Gaetz Report Released
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Good morning. It is Tuesday, December 24th. Merry Christmas Eve. And right now on CNN This Morning. It's important for the public to see it and draw their own conclusions. Report release and ethics panel finds evidence that Matt Gaetz paid tens of thousands of dollars for sex and drugs while serving in Congress. Plus... Panama is taking advantage of the United States of America. Pandemonium over Panama. New reaction this morning over Donald Trump's threat to take back the Panama Canal.

Bill Clinton hospitalized the former president taken to the hospital after developing a fever. We'll have an update on his condition and later. Frankly, your honor, the mayor should know more than anyone the presumption of innocence. Tainting the jury pool, the lawyer for the suspected CEO killer calling out New York City's mayor over that staged perp walk. It's 6:00 AM here on the East Coast. Here's a live look at Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee.

Greatest for 59. And good morning, everyone. I'm Rahel Solomon in today for Casey Hunt. Great to have you with us and good to be with you. A new House ethics report is out accusing former Congressman Matt Gaetz of violating state laws regarding prostitution, statutory rape and drug use. The 37 page report finds that Gaetz paid women for sex or drugs on at least 20 occasions and

and includes text message screenshots where Gates asked women to bring, quote, a full complement of party favors to his hotel. The committee says that this was a code word for ecstasy or other drugs. Another exchange shared by the committee, an unnamed woman in Gates'

seem to be arguing over pay when she asks Gates, quote, so I'm not to be taken care of for last week. Gates responds saying, quote, I gave you $250 today and about last week, says, quote, you gave me a drive-by. Now Gates is striking back at the report on his ex-account posting or reposting about it more than 30 times since its release. Writing in part, quote, they did this to me in a Christmas Eve Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses. Remember?

Members from both sides of the aisle, meantime, responding to the report and to Trump's former pick to lead the Department of Justice. -The contents of the report, this ethics report, are very serious. I expect the public to react to it in a serious way, but he's not a nominee. He's not a congressman anymore. He's a private citizen, and the country expects us to move on. -The reflection of this on the judgment

of Donald Trump is perhaps the most remarkable part of this whole story. Trump, meantime, continues to stand by Gates. Late last night, Gates posting this picture with the caption, I got a great note from President Trump. The note is written on a printed headline of the story and reads, Matt, very unfair.

Joining me now to talk about this is Alex Thompson, CNN political analyst and national political reporter for Axios. Leah Wright Rigger, CNN political analyst and historian. Max Rose, former Democratic congressman from New York and senior advisor to VoteBets. And Brad Todd, Republican strategist. Welcome one. Welcome all. Great to have you, Leah. Let me start with you. It's been a day. We've had a sort of a day to digest the findings of the report. What are your takeaways?

So I think there are a couple of things. First, that it was a bipartisan committee that released this report. And I think that it speaks to something that we've talked about in the news before. We've talked about in larger kind of circles before, which is that Matt Gaetz is kind of universally disliked. There is a bipartisan agreement that he's not a great person. We saw a lot of kind of

And I think this is really important. We saw a lot of Republicans commenting on Matt Gaetz prior to the ethics report being released, saying things like, "We don't actually care if the ethics report comes out. We don't know if it would be great if Matt Gaetz was AG. We think this might be a problematic pick."

And I think part of it, especially what we saw with some of those reports from congressional members, was that they were incensed that Matt Gaetz was on the congressional floor allegedly talking about these incidents and bragging about these incidents.

So now they've come out to play. And I think part of the underlying politics of this is that a number of members of Congress, Republican members of Congress, were absolutely fine with this seeing the light of day. It's particularly interesting given that Matt Gaetz stepped down from the attorney general position. So there's no blowback retrospectively for these Republicans to actually release the report. Now, the next part of this is how can you know what what comes of this?

He is a private citizen. He is no longer, I believe he is now employed by a different media outlet. But aside from that, you know, this may be one of those things that simply was about ensuring that he stays in his box, that he is not in a position of power like the attorney general. And there was wide bipartisan agreement on that.

Yeah, Alex, talk to us a little bit about how this all went down. I mean, we knew sort of initially that the fact that this was released had to mean that at least one Republican on the committee had voted to release it. But Axios is reporting is that it was actually two. It was two centrist Republicans on the panel who unexpectedly voted to release it. Representatives Dave Joyce of Ohio and Andrew Garbarini Barino from New York.

who sided with the committee's five Democrats in voting to release this report. Talk to us a little bit about what we make of this sudden change, especially among the Republicans who voted for this. Well, it does show what we just talked about, which is that there is bipartisan action

in some cases, hatred of Matt Gaetz within the House. While Donald Trump is still very close to Matt Gaetz, he has really alienated a lot of his colleagues. And also, I think this report highlights how rushed the process was in picking him as attorney general. You have to believe that if Trump's inner circle knew every single detail of this ethics report,

which the Senate, even if it wasn't going to become public, senators were insisting that they read before voting on him. He would not have nominated him as attorney general. This would have been a fiasco if he was actually going through attorney general hearings the next month or two. Yeah. And Brad, let me get your thoughts sort of how you interpret this. And does this impact Trump at all? Does this have the impact of hurting him at all?

Well, Matt Gaetz is not only a stray dog, he's the strayest dog in Washington. I mean, he probably has four or five people who wish he was back in Congress who are elected currently. And, you know, I think one thing about Donald Trump is he does like his people around him to win.

I don't know that he will view Matt Gaetz as a winner over the long haul. He also values people who can be personally in control. He famously doesn't use drugs, doesn't use alcohol, and never has. And so you have to think that the revelations in the report probably lower him in esteem with President-elect Trump. Yeah, Max, let me let you have the last word here. Your thoughts.

Look, I mean, Matt Gaetz is obviously a troubled human being with a checkered past. But what the real test here will be, the real litmus test,

is how does the MAGA base continue to receive Matt Gaetz going forward? And what you see from him is actually this exuberant confidence that he will be stronger amongst the MAGA base than ever before. How far we have come from the wholesome values that once was the Republican base

So we're going to see this play out in Florida statewide politics, perhaps a gubernatorial campaign or a Senate campaign. But I suspect that Matt Gaetz's days in Washington, D.C., are not coming back anytime soon.

Yeah, it's interesting because he's sort of been toying with the idea of maybe he'll come back. Maybe he'll run for this seat or maybe he'll run for that seat. And it's unclear to it's unclear, at least to me, whether he's being sarcastic or whether he really means it. Panel, stick by. We'll get to you in the next block. Thank you for being here. In the meantime, coming up on CNN this morning, fallout after President Biden grants commutations to dozens of death row inmates. Why some say he went too far and others claim the opposite.

Plus, former President Bill Clinton taken to the hospital, his condition this morning. And investing in Trump, more companies backing the president-elect, donating to his inaugural fund. All over the world, people are investing now. They're calling it the Trump effect because even before taking office, we're already bringing in the jobs and opportunity.

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Welcome back. Donald Trump's team criticizing President Biden after his decision to commute the sentences of most federal death row inmates to life in prison. A spokesperson for Trump's transition team saying, quote, these are among the worst killers in the world. And this abhorrent decision by Joe Biden is a slap in the face to the victims, their families and their loved ones. President Trump stands for the rule of law, which will return when he is back in the White House after he was elected with a massive mandate from the American people.

Early yesterday, the White House announcing Biden is taking 37 people off a federal death row, not commuting three individuals. One of two brothers responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing, Dylan Roof, who killed nine people at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, and Robert Bowers, who killed 11 at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue.

In a statement, Biden pushed back against the use of the death penalty at the federal level, saying, quote, "Make no mistake, I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all of the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss. In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted."

My panel is back. Leah, let me begin with you again here. I wanted to play for you a clip from a family member of multiple victims from that Charleston church shooting. Take a listen to what she said. Her name is Reverend Sharon Risher. Take a listen. If you're going to commute 37 and not 40, now you're playing judge, President Biden. And I need you to understand that when you put a killer on death row,

The families are left to be hostages for the years and years of appeal that will continue to come. Leah, I mean, it's hard to even hear that. Honestly, you can still clearly hear the pain and the agony that these families are going through. But does she have a fair point? If you're going to commute 37 to 40, why not commute 40 to 40 if you have this strong belief about it? Strong belief about it.

Well, I think part of what Biden was trying to do is to acknowledge that those three particular commutations that he chose not to do have a particular resonance in this kind of larger American context. You know, we're talking about

to three incidents that changed the trajectory of American history, but not just American history more broadly, but American racial, ethnic and religious history. These are really important, I think, in large scale swaths, acts of domestic terrorism and acts that were connected to international ideas of terrorism that had widespread consequences.

And so I think part of what we see is somebody like Biden really trying to wrestle with that. I do think that it is important that somebody like Bryan Stevenson, who has been working on essentially kind of the freedom and fairness within the death row, within death row and wrongfully convicted individuals, who's really quite known for this, has come out and said that this was an important first step. This is different than any other president that we've seen before.

For Biden, and I would also keep in mind that Biden did make a promise in 2020 that he would abolish the death, the federal death penalty. But for Biden to actually do this and do this in a way that is radically different from any of his predecessors,

I think is an important step in understanding how the federal death sentence, federal death penalty works, but also justice. What does it mean as a believer in commutation to do this and how do you reconcile it with a much larger implication? What would it have meant for justice

I think what is the message going forward that many people would have received? So we hear from some of the families who are like, this is horrific. But we also hear from a number of families who say, this is the right thing to do. So it's a tricky moment, but I think Biden has upheld the promise that he made four years ago. - Farah, does this come back, and I'm glad you're shaking your head because I was planning to go to you anyway, but does this come back to hurt Democrats? What are your thoughts on this?

Well, I think all Biden's doing here is he's trying to bury his pardon of Hunter in a sea of other pardons. He's nearing 2000 pardons and commutations here, which is more than anyone since Jimmy Carter. He's just trying to cover up Hunter's pardon. Now, a lot of us who have pro-life convictions and don't like the death penalty could have respected it if Joe Biden had started his term and said, look, I'm a devout Catholic and I'm not for the death penalty. I'm going to end the federal death penalty. I'm going to commute them all on the first day, every one of them.

But to come here at the end and say, I'm going to commute this death sentence and not that one and do so after he's shielded from the voters when it can't hurt him politically, it's just a cynical play. I just don't buy it. I don't buy that this has anything to do with this Catholic social teachings because he didn't do it up front. He didn't try to make some consistency and make it a key part of his presidency and let the voters judge him. I think this is all about Hunter. Max, your reaction to what Brad just said there?

Yeah, it's pretty far stretched to say that this is about Hunter Biden. I mean, what this is about ultimately is a moral statement that the death penalty is largely wrong and immoral.

To say that any action by a president of the United States towards the end of his term is political theater is obviously ridiculous. It remains to be seen whether or not this is good politics. But suffice it to say, the politics of 2026 and 2028 will have very, very little to do with the politics of the holiday season of 2024.

Okay, we'll leave it here. Panel, thank you. We'll see you shortly. And I head on CNN this morning. After a years-long investigation, the House Ethics Committee releases its report on Matt Gaetz. Democratic Congressman Glenn Ivey, who sits on that committee, joins me to discuss. Plus... I have never seen a case with such volume of evidence. The suspected CEO killer pleads not guilty to murder and terrorism charges. Why his lawyer is concerned, he won't receive a fair trial. We'll be right back.

Welcome back. The man accused of killing the UnitedHealthcare CEO made his first court appearance in a New York courtroom. Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty while his attorney cast doubt that her client can receive a fair trial. CNN's Kara Scannell was there and has more. Luigi Mangione, accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, arriving to a New York City courtroom. Escorted by police officers, his wrists and ankles shackled. Not guilty.

Mangione entering a plea of not guilty to the 11 New York State counts he is facing, which include murder in the first degree and murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism. I'm very concerned about my client's right to a fair trial. Like every other defendant, he is entitled to a presumption of innocence. But unfortunately, the way this has been handled so far, his rights are being violated.

His attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, telling Judge Gregory Carroll that Mangione was being used like, quote, political fodder. He's a young man and he is being treated like a human ping pong ball between two warring jurisdictions here.

Saying last week's now infamous perp walk with Mangione stepping off a helicopter surrounded by heavily armed law enforcement officers and New York City Mayor Eric Adams trailing behind was inappropriate. Frankly, Your Honor, the mayor should know more than anyone of the presumption of innocence. Noting Adams own legal problems over federal charges, including bribery, to which he has pled not guilty. I submit that he was just trying to detract from those issues by making a spectacle of

of Mr. Mangione. Agnifilo also asking for expedited discovery, but prosecutors warning that may not be so easy. I have never seen a case with such volume of evidence. Saying there are thousands of hours of video tracking Mangione. Mangione is also facing four federal charges, including murder through use of a firearm. As we understand that we have primary jurisdiction and we have been informed by the U.S. attorney that they intend on

allowing us to try our case first. We will comply with our ethical obligations with respect to trying this defendant's guilt in this courtroom and this courtroom alone. Mangione has not entered a plea yet on the federal charges. Prosecutors could decide to seek the death penalty in that case.

Members of the public filling four rows of the courtroom to watch the hearing unfold. While outside, protesters rallied in support of Mangione and against insurance companies like UnitedHealthcare. We should have knocked the button! We should have knocked the button! Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

And straight ahead on CNN this morning, it's not Santa's sleigh that NASA is tracking this morning. They're keeping a close eye on the Parker Solar Probe as it attempts to make history near the surface of the sun. Plus, territorial expansion. Donald Trump jokes about taking back the Panama Canal. And some say we should take him seriously. I always take the president seriously and it's a legitimate threat to Panama. He wants a better deal.

This week on The Assignment with me, Adi Cornish. Christina Binkley is going to help me out with this assignment. She's editor at large at Vogue Business, and she says tariff people are the secret weapon of fashion industry accounting. Cloth-soled shoes have a lower tariff than any other kind of sole. So you can get around paying that tariff if you just put a piece of gauze on the sole that wears off by the third wearing. That's

I don't even know how to feel about that. Listen to The Assignment with me, Audie Cornish, streaming now on your favorite podcast app. The epic story. She was going to kill everybody. Do I look like a monster to you? Concludes. The man's are a cult. We need to get her out of there. With one. Look, there she is. Blast. I hear like moaning. Like a porno. Twist. What are you hiding? Can we cut?

The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, the final chapter. An I.D. documentary event starts Monday, January 6th at 9. Welcome back. You can now add Ford to the growing lineup of major companies donating to Donald Trump's inaugural fund. The company confirmed that it is donating $1 million plus a fleet of vehicles to the president-elect's upcoming inauguration. Ford is now the latest company to make a donation joining General Motors, OpenAI, Amazon and Meta.

There's also been a steady stream of tech industry CEOs cozying up to Trump, making the trek down to Mar-a-Lago since his reelection. Among them, the leaders of Meta, Apple, Google, TikTok, Netflix, and Amazon, a phenomenon that has not gone unnoticed by the president-elect. I did have dinner with Tim Cook. I had dinner with sort of almost all of them, and the rest are coming. And this is one of the big differences, I think, between, we were talking about it before,

One of the big differences between the first term, the first term everybody was fighting me. In this term everybody wants to be my friend, I don't know. My personality changed or something. - All right, let's bring our panel back in. Alex, let me start with you. What are you hearing on this?

Yeah, I can tell you that people around Donald Trump do not think his personality has changed. What has changed is the people, the sort of society around him and that all these companies no longer feel any sort of stigma of donating to Donald Trump. And they know Donald Trump is incredibly transactional person. The reason why Elon Musk has so much influence in this incoming administration is not just because Donald Trump likes SpaceX or like spending time with Elon Musk. It's because Elon Musk

spent over $200 million helping him get elected. And all these companies are taking that cue.

- Hmm, Brad, let me get your take on the topic of tariffs especially. US automakers could get hit particularly hard when it comes to the components needed to build a new car. So this is according to CNBC, but they quote, "Putting tariffs on components could add 600 to 2,500 per vehicle "in parts from Mexico, Canada, and China." That's according to estimates in a Wells Fargo analyst's note. Prices on vehicles assembled in Mexico and Canada, which account for about 23% of vehicles sold in the US, could rise,

s one thousand seven hundred fifty dollars to ten thousand dollars right how does that help trump well i don't think don't report wants to put tariffs on mexico and canada he says he's gonna put them up the tariffs on the fake it get the border secure on their side of it uh... i'd that's been clearly that's that's a tear there's a tear from the threat of a tear and access to the united states market is one of the biggest weapons we have to affect change in policies

and our other trading partners. I think Donald Trump will be satisfied if Mexico and Canada do all the things they need to do to secure the border and to let our products in there and then move on. Remember, he's the one that renegotiated what was NAFTA, now is the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. So let's all watch this play out. Let's watch, see how the threat works.

Max, how are Democrats watching this play out? I mean, obviously, Trump ran on a campaign of lowering prices. Some economists have pointed out that some of his policies that he has floated, to your point, Brad, floating a policy versus implementing a policy are very different. But some have pointed out could be really inflationary. Sorry, was that to me? So look, my apologies. So look, in the end, right, this is not what Donald Trump ran on.

Donald Trump ran and won this presidential election largely by co-opting traditional Democratic talking points in and around fighting an elitist class that was both culturally estranged from working people and working against the economic interests of working people. He did not run

on this notion that he was going to parade billionaires down to Mar-a-Lago in what is ultimately an escalator of transactional deals. So this speaks to potentially what the Trump administration will actually look like, which is traditional Republican politics of being there for the top 1%. That's not only a bad set of policies and agendas for working people in the United States of America, but it's also going to be very poor politics.

Let me let you have the last Zuckerberg. Go ahead. Go ahead, Brad. Go ahead. Well, people like Mark Zuckerberg have been in the pocket of Democrats and donating millions and millions of Democrats to Democrats for four generations. These same donors who you're decrying for going to Mar-a-Lago to meet with President for President-elect Trump. They're Democratic donors. I don't know how you get how you can equate.

take those things and not equate them. - So I'm not decrying this. What I'm saying ultimately is this is not what Donald Trump ran on. Where were the commercials that said that he is going to surround himself by billionaires at Mar-a-Lago who give him a million bucks? Where were the commercials that said he's gonna listen to donors and then talk about

annexing the Panama Canal because someone's upset about their higher toll rates that they're paying. This is not what he spoke about, but it is how he is governing. Matt, let me actually... Brad, we're actually going to turn to Panama Canal because that's the perfect segue there. Donald Trump's pitch to retake the Panama Canal has been drawing harsh criticism, at least from Panama's president, who said that the president-elect doesn't really understand history. Take a listen.

That is a manifestation of gross ignorance of history. So all those speculations and all that range of eventualities that are not going to happen, well, I leave them there as totally irrelevant issues and quite bordering on historical incoherence with what the Panama Canal has been, is, and will be. Now the people of Panama falling in line with their president saying that they are prepared to fight for what's theirs.

That will never happen. That will never happen because you will have to kill all the Panamanians who live here. All Panamanians of all ages, of all classes, and of all social conditions, and with all political beliefs, have to close rank at this moment when the country demands that we defend the canal. Leah, let me have you have the first word here. Your thoughts on this.

So I think this is a tactic by Donald Trump. And in fact, it's not a new tactic. It's a tactic that he consistently went with during his first term in office. And it's a tactic to ultimately get something that he wants. He doesn't actually want the Panama Canal. He wants something else. He's just not being transparent as of yet about what he actually wants. It's the same thing with Greenland. Greenland's a little bit more open.

transparent in and of itself because of the trade routes, because of the resources, because of the melting ice caps. And so there's something within there that Donald Trump wants. And so usually when he wants something, he says something outlandish around it. Mexico is going to build a wall. We are going to take back this. We are going to make Canada 50%.

the 51st state. And what it's designed to do is in fact attract a lot of attention to a larger issue and so that he can sit at a table and say, this is what I want, these are the demands. The actual idea that the United States is going to invade Canada or force Canada, invade Panama or force Panama to give back the canal is actually is outlandish and is ludicrous.

as the president alluded to, the president of Panama alluded to. This is very Donald Trump. This is a very Donald Trump tactic. And as we move into 2025 and his second term in office, I would not be surprised if we continue to see tactics like this. - But Brad, if Donald Trump isn't serious or if there is actually something else he wants, does he run the risk? And what are the risks of antagonizing allies, neighbors that were previously friendly with the US?

Well, first off, most Republicans who are old enough to remember it still regret the fact that we gave away the Panama Canal in the 1970s. Americans built it. Americans bled and died to build it. And it's a key to American trade. But secondly, you can't criticize Donald Trump for both not promoting trade on tariffs and then promoting trade by trying to secure trade routes.

