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Matt Gaetz Ethics Report Released; Former President Clinton Hospitalized; Mangione Pleads Not Guilty. Mangione Pleads Not Guilty To NY State Terror And Murder Charges; Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), Is Interviewed About Trump Downplaying Elon Musk's Influence; Biden Commutes Most Federal Death Row Sentences To Life In Prison. Aired 5- 6p ET

Aired December 23, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: On your sidewalk, on your driveway or maybe on your deck. Maybe you go out slowly with the dog the first couple of steps to see what's out there. If it's just wet, we're fine. A lot of you are going to be driving so keep your eyes on the road and please, clean the inside of your windshield if you're driving into the sun. It helps a lot. Phil?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: Important points. As always, Chad Myers, appreciate you, my friend. You can follow the show on X @TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of "The Lead" you can listen to the show where you get your podcast. The new continues on CNN with Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room."

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, new details from the just released House Ethics Committee report on Matt Gaetz including texts and other evidence that the former Republican congressman paid tens of thousands of dollars for drugs and sex including with a 17-year-old girl.

And Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to New York State terror and murder charges in the killing of the United Healthcare CEO. His lawyer raising concerns about whether Mangione could get a fair trial claiming he's being used as quote, "political fodder."

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in "The Situation Room."

First this hour, we're digging deeper into the House Ethics Committee report on former Congressman Matt Gaetz and the disturbing, very disturbing evidence of extensive payments for drugs and sex, including a potential violation of Florida's statutory rape law. CNN's Katelyn Polantz is working the story for us. Katelyn, CNN has been pouring over and over these newly released texts, a detailed ledger and other evidence. Give us the latest. KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it is

tens of thousands of dollars in payments that the committee was able to find a document that they say amount to Matt Gaetz giving payments to women in connection to sexual activity and drug use. What they say is essentially him paying for prostitution and in one case giving $400 in cash to a woman who at the time was 17-years-old heading into her senior year of high school. This was at a party in July of 2017 where he had sex with that girl twice. That is the part where the House says they believe it could be statutory rape.

When the House is putting this all together though, this is the astonishing thing about this report. We've heard allegations around Matt Gaetz for some time. He was investigated by federal authorities, never charged with any crime. But the House Ethics Committee in releasing that report today, they also made public a fair amount of detail, evidence, including a ledger, an extensive ledger, 11 pages showing payments, things for hundreds of dollars going to women from Cash App, Venmo. PayPal from Matt Gaetz, also from an e-mail account that he had, they say, under a pseudonym from another person's PayPal account.

All of these ledgers are for hundreds of dollars saying they are reimbursement or gift or food. Now the committee says that is what is showing Matt Gaetz giving payments to women. So, they're putting everything together here in this very searing, damaging House Ethics Committee report that Matt Gaetz has been trying to stop from having made public, but now it is out there and he's denying these allegations against him.

BLITZER: Katelyn, how is Gaetz pushing back now?

KATELYN: Wolf, he went to court this morning to try to stop the release of the report was totally unsuccessful. That fell flat very quickly. But he's also taken to social media to put his message out there. One of the things he says is, giving funds to someone you are dating that they didn't ask for and that isn't charged for sex is now prostitution. There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses.

When he did make that court filing earlier today to try to stop the committee, he was claiming they were defaming him, they were invading his privacy, he even signed a declaration saying, everything that I am saying in court is true, signed by Matt Gaetz, but that lawsuit that he filed, it was moot by the end of the day because the committee released their report and it's been dismissed by the judge as of now. So now Gaetz is out there publicly fighting this on social media. And we are looking still though at the report itself, not just the committee's findings, but the evidence they gathered too.

BLITZER: Yeah, very damning indeed. Now, Katelyn Polantz, thank you very much. I want to break all of this down with our political panel. And Lance Trover, let me start with you. Between the rapid drug use, paying women for sex, accepting lavish gifts, how damaging is all of this for Gaetz?

[17:05:00]

LANCE TROVER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: It's very serious. I mean, these are very serious accusations. But, look, I go back to, in this country, you are innocent until proven guilty. We know that the Justice Department investigated a lot of this stuff and cited that several of the witnesses that they talked to lacked credibility. And I'm guessing that's what Gaetz is going to continue to rely on moving forward.

I think there is a larger question here, though, as to why the committee felt the need to put this report out there. Matt Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress. He's not going to be the attorney general and their long-standing practice has always been as the chairman of the committee noted in a dissenting opinion today, to not release these kinds of things. And so, to me it begs the question why now given that he is no longer in congress.

BLITZER: The House Ethics Committee as you know, including at least one Republican said it was important to the public interest, important to the public interest for this evidence to come out. Isn't it important, do you think, for Americans to know how a then U.S. congressman was behaving while in office, Lance?

TROVER: Well again, I go back to what their standards have been. This is what the committee has said they -- this was the operational aspect of which they have run for 30 or 40 years. And so, under this, then they should release every other report that they've ever done on any other member of Congress out there.

BLITZER: Let me bring Mandela Barnes into this conversation. Now Mandela, what stands out to you from this truly, this bombshell report that Katelyn just laid out for all of us?

MANDELA BARNES, SENIOR FELLOW, PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY: It is a bombshell report, but it fits perfectly with the Republican brand right now. We see the co-president-elect Donald Trump having been convicted of sexual assault, having nominated a person like Matt Gaetz with his abhorrent history in potential sex crimes. And the lengths at which they went to protect Matt Gaetz, and Donald Trump making it very clear that it wasn't a joke, he's very serious about nominating Matt Gaetz, even when those allegations were out there to show us where they stand.

And it's important for this report to have been released because the public needs to know what kind of people we're dealing with when it comes to leading our country. We need to have a nation that respects the rule of law, respects women, respects all people. And this is another demonstration of a lack of willingness to do just that. And Matt Gaetz knew full well what he was up against when he entertained the nomination to become the next U.S. Attorney General.

BLITZER: Jasmine Wright is with us as well. Jasmine, how big of an impact do you see these revelations having?

JASMINE WRIGHT, REPORTER, NOTUS: Well, it's interesting, Wolf, because a lot of the information that is in this report, there were some drips and drabs of it over the course of the months because of different depositions publicly available, although you kind of had to dig for it. I think what's really damning about this report is that it puts it into a narrative, is that you have quotes from the women, some of whom have expressed regret after, you know, consensually abiding by some of these things, who basically say they had in some ways felt taken advantage of.

So, I think the whole narrative put out there is what's damning about, well, certainly that it was pushed forward by really a group of Matt Gaetz peers.

Now the question going forward is not just what his political future may be. Obviously, there have been suggestions that maybe he goes back to the House, maybe he goes to an unconfirmed position in the administration, but it's going to be what Donald Trump has to say about these allegations. Of course, Donald Trump is somebody who feels that these institutions have been weaponized against him. He may feel that Matt Gaetz is going through the same thing. Obviously, he's chosen for AG because of the ability for him to tear down these institutions.

But of course, him kind of putting that hand over Matt Gaetz of approval is going to take a lot of political capital. And its really unknown right now whether or not Donald Trump will extend that over to Matt Gaetz --

BLITZER: Let me get back to Lance. Lance, what does it say to you about Trump's judgement that Matt Gaetz was his first choice to be the attorney general of the United States, the nation's top law enforcement official?

TROVER: Well, again, I go back to the fact that I'm guessing that Donald Trump felt the same way that the Justice Department had investigated these claims and said that there have been witness credibility issues. And so, my guess is, when you see that the Justice Department had investigated it and did not do anything then you rely on that to think, but okay, maybe we should move forward.

BLITZER: Do you think that was good enough for Trump clearly to nominate him to be the attorney general of the United States, is that what you're saying?

TROVER: Well, I think if you look at the -- if there was an investigation and the Justice Department as was reported by "The Washington Post" said that the witnesses had credibility issues and therefore they could not proceed and they were not going to charge him with any charges, again I go back to this crazy idea that you're innocent until proven guilty in this country.

[17:10:20]

And so, if they did not bring charges, I mean, at what point are we -- again, I go back to, he's no longer even a member of Congress and that's what my question is, why this report needs to come out now when he's not even a member of Congress. He's a civilian for all intents and purposes. BLITZER: Mandela, I want you to listen to what Matt Gaetz had to say before this report was actually released. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT GAETZ, FORMER REPUBLICAN U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: My fellow Floridians have asked me to eye the governor's mansion in Tallahassee. Maybe special counsel to go after the insider trading for my former colleagues in Congress. It seems I may not have had enough support in the United States Senate. Maybe I'll just run for Marco Rubio's vacant seat in the United States Senate and join some of those folks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, is he floating, running for future office? Do you think that's serious? What does that say about whether he'll ever face any accountability?

BARNES: Well, I think it speaks to the state of affairs that we're in right now. We continue to go back to the fact that we just elected someone who was convicted of sexual assault. Why should Matt Gaetz feel as if he's not entitled to a seat in the United States Senate representing the state of Florida? Why shouldn't he feel that there is a place for him politically in this country where the highest office in the land will be occupied by a person convicted of sexual assault? I think it's worth repeating.

And it feels also as if his venture -- his attempt to venture into the office of attorney general was to absolve himself of these crimes, these potential crimes, to be able to get away scot-free as we are now seeing, you know, unfortunately, you know, cases being closed against Donald Trump that further would have held him accountable.

BLITZER: Jasmine, we know that --

BARNES: --is that there is --

BLITZER: Yeah, go ahead, finish your thought.

BARNES: Look, the examples that there's a lack of accountability for these sorts of things, why wouldn't he go for it?

BLITZER: We know Jasmine that Matt Gaetz is set to anchor for the right wing One American network next year. What does Gaetz's future look like in the Trump world?

WRIGHT: Wolf, the reality is that him and Trump have a close relationship. This is somebody that Trump has supported, not just for AG, but liked how Matt Gaetz was a fighter while he was still in the House, liked how Matt Gates was really loyal to the America first policies and to the policies of Donald Trump. And so, this is certainly somebody that's going to be in the Trump orbit.

I think what's really interesting here is that folks who are kind of these Trump loyalists, they kind of have a different set of rules, different set of playbooks about how accountable they are in situations like this or how really career damaging reports like this, specifically some that don't have bases within the DOJ or that weren't prosecuted by the DOJ, how damaging they are to their career. And so, I think that Matt Gaetz, as long as Donald Trump is by his side, is within that group of people who maybe these types of reports don't damage as much as other Republicans.

But I think, of course, we will have to see. Yes, he'll be on own network with his own, you know, basically be able to use that as his own megaphone. We'll see about whether or not he runs for office again or goes back into the office and goes back into the House in January. But it's a really big question, and that is highly dependent upon how much support he gets from Donald Trump going forward.

BLITZER: So, we'll see how this all unfolds. Thanks to all of you for joining us. Excellent analysis.

Coming up, a Republican congressman elected to the U.S. Senate weighs in on the Gaetz ethics report and the political repercussions.

And later, the alleged killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO pleads not guilty to New York State charges as his lawyer claims he's being treated unfairly. Stay with us. You're in "The Situation Room."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:15:00]

BLITZER: All right. There is breaking news coming into "The Situation Room" right now. We've just learned that former president Bill Clinton is in the hospital here in Washington, D.C. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is on the phone. He's got details for us. What do we know Jeff?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Wolf, we are learning that former President Bill Clinton is in Georgetown University Medical Center for testing and observation. I am told that he developed a fever earlier today and his aides took him to the hospital out of an abundance of caution. His deputy chief of staff tells me the former president is fine, but of course that health has been a challenge for him in years past.

He's 78 years old. As you said, a very active campaign schedules this year and since the campaign, since the election he's been traveling extensively promoting his new book. So, he is in Georgetown University hospital for testing and observation. And an advisor says the former president hopes to be home by Christmas. Of course, that will be up to medical professionals there. But as of now, we are learning that the former president was taken to the hospital this afternoon for testing and observation.

BLITZER: So, he's at the Georgetown University Hospital Medical Center right now. You pointed out, Jeff, that the former president has faced some serious health issues in the past. Break that down a little bit for us.

ZELENY: Well, if he definitely has, of course, his heart issues were fairly well known and of course, he talked about them considerably and changed his lifestyle as you all remember from covering other Clinton White House, but he was hospitalized for several days about three years or so ago, thinking back for a blood infection. And then of course he had some heart surgery, before that a quadruple bypass if memory serves me correctly as well as some stents put in.

But he did change his lifestyle from, you know, the famous days when he went to McDonald's when he was president, to observing a very strict vegan-friendly diet. So, he's 78-years-old, obviously, a concern, but his health, seeing him on a campaign trail this fall and seeing him out on his book tour, he's looked pretty good. And so, his advisors are saying that he's fine, but of course it's notable. You're not necessarily fine if you're taken to the hospital for testing and observation.

[17:20:00]

So, we will see what comes of this, but his advisors are hoping that he's home by Christmas.

BLITZER: Yeah, let's hope. We wish him, of course, a speedy recovery and lots of good health. The former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, now in the Georgetown University Medical Center for testing. We'll watch this story closely. Jeff Zeleny, thank you very, very much.

Up next, we'll have more on the fallout from the House ethics report on former Congressman Matt Gaetz. I'll speak to a key Republican lawmaker.

Plus, the alleged CEO killer back in a New York courtroom to face state charges. Why his defense attorney is concerned about getting a fair trial.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Tonight, a new and not guilty plea from the alleged killer of the United Health Care CEO, Luigi Mangione, responding to New York State terror and murder charges on top of the federal criminal counts he faces. CNN's Kara Scannell has more from New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Luigi Mangione accused of shooting and killing United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson arriving to a New York City courtroom today.

[17:25:00]

Escorted by police officers, his wrists and ankles shackled. 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.

KAREN FRIEDMAN AGNIFILO, MANGIONE'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: 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.

SCANNELL (voice-over): His attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, telling Judge Gregory Carro that Mangione was being used like, quote, "political fodder."

AGNIFILO: He's a young man and he is being treated like a human ping pong ball between two warring jurisdictions here.

SCANNELL (voice-over): 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.

AGNIFILO: Frankly, Your Honor, the mayor should know more than anyone of the presumption of innocence.

SACNNELL (voice-over): Noting Adams' own legal problems over federal charges, including bribery, to which he has pled not guilty.

AGNIFILO: I submit that he was just trying to detract from those issues by making a spectacle of Mr. Mangione.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Agnifilo also asking for expedited discovery. But prosecutors warning that may not be so easy.

JOEL SEIDEMANN, PROSECUTOR: I have never seen a case with such volume of evidence.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Saying there are thousands of hours of video tracking Mangione. Mangione is also facing four federal charges, including murder through use of a firearm.

SEIDEMANN: 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.

SCANNELL (voice-over): 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCANNELL (on camera): Now Wolf, Mangione is due back in state court on February 21st. The judge overseeing this case telling him that he will get a fair trial inside the courtroom even if the judge can't control what happens outside of it.

BLITZER: Kara Scannell in New York for us. Thank you very much. Let's get some more right now from our legal and law enforcement experts and they're top-notch. Joey Jackson, we heard Karen Friedman Agnifilo, the lawyer for Mangione, express concerns about Mangione's getting a fair trial because of last week's very publicized perp walk. As a criminal defense attorney yourself, do you agree with her?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So, I don't agree, Wolf, although I think she's advocating mightily for her client. And the reason I don't is because generally speaking, you are very concerned as a defense attorney with respect to a fair trial. In this case, it's rather unique. If you look at the sentiment on social media, it seems the more exposure he gets, the more people can relate to what he did, the more people inclined to excuse what he did, the more people clamoring and talking about how he's a saint and how the healthcare industry has run amok and they're putting profit over people.

So, under normal circumstance in a perp walk where you have potentially public sentiment which is skewering a defendant, yes, I'm concerned. In this instance, I'm really wondering whether a jury would sympathize with him, Wolf, buy into his narrative and potentially move to not find him culpable. So, in this specific instance, I would not agree with her.

BLITZER: John Miller, on the law enforcement side of this, do you think the perp walk issue could hurt the case?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: I don't think so. When you realize that this network right here and other networks like it broadcast pictures of him, you know, with his smiling face checking into the hostile and then side by side with pictures of him allegedly aiming a gun with a silencer and committing an execution and did its hundreds and hundreds of times, the idea of him in an orange jumpsuit walking in custody is far less prejudicial.

And frankly, I think it could backfire in that you know, the overwhelming show of force, which to key on what Joey said, it wasn't because they thought somebody was going to try and kill him, lashing out because he committed a terrible crime. It was -- police were worried that someone might try to help him escape, which is why they had the heavy weapons team along with the ride to court.

So, it seems to be the rarest of cases where the weight is probably on the side of the district attorney, whether, wondering whether they can get a fair trial with a jury pool that at least in terms of public sentiment is leaning on the other side, which is strange.

[17:30:08]

BLITZER: Now, Elliot Williams is with us, our legal analyst as well. Elliot, Karen Friedman Agnifil -- Agnifilo, Mangione's lawyer, said Mangione is being treated, and I'm quoting her now, like a human ping pong ball because he's facing state and federal charges at the same time. Do you see any double jeopardy concerns?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I don't see any double jeopardy concerns. And this -- this happens somewhat frequently where different jurisdictions will, you know, will take up the same case. Now, he can't be tried for the same conduct from the same jurisdiction. So, you know, for instance, if he's acquitted in the state of New York, he can't be then prosecuted again by the state of New York. But I'm certain that the prosecutors between the two cases will ensure that. And I think they're being very careful right now to ensure they don't overlap. You know, I -- I -- I do have to disagree a little bit with my colleagues here. I guess from the perspective of a prosecutor when it comes to picking a jury for either of these two cases, I think all of this pretrial publicity is going to make it much harder to pick a jury when this comes up.

Now every prospective juror is going to have to answer questions about whether they saw the mayor making comments about this defendant, whether they saw the perp walk. Have you seen publicity about this case? And it's actually creating headaches, I think, for both sides, both defense and prosecution. Anytime you have a very high profile case, you run the risk of tainting the pool of potential people who are going to sit and have to try the case fairly. And I think it's just going to get far more complicated here.

BLITZER: You know, Joey, Mangione's attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifolo, also said that federal and state prosecutors have conflicting theories in their respective in -- indictments. Does she have a strong case there?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, that is true. I mean, if you look at the New York State prosecution, it's predicated upon terrorism, right? And if you look at the federal complaint, it's predicated upon stalking. And so theories are different. And that makes it though it undercuts any argument about double jeopardy because you have to show that they're being tried that as a defendant for the same offense twice, there are different theories. And those different theories relate to different sets of circumstances in different crimes.

But at the end of the day, ultimately, very briefly, you know, in terms of what Elliot said, it's not about whether a jury pool has heard about the case, they know about the case. And, you know, it's about whether they have strong pinions -- opinions such that they can't sit for this panel. And I'm worried about the stealth juror who says, oh, healthcare, no, not -- nothing to worry about. Government, I'm fine, I'm good. I'm OK with sitting on the jury.

And then, because they have an axe to grind, potentially can excuse his conduct. So this is, as John Miller said, the rarest of cases, and it might inure to his benefit in terms of a jury pool and all this pretrial publicity.

BLITZER: Elliot, it was interesting. A lot of people noticed that both Karen Friedman Agnifolo and -- and Luigi Mangione were matching in court today, both in maroon sweaters and white shirts. What was that about? What do you think?

WILLIAMS: Who knows what it's about? Now, it could be a way to humanize the defendant, or it might have just been a remarkable coincidence that attorney and client happened to have, you know, a lovely shade of burgundy for their sweaters. More than anything else, you know, I think the attorneys are trying to ensure that the defendant comes out looking clean and sort of clean cut in a way that humanizes him to the public.

The last thing a defense attorney wants is their defendant showing up, number one, in shackles or a police jumpsuit more than anything else to look like a human being. Again, this is all this question of the -- the jury down the road. You want anybody who sees images of this person to potentially be able to see him as someone they could acquit.

And so to some extent, it's to Karen Friedman Agnifolo's interest to have him looking like a clean cut attorney, or at least somebody who's in sensible business casual when he goes into court.

BLITZER: John, what are you hearing about how confident or not confident the state of New York is when it comes to these charges, specifically the terrorism charge?

MILLER: I think they're highly confident. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office in particular has used the New York State and it's always unusual to have a state terrorism charge because most terrorism relates to, you know, foreign terrorism. But they have experience using this charge. And I would liken this case to the James Harris Jackson case. That was the case of an individual from Baltimore who traveled to New York with the specific intent to kill black people with a machete.

And they prosecuted it not just as a straight homicide, but as a homicide in furtherance of terrorism because it was meant to sow fear and start a race war and everything else. If you put this case side by side, if the intent behind this murder allegedly committed by this defendant was to sow fear into the pharmaceutical community, the healthcare community, the hospital community, by saying that we're going to start killing the CEOs, as he allegedly alluded to in his note, how is that different in terms of terrorism?

[17:35:26]

BLITZER: All right. We shall see. All right, guys, thank you very, very much.

Just ahead, a very dramatic move by President Biden today, taking nearly every -- nearly every inmate off of the federal death row, all except for three men. We'll talk about that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The House ethics committee report on Matt Gaetz is now public and we're breaking down the bombshell evidence it contains. Joining us now, Republican Congressman and Senator-elect Jim Banks of Indiana. Senator-elect, thanks so much for joining us. Congratulations on your win. Last month. you said you supported Matt Gaetz for Attorney General of the United States. Has your opinion of him changed at all after this report laying out all this evidence of him paying women for sex, including a 17-year-old girl?

[17:40:22]

REP. JIM BANKS (R-IN), SENATOR-ELECT: Well -- well, obviously the contents of the report are serious. And Matt Gaetz likely didn't just resign from Congress, but withdrew his name for consideration to be the Attorney General. He's moved on. Congress has moved on. Donald Trump and the country have moved on. We're focused now on confirming Donald Trump's nominees to his Cabinet so we can do our job in January to get this country back on the right track again.

So obviously, the -- the -- the nature of the contents of the report are serious. They're -- they've now been made public. But Matt Gaetz deserves the right to defend himself. He will do that. But he's a private citizen and the country expects us in Congress to focus on what matters, and that's -- that's getting the Trump agenda done, that he want a mandate on Election Day to pursue. BLITZER: Based on all the evidence that we now have, including this House Ethics Committee report, do you think Matt Gaetz is actually fit to serve in any future public office?

BANKS: Well, look, I -- I don't -- I don't live in Matt Gaetz's State of Florida. I live in Indiana. And Indiana, again, we're focused. Election Day showed in Indiana that we're overwhelmingly focused on advancing Donald Trump's agenda, the America first agenda. And that -- that -- I just got elected to the United States Senate. My -- my job is to go to work on January 3rd, I get sworn into the Senate and to focus on securing our border, growing our military, making our military strong again with adversaries around the world like China and others who are trying to beat America in many ways, militarily and economically.

So look, Wolf, that -- that's what I'm focused on. The -- the report speaks for itself. If Matt Gaetz ever puts his name on the ballot again, then his voters can -- can make that decision. He has a right to defend himself, like I said before, and I know he will do that. I -- I served with eight years with Matt. He's very smart. He's very talented. And I know that he will do everything that he can to clear his name. And he has a right to do that.

But the -- but the contents of the report, this ethics report, are very serious. I -- I -- I expect the public to react to it in a serious way. But he's not -- he's not a nominee, he's not a congressman anymore. He's a private citizen of the country. The country expects us to move on.

BLITZER: Yes, I suspect you're right. I also want to discuss with you Senator-elect, Donald Trump yesterday downplaying Elon Musk's influence in your Republican Party. Listen to -- listen to what Trump said. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk. No, no, that's not happening. But, no, he's not going to be president, that I can tell you. And I'm safe. You know why? He can't be. He wasn't born in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez called Musk the prime minister. How do you see Elon Musk's role in the next term?

BANKS: Look, Elon Musk is the richest man in the world. He's successful. He's built very successful companies. He understands what it takes to grow innovation in America, to make this country the dominant country once again around the world, that it deserves to be. And I'm awfully proud that -- that Elon Musk has a seat at the right hand of Donald Trump in this administration to do what it takes to get America back on track. I -- I don't take anything that Donald Trump said yesterday as downplaying Elon's role.

In fact, we know that Elon has spent a considerable amount of time with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago and many of the important meetings and conversations about forming a cabinet that will grow this country's economy and put us back on track to where we need to be. So I'm proud of that.

The -- the -- the government efficiency effort that Elon and Vivek Ramaswamy are leading are so important to make our government work for the people again, to shake up Washington. As far as I'm concerned, Elon has a lot to contribute, and I'm very proud to work with them.

BLITZER: The -- the President-elect Donald Trump also said he would consider retaking control of the Panama Canal. Would you support that?

BANKS: Absolutely. Panama is -- is taking advantage of the United States of America, and Donald Trump is putting Panama, China, the rest of the world on notice that we won't be pushed around anymore. And -- and until -- until Jimmy Carter signed away America's role in the Panama Canal. Before Jimmy Carter, we controlled both sides of the canal. America built the canal. It was our engineers who designed it. Thousands of Americans died in building it, and Jimmy Carter sold it away to Panama and took our influence away. All the while, China is seizing the moment. China is building a monopoly of ports and -- and -- and shipping through the canal and taking advantage of America from afar.

[17:45:14]

And this is Donald Trump reasserting the Monroe Doctrine, letting the rest of the world know we're not going to let you play in our backyard anymore and take advantage of America. So I -- I --I agree with Donald Trump, whether it's taking foreign aid away from Panama or putting economic sanctions on Panama, whatever it takes to put them on notice that we're not going to let you -- let you push us around any longer. The canal is important to America's economy. Seventy percent of ships that go through the canal are coming to or from the United States of America. So Donald Trump understands this very well. So do I, and I support him fully in those efforts.

BLITZER: All right, Senator-elected Jim Banks of Indiana, thanks so much for joining us.

BANKS: Thank you.

BLITZER: And coming up, behind the scenes on President Biden's decision to commute nearly all -- nearly all federal death row sentences with less than a month before his presidency ends.

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[17:50:43]

BLITZER: A major decision today by President Biden with less than a month until President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Today the President took all but three men off federal death row, commuting 37 out of 40 death sentences to life in prison. CNN's Kayla Tausche is over at the White House for us. Kayla, what do we know about this major decision and how did we get here?

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Biden suspended federal executions during his first year in office. And the return of Donald Trump to the White House weighed considerably on his decision to grant clemency to these 37 individuals. In a statement, he said he was guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President and now President, I am more convinced than that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level. In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.

Many of those whose sentences were commuted today had been convicted of killing fellow prisoners, law enforcement officers or service members. But the move by Biden to commute their sentences was praised by the ACLU and the Legal Defense Fund, which even suggested that Biden should go further and remove those three remaining inmates from federal death row. Those individuals have been convicted of orchestrating mass murders at the Boston Marathon bombing, a historically black church in Charleston as well as a synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Now, the Supreme Court had previously deemed capital punishment unconstitutional, but it was reinstated in 1988. Since then, only 16 executions have taken place, but the vast majority of those took place during the twilight of Donald Trump's first term. That was why activists had earned urged President Biden to take this step and avoid what they feared would be executions en masse when President Trump took office for a second term. Wolf?

BLITZER: So what -- what else do we know, Kayla, about President Biden's evolution in thinking over the years when it comes to the death penalty?

TAUSCHE: Wolf, there's no question that today's decision marks a clear shift in the President's standing on the death penalty. But it's an evolution that took place over a very long period of time. Back during the early decades of his career, he was a staunch proponent of the death penalty, authoring a 1994 crime bill that expanded the number of crimes that would carry capital charges. Here's how then Senator Biden described it then.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm a death penalty supporter. I'm the guy that wrote this bill. Presumptuous thing to say, but I wrote this bill my own little hands. And I added into the bill more than 50 death penalties. I support the death penalty. This president supports the death penalty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAUSCHE: Now, support among the American public for the death penalty has deteriorated in more recent decades. And Biden, often described as a political weather vane who senses the direction of the party and follows those policy positions, then evolved his own views. And Wolf, when he ran for President in 2020, he pledged that he would abolish the death penalty entirely. And he said at the time, because we cannot ensure we get death penalty cases right every single time. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Kayla Tausche reporting for us. