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FAA Lifts Ground Stop On America Airlines After Technical Issues Delayed All Flights; House Ethics Committee Releases Report On Former Congressman Matt Gaetz Alleging He Paid Tens Of Thousands Of Dollars For Drugs And Sex; Gaetz Hints At Possible Senate Run; Tech Giants, Corporations Donating Millions To Trump's Inauguration; Trump's FCC Chair Pick Blasts Disney CEO In Letter: "Americans No Longer Trust The National News Media". Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired December 24, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

JEREMY SALAND, FORMER MANHATTAN PROSECUTOR: This is Brian Thompson, this is a tragedy. But let's not lionize him. She doesn't want to lionize him. She will wants to deal with Joel Seidemann, the prosecutor, and Judge Carro right now in the state court in that courtroom, the same way she'll do that in the federal court, regardless of the theory being stalking or what, or this being some sort of terror act, which, again, I think is inappropriate and won't stand at the end of the day.

But she's doing what she can with the tools that she has to make him look like a real person, that's someone that should be concerned and cared for, and make sure he gets that fair shake in the courtroom.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Jeremy Saland, thank you so much for your analysis. This is a case that's been watched by so many people, and there's so much interest. There were even women in the court yesterday just there to see Mangione. We will see how all of this plays out, both cases as they go along parallel lines. Appreciate you.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, they are shocking, but could they lead to charges? For the first time, the public can see for themselves some of the text messages at the center of the House investigation into Matt Gaetz, what he allegedly said to the women that the committee says he regularly paid for sex and drugs. The new legal questions now being raised.

And more millions pouring into President-Elect Donald Trump's inauguration. The latest top dollar owner being revealed today. And the big question, why are so many major companies eager to donate to this?

But first, a major breaking news. American Airlines grounded all flights over a technical issue, and moments ago, it appears the FAA is lifting that order.

John Berman is out today. I'm Kate Bolduan with Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. We're now just learning it appears that the FAA is canceling the

ground stop that brought American Airlines to a halt this morning. Just last hour, the airline announced they had grounded all flights in the U.S. during this very busy holiday travel day due to what they called a technical issue, with unspecified detail. The U.S. airline saying in a statement this, "A technical issue was affecting American flights this morning. Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience."

Let's get over to CNN's Derek Van Dam. A lot happening as I was just even walking back into the studio. What is the very latest with this ground stop, or not?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right, exactly. And there's so many avenues to this story coming on the crux of the busiest day of the travel season this week, right. Everybody heading to family, relatives, to see their loved ones during the Christmas holiday rush. And now we've got this ground stop which has now just been lifted, according to the FAA.

But we are still monitoring whether that could compound the issues here across the eastern seaboard. Remember, we've got Reagan National Airport, we've got JFK, LaGuardia. These are all major hubs from American Airlines, which just last hour had our ground stop from the FAA because of this technical glitch. And now we have to play catch up with, of course, the thousands of travelers that are commuting in and out of those airports.

So what you're looking at now behind me is the current look of the FlightAware website, where we're tracking all U.S. bound airline traffic, and you can see just how busy it is in and around the major hubs here across the east coast.

But what you're also noticing here is also the weather that is moving through these hubs as we speak. So we've got about 120 million Americans traveling this week. Look at how many people are traveling by air, nearly 8 million people, roughly 6.5 percent of that total. So this is going to impact a lot of people. Add to that the combination of the rough weather, and this could cause some serious headaches along the airspaces here along the east coast.

So here's the cold front moving through, already bringing snow to LaGuardia and into JFK as we speak, stretching further south. It's warm enough where near Washington's Reagan National Airport they actually have a mixture of rain and snow that could lead to some localized freezing on the roadways. So the potential for a glazing of ice is possible here. So that will, of course, compound the travel headaches that people are already dealing with at the airports, but also on the roadways, I-95 in particular. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Derek, thank you so much for putting it all together for us.