It's got to be one or the other. I think that most people hear him talk about the canal and talk about other trading routes. And they know he's he's he's a little there's a little bit of bluster here, a little bit of overstatement. But they get that he's trying to put America's interests economically first ahead of our allies and not caring what our allies think. Now, that was in the campaign. It was part of his mandate to put America first in all these dealings and not worry about what allies think about us.

Alex, your thoughts. What are you hearing? I mean, there's always sort of, I think sometimes, you know, Leah said outlandish, but sometimes when there are these comments from Trump that come out of left field, there's always a question of, is he serious? Is he not serious? Is this a negotiating tactic? Is this a bargaining tool? What are you hearing?

Everything's a negotiating tactic with Donald Trump. And to Brad's point, the Panama Canal has actually been sort of an issue on the right, going back to Ronald Reagan, who was really an active campaigner against the return of the canal, which was part of the treaty with the canal. But, you know, the thing is that Donald Trump sees everything as transactional and he wants and every single thing he says is about leverage. And it's a joke until it's not.

Max, your thoughts sort of about what this tells us about what the next four years could look like. Yeah, look, this is Donald Trump implicitly threatening military action. Because in the end, right, if you look at this clash of two nations' interests, what Donald Trump is saying is in the end, we can just take it from you. The same administration, the same campaign that said that they were the most anti-war politicians in modern political history. This is exasperating.

exceedingly dangerous, not just because it represents a threat of military action, but because also negotiation 101 is don't make a threat that you cannot actually follow up on. And for the life of me, I can't understand how Donald Trump would actually take back the Panama Canal involving a nation that doesn't want that to happen without military action. Brad, your reaction to what Max just said?

Again, I think you have to always, you know, I said this back in 2016, the first, is that you have to take Donald Trump seriously, not literally, because that's the way his voters take him. I think that what you have to look at this and say Donald Trump is very serious about promoting American interest in our dealings with all of our partners. That's where, that's his number one lodestar. You know, we've come out of this period where,

obamaism as i like to call it where barack obama really mainly wanted us to have a better reputation at the united nations uh that's not donald trump this is the opposite of that where he puts the interests of americans first foremost and is willing to take on some scar tissue with some of our partners because of it okay we'll leave it here panel thank you and straight ahead on cnn this morning bill clinton hospitalized what we are learning about the former president's condition

Plus, a bombshell report. The House Ethics Committee finds Matt Gaetz broke Florida's statutory rape law and paid thousands of dollars for sex and drugs. Coming up, Congressman Glenn Ivey, who sits on the House Ethics Committee, is here next to discuss. Would they ever have released it if he had not resigned and if he was no longer under consideration? That's very disturbing.

Well, first of all, it's an honor to meet you. I'm so sorry for what happened. And what is it like being back? Well, thanks for having me, Anderson. It's an honor for me, too. I've been a fan for years. Being back, it's surreal.

I'm in a world that used to be familiar and it isn't. I'm getting used to just simple things. You were held in a prison in Moscow initially, which is a notorious, it's a high, like maximum security prison, I think. It's a very notorious prison. Yeah, Lefortova. It's called the shooting gallery because that's where the Russians used to and probably still do shoot their own people.

It's a horrendously old, run-down facility. And you're in a small cell by yourself basically 23 hours a day. How long were you in that facility? For a year and a half. I cannot imagine suddenly from being in your hotel room visiting your friend for a wedding to being in this notorious prison, how do you mentally feel?

Not just panic and freak out? I probably did panic and freaked out. Very quickly, I realized that what was happening was real. You know, there was some solace in the fact that I knew my ambassadors would be coming to find out what was happening. I wasn't sure how long it would take to resolve. I knew I hadn't done anything. I hadn't violated the espionage law. I'm not a spy. I never have been.

They'd either made a mistake or they were making it up. Once you-- after the trial, you were sentenced like 16 years, I think. Right, yeah. You were sent to a labor camp in Mordovia. And you're still-- for the next three, four years, you are woken up every two hours at night. Yeah. I was an escape risk, apparently. Mordovia, there's nothing out there. It's woods. It's forests. And so what? They would come in, wake you up, and what?

They'd shine a light in my eyes and then take a picture with a camera to prove that they had checked me. Every night, every two hours? Every two hours. For years? For four years. Can you sleep normally now? Now? I'm getting back to a normal sleep pattern. It's difficult. What was that flight like? We saw the video of you at the tarmac on American soil being greeted by President Biden, by the vice president as well. What was that like?

You know, that was incredible. And, you know, we see on the monitor the president putting something on my shirt, and it's actually this flag. Yeah, this is the lapel pin.

I didn't realize when we got on the plane, it was a CIA plane flying back, that we were going to meet the president and vice president. I had been in solitary confinement for the five days prior. I hadn't had a shower in two weeks. I had clothes on that I'd actually worn when I went to Russia. The clothes you're wearing there, those are the clothes you were arrested in? Those are the clothes, yeah, yeah.

So they were dirty. I was dirty. On the plane, I had to clean up as well as I could. And, you know, it also looked like they don't really fit you anymore. No, they don't because I'd lost so much weight. It you know, you know, you saw me walking off very kind of gingerly coming down those stairs, holding on because I I didn't have the strength. I didn't have the balance. The malnutrition had taken a toll. It was interesting to see the president.

It was interesting to see the vice president, but there was a lot of media too. And I was glad to see them. Those were the people that had supported me. Music superstars charged in criminal court, parents of a school shooter land in prison, and an insurance executive gunned down, shot in the back, in the heart of New York City. All part of the top 10 crime and justice stories of 2024.

Number 10: A conviction in the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German. Two young Delphi, Indiana girls have an afternoon off from school in February 2017. A family member drops them off to hike at the Monon High Bridge Trail. Libby and Abby were never seen again. Their bodies were found together the next day with their throats cut.

Libby's phone had pivotal video evidence of a suspect. Local resident Richard Allen was arrested in 2022 and was later convicted by a jury of his peers. Number nine, charges in connection to the death of a beloved neighbor.

actor. When I dance, I look like this. Matthew Perry, who became a household name on the hit show Friends, found dead in October 2023, his body floating face down in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home with ketamine in his system. Five people now charged in connection with his death, including two doctors. Matthew Perry sought treatment for depression and anxiety in

and went to a local clinic where he became addicted to intravenous ketamine. Three of the defendants have reached plea agreements while the other two have pleaded not guilty. Number eight, a stunning end to Alec Baldwin's manslaughter trial. Baldwin goes to trial following the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halina Hutchins on the set of his film Rust. Prosecutors said Baldwin pulled the trigger of a prop gun during a rehearsal.

But the gun had a live round, killing Hutchins. Within two days, the involuntary manslaughter case was thrown out over withheld evidence. Dismissal with prejudice is warranted. Number seven, pop star Justin Timberlake arrested for driving while intoxicated.

Timberlake is pulled over while driving in Sag Harbor, New York. Court records alleged he was glassy-eyed with a strong odor of alcohol in his breath. He told police he only had one martini. Three months later, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving while impaired. Even one drink.

Don't get behind the wheel of a car. Number six, an Illinois woman shot and killed in her own home by police. 36-year-old Sonia Massey called 911 on July 6th because she thought an intruder was in her home. Deputies responded, but a dispute over a pot of hot water on the stove became the focus. Her hot?

What are you doing? Away from your hot steaming water. Away from my hot steaming water? Yeah. Oh, I'll rebuke you in the name of Jesus. I'll puke you in the name of Jesus. You better f***ing not. That's where you're at. I'll f***ing shoot you right in your f***ing face. Drop the f***ing pot! The f***ing drop the f***ing pot!

Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson was fired and has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges. Number five. After 35 years in prison, two brothers have the possibility of freedom.

Lylan Eric Menendez planned, plotted and executed the murders of their parents in 1989. The brothers said they acted in self-defense after suffering years of physical and sexual abuse by their record executive father. The first jury trial ended in a mistrial but included their sexual abuse testimony. Do you recall the first time that he wasn't nice during the sex?

Yes, yes. And you were 11?

I was 11. But during a second trial, the brothers were convicted. Now they say they have new evidence. And with a Netflix docudrama on the case... We did it! As well as the sudden support of now former L.A. District Attorney George Gascon, the chance for freedom is possible. But the new D.A., Nathan Hockman, is making no promises. You've got to review thoroughly the facts and the law. Number four.

The chief executive officer of insurance giant United Healthcare gunned down in New York City. Brian Thompson, in town for a conference, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of December 4th outside of the Hilton in Midtown Manhattan. It appears the suspect was lying in wait for several minutes.

