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House Ethics Chair Says He Has "Reservations" About Releasing Report; Vance Joins Gaetz On Capitol Hill To Shore Up Support; House Panel Concludes Meeting Amid Calls To Release Gaetz Ethics Report; U.S. Closes Kyiv Embassy Amid Threat Of "Significant Air Attack"; U.S. Allowing Ukraine To Use Long-Range Weapons In Russia. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired November 20, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:01:43]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Under Pressure: The House Ethics Committee is meeting behind closed doors to discuss whether to publicly release its report into attorney general pick Matt Gaetz. It's a decision that could upend the former congressman's chances of confirmation, and we are live on the Hill.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus, Convicted of Murder: A judge finding Jose Ibarra guilty of all 10 charges in the murder of Georgia nursing student, Laken Riley, the sentence he's now facing after some heartbreaking testimony from her family and loved ones.

Plus, A Warning Sign: Target stock tanking after the company reported sluggish sales and predicting a not-so-jolly holiday shopping season.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Will the report be released? Right now, the House Ethics Committee is grappling with that very question, meeting on whether to release its report into Trump's attorney general pick, Matt Gaetz, over allegations of sexual misconduct and also illicit drug use. Not long ago, the Republican chair of the committee, Michael Guest, said he isn't sure the report should be released.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Have you heard from Trump or his team at all about this?

REP. MICHAEL GUEST (R-MS): I have not heard from President Trump or any member of his team.

RAJU: There are two options, you said?

GUEST: Well, what I said is I view a public release versus a conversation about transmittal to the Senate. I think those are separate conversations that the Committee needs to discuss. RAJU: Is the report actually done at this point?

GUEST: The report is not complete.

RAJU: It's not?

GUEST: That's correct.

RAJU: And so, how could you possibly release it if it's not done?

GUEST: That is something that we will be talking about today. And that's another reason I have some reservations about releasing any unfinished work product.

RAJU: How far would you say it is from its completion?

GUEST: It has not gone through the review process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Gaetz and President-elect JD Vance have been holding their own meetings on Capitol Hill today trying to shore up support with Republican senators. CNN's Lauren Fox is following all of this for us.

What are you hearing from lawmakers, Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Yes, we've been standing outside of the House Ethics Committee room for about two hours now. Not a peep. No member has come out from the Ethics Committee. We have not gotten any guidance about what is happening inside this room.

Obviously, there have been a lot of questions about whether or not they would vote today to try to release this report, whether they would vote to try to transmit it to the Senate. Those are some of the current options on the table, but it's not clear that they are definitely going to be doing either of those things today.

Meanwhile, across the Capitol, like you noted, JD Vance, the incoming vice president, holding meetings with the president's choice for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, trying to win favor with some of those Republican senators, and at the very least make clear to them that they need to keep their minds open throughout this nomination process.

[15:05:00]

Look, it's a long time until January, until that formal nomination is transmitted to the Senate, until the Senate Judiciary Committee begins its hearing. They know that this is a long road, and they're banking on the fact that they need senators to keep their powder dry while they, behind the scenes, try to make it clear that Matt Gaetz is denying all of the allegations against him.

There's just a lot of moving parts here, and right now the most important thing for Trump's team is to make it clear that Republicans are not closing the door to this nomination before this process really gets off the ground, Brianna. KEILAR: All right. Lauren Fox, thank you so much.

Let's go now to CNN's Kristen Holmes, who is in West Palm Beach near Mar-a-Lago.

And Kristen, President-elect Trump is standing by Gaetz despite everything that we are learning. What are you hearing?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And Brianna, of course, the big question is whether or not anything in this ethics report could actually change that. Now, I'm told by people close to the President-elect that there isn't anything that could be published that would change that. However, again, this is coming from people who have no idea what's actually in this report, and it's something that they're hearing from Donald Trump himself, who has said that they would - he would stand by Matt Gaetz.

In fact, earlier today, we actually saw him lamenting the fact that some of his more controversial picks were not getting to be approved quickly or not getting confirmed quickly, and that there was some sort of holdup. So clearly, he's going to stand by Gaetz at this point. He cannot stop reiterating the fact to Donald Trump, because he handpicked Gaetz, believes that this is something that he really needs to get through and get him confirmed.

But he cannot control all of these Republican senators. And despite the fact that Gaetz is saying, and not Gaetz, but these Republican senators saying they're having good meetings with Gaetz, obviously, if this report is released, which it sounds like whether or not it's released officially or unofficially through back channels, it is likely to at least get some of that report out, how this would impact those Republican senators. Because at the end of the day, Donald Trump is going to have several controversial picks that he's trying to get through, despite the fact that he says that Matt Gaetz is his ultimate priority. That's where he wants to focus his political capital.

