Some Survivors’ Names Are Unredacted In Files

25:45But if federal officials show up in Maricopa, which was the county I feel like I stood at a magic wall pointing to over and over and over again for that entire week, you talk about how you guys have been thinking through or kind of game planning out. What is the recourse? What are the actions you're taking? Well, look, when news of Fulton County broke, I talked to folks in my office. I talked to some elections officials in Maricopa County. and we're looking very carefully, not at this just possible scenario, making sure that we've got clear communication between my office as the chief election officer in Arizona and their offices as well.

26:19Look, it's just good coordination between different units like I did when I was in the Marine Corps. You've got to have that communication up front and build those relationships so that when things happen, if God forbid they do, we can deal with them. We're not just dealing with them. We're working directly with the attorney general and the governor and county officials. And we're talking specifically with a lot of these folks about what happens if this goes down, if that goes down, sort of gaming things out to be prepared. But again, let me be really clear. A lot of the interference that we're seeing from the federal government into election administration with the executive order, with the reduction of CISA support, those are just some concerns we have in a bucket over here.

26:59We've got several other buckets that we always and still have to deal with. What happens if a polling place burns down, which has happened to us? What happens if the church lady doesn't show up with the keys on Election Day morning? Or if a polling place gets foreclosed on, which has happened under my administration in Maricopa County. I was going to go down with a sledgehammer and bang open the door, but the sheriff thought it was a bad idea. So, you know, we're dealing with these things the way we need to deal with them. And that is possible bad outcomes, possible bad circumstances, whether it's weather, which we have weathered, whether it's some kind of natural disaster, some kind of man-made thing.

27:37The bottom line is this, and here's what I want people to understand and really get to know. We've never canceled an election in this country. We've had civil wars. We've had pandemics. We've had the Spanish flu, World War II. We've experienced all kinds of bad things, including, for example, the fires that were so destructive in Lahaina. in that instance Hawaiian officials went out and looked for voters to get them to be able to vote this is the one thing that makes America really unique and that is that we never cancel an election we don't do snap elections we don't jimmy around with dates yeah we do them we're dependable at that and in that way we have sort of this golden thread that runs through the fabric of all of our society, and that is our elections.

28:25We can depend on that. So in times of uncertainty, you look to elections officials, you look to the folks who support elections officials at the local, state, and federal level. You look at the folks who fund elections, and you've got to say, this is the one thing we can agree on. Pick your candidate, right? Do the politics, but we've got to have our elections, and we've got to depend on them, and we've got to support them, because if you pull that golden thread out, the fabric of our society will disintegrate, and nobody wants that. Yeah, certainly learned not something to be taken for granted anymore.

28:55Agent Fontes, really appreciate you coming in and braving the cold in Washington, D.C. It is cold here. Colder than Phoenix, that's for sure. I bet. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Well, let's just end. We are learning former CNN anchor Don Lemon is just minutes away from appearing before a judge after his arrest overnight. We're going to continue to monitor that story. Plus, the person President Trump wants to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. And why Trump is so confident he's going to get what he wants out of his picks. Stay with us.

29:29Hey, it's Michael Smirconish. If you missed me on CNN, check out my podcast. What's reasonable in these particular circumstances? That's the standard by which we should all evaluate what we're watching on a loop from Minneapolis, not what we're being told we're seeing by a politician or a pundit, including me. Do you have an open or closed mind as to the guilt or innocence of the Minnesota ICE agent? Smirconish. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

30:05President Trump is nominating Kevin Warsh, a 55-year-old former Fed governor, to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chairman. It ends, you could probably call it a made-for-TV-like search process, very on brand for the president, one that started in September as he whittled down the candidate list. Now, what if Trump's top critiques of Powell not lowering interest rates quickly enough? Something it appeared Fed Warsh was inclined to do, but he also has a history from his time at the Fed as an inflation hawk. Joining me now to try and explain what this all means, Princeton economics professor Alan Blinder.

30:40He served as vice chair of the Federal Reserve, And I have to acknowledge monetary and fiscal history of the United States, 1961 to 20, I want to say 2021, is dog-eared and highlighted in my office and a little worse for the wear right now. So I want to disclose that up front and promise not to go too far down that level of depth. But I do want to ask. I promise. Thank you very much. I do want to ask. You know, you raise concerns, I think wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed before the president took office about the importance of independence, hoping that the president would maintain the independence or try to.

31:12Do you think Kevin Warsh accepted this job without any commitments to lower rates to the president explicitly? Well, I'm worried about that. I think on this criteria of Federal Reserve independence, among the finalists, if I may call them that, he's probably about the best that we could have hoped for. So I'm pleased with that. I think we all know that President Trump demands things of people, demands loyalty of people before he appoints them. What the private conversations were between Kevin Warsh and Donald Trump, I wouldn't know. I'm a little bit worried about it, not because of Warsh, but because of Trump.

31:56When it comes to Warsh specifically, you didn't overlap with him at the Fed, but he's in circles that I think you, I, as somebody who's covered this space, have been around for the better part of the last couple of decades. What is the reputation? Tell people what they should know about how he was at the Fed and what expectations should be. Well, two things I would say. First, if you go back to the Bernanke era, which is when he was a governor, he was kind of informally the liaison between the Fed and Wall Street. Kevin had worked on Wall Street. He knew people there. Ben Bernanke had been an academic.