On December 9th, the NYPD announced 26-year-old Luigi Mangione had been arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania while eating at a McDonald's. He was in possession of a document criticizing the healthcare industry, a police official told CNN. Mangione has been charged with murder, among other counts, in state and federal court. Mangione's attorney denies his client was involved in the killing.

Number three, a Georgia nursing student murdered on her morning jog. 25 minutes into that run, Lakin Riley was killed. This community, all of Georgia and the entire country had been rocked by this inexcusable and avoidable murder.

Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old migrant from Venezuela, was charged with her murder. The trial in November brought in unemotional Ibarra and Riley's family together in the same room. This sick, twisted, and evil coward

showed no regard for Lake and her human life. Ibarra was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Number two, it was precedent setting. Parents of a mass school shooter on trial themselves for the deaths of the students their son gunned down. Gun ownership is a right, and with that right comes great responsibility.

Jennifer and James Crumbly, the parents of the Oxford, Michigan high school shooter, went to trial in early 2024 on involuntary manslaughter charges. In a first-of-its-kind prosecution, the state alleged the Crumblys bought their son a gun days before the mass shooting and didn't properly store it. Despite her knowledge of his deteriorating mental crisis,

This gun was gifted. Jennifer then took the stand. There was a couple of times where Ethan had expressed anxiety over taking tests, but not to a level where I felt he needed to go see a psychiatrist or a mental health professional right away. With the community still overcome by grief from the four students murdered by their son, both parents were convicted by unanimous juries. They are appealing their verdicts.

And the number one crime and justice story of the year, music superstar Sean Diddy Combs arrested. Combs was charged in September with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and prostitution-related charges. Combs used force, threats of force, and coercion to cause victims to engage in extended sexual performances with male commercial sex workers.

The indictment specifically notes surveillance video showing Combs beating his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura at a hotel in March 2016. Combs apologized after CNN aired that video in May. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I'm disgusted. Combs remains in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City. He has pleaded not guilty.

Groceries, dry clean, kale and quote being my friend. Those are all descriptions that former Congressman Matt Gaetz allegedly used to disguise the Venmo payments that he may have made to women for sex and drugs. That's all according to a newly released House ethics report into alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use by Gaetz on Democratic congressman warning that there was a chance the public would have never gotten to see the report.

Republican controlled ethics committee had refused to release this report while Mr. Gates was still under consideration for that position. Would they ever have released it if he had not resigned and if he was no longer under consideration? That's very disturbing. All right. Joining me now is Democratic Representative Glenn Ivey of Maryland. He currently sits on that House Ethics Committee and was previously a state and federal prosecutor. Congressman, so good to have you this morning. Thanks for the time.

Thanks for having me. So what do you make of what you just heard from your colleague there, of the fact that the committee only released the report only after Gates was no longer in the running for a cabinet position?

Well, I think there was certainly a strong interest in releasing it so the Senate could hear it in the event he'd had confirmation hearings and they would have had to vote on whether he would be the Attorney General or not. After he stepped away from that, I thought it was important for the public to get the information at any event.

You know, the serious nature of the findings here really justifies that. And it's also important for the House members who are still going to be sitting to know what what he did and what's over the line and what's not. And unfortunately, we're running out of time here. We had some technical issues. But was there something specific in the report that ultimately pushed two of your Republican colleagues to to vote to release it?

Well, I'm not speaking about which number of, you know, who did what on the vote. But I think it was just the combination of facts and the findings. The staff did an outstanding job in this investigation and brought forward, you know, very serious issues that of things that, you know, the evidence backed up that he had done the sex with the 17 year old girl, I think.

was the most prominent among those, but the issues about prostitution, the payments and the like, the illicit drug use while he was in office, all of those things I think combine to give us a sense that these are things the public should know. And whether he runs for office down the road or just stays in the private sector, voters or future employers ought to know what took place. - Representative Glenn Ivey, so good to have you today. Thank you and happy holidays. - Thank you.

And thanks to our panel. And thank you for joining me today. I'm Rahel Solomon. CNN News Central starts right now. Welcome to Times Square. Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen are back together to ring in the New Year. Best night of my life. And anything could happen. Oh, my gosh. So good. That's perfect TV. New Year's Eve Live starts at 8 on CNN.

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