But all of these other senators, they also have their careers on the line, and depending on how they want to handle Donald Trump, that's where we need to find out.

KEILAR: All right. Kristen, sorry to interrupt you, we have members coming out of the House Ethics Committee, so we're going to pay attention here and listen in and see if they're going to be saying anything. We see our Manu Raju there.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: So we know he'll be throwing some questions there at these members of the House Ethics Committee.

SANCHEZ: We also saw Democrat Glenn Ivey walking by, refusing to answer questions. Obviously, a lot of speculation about whether there would be a vote today. They had the opportunity to vote on the release of this report last week, but they punted because Gaetz ultimately resigned from his congressional seat and is now, obviously, the nominee for attorney general. KEILAR: And then you have the chairman saying a few interesting things.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: He said that he has some reservations about releasing it because it isn't done. But just how undone the report is, is very much in question. We want to bring in our panel to talk a little bit about this. Let's bring in CNN Senior Political Commentator and former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger, and we're also joined by Marc Lotter, former special assistant to President Trump.

And Congressman, I want to ask you what you think about what Chairman Guest has said, because he does seem to be hesitant to releasing this, suggesting that it's not fully complete, while also suggesting that there is no pressure on the committee from the Speaker to not release the report, even though the Speaker has made it very clear he's pressuring the committee not to release the report.

ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I mean, look, behind the scenes, I can tell you for sure, the speaker making the comments was very important. And that sends a message to the members of the Ethics Committee who are appointed by the speaker that he doesn't want them to release it.

Now, hopefully, I'll tell you, most of the people that serve on the Ethics Committee are very much committed to good ethics, that's why they're picked. They usually put the partisanship aside. But you know the pressure that comes with Donald Trump is very intense. I do think, ultimately, we're going to find out some of what is in this, and whether that's just - they transmit it to the Senate. They - that's at a bare minimum, what they have to do, what they need to do is transmit it to the Senate, even if they don't publicly release it.

But the excuse about it's not completely finished, look, at no point is a report actually fully completely finished until, I don't know, even months after, because you're always, you know, lightening up, crossing the T's, dotting the I's. So I think that could be an excuse, because it sure sounds like they're very close to at least having, pretty close to a finished product, in my mind.

SANCHEZ: Marc, to a point Congressman Kinzinger just made, we've been speaking to experts who have said that essentially, whether or not this report comes out, portions of it can easily be made public and will be made public by the Senate Judiciary Committee when they hold hearings about this.

[15:10:08]

Why not just put the report out now and get this out of the way, the way that several Republican senators have suggested?

MARC LOTTER, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I have a feeling that every member of that committee, they're talking about are they setting precedent, are they going to set a precedent in the future where maybe another congressman, maybe one of themselves are going to have a report released that either wasn't complete or maybe they left Congress and yet a report will still come out.

So I think those are the kinds of things that the lawmakers have to consider. But I have no doubt in my mind, and I say it jokingly, Washington and Capitol Hill leaks like the Titanic. So whether they make an official release or not, trust me, it will find its way into the hands of CNN or The New York Times or The Washington Post. Someone will get it before this confirmation process continues.

KEILAR: I mean, this committee normally operates in a pretty sound way. I know it's hard to believe, but they do, Marc. And I wonder, though, one of the things we've heard from members of Congress, including on the GOP side is that it seems pretty - it just seems like standard that members of the Senate, Senate Republicans, should be able to see this work that has been done. I mean, why reinvent the wheel if the House Ethics Committee, the other chamber, has already gone through this whole very long, involved process of doing this investigation? I mean, I suppose that would open it up for the possibility of another leak.

But once in their hands, Marc, do you expect that actually, if there's some really bad stuff in here, that might mean they can't proceed with going for Gaetz.

LOTTER: Well, I mean, everything that's being speculated or has been reported on earlier would obviously raise concerns. And it's important, when you think about these things, that this is not about winning over or against the Republican caucus or the Senate caucus. This is about getting four Republicans to flip their votes. That all - that's all it takes is four Republicans out of what looks to be 53 Republicans to say no, and this nomination would be done.

If you're on the Team Trump side or with the others, you're trying to keep to getting at least 50 so the vice president can break that tie when the new Congress takes effect.

SANCHEZ: Speaking of the incoming vice president, Congressman, JD Vance was on Capitol Hill today alongside Matt Gaetz trying to lobby some Republican senators to give him a shot, in their words. I'm wondering what kind of an impact you think that has alongside what seems to be a clear threat from MAGA acolytes that any Republican senator that goes against this confirmation could potentially get primaried.