32:33He really didn't know people there. And he was extremely helpful. And Ben Bernanke said so in kind of informally liaising with Wall Street. The other thing, now that's history. The thing that's more relevant now is that he has a history of being in the vernacular that gets used a hawk, which means a little tougher on inflation and maybe softer on unemployment than the doves, who are the reverse. You can be a reasonable hawk and a reasonable dove. People do disagree. He's definitely in the reasonable hawk, historically is in the reasonable hawk criteria. But lately he's turned dovish. And a number of people wonder if that was part of the campaign to get the job.

33:31It has been trying to watch markets figure out which one he is in the current moment has been interesting to watch throughout the course of today and the reaction. Just real quick before I let you go. Do you think he should be confirmed? Oh, yeah. Look, relative to anyone else that might have been actually nominated by Donald Trump, he's a shining star. Yes, absolutely. he should be confirmed. Jay Powell is still the head of the Federal Reserve until May. So there's no big rush to get it done. But yeah, he merits confirmation for sure. Professor Allen Blinder, I think the control room will acknowledge and vouch that I could do this for another several hours.

34:17I'm really grateful for your time. I'm sure we'll be doing this in the weeks ahead as we move towards that confirmation process. Allen Blinder, thanks so much. Thank you.

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35:24The two were reported at an anti-ice protest that interrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota. Now, according to a law enforcement source, more than two dozen federal agents were involved in Lemon's overnight arrest. And here's Attorney General Pam Bondi today. Under President Trump's leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely. And if I haven't been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you. CNN obtained the indictment where prosecutors claim that Lemon met with other co-defendants prior to the event for a pre-operation briefing and that he tried to keep parts of the operation secret, including by reminding others not to reveal certain information ahead of the protest.

36:12Last week, a federal magistrate judge rejected the Justice Department's initial attempt to bring charges against Lemon. Then another federal judge rejected an appeal. Here now, former DOJ public affairs director Sochi Hinoosa and former Trump White House lawyer Jim Schultz. Georgia Schultz has been or Georgia Fort has been released from custody. Both she and Don Lemon are charged with two federal counts of conspiracy and interfering with First Amendment rights of worshipers. I want to show people some of the video from Don at the church. i'm just here i'm not i'm just here photographing i'm not part of i'm not part of the group i'm just here photographing i'm a journalist we don't know that's that's what they're saying so we're here just chronicling and reporting we're not part of the activists but we're here just reporting on them you worked in justice department office of public affairs how did you respond when you heard about this well first of all some of the charges that they are using and the act that they're using is the FACE Act.

37:11And we know the FACE Act because we've used it when there are firebombs at churches and impeding on someone's right to worship. And as rightfully, the Justice Department should prosecute when it comes to that. But if you see in the video, he does make clear that he is a journalist and he is just there to video. He is not trying to interfere with anyone's right to worship, which is not surprising that a magistrate judge would not sign off on those charges. In addition, the indictment is only signed by political appointees. It is not signed by career professionals in AUSAs as it normally would. What we're hearing from California, the Central District of California, where the charge is being brought, is that there's turmoil within the U.S.

37:49Attorney's Office because career officials did not want to sign off on that. And then just lastly on all of this, there is a First Amendment right, you know, violation. He is a reporter. We also know that the Justice Department took steps earlier this year in order to roll back protections Merrick Garland put in place. So something like this wouldn't happen. So you wouldn't necessarily arrest a reporter for reporting, or like the Washington Post reporter a few weeks ago who had their house raided, you wouldn't be able to subpoena them and do a search in their home just for their sources. So we knew Pam Bondi was rolling back those rights for reporters, but now we're seeing it in action, them actually going after reporters.

38:24You know, Jim, look, I go to church every Sunday. I wouldn't be a huge fan of this happening in where I practice my faith. But I also, in reading what CNN reported from the court documents, What was described as reporting, like it's source protection, it's how you do things. What's your read on this? So 18 U.S.C. 241 says that you cannot, two people cannot conspire, two or more people cannot conspire to intimidate or prevent, in an effort to prevent worship at the end of the day, exercizing your constitutional rights, in this case, worship. So, you know, in this particular instance, was he part of the conspiracy?

39:00Was he part of the planning? Was he part of the, you know, of what happened there in terms of impeding folks' right to worship? Those are the questions that need to be asked. And, you know, the fact that he says, oh, I'm just taking photographs and chronicling this isn't necessarily dispositive of that issue. It's going to be what did he do while he was there? Did he have interaction with the worshipers? What were his interactions with the worshipers? All of those questions need to be answered. And, of course, they're going to file a motion to dismiss based upon the freedom of press issue. Do you think it succeeds?

39:35Look, I think courts give wide discretion for reporters to do their jobs. I think it's going to be something that's going to find its way into the appellate courts, and depending on which appeals Corbett lands in it, I think this one lands in the 8th Circuit. Which, in the 8th Circuit, it's a pretty conservative district. While you have Minnesota in that district, you also have Iowa, the Dakotas, Missouri, Arkansas. Those are a pretty conservative district in terms of circuit courts. Also, I will just say the problem the administration faces is that there have been ICE agents that have also entered places of worship, in particular in Charlotte.

40:08And there's been reporting about this. They're not only going outside of schools and outside of places of worship, but they're actually going in. So I think that one big question for the administration is protesters going into a place of worship. How is that different from ICE scaring people inside a place of worship? And actually, there have been many pastors who have said, if you are an undocumented immigrant, you are excused from coming to church because, yes, we understand that it could be a risk that you could be picked up by ICE. What should people think as we go into this from your legal perspective?

40:37From a policy perspective, I don't think anybody should go into church and interfere with worship. I don't care if it's ICE agents or protesters. I think protesters would have been fine if they just stayed on the steps. Don Lemon probably wouldn't be in the trouble he's in right now if he waited outside, interviewed people as they came outside. But going into that church and engaging in conduct that interferes, people go to church for a lot of different reasons. They go to worship, but they also have some sanctuary. And when that's interfered with, you know, that's a crime. And if in this case there was conspiracy, that he was part of that conspiracy, that he did interfere with that, then he's likely to be convicted.

41:11Yeah. Look, again, I would not want to see that in my church. But I'm telling you, this is a gray area that is a slippery slope. People need to be cognizant of where this could head very, very quickly. Thank you guys both very much for sharing your perspective. We'll wait to see if Don Lemon speaks outside court after the hearing. Plus, new revelations just this hour from the Epstein Files released today. We told you there was a lot going on. We weren't kidding. We're back in a moment.

41:40Welcome to The Lead. I'm Phil Mattingly in for Jake Tapper. For this hour, an avalanche of new files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation were released today. More than three million pages, to be exact. But Democrats say the Justice Department is still holding on to millions of other files. Why? And will the public ever see them? Alas, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. Also, accused killer Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty for allegedly shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare outside a New York hotel. That decision announced today by a judge who also made another key ruling about evidence that is allowed to be shown during the trial.

42:18Plus, nearly 30 million Americans are under winter storm alerts tonight as a bomb cyclone is expected to form in the coming hours, bringing heavy snow, damaging winds, and coastal flooding. CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam has the latest forecast in just moments. And from Home Alone to Schitt's Creek tonight, we are honoring the life and legacy of a legend, Catherine O 'Hara, who died today at the age of 71. The tributes have been pouring in from around the globe as the world honors her comedic brilliance.

42:51Tonight, the Justice Department today says it has completed its review of records-related Jeffrey Epstein, and it has now released millions of additional pages of documents in that investigation. Now, CNN team has been reviewing all of them throughout the course of the last several hours. Here is some of what we know so far. The documents contain multiple instances of victims' names appearing unredacted. There are multiple 302 forms, forms that are really written documentation of interviews the government conducted with some of the survivors. There is financial information on Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's accomplice.

43:24There are lots of email exchanges featured in the documents. And President Trump's Justice Department last year compiled a list of tips that made allegations against Trump. CNN's Paul Reed was in the room at a really lengthy, detailed press conference earlier today. Paul, what do we know right now? All right, so I think one thing that really has people talking is this document that was released, and it is a list of allegations against President Trump. It appears that the FBI compiled this list last summer, but many of the allegations appear to have come from unverified tips. I mean, officials even say that some of these were based on secondhand information received through a tip center where you can submit tips electronically, or by phone.

44:07Now, some of these were followed up on. One was referred to the Washington office for the FBI. Some were deemed not credible. So I think when you see a lot of these reports, these details about specifically President Trump, it's important to remember that context because the president has long denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein. So when people see these allegations, I think it's important to remember that this is a list of allegations, not necessarily things that were verified. This is also, Phil, why you usually don't just take can investigate a file and dump it so the public can see things that haven't been completely vetted.

44:39I mean, one of the big questions is, of course, why did the FBI compile this list of allegations? Now, this document has been removed at least twice today. Last I checked, it is back up. We've asked the Justice Department why that was the case. But the fact that these allegations have even surfaced, likely to prompt more questions for the Justice Department and the White House. But I underscore these are allegations. Yeah, really important point. Definitely more questions to be coming. But a lot of questions were taken today in a press conference. I've covered DOJ a little bit. I pay close attention to what you and our DOJ colleagues are doing.

45:09Not often does anybody from the Justice Department take questions for a long period of time, live on camera, largely unscripted at various points. And it also wasn't the attorney general. It was the deputy attorney general. Why? Well, let's start with that. We all know that Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of the Epstein files has been roundly criticized. guys, people inside the White House were extremely frustrated with how she's handled this issue. So not surprising that they sent out the deputy attorney general. Now, he runs the entire Justice Department, so certainly someone who can speak to this, he's been helping to oversee this entire review.

45:43But as you noted, Justice Department officials come out, they make announcements. I've been covering them for over a decade. Sometimes they just walk off the stage when they're done. If they take a question, they take a few. They usually have tightly scripted answers, especially because they're being asked about ongoing investigations. Not so much for Todd Blanche. He answered questions for about 30 minutes. He took a question from almost every journalist in the room. Now, we didn't always understand the answers. He got a little combative a few times. He made a joke about Don Lemon. It's highly unusual.

46:10It's a departure from the way most Justice Department officials handle it. But I think it's notable that he came out and he answered questions because everybody wanted to know what's going on in Fulton County. What are you doing in Minneapolis? He clarified that there's a civil rights investigation there. Follow-up questions about how he's handled the Sol Epstein issue with the White House. It was an important opportunity to ask him questions. And Todd, we welcome you back next week and every week for the next three years because we always have a lot of questions at DOJ. Yeah, definitely a lot of questions, especially these days.

46:39And also, yeah, let's not make it a one-time thing. I think there's a ton of value that everybody gets. Janet Reno did it every week. Janet Reno did it every week. Are we getting old? We're getting old. You're not getting old. No. I'm getting old. Paul Reed, great work, as always, my friend. Thanks so much. We're here to discuss Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia of California. He's the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. Congressman, I really appreciate your time. As you and committee members make your way through these millions of documents, what stands out to you? Look, I think a couple of things.

47:09One is obviously there's an enormous amount of documents that have to be reviewed. And obviously there's millions and millions of pages. But let's be really clear. What Todd Blanch actually said today was that essentially the Department of Justice was going to withhold about 50 percent of the files that they would not release for a variety of reasons. So they are basically saying that their investigation and their document production is over when half the files are still in their possession. And I'll remind the deputy attorney general that the subpoena that's been in place since the summer, which is separate of the law that Congress passed, there's no exemptions for ongoing investigations.

