hoping that Judge Engelmeyer will receive our amici curé well and do that. And like you said, there are next steps beyond that. There's contempt, which requires a referral to the DOJ. Now, the problem with that is if you refer contempt of Congress to the DOJ, they're not going to prosecute it. They never do, and they wait for Congress to expire.

1:02:23So there's also inherent contempt, which hasn't been practiced in over 80 years. we're drafting that. And that's more desirable than impeachment because inherent contempt is resolved in one chamber of Congress, whereas impeachment would have to go also to the Senate. So those are the, you know, escalating degrees of things that we can do. But I also want to remind those folks at the DOJ, you can be prosecuted by a future DOJ for violating this law because it's a law, it's not a congressional subpoena that expires at the end of this Congress. It will last forever. This is gutsy what you're doing and President Trump is targeting you.

1:03:03You're up for reelection this November, obviously. On Monday, President Trump posted on Truth Social a photograph of him with your primary challenger, retired Navy SEAL officer Ed Gallerine, Trump writing that Captain Ed Gallerine has my complete and total endorsement against, quote unquote, Congressman Thomas Massey. He only votes against the Republican Party, making life very easy for the radical left, unquote. Obviously, that's factually incorrect. I'm sure you vote with the Republican Party like 90 or 95 % of the time, but what's your reaction? Yeah, I vote 91 % of the time with the party, but when they're covering up for pedophiles or starting a new war or doing regime change or bankrupting the country, and that 9%, Jake, I'm not with my party.

1:03:43It definitely hurts me to campaign with the president against me. I've got a Republican primary. It's gonna be hotly contested, and that's why, Jake, you don't see other members of the Republican Party sticking their necks out. They're afraid of the president. Ironically, though, after that tweet, I raised$80 ,000 in people who want to see somebody up here who will speak their mind and speak for their constituents instead of just for their party. And by the way, most of those donors are Trump supporters. They just want to see a Republican who will exhibit some independent thought. Republican Congressman Thomas Massey of the the great Commonwealth of Kentucky.

1:04:23Thanks so much for joining us. Thanks, Jake. A former high-profile Republican lawyer who became one of President Trump's fiercest critics is now a Democratic candidate for Congress. George Conway on the lead next. But first, this. We're starting to see vigils in a number of cities in the wake of yesterday's ice shooting in Minneapolis. We see them in Philly, in Boston, in Asheville, North Carolina. We're going to continue to watch these scenes. Much more when we come back.

1:04:53And we're back with breaking news in our national lead. You're looking right now at live pictures of protesters gathering in the streets of Minneapolis tonight in response, of course, to Wednesday's fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by an ICE agent. A live look in Boston right now, a similar rally right now in the wake of yesterday's shooting. We're seeing these in several cities, New York City, Philly, Asheville, North Carolina. We're going to continue to watch these scenes. Turning to our politics lead, George Conway, the longtime conservative lawyer, is now running for New York's 12th congressional district to run for the House.

1:05:23He's running as a Democrat, a prolific critic of Trump. Conway's building his campaign on the claim that the president is running the U.S. government like a mob operation. He joins us now. George, good to see you. I'll get to your race in one sec, but I do want to get your take on the situation in Minneapolis. What's your take on how President Trump and Vice President Vance and Secretary Noem have been handling it? Mendacious and heartless. Absolutely horrible the way they've talked about this. I mean, the notion that Donald Trump thinks that this is somehow or claims that this is somehow making the country safer is absurd.

1:05:57It's making the country more dangerous. It's making people on the streets have to fear federal agents. And as we saw in Minneapolis, it's just asking for some tragedy to occur. And that's exactly what happened. And as for the claim that Kristi Noem made that this woman was a domestic terrorist, I mean, it's ridiculous. I mean, she was just an ordinary woman with a six-year-old kid in an SUV. And I mean, the domestic terrorists are ICE. This is what's happening here in this country, which is just hard to believe. We have a criminal president running a lawless government trying to intimidate the people of this country through force.

1:06:47So this is not unlike or not dissimilar from your announcement video, which was on January 6th, in your focus on President Trump, your criticism of him. Do you think that that is going to be key to winning this Democratic primary, even though you were a Republican until relatively recently? Look, I mean, I have not been a Republican eight years. In seven years, I quit the Republican Party in 2018 because I saw that it was no longer the Republican Party that I joined in 1980, and it was a personality cult. And I have to say, I think that people who are former Republicans, never Trump Republicans, and moderate to liberal Democrats of the sort that we see in the district where I'm talking to you from, don't have a lot of differences on policy issues.

1:07:40And the one thing that we do share is a belief in democracy, a belief in the rule of law, and a belief in constitutional government. And if you have any policy differences about anything, if you're in good faith of any party, any part of the Democratic Party, whether it's Mondani or whether it's anybody else, we can't get to handle those and deal with those policy issues and figure out practical ways to fix problems like the cost of living like that affects all of us including people in this district and and affordable affordable health care we can't do that until we have a government that is not being run essentially as, as I say, a mob operation that is for the Boston, of the Boston, by the Boston, for his cronies, instead of a government that is actually devoted to people, run by people who live up to their oaths to help the people.

1:08:44So I hear what you're saying and I understand your focus, but obviously you're going to be running in a Democratic primary in a very blue district. And people are going to say, they're going to hold your conservative past against you. Your opponents will, at the very least, Jack Schlossberg and Cameron Kasky and others. They're going to say you voted for Trump in 2016 and your focus on Trump is great, but there's going to be a ton of other stuff that you vote on, especially if Democrats retake the House in November. How is George going to vote on abortion rights? How is George going to vote on LGBT?

1:09:17So, so what, just what is your response to that? Okay. I'll give you an example on abortion. I fully support the Women's Health Protection Act. I fully support Tammy Baldwin's bill sent at 2150 that would basically make sure that women have the right to, to, to terminate or continue an abortion through viability and that protects physicians and other healthcare professionals from the, the absolutely absurd things that are going on in some of the states, like in Texas, where basically they're turning people into Stasi informers against their co-citizens. No, I look, I don't, I honestly think that when people get to hear what I have to say on issues, they're going to say, well, that's perfectly reasonable.

1:10:00I agree. I agree with that. And I look forward to talking about all those issues. All right, George Conway. Well, don't be a stranger. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

1:10:10There, we're showing you right now, Now, largely peaceful protests in the United States after yesterday's ice shooting in Minneapolis, not entirely, but largely, oversees a different scene, anti-government demonstrations turning quite violent in Iran. A fierce critic of the regime, once hunted down by would-be assassins sent by the mullahs, while she was just at the White House. In minutes, Masi is going to be here on The Lead.

1:10:42And our worldly demonstrations in Iran continue to sweep that nation today.

1:10:52Residents have been storming the streets for more than a week now in protest over the crippling economic conditions and a plummeting currency. This is Tehran, where we saw fires burning through the northern part of the city. Authorities are reverting to their usual playbook, responding with violence instead of offering any solutions to the country's problems. My next guest you know, Iranian journalist and activist. She just finished the White House. This follows an open letter she wrote to President Trump that reads in part, quote, You have said publicly that the killing of Iranians by their own government matters and will not be ignored.

1:11:22Inside Iran, those words were heard. They mattered. They gave people hope that the world would not stay silent while a regime wages violence against its own population, unquote. And Masi and Alina Jha joins me now. Masi, what can you tell us about your White House visit in what you ask the administration to do? First of all, I have to say this is not economic. This is not a protest against the collapse of Iranian currency. It went beyond that from the day first. People chanting against the entire regime. This is very clear that they're saying that this regime is no longer can be reformed. So they're saying we want an end for Islamic Republic.

1:12:10So I met with some senators and people, State Department, White House, to actually inform them that people of Iran, they welcome the strong and forceful message of President Trump. But they want to see action. What action? Because obviously this comes after, on Saturday, the president, you know, they removed the leader of Venezuela. So maybe to people in America, it's radical because I see that people are busy criticizing President Trump about capturing Maduro. But Maduro is not the president of Venezuela. He is a criminal and he is not alone. The Islamic Republic invaded Venezuela. You see Hezbollah presence in Venezuela.

1:12:54They're sending weapons to Maduro. So I strongly believe arresting Maduro should have been done by international court. And now this is the right thing, that Iranian people celebrating this. I asked Iranian people, Jake, before coming here, I asked them what they really want from President Trump. They say the same thing, because Ali Khamenei is not just targeting the lives of innocent people inside Iran. They're not just targeting them. Ali Khamenei is the one who ordered my killing. In New York. In U.S. soil, on U.S. soil, here. Yeah. Three times, Ali Khamenei is the one ordering the killing of President Trump.

1:13:35So basically, this is the guy actually expanding terror everywhere, not only in the region, but in Europe, in America. I want to show this video. It went viral on social media. It's Iranian security forces storming a hospital in Elam. That's a city that's found itself at the center of these protests. You see this in the... It's horrible. We're nearing now two weeks of these protests. Do you think the nation might reach a breaking point? First of all, President Trump actually mentioned that some people were killed because of the crowd. This is misinformation. I have to make this clear that the Iranian regime opened fire.

1:14:17In 10 days, 40 people got killed. They're not just numbers. They're not just statistics. They are the people with empty hands took to the street chanting for freedom, dignity. They want to have a normal life and they are being killed by IRGC, the Revolutionary Guards. I think this is the Berlin Wall moment in Iran. If international community get united the same way when they were all united to help East Germany to bring down the war. Now Iranian people are trying to bring the wall of dictatorship down. We need to see action from Europeans, from free world. Otherwise, believe me, Jake, they will kill more innocent people.

1:15:02You and I have been talking about this for years. And I've been covering this for years. I remember covering the murder of Neta in the streets of Iran when Ahmadinejad was in charge. You were the first one. You actually covered the brutal murder of Mahzaj, you know, Amini in 2022. as well. So you've been obviously focused on this for years. Does this moment feel different than previous moments of unrest? I even smell the freedom. I even feel like when people go to the streets, they show their face. They take on their own social media. They say that we have no fear because we have nothing to lose.

1:15:39As you mentioned, we have seen six major, massive uprisings in Iran. In 2009, you mentioned about Nadar or Sultan. At the same time, when people were in the street chanting Obama, Obama, you either with us or with them, President Obama was sending secret letter to Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. In 2022, when Mahsa got killed, women took to the street. Women, life, freedom. One of the most progressive slogans. What happened? President Biden was handing out billions of dollars to the same regime that hired killers to target U.S. citizens on U.S. soil. They even asked me to go under witness protection.

1:16:20I mean, it's a joke. So for the first time that we now see the United States of America's president taking a strong action, saying that he is ready to save the lives of Iranians, Iranians are welcoming that. I want to see action. Otherwise, empty wars are not going to save lives, are not going. Let's be very clear. People of Iran are better allies compared to these backward mullahs for America, for the rest of the world. An Iran without Islamic Republic will guarantee global security. And this is the moment that we want to see. Well, I certainly hope for freedom for the people of Iran. Masi, I want to invite you to my beautiful Iran.

1:16:58I'd love to go. That's my dream. I haven't seen my mother for 15 years. I'd love to go. I'd love to go with you when and if that ever happens. Masi, it's so good to see you. Thank you so much. Breaking news tonight on Capitol Hill. 17 Republicans in the House bucked leadership to join Democrats to pass a bill to extend Obamacare subsidies for three years. Speaker Mike Johnson has just reacted. We're going to bring you that news next.

1:17:27On this vote, the yeas are 230, the nays are 196. The bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. So in our politics lead just moments ago, pretty dramatic rebuke of the House Republican leadership, 17 House Republicans voting with 213 House Democrats to approve a clean three-year extension of the Obamacare subsidies, which already expired at the end of the year, 2025. The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate, where this future is uncertain. Here's the panel. Jamie, the extension, I don't think there are 60 votes for this in the U.S. Senate, but is this significant this moment?

1:18:07Absolutely. Can you say midterm elections? Look, When Republicans break with Trump, that says something about what's going on politically. So that's good for Democrats who are trying to win back the House. To your point, reality check, this is not expected to pass in the Senate. It also sends a message to those people at home whose premiums have jumped. This goes back to affordability. Yeah, and sure, Michael, just four Republicans signed. The reason there even was a vote, we should point out, is because of this thing called a discharge petition, which there's been an explosion of uses of the discharge petition.

1:18:42Usually the Speaker of the House gets to decide what goes to the floor. But if 218, a majority members of the House sign a discharge petition, they can force something onto the floor. Four Republicans signed the discharge petition and every Democrat to bring this to the for a vote. 17 House Republicans voted for it. Speaker Johnson said, quote, I think it's a really bad policy and, you know, I wish they hadn't. But everybody had to vote their conscience. Is this bad for the Speaker, do you think? No, I don't think so. And strategically, I think it's wise for the Speaker to allow some, I guess, longitudinal space for some of these members to vote in a way that may be beneficial to their election eyes.

1:19:21The reality is you have some Republicans who are running in districts that the president won last year. Some of those numbers have indeed gone down. Those races appear to be a lot tighter. The Speaker recognizes this. He understands that those folks are going to have to go back home and tell their constituents how they voted. And if you want to keep that house, you got to tell the President, Mr. President, you got to give our guys some room to vote however they need to in order for us to keep the seats that we got. So I'll be honest. I have been wondering for literally for decades since I learned what the discharge petition was in 1993, why this isn't used more often.

1:19:57because it's a good way for the minority party to pressure the handful of people who represent districts that are borderline. What's your take on all this? I mean, this is a testament to Jeffries at a time when Jeffries and Schumer were maligned throughout the Democratic Party for most of 2025. He ended it on a high note, grabbing those centrists and having them vote alongside him for the discharge position. But to start the year at a time when people are looking at his leadership, he was knighted by Pelosi, but now he really has to stand on his own two feet. And I I think it really is a testament to how he can gather his caucus together.

1:20:30And I do think it's going to start to be a little bit of an indictment on Johnson. I think people are really satisfied with the work that Senate Majority Leader John Thune does. But Johnson's got a lot to prove. Let's turn to the political fallout over that shooting in Minneapolis. Today, Vice President Vance took issue with this CNN headline. The headline is, quote, Outrage is mounting after Renee Goode was killed by ICE in Minneapolis, unquote. That's what it says. Here's what Vice President Vance said about it. What that headline leaves out is the fact that that very ICE officer nearly had his life ended, dragged by a car six months ago, 33 stitches in his leg.

1:21:07So you think maybe he's a little bit sensitive about somebody ramming him with an automobile. What that headline leaves out is that that woman was there to interfere with a legitimate law enforcement operation in the United States of America. What that headline leaves out is that that woman has is part of a broader left wing network to attack, to dox, to assault and to make it impossible for our ICE officers to do their job. First of all, he's saying that the headline leaves out things that are his opinion, not fact, at least not established as of the second. But beyond that, I mean, it seems like a fairly benign headline.

1:21:43And by the way, not the only one, one of dozens of headlines. and see how this was this was a split second decision that the officer had to made a woman is now dead officers typically go through a lot of ptsd after instances like this i think this is why you have to have an investigation we need to know what occurred before we don't really have a lot of details about this particular individual who lost her life i don't know if she was radical left or whatever yeah we don't know but an investigation would certainly help that and look emotions are high right right now uh jake and i think it would just be wise to tell the American people.

1:22:16We get it. The president wants to enforce immigration law. Some people may disagree with that. We want to do it in a way that's constitutional. We want to protect people's rights. And as it pertains to this particular instance, we're going to be transparent as we possibly can until we get to the end of this. What's your take on the media criticism part of this? So they're going to criticize us. If we're not saying exactly what they're saying, they're going to criticize us. But two things. One is policing 101 deescalate. If nothing else, that did not. They're not police. They're ICE. Right. But yeah, this is but DHS should be following similar things.

1:22:56The other thing is I spoke to a former law enforcement official who noted after J.D. Vance's statement that the officer is a 10 year veteran. And my source said if he's a 10-year veteran with training, why did he do what he did? So other law enforcement officials are looking at this. And again, investigation, yes, but it doesn't look great. Yameci, what do you think? I mean, I think that was a train wreck of a press briefing for him. I mean, I understand the administration's point of wanting to defend law enforcement, but you can defend law enforcement without prejudging an incident and creating a narrative.

1:23:33And it was interesting, the framing, when he talked about the law enforcement officer being sensitive because of previous trauma on the job. Then why was he on the job? I would ask what was he done, what counseling he did afterwards. I think if you enter into law enforcement, you have to make those snap decisions that can be fatal at times. And I think, if anything, he pushed the narrative that maybe this officer wasn't up for the job. It's interesting. Any final thoughts? There's just many unknowns. Everything you just laid out, we don't know. And the only way we will know is a thorough investigation.

1:24:03and I stand firmly by that. Well, once again, you know, you have my vote. I mean, I've told you this before. Sure, Michael, thank you so much for being here. One and all, appreciate it. And welcome to The Lead. It was great to have you. We have this breaking news just into CNN. Two people have been shot by federal agents in Portland, Oregon. That is according to local police there. And we're going to have much more on that breaking news on Aaron Burnett Upfront, which starts right now. Take it away, Aaron.

1:24:39I'm Eva Longoria, and I'm setting out to really experience France, to savor its world-celebrated cuisine and explore the country's rich history. Eva Longoria, Searching for France, premieres April 12th on CNN and next day on the CNN app. I'm CNN tech reporter Claire Duffy. This week on the podcast Terms of Service, There's a growing category of products aimed specifically at addressing women's unique health needs. These tools and services are sometimes known as femtech, and they can provide big opportunities and benefits, but they can also come with some risks. To walk us through all of this, I spoke with Bethany Corbin.

1:25:16Bethany is an attorney and CEO of Fem Innovation, where she advises startups, clinicians, and healthcare organizations. In my opinion, what it really does is gives us a collective language to talk about women's health care innovation and the tools that are out there so that we can take control of our health care experiences and know how to advocate for ourselves in a system that's probably not been designed to advocate for us. Listen to CNN's Terms of Service wherever you get your podcasts.