I want to bring in right now -- I want to bring in right now Anna McAllister from one of our affiliates. I believe she's just boarded a flight. Anna, can you hear me? ANNA MCALLISTER, WFOR REPORTER: Hey, Kate. Good morning. I can hear

you.

BOLDUAN: Great, thank you. Tell me you're in Fort Lauderdale, right? What have you been seeing and what's happening there now?

[08:05:02]

MCALLISTER: Yes. So I'm flying out from the Fort Lauderdale International Airport, and I'm heading to Philly to see family for the holidays. And earlier, this flight was supposed to leave at 7:00 a.m. We got there. We're waiting to board the flight. And then the announcement came over the loudspeaker saying that there was going to be a delay. They were having serious technical issues, saying that they weren't able to scan tickets, not able to board luggage onto the flight.

And then we were told that we're going to get updates every 15 minutes. So people were sitting there patiently. A lot of people wearing Santa hats. There were so many children there as well. A lot of parents really concerned about getting home for the holidays. We were waiting. Then we found out there was going to be that ground stop. So it was pretty chaotic for quite some time. But now we are on the flight.

BOLDUAN: Yes, because I was going to say, and just minutes ago we did get the latest update, which is American Airlines is started resuming service, which makes sense because you've now boarded the flight. The FAA has suspended that nationwide ground stop. Do you have any -- what are you hearing from folks? And what does it seem like now that everything seems to be back online and a hopefully momentary glitch in a lot of people's plans?

MCALLISTER: So we were told that everything is back online. I'm sitting here in my seat now. I'm watching as people are boarding the plane. But its still pretty uncertain if we're going to be able to fly, to fly out. We're still waiting to get a little bit more information, hopefully from the crew here once everybody has taken their seat.

But we're just all grateful to just be on the flight. I mean, we're watching as kids are running around. Like I mentioned, just parents really concerned that they weren't going to be able to get to their destination and possibly be stuck at the airport on Christmas Eve.

BOLDUAN: Yes, no kidding. I mean, any parent knows the moment you hear ground stop, and you have little ones in an airport, in a terminal, your heart just literally stops. Anna McAllister with our affiliate WFOR, thank you so much for jumping on the phone. Good luck. You're one step closer to getting that flight off the ground. Thank you.

And we're going to continue seeking more information from American Airlines, from the FAA on the ripple effects, the kind of the fallout from this, to see what this means for your Christmas Eve travel all around. Sara? SIDNER: It is true. Even when there's just a little bit of a delay, it does have a ripple effect. We will see what happens this morning. Let's hope everyone gets to where they're going.

All right, this morning, text messages reveal what the House Ethics Committee says is substantial evidence that Matt Gaetz paid women for sex and drugs while he was in office. The committee's report found Gaetz spent tens of thousands of dollars on sex and drugs for at least three years. In some of the texts CNN reviewed, Gaetz allegedly asked women to get him drugs, and one woman complains about not being paid. Gaetz has denied the allegations. He says he may have partied and womanized, but said it was nothing criminal.

CNN's Marshall Cohen is joining us now. Marshall, just give us some details of what exactly you've been seeing in these text messages revealed by the Ethics Committee.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Hey, Sara. There's a lot in there. It is a and disturbing report on the former congressman, Matt Gaetz. So the Republican run House Ethics Committee said that there was substantial evidence that Gaetz paid tens of thousands of dollars to women for sex and drugs, all while he was serving in Congress. Most importantly, the panel also found that Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old high schooler in summer 2017. The report concluded that this violated Florida's statutory rape laws.

Now, over the past few years, as Gaetz has faced all this legal scrutiny, he has vehemently denied that he ever paid anyone for sex. He also denies any illegal drug use. And in a social media post after the report came out, he said, quote, "There's a reason 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."

But look, there was a lot of evidence. The committee examined 14,000 pages of documents. The committee interviewed many of the key witnesses. The report even includes texts, like you mentioned, of Gaetz allegedly asking women for drugs and haggling over payments. There are texts from one of those women telling a friend, quote, "Matt never paid me. How much did he pay you?" The friend said she got $400 and offered some advice. Ask him for the money, quote, "before you have sex."

There's even a detailed ledger of payments between Gaetz and multiple women using Cash App and Venmo. Some of those women later testified that those payments were indeed for sex or drugs. And of course, I should point out that the Justice Department looked into many of these allegations, but never filed any criminal charges against Matt Gaetz. Sara?

SIDNER: Thats right. And Matt Gaetz did have the opportunity to speak with the Ethics Committee. He chose not to. Marshall Cohen, thank you so much. Kate?

[08:10:00]

BOLDUAN: This report, that investigation, and the reaction to it raises a whole host of new questions about what does the future hold for this Republican firebrand who was just recently a nominee to be attorney general in the next administration? Joining us right now with new reporting on this is national political reporter and author of "The Bulwark" MAGAville newsletter, Marc Caputo. It's good to see you, Marc. Thanks for coming in.

And you have new reporting, kind of digging into with your sources into this question of, OK, you have this now. What does this mean for Matt Gaetz, the man who has always successfully sought the spotlight for so many years? In part, you write, "In a normal time and state, Matt Gaetz's political future would be over after Monday's release. But these are not normal times. It's the Trump era, and this is not a normal state," meaning Florida. "It's Florida, the heart of MAGAville." What does that now mean? What are you learning?

MARC CAPUTO, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE BULWARK": Well, for the time being, Gaetz is flirting, at least publicly, with running for office again statewide for either governor or Senate in 2026. A lot of people still think that's a very difficult bridge for him to cross. But what's telling here is that everyone is saying, look, we don't know. The public, the voting public, voters' tolerance for scandal is different now than it used to be.

One of the people I spoke to for the story, a top pollster for Ron DeSantis, who also was a top adviser to Elon Musk's super PAC that helped Donald Trump win in the November elections, said the news media and a lot of critics do a lot of pearl clutching. But voters don't approach politics as sacredly as the press does. And they view politicians as all sort of flawed, and they might actually give Gaetz -- I know this is going to be tough for some people to believe -- a measure of credit if he owns up to it, says it's in his past, and he's moving on.

Now, even that person I spoke to says, look, I don't know what's going to happen to Gaetz's future. But again, the fact is, we don't know. And in the past, we kind of did, and we're definitely in a new era, a new world of politics where these sorts of things don't stick to a lot of candidates. Obviously, they didn't stick to Donald Trump as much, but one thing about Donald Trump's Teflon is so far it hasn't been transferable. If Matt Gaetz decides to run again for office in 2026 and if he wins, it's going to show that we are indeed in a new time and place.

BOLDUAN: Gaetz tweeted, was quick to tweet last night that he essentially is getting support from Donald Trump on this. You know, "I got a great note from President Trump," he sent out. Do you get the sense that Gaetz's political future depends on Donald Trump, Trump's endorsement can, I don't know, inoculate him from his own record?

CAPUTO: To a degree. I wouldn't phrase it that way. Donald Trump is still the star of the MAGA-verse around which everyone sort of revolves. And his endorsement in Republican primaries in states like Florida matter. So if Matt Gaetz runs, and if Donald Trump decides to endorse him, those are two big ifs, I would definitely not count out Matt Gaetz winning his office. Right now in our states dynamics, the Republican who wins the primary is an odds on favorite to win statewide, win a general election.

One thing that should be noted is that when Matt Gaetz withdrew his nomination as attorney general, from what I'm told, the sources I've spoken to who spoke to Donald Trump and were briefed on this, he didn't get a commitment from Donald Trump to get an endorsement if he decides to run again. So it's still up in the air of, A, whether Matt Gaetz runs, and then B, whether Donald Trump endorses. We've got a few months, a few years to figure that out.