47:51There's no exemptions for internal discussion amongst department heads. And now we're seeing that survivors' names possibly are appearing in documents. We're seeing the mentions of Trump, and there are hundreds of mentions of President Trump that we're going through, are being put in place, then pulled back, then dropped, and then removed. So this continues to be a White House cover-up, and it's clear that Donald Trump and Pam Bondi continue to hide. And we're not sure why we do not have the names of the pedophiles and the powerful men that abuse, raped and trafficked girls and children. We're demanding those names be released.

48:34You know, kind of to one of the points you're making there, the Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch, talking about whether the White House had oversight of documents released today was an interesting moment. I want you to take a listen. There's this mantra out there that, oh, you know, the Department of Justice is supposed to protect Donald J. Trump. And that's what we were telling. That's not true. That was never the case. We are always concerned about the victims. I can assure that we complied with the statute. We complied with the act. And there is no, we did not protect President Trump. We didn't protect or not protect anybody.

49:10Do you have specific examples where that's explicitly not the case? That's a lie. I mean, first, they have on multiple occasions, likely in this batch, but certainly in the last one as well, they had the names of victims and survivors unredacted. In addition, in multiple batches that have come out, the last batch, they produce information about President Trump and photos and they remove them. And only until we go in and cause an uproar and then put pictures back or in the case of today, have put some documents back into place, but now redacted with less information. So both of those statements are actually untrue.

49:48We need the Department of Justice and Pam Bondi to stop hiding the release of these files. Why will the White House and the DOJ get to keep over 50 percent of the files when the subpoena in place by the Oversight Committee clearly states that they have to produce those? And there's a lot of information that is coming out today that we're going to have to review. I mean, look, there's a report there that the Commerce Secretary Lutnik, who had said, according to him, that he had not had any contact with Jeffrey Epstein post 2005. We now know that's actually not true. So there's a lot of information in these documents that we need to review.

50:27But the fact that we're only going to get to see half of them highly redacted, God knows what they're actually hiding, should concern every single American. And our message to Pam Bondi and Donald Trump is our investigation on the Epstein files is just getting started. What's the recourse? And again, knowing that you've been running a parallel investigation, which, by the way, actually reached out and has received documents from the Epstein estate, unlike the Justice Department up to this point. What recourse would you have to force the Justice Department to release these documents? Well, first, we're going to push our Republican colleagues on the Oversight Committee who have, quite frankly, been quite weak in their calls to releasing all the files.

51:11They seem to be OK with these partial release. I would ask that the head of our committee, James Comer, and Republicans join us in calling for a full release of the files and actually comply with the subpoena. We've tried to hold Pan Bondi in contempt. That's been pushed back. Republicans voted unanimously to deny that and to get Pan Bondi in front of our committee. Again, why has she not come and testified in front of the oversight committee? What we want is the truth. And it's clear that this cover-up continues. Now, look, we're going to go through a lot of information in the course of the next few days.

51:46But the idea that they're going to withhold over 50 percent or around 50 percent of those, it's incredibly concerning. What are they hiding? And to me, and I think to the American public, until we get the names of Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirators and the men that were involved in the trafficking and the abuse of children and women, that is not justice. And we need justice for the survivors. When you talk about the survivors, which, again, people need to remember are the most important part of this entire story that we've been covering, this entire process that's been underway. They're the reason for it in their efforts.

52:20There are survivors that tell CNN many victims' names appear unredacted in the files. One woman who has chosen to remain anonymous is Jane Doe, already has found her name in multiple places. The deputy attorney general addressed this today saying, quote, mistakes are inevitable. What's your reaction? completely outrageous disgusting shameful especially when they've actually done this before in previous releases they did the exact same thing and we've demanded that they be more careful according to Pam Bondi these files have been on her desk for months since the beginning of their administration what have they been doing this entire time and they find new files now they won't release all the files and what they've released, they're actually exposing survivors and victims.

53:08It is, it's horrifying. I'm horrified to know what is, what is happening, what the survivors are going through. And the president needs to do the right thing. He has the power to release all of the files, end this nightmare and get truth for the survivors and the American public who also want justice for all the people that have been impacted. Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia, top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. Thanks so much, sir. Appreciate it. We're following the breaking news from Minneapolis. Protests against the Trump administration's ice crackdown. You are looking at a human chain on a frozen lake, spelling out SOS.

53:46We're monitoring this scene and several others across the country. Also, another round of dangerous winter weather is on the way with a bomb cyclone expected to start forming tonight before slamming parts of the East Coast. We're going to get an updated forecast up next. And plus, our small business series takes us back to Maryland tonight and a company we visited when we began the series back in April. How have Trump's tariffs affected that company since then? We're going to find out.

54:19Breaking news in our law and justice lead, former CNN anchor Don Lemon has just appeared in federal court to face charges related to live streaming and reporting from an anti-ice protest during a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lemon was arrested overnight, as was independent journalist Georgia Ford. I want to get straight to CNN's Nick Watt outside the federal courthouse in Los Angeles. Nick, what's the latest? Well, Phil, the latest is Don Lemon will be released on his own recognizance. He will not have to surrender his passport. He will not have to limit his travel within the country.

54:54He will have to ask the court for permission if he wants to travel overseas. The judge already said he's got a planned trip to France in June. That is good. Now, the government was asking for Lemon to surrender his passport. They were asking for no travel except to New York and Minnesota. And they were saying this is a very serious potential crime that he committed. And they pointed to various clauses in the indictment, in the complaint. and the judge really wasn't having very much of that. Now, the only thing that everybody agreed on is that Lemon will not contact any potential known witnesses or victims or co-defendants.

55:34Everyone said that that was fine. Lemon himself was wearing a beige double-breasted suit with a matching T-shirt, eyeglasses. He seemed very calm. He was respectful to the judge, answered yes, Your Honor, no, Your Honor. Next appearance, February 9th in Minneapolis in the district where he has been charged. Phil. Nick Watt with the latest in Los Angeles. Thank you very much, my friend. Appreciate it. Well, on our national lead, parts of the southern United States are bracing for their second winter storm in a week. The storm system is threatening to drop several years' worth, years of snow in parts of the southeast and bring hurricane force winds and major coastal flooding.

56:12CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam is live in Virginia Beach. Derek, have conditions there actually started to change already? Not yet, Phil, but they'll go downhill by tomorrow morning and certainly throughout the day on Saturday. It's really hard to believe that we're facing a second winter storm, high-impact winter storm in roughly a week's time. It's even harder to believe that the beaches of Virginia Beach will be covered in snow by this time tomorrow. We've got the backdrop of the historic Cavalier Hotel in the behind me. This winter storm, there's a lot of firsts associated with it. And one, markedly, is the first time that the National Weather Service has ever issued an extreme cold warning for central Florida.

56:54There's cold alerts that stretch as far south as Miami-Dade County. Get this, the air that is going to follow behind this winter storm is originating near the North Pole, and that's going to travel as far south as Key West and Miami. That's mind-boggling. But there is so much more to it, and that, of course, is the snow and the potential of blizzard conditions where I'm located and across the outer banks of North Carolina. So let's get right to it because 200 million Americans plus are under these cold alerts. That's one part of the story. But how about the 40 million Americans that are under the winter storm warnings across the Carolinas and including Atlanta?

57:30This is because of a rapidly strengthening low-pressure system that will take advantage of the relatively warm waters off of the Atlantic seaboard, the Gulf Stream there, and that will allow it to strengthen quickly. It will be a big windmaker. It will brush the Cape area on Monday. So Boston into Cape Cod, heads up, you will get some snow from this. But the potential here for astronomical high tide and several inches of light powdery snowfall means that coastal flooding and whiteout conditions are a real concern where some of these heavier wind gusts set up. Look at that on my map showing 80 miles per hour across the Cape.

58:07Phil? Remarkable stuff. Great reporting as always. Derek Van Dam for us. Thanks so much. Well, President Trump is suing his own Treasury Department and the IRS for$10 billion with a B dollars over his leaked tax return. So does he actually have a case here? That's next.

58:29In a long justice lead, the death penalty is off the table for Luigi Mangione. Federal prosecutors suffered a major setback today when a judge dismissed the murder charge against Mangione, although he still faces other charges in the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. I want to bring in CNN senior legal analyst Ellie Honig. Ellie, just to start, for people who probably heard that and said, wait, what? Why was the federal murder charge against Mangione dismissed? So, Phil, this was a very technical decision. It had nothing to do with Luigi Mangione's ultimate guilt or non-guilt.

59:02Now, the judge here, Margaret Garnett, is a former violent crimes prosecutor, and she threw out two charges using a gun and causing a death through a crime of violence. And the alleged crime of violence here was stalking. However, Judge Garnett looked at the very technical definition of stalking and said it does not meet the technical definition of a crime of violence. The judge actually voiced some frustration. She said she understands and I'm reading from the opinion that her decision might be seen as tortured and strange. but she said, I'm constrained by the letter of the law and under the letter of law and under prior Supreme Court decisions, stalking does not meet the definition of a crime of violence.

59:41Arguably it should, but she said it does not. Therefore, those two out of the four charges are out. Those are the two death penalty eligible charges, Phil. So as a result, Luigi Mangione is no longer looking at the possibility of the death penalty. What federal charges still remain? So there are two charges left relating to stalking. So stalking is, of course, illegal, but it's not a crime of violence. So the two charges that remain are stalking resulting in death. Importantly, both of those charges do carry a life imprisonment as the potential sentence. So the stakes are still very high here.

1:00:13But there could be another problem down the road for prosecutors because the technical definition of stalking says conduct that the person who's being stalked would know about and would put the person in fear or would reasonably be likely to put the person in fear. It's not entirely clear that the victim, Brian Thompson, would have known about what was happening. But even if all the federal charges go away, let's remember there are also separately state charges across the street in New York, Manhattan County State Court. While I've got you, I want to ask you about another matter that I've been on the brink of texting you about throughout the course this week.

1:00:45But I also respect your time. It's been a rather busy week. President Trump suing the IRS and Treasury Department, which he oversees, the president of the United States and the executive branch, for$10 billion, claiming leaked tax returns during his first term harmed him and his sons financially and reputationally. Is there an actual case here? You know, in some respects, Phil, some limited respects, this is sort of a normal case. A person who worked as a contractor for the IRS wrongly obtained Donald Trump's tax returns and then leaked them to the media. That person has been prosecuted and convicted.

1:01:18So Trump's claim is, well, IRS was negligent in allowing this person to obtain those tax returns and harm me. Now to the stuff that's not usual. First of all, this$10 billion figure is just out of nowhere. And second of all, he's suing his own Treasury Department, his own IRS, who is in position now to pay him a huge settlement. It is certainly unusual. Ellie Honig, as always, my friend, thank you very much. Well, former CNN anchor Don Lemon is speaking now outside federal court in Los Angeles. Let's listen in. I stand with all of them and I will not be silent. I look forward to my day in court.