KINZINGER: Yes. I mean, look, by the way, this, again, from my experience in Congress, every two weeks, there's something that could get you primaried. And so you either have to just learn to acquiesce to every demand MAGA has or actually just be, you know, what people elected you to be, which is kind of an independent thinker.

The good thing is Senate Republicans tend to be more independent thinkers, when you're a senator, particularly if you're not up for reelection this time, although a lot of the kind of sane senators are up for reelection. So I do think it will have an impact to have JD Vance there.

I don't know. I mean, look, if I was JD Vance, I'd be frigging embarrassed to be walking with Matt Gaetz. I mean, this guy has - is basically a, you know, it's been accused of having sex with underage girls. And apparently the Ethics Committee has proof of this. We know what he said to us, the disgusting things he has said to us in person, why he can be the chief law enforcement officer and JD Vance will go along with this. I don't know.

I think this is partially because Donald Trump can find people to go do his bidding in the in the DOJ. This is partially Donald Trump's attempt to break the will and the resistance of Senate Republicans to prove that he can get anything through, although I don't think he's going to get this one through. But this is - again, you kind of - if you're a Senate Republican, you can oppose this one and then you're scared to oppose anything else. And that's where you have like Tulsi Gabbard and some of the others that actually would - should deserve opposition as well.

KEILAR: Yes, it's a very good point.

SANCHEZ: Former Congressman Adam Kinzinger, Marc Lotter, appreciate the conversation. Thank you so much.

We actually want to get out to Manu Raju, who's been standing by on Capitol Hill for a long time now, waiting outside this closed door.

And Manu, a short time ago, we saw some lawmakers emerge. They didn't seem eager to speak with you. What can you tell us about what you're seeing there now?

RAJU: Yes, that's right, Boris. In fact, multiple members left this meeting that has gone - it went on for about two hours and multiple members have come out refusing to comment about anything that went on there, including we have seen Susan Wild, who's the ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee, declined to make a comment.

[15:15:08]

One congressman, David Joyce, did tell reporters that he did expect Wild and the chairman of the committee, Michael Guest, to make a statement. Now, it's unclear if that's going to be an on-camera statement or a paper statement. But Guest is, we believe, still in this room.

This one door that you are seeing is the only way in and out of this secretive committee. So we expect him to come out any minute. Will he actually address what's going on? That remains to be seen. This is a very secretive panel. They didn't even want to know - anyone to know that this meeting was ongoing. But we found out and, of course, the press is all here waiting for their decision.

Now, the question is, do they actually have a vote to release this report? If they were successful in that vote, they would need one Republican at least to join the five Democrats who wanted this report to be - come out publicly. Now, the chairman of the committee, Guest, told me on his way in that he said this report was not actually done, which he said gave him some reservations in moving ahead with this report. There are ways to release this, one of which is a Democrat - any member can force a vote on the House floor to essentially call for this vote - this report's release. That would require support of a majority of House members, but that would mean Republicans would have to join Democrats in doing so. Unclear if that will happen. Two other ways that Guest said that this could be released.

One is simply a vote to make it public or they can transmit it directly to the Senate Judiciary Committee, given that there are Republicans and Democrats on the committee that want to see what happened here. But we're waiting any minute for Michael Guest to come out and see if he addresses what happens here in this highly anticipated report and how this committee will handle it. Boris?

KEILAR: Manu, we saw you earlier as you were chasing down Michael Guest outside the Capitol, and you'd asked him about where the report was, the status of it and he indicated that it was not complete, but he also told you that it still needed to go through, I guess, its final review. I mean, just explain that to us, because that sounds still like it's pretty complete. It just needs maybe a final look over or a final edit. I mean, explain to us how far done this report actually is.

RAJU: Yes. Yes, that's really seems to be a point of contention because Democrats say that this is ready for prime time. Republicans are indicating it is not, and that's what Guest said. He said this is still in its final product. It's in its final review stages, and during this report's review stages, of course, the staff is the one that conducts all the interviews. They compile the report. And then the members have to sign off on it. And there's a back and forth that is going on, on that particular issue.

But Brianna, I can tell you that this report could have come out earlier, but the committee has rules in deciding when it can release reports. They can't do it too close to an election, which is why they waited until after the election. Then Matt Gaetz abruptly resigned and now it puts this committee in a bit of a dilemma here, with the Speaker saying, don't release reports against former members, even though there is precedent in doing it. And that's what they've been debating now for more than two hours, and we'll see what they ultimately decide to do. Brianna?

KEILAR: So strange, because it's not a steak. It's not like you can like it well done or you can like it medium or medium rare.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: It's done when it's done.

SANCHEZ: It's done when it's done.

And Manu, quickly, are we sure there are no windows in that room that lawmakers may have climbed out of in an effort to avoid you?

RAJU: Yes, that's always entirely possible. That would not be unprecedented, Boris, but I'm assuming that there's one way in or out, but, you know, I learn something new every day here.

SANCHEZ: We'll make sure to keep an eye on it. Manu Raju, thank you so much for the update from Capitol Hill.

Still plenty more news to come here on NEWS CENTRAL, including Ukraine saying that Russia spread a, quote, "fake warning of a massive looming airstrike," calling it a psychological attack. We're going to be joined by a Ukrainian father whose baby is as old as the war between the two countries about what the past thousand days have been like and the fear they live with every day.

KEILAR: Plus, the punishment for the undocumented migrant convicted of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. How long he'll spend in prison?

And new warnings from America's biggest store that you're going to see even higher prices if the president-elect keeps his promise on tariffs. What you're going to pay more for? That and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[15:23:47]

KEILAR: Sirens in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv this morning as the U.S. temporarily closes its embassy there and warns of a potential and significant area assault by Russia. But Ukrainian officials say not so fast. Actually, they claim that Russia is playing psychological games here, scaring people in Ukraine with fake warnings of a massive attack. Joining us now is Alex Dayrabekov. He's a Ukrainian father who lives in Bucha. It's a small town in the suburbs of Kyiv, which we've all come to know so well after the Russians invaded it at the beginning of the war and committed mass atrocities there.

Alex, first, I just want to talk to you a little bit about this new news and kind of get a civilian's perspective of the U.S. finally granting the ability to Ukrainians to use - the Ukrainian military to use longer range missiles going in to Russia. How are civilians - how are you paying attention to this? How are you seeing this?

[15:24:59]

ALEX DAYRABEKOV, UKRAINIAN CITIZEN: Thank you, Brianna. That was a great news. Actually, after all the frustrations that we had recently, there was kind of a light that could show some end of the tunnel that finally we got it. But in the first place, it shouldn't have been provided, I mean, the ban on using long range weapons to strike into Russian territory.

Now, we see - the second day, we see how effective they are. We should have had it long time ago.

KEILAR: Tell us - I mean, a long time ago, this has been going on for so long now. You began this war with a three week old baby, I should mention. You now have another one, an infant, and you are raising children who have only ever really been alive during war. What has this been like for you and your family?

DAYRABEKOV: It's been hard. Honestly, it's been hard. You have to think about those little kids. You have to think about their future, but how can you do it if the future is so dim? Even now, with the new administration that is coming, it's totally unpredictable. We don't know what they will be doing when they come into office, like in two months from now. And these two months is going to be a hell, living in this unpredictability.

So, yes, we have to think about the kids. We have to raise them, but that's really hard to combine, the thoughts of the kids and hearing the news and trying to survive.

KEILAR: What is your worry about what Trump coming into power will mean for American support for the war and for what that will mean for Ukrainians?

DAYRABEKOV: The biggest fear is that they would stop supporting Ukraine completely and that would be the dumbest and the stupidest thing to do. Hopefully, it will not happen, but this is the feeling of frustration that I can hear in my fellow citizens' eyes, and I can share it, you know, because the signals are so different that we don't know what to expect, really.

We will - trust me, we will continue fighting even without any support. Ukrainians are not - are fearless. Ukrainians - everybody who knows Ukrainians will say I'm - will stay with me, Ukrainians are fearless. We will fight with our fists, with our hands, with our teeth, with our nails, with everything, without any weapons, but we will be evaporated with the time.

KEILAR: Can you talk a little bit about your hope for your kids? I know - they're so little and I know that it's hard, as you said, to be raising them in war, but you have hopes for their future. What are they?

DAYRABEKOV: I hope they will join the civilized society together with their country. By the way, we have decided that we will not leave this country, whatever happens. With the worst possible conditions, we will stay in this country with the kids, and we hope that the country will join the European world, and the EU, and the NATO, and we'll be protected against such thugs in the future, such terrorists and aggressors. That is my only hope at the moment, and that's what I tell my kids. And we try to create a positive atmosphere for them, even in such horrible situation.

KEILAR: I am sure that you do, Alex. And they are beautiful. They are beautiful children that you are raising there in Ukraine. Alex Dayrabekov, thank you for being with us.

DAYRABEKOV: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: Still ahead, the man accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley convicted of murder and sentenced by a judge after emotional courtroom statements, including from Riley's mother, who says Laken's life was not the only life taken. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)