BOLDUAN: Thats true. Sunday at the conservative conference in Arizona, Gaetz had his future plans on his mind, kind of saying, my fellow Floridians had asked me to eye the governor's mansion, and also, as one option, is potentially run for the Senate seat that Marco Rubio is going to be going to be vacating. I mean, do you see -- what are you hearing from your sources? Is that trolling his critics? Is it more wishful thinking? Or is it actually, you think, laying the groundwork for an actual political, I don't know, resurrection.

CAPUTO: I don't think we know. My feeling is it's a tough row to hoe, but these are really strange times that we're in, and it's difficult to sort of separate out the signal from the noise, especially two years out from an election.

BOLDUAN: Yes, there has been no longer precedent for any of this, it seems.

CAPUTO: Correct. Also, in the meantime, Matt Gaetz, after he resigned from congress, got a gig as a pundit, or having his own show, I should say, on the right wing One America News network. It's also good for him, public attention wise, to draw attention to himself by saying he might run for governor, saying he might run for Senate because it's going to cause more people to tune in, watch what he's going to say and increase his clout that way.

[08:15:12]

So there is a certain benefit.

You know, at MSNBC for instance, years ago, Joe Scarborough, a former congressman, actually, Matt Gaetz succeeded or sits or sat in Joe Scarborough's old congressional seat in Florida. He used to flirt occasionally with running for Senate or running state wide, and that caused MSNBC to boost his contract and the like.

So, there is precedent for this on national television or in the national media with Florida politicians. I don't see why Matt Gaetz would view this any differently.

I do see, however, the possibility of being maybe 50/50 that he does seek higher office again. Now, whether that's in 2026 or not, you know, get back to me in a few months or a few years.

BOLDUAN: The thing that sticks with me is that we heard from -- we can end it here is Republican senator from Indiana, Senator Jim Banks. He made the point basically saying, like, we should take this seriously. The American public can look at this report. But he also says the country expects us to move on. And I think what we can read here is, is it move on from past Matt Gaetz, or is it move on with Matt Gaetz? And that's exactly what I will lean on for your reporting going forward. It's good to see you, Marc. Thank you so much.

CAPUTO: Thanks, Kate, appreciate it. Bye.

BOLDUAN: Thank you. See you.

Coming up for us, Donald Trump's pick to run the FCC has a harsh message for Disney's CEO and also the nation's news networks, why he is accusing them of eroding the public's trust.

And a ski lift collision high over the slopes of a popular resort, sending people plunging to the ground. Got an update on that for you.

And the Holidays can be a stressful time for everyone. Understatement of the year, including delivery workers, where police found dozens of undelivered packages allegedly left by an overwhelmed worker.

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[08:21:01]

SIDNER: More big money from big corporations is flowing in for Trump's presidential inauguration in less than a month. As you know, he'll be sworn in as the 47th US president.

Ford is the latest company to pledge one million bucks and not just that, they added a bonus, a small fleet of cars. The automaker joins big tech companies like Amazon and Meta in making top dollar donations to Trump's inauguration.

Joining me now, Fredreka Schouten, CNN national politics writer. Fredreka, in 2021, you know, I remember, you know, there was some talk of this, although it wasn't as publicized. Joe Biden took in about $62 million in donations from corporations for inauguration events. Are you seeing a difference in who and how much for Donald Trump?

FREDREKA SCHOUTEN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL WRITER: We are seeing a lot. We don't yet know what the total number will be. In fact, we won't know until after the inauguration, about 90 days after when they have to file reports with the Federal Election Commission.

But it seems as though every few hours a company is saying, hey, I'm giving too. I'm giving too. What you've also seen is sort of a parade of CEOs down to Mar-a-Lago President-elect Donald Trump's Florida resort meeting with him and trying to make friends and get a seat at the table.

I mean, keep in mind that some of these folks have been at odds with Donald Trump or Donald Trump has been very angry with them. If you consider Meta, the parent company of Facebook, he's been highly critical. He views social media companies as having a bias towards conservatives. So you see people talking to him in person as they're announcing these donations.

So, that's one of the things that's very different. Also, keep in mind that Donald Trump's first inauguration, I mean, you mentioned how much Joe Biden raised. Donald Trump set a record with his first inauguration, it was nearly $107 million. So it seems as though they are working at a pretty fast clip here to at least make that -- raise that amount.

SIDNER: Yes, it's interesting to note Donald Trump himself saying, you know, before everybody was fighting me, and now everyone wants to be my friend. And it's no truer statement seems to be made, especially with these companies looking to try to figure out how to get along and make money when Donald Trump is in office. Fredreka Schouten, thank you so much. I appreciate you coming on and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to you -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Also new reporting today in a letter obtained by CNN, the incoming FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, writing to Disney's CEO Bob Iger and leveling a warning, speaking of ABC's negotiations with local affiliate networks, Carr writes, "Dear Mr. Iger, Americans no longer trust the national news media to report fully, accurately and fairly."

This is the latest sign of what many expect is to come in Trump's second term.

As Brian Stelter reports, Carr is signaling he intends to wield a heavy hand in the top spot at the FCC, taking a different, very different approach than his predecessors.

Joining us now with more on his reporting is CNN's Brian Stelter. What kind of message, Brian, do you see in what Carr is writing in this letter?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Right, it's a little bit of a lump of coal in Disney's stocking, and it's an early signal of how Carr is going to treat this. Usually pretty sleepy agency. And I say that with lots of love for the FCC. But normally what the FCC does is oversee wireless broadband, make sure that broadband is deploying across the country.

For example, we know that the FCC licenses local TV stations, but the FCC hasn't denied a license in many years. It's basically a rubber stamp.

Now, it seems like Carr is signaling he wants to treat the agency differently. Right now, the agency might not have that much power, but he does have the power of the bully pulpit, and that's what he's using by writing this letter to Iger. You know, he's choosing ABC. He's choosing Disney. One of the biggest media companies and really going to Disney first.

Notably of course, ABC just settled that lawsuit from Trump to the tune of $15 million.

So, actually Carr is citing that in the letter and saying, look, you and the national media, you've lost trust. Carr is using a narrow issue called retransmission consent and ABC's negotiations with affiliates. But really, he's making a broader point. He's saying, I am watching you. You're on notice and in that way, Kate, this is a lot like some of Trump's other picks for other agencies.

They are signaling, they want to wield power more aggressively in a second term.

[08:25:34]

BOLDUAN: It's a great point. It's not the narrow issue. It's the signaling of what is, of how the approach is the tone, the approach, the handling and the focus could be very different this time around. Has Disney or Iger responded?

STELTER: No response. I've reached out for comment. I have not heard back. Disney might try to brush this off. You know they have relationships with the FCC. They know they are regulated. They know how this works.

So, these major media CEOs, they might try to ignore or just politely respond and not care too much about these kinds of letters. But I do think this is important because it is signaling a change in government approach.

Judging from the social media reactions, some look at this and say it's commendable that Carr is trying to pressure media companies to be responsible to regain trust and most importantly, to invest in local media. But Carr is really signaling, among other things, is that he's going to be a friend to local and an antagonist to national media, and a friend of local. Well, local media needs some friends, needs some investment. So there's that reaction.

But the other reaction I'm seeing to this letter is from people saying, look, Carr is using his bully pulpit on Trump's behalf. We know that Trump has threatened local TV stations and national owners. He's called for ABC to lose its license over that presidential debate in September.

So, it's going to be notable to watch and see how appointees like in this case, Carr at the FCC, how they manage what Trump might want from them and what's actually in their legal abilities in order to take action at these agencies.

BOLDUAN: I mean, very clearly something to watch and something you're going to be all over.

Brian, thank you so much. Great reporting.

Coming up still for us, this morning, the family of missing journalist, Austin Tice, still holding on to hope that he will be found in Syria after the fall of the Assad regime. He was kidnapped there back in 2012. His family joins us next.

And a trip to the sun. What scientists hope to discover on this first of its kind mission.

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