1:01:52Thank you all.

1:01:58You're just listening to Don Lemon speaking after his court appearance, after he was arrested last night on charges from the Justice Department, something Justice Department officials have made very clear they wanted to pursue. They have pursued. Pam Bondi, the attorney general, putting out a 15-second video, making very clear that it was their intent to pursue and to pursue more if required. We will continue to follow that story. Well, is Lindsey Vonn's Olympic dream over before the Winter Games even began? What the skier is saying about her injuries after she was airlifted to the hospital today?

1:02:39Want to turn to breaking news in our politics lead, where the U.S. Senate is voting right now on a deal to fund key parts of the government and a temporary stopgap agreement for the Department of Homeland Security's funding. That won't actually stop at least a partial government shutdown, but it's a clear step forward. Now we wait for the House and how that's all going to work. We're going to get straight to CNN. It's Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill. Lauren, let's start on the Senate. Bring us up to speed. How did we get here? Yeah, I mean, over the course of the last 24 hours, Phil, you have seen a lot of movement in the United States Senate.

1:03:11And that in part is because last night we expected them to hold this vote. They couldn't quite get it together. They weren't able to get all of the senators, all 100 of them, to agree to move expeditiously. But here we are at 630, just a few hours before this deadline. And senators are voting right this moment on an appropriations package that includes five of the major bills. and then they have broken out funding for the Department of Homeland Security. That will be funded for just two weeks while lawmakers will then get to work on trying to make substantial reforms to that agency. That was the demand of Democrats.

1:03:48The White House agreed with Democrats that that was a process they wanted to engage in. But obviously there's a lot of work ahead. First on the government funding piece, we expect the House of Representatives will return on Monday. They will then have to pass this legislation. Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican leaders said on a call earlier today that they expect they are going to need some Democratic support to get that across the finish line. That's code word for they're going to try to move this under suspension, which means they're going to need two thirds of the House of Representatives in order to move this forward.

1:04:19And again, there's just so many question marks right now because returning back to that Department of Homeland Security bill, lawmakers are going to have to engage in a very contentious debate about the scope of ISIS practices in this country, what exactly Democrats want to see change, and then they're going to have to see whether or not Republicans who control both the House and the Senate are willing to go forward with that. So there's the government funding piece of this, But there is also that larger question of what happens to funding for the Department of Homeland Security once that two-week stopgap measure runs out.

1:04:57Again, Phil, the government is technically going to go into a partial shutdown over the weekend. But House Republicans are hopeful that they'll return and they'll be able to move this quickly. And they'll be able to reopen the government in short order, essentially. And naturally, you and I were texting back and forth about the actual process of a shutdown order over the weekend, which is very on brand for our lengthy relationship as Hill reporters and nerds. Real quick before I let you go, I want to step back. It is remarkable that this happened over the course of less than a week. I'm stunned, to be frank, that the Senate moved this fast, that it does look like there's a pathway in the House.

1:05:33But to your point about the next two weeks, not to be a cynic, but having covered DHS-related issues and immigration related issues on Capitol Hill. Is there any way there's an outcome that actually passes here? Yeah, our colleagues who are standing outside of the Senate, they actually just caught up with Senator Lisa Murkowski and she acknowledged this is going to be tough, but it's time to get to work. They are hoping to find some kind of compromise. But, you know, I talked to Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, who said he saw the list of demands that Democrats put forward just a few days ago to reform this agencies as just that demands.

1:06:08These are not suggestions. These are not things they are willing to negotiate on. The White House may see this very differently. Republicans in the House may see this very differently. And you're already hearing from people like Senator Lindsey Graham. They want to defund sanctuary cities. They want this to become a bigger fight, perhaps, than what Democrats had imagined. Yeah, it'll be it'll be fascinating to watch play out. 630 on a Friday. The Senate magically figures out a way to move votes. How about that? Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill. Appreciate you always, my friend. Thanks so much. Well, tributes are pouring in after the passing of award-winning actress and comedian and legend Catherine O 'Hara.

1:06:44A look back at her iconic career. That's next.

1:06:55Really sad news today in our pop lead actress Catherine O 'Hara, who starred in the iconic films Beetlejuice, Best in Show. I mean, the list is very, very long. She's died. She was 71 years old. She's perhaps best known for playing the McAllister family matriarch in the Christmas classic Home Alone. Just stay up there. I don't want to see you again for the rest of the night. I didn't want to see you again for the rest of my whole life. And I didn't want to see anybody else either. I hope you don't mean that. You'd feel pretty sad if you woke up tomorrow morning and you didn't have a family. No, I wouldn't.

1:07:31Then say it again. Maybe it'll happen. I hope I never see any of you jerks again.

1:07:41Her Home Alone co-star, Macaulay Culkin, paid tribute to O 'Hara on Instagram today, writing, quote, Mama, I thought we had more time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you, but I had so much more to say. I love you. I'll see you later. Now, in addition to her work and movies, O 'Hara also made her mark in television, starring in the critically acclaimed sketch comedy show, and she won an Emmy for Best Lead Actress for her scene-stealing performance every single episode in the comedy Schitt's Creek. Next step is to fold in the cheese. What does that mean? What does fold in the cheese mean?

1:08:19He folds it in. I understand that, but how do you fold it? Do you fold it in half like a piece of paper and drop it in the pot, or what do you do? David, I cannot show you everything. Okay, well, can you show me one thing?

1:08:34Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney remembered O 'Hara today, writing, quote, over five decades of work, Catherine earned her place in the canon of Canadian comedy. Canada has lost a legend. O 'Hara is survived by her husband, Beau Welch, and sons, Matthew and Luke. May her memory be a blessing. Here to discuss Catherine O 'Hara's incredible life and career, Deadline Executive Editor Dominic Patton. I think what was most striking today is my kind of social media world that I inhabit as a political reporter is mostly a dumpster fire every single day. And there was this is the first time that literally everyone across the political spectrum, age groups, everything like that was all kind of in the same space of talking about how legendary her career was.

1:09:18Why do you think that was? Well, I think in many ways, my friend, it's because her career was so long and so broad. You know, you talked about her Emmy win with Schitt's Creek. She won that Emmy in 2020. Catherine O 'Hara won a previous Emmy almost 40 years beforehand in 1982 as part of the writers and performers for the legendary SCTV. And you think of all the films, the Home Alone films, Beetlejuice, so many films. In fact, just in this past year, she was one of the main cast members of the award-winning Apple TV series The Studio, where she played a former studio boss, the mentor to fellow Canadian Seth Rogen's main character.

1:09:59So she was beloved. You talked about Mark Carney mentioning her. Justin Trudeau talked about her. Many, many other people have talked about her and the legendary feeling and approach they had. And what's interesting is they talk about her as a person. You mentioned Macaulay Culkin. Michael Keaton talked about the person who played his on-screen wife and on-screen rival and everything else and how much he adored her. Everybody spoke about her like that. She was one of the last probably truly class acts. The durability of her career over time across kind of every different platform you could be on, co-star you could be with, the emergence, the reveal in the Apple TV show with Seth Rogen is like the moment where everybody's like, oh, she's in this.

1:10:42This is so great. And yet I can't help but always go back to Home Alone on some level. like, you know, the moment when she left her sun behind. Take a listen. That's it. I forgot to close the garage. That's it.

1:11:01No, that's not it. What else could we be forgetting?

1:11:11Kevin! Which does actually connect to my stem winding thoughts because that has become a meme, which is another platform through which she has become a kind of a dominant, pervasive presence. Yes. But I will also say this. I mean, look, her tour de force in Schitt's Creek was just amazing. And certainly to follow that up with the studio and other stuff, she never stopped. You know, we saw her on the red carpet for the Emmys back in September. And, you know, she looked a bit more frail than usual. So surprising. But there's one particular element of her that really strikes me. Years and years ago, I believe it was on SCTV, she did a scathing satire of Brooke Shields, just destroyed Brooke Shields.

1:11:56Today, Brooke Shields talked about what a great person Catherine O 'Hara was, how much she loved that skit, and how much it made her laugh. And that, to me, is the beauty of her. It was all the harsh fingers and yet all the kindness at the same time. I think people are. Now, maybe that's a very Canadian trait, but Canadians aren't always so nice. So, you know, maybe that's not true. But I think it's something about, tells something about her talent, the years she spent in improv, the years she spent in drama, as you said, all the genres that she appeared in and how she always triumphed. Before I let you go, first of all, it's an incredibly important point that you're making.

1:12:34The relationship with Eugene Levy that played out over decades, I think, and it was just like some of the best stuff I've ever watched in my life. Tell people about that. Yeah. Well, I mean, look, these are two of the original SCTVers. And if some of your viewers don't know SCTV, SCTV was Saturday Night Live before Saturday Night Live, but it just wasn't on TV. Usually in Toronto, actually, mainly Canadians like Eugene Levy and Catherine O 'Hara. And a lot of them went to Second City in Chicago, et cetera, et cetera. But then it became a big hit show in Canada for many, many years. John Candy was a member of them, et cetera, et cetera.

1:13:12It was kind of the training ground of the training ground. That relationship between Eugene Levy, that relationship which you saw in the clip that you played earlier with Eugene Levy's son, Dan Levy, who was one of the creators of Schitt's Creek, that went over years and years. The comfort and the chemistry you saw between them was a whole other thing. Yeah, it was next level. Dominic Patton, I know you had to hustle, and I am very grateful for that hustle throughout all the different things you're working on right now to get here today and share your perspective. Thanks so much. Thank you, my friend.

1:13:43We'll turn it now to our sports lead in what could be a heartbreaking twist to one of the best sports comeback stories in years. 41-year-old Lindsey Vonn airlifted to the hospital earlier today, losing control and crashing in her final race just before next week's Winter Olympics. Vonn sharing on Instagram that she injured her left knee, but that, quote, if there's one thing I know how to do, it's comeback. My Olympic dream is not over. CNN Sports Analyst Christine Brennan, fellow Ottawa Hills Green Bear, is with me now. It's great to see you. I wore as much green as I could find just for you, Phil.

1:14:17I see you. Hated to see this. Yeah. I've loved the story of followed Lindsey Vonn for who knows how long at this point. Can you walk people through the comeback? Oh, absolutely. I mean, she was, first of all, she was skiing, you know, forever. I mean, you know, I remember my favorite story about her was the 2006 Olympics. Yes, 20 years ago, Phil, where she crashed kind of like this. It was the Olympic training run. They lifted her off the mountain. They sent her to the hospital. She checked herself out of the hospital, worked her way to the top of the mountain, and finished eighth in the Olympic downhill.

1:14:53That was Lindsey Vonn. And that was my, I think in many ways, my, you know, kind of introduction to her. So wins the gold in 2010 in Vancouver. I was there covering that. amazing, the downhill, certainly the triumph of peak of her Olympic career. 2014, she's injured. 2018, she's competing. And then she decides, hey, I've done it. I'm retiring. Which is the totally logical thing to do, based on how amazing her career is. Well, and you're going at bright neck speed. And she's in her 30s at that point. The difference here was she had that knee surgery and she had titanium put into her knee, the other knee, not the one that's injured right now, the right knee.

1:15:32And you know what? She missed it. And she's also excellent. And we've seen already in this World Cup season that she's been winning again. This isn't just a lark. This isn't someone, oh, I'll give it a shot. She wants to win. She thinks she can win the gold medal. And that's exactly where this has been at this point. So yeah, several years in the making, obviously coming back at the right time. The Olympics is the key. All the promotion, all the stories, all of the interest obviously now hanging on the next tweet or the next social media post from her. And I want to underscore what you said, like podium after podium after podium this season.

1:16:03This is not just kind of a, I want to get one last thing. Like she's into it. She's the real deal. Anybody can make it through the injury. It would be her. I do want to shift over to Jordan Childs real quick because last Olympics for people will probably remember she had a bronze medal on the floor exercise stripped away during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Childs legal team just scored a court victory. What does it mean? Yeah, it means that she's going to get a chance to go back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which basically said, we're done with you. She went to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, the only place she could go.

1:16:36And they said, no, no, it needs to go back because of video evidence. The whole point here was that the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which Phil is like the Supreme Court for Sports. And that's where you go to, whether it's a doping violation or a medal, something exactly like this. So they basically looked at this and they said the U.S. had, the USA Gymnastics had video evidence showing the U.S. coach had put in an appeal within the minute time frame to allow Childs to get the extra tenth of a point, tiny little measure, but that would give her the bronze medal. And then the Romanians were against that, and then the Court of Arbitration for Sports said, no, we're not listening to that.

1:17:17We don't want to see your video. Now they have to see the video. And the U.S. in fact did put in that appeal 47 seconds into that minute, Phil, which means that I think she will end up getting that bronze medal. Real quick, one word answer, because I've watched her in the last couple of weeks just hit 10 after 10 after 10 on the floor. Is she in the Olympics next time? Oh, I think so. I think so. She's that good. Kristen Brennan, it's great to see you, friend. Great to see you, Phil. Well, we're back in moments with Jake Tapper in a special interview you don't want to miss.

1:17:50We're back with Jake Tapper's conversation with acclaimed comedy director Judd Apatow on his latest project, a documentary on legendary comedian Mel Brooks. In our pop culture lead, the producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein. These are just a few of the timeless works of Mel Brooks. Brooks has made generations of audiences laugh with roles like the 2000 year old man, Dr. Abraham Van Helsing and dozens more. And now you can watch him play his funniest character yet himself. In a new two part documentary from HBO, Mel Brooks, the 99 year old man. Is it important to you that people know your story?

1:18:31You care about the legacy? I know not so much about me, but about little short, funny looking Jews who are trepidatious about entering show business. Yeah. I said, if I can do it, you can do it. And the documentary's director and producer Judd Apatow joins me now. Judd, it's fantastic. Congratulations. As someone who's been a lifelong fan of Mel Brooks, what was it like to get the access to him to ask him about anything you wanted to? Well, I feel like my whole life I've been stalking him, just trying to get enough credits together that he would be willing to meet with me in any way. I used to go to his office to just sit at his knee and ask him questions.

1:19:21This is just the first time I put it on tape. What do you think audiences will be most surprised by, by what they see in this doc? Well, I think it's the first time that he's really opened up emotionally. We've seen him our entire lives be riotously funny, but I think probably a little bit guarded about his privacy. And he was willing to open up and talk about World War II and the Depression and the hard things that happened in his life. Periods where, you know, he had imposter syndrome and really was worried about his career. And he also talks about his first marriage and grief a lot. You know, there's a lot of discussion of loss because he's 99 years old and he's really had to deal with being, you know, the last man standing.

1:20:04He had a tough life in a lot of ways. His dad died when he was only two. He served in World War II. How much do you think he would be as funny as he is without all that struggle?

1:20:21I think it deepened what he did. I mean, he said he got funny because he was one of four brothers, and I think he was small and became very loud as a way of, you know, finding his place in the world. And he said he was a real storyteller in the neighborhood. But going through World War II where, you know, he was in the Army Corps of Engineers and, you know, he had to defuse bombs and locate booby traps. You know, he really went through a lot of stuff and I think it made him a moral comedian. A lot of his work is satirizing fascism, attacking racism. There's a real ethical core to everything he did.

1:21:02And I think that's a result of what he'd been through. So you got your start in high school with a tape recorder going to comedians who are older than you and, you know, successful or coming up and interviewing them. and then you would air it on your high school student radio station. And what's interesting about your career now, Judd, is that, yes, you've done some incredibly popular comedies, but lately you've done so many documentaries. Is this just like the natural chapter, given the fact that you started interviewing really funny people and now you're not ending, but like in this chapter, you're doing a lot of true stories about funny people?

1:21:45well i feel like it's all connected you know when i was a kid i i just wanted to know more you know in the eras before podcasting i think i just wanted something like that to exist but i think it's also connected to the work because gary shanning always taught that it's about getting to the deepest truths to you know getting to the core of people and so in documentaries you really can to go all the way to truth. The HBO original documentary, Mel Brooks, the 99 year old man is out now on HBO and HBO Max, which I am obligated to remind you as part of CNN's parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery.

1:22:19Judd, it's always great talking to you, thanks. Great to talk to you. We're coming up Sunday on State of the Union, Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin, Republican Senator Ron Johnson, that's Sunday at 9 a.m. and noon Eastern on CNN. Aaron Burnett out front, starts now.

1:22:46We'll see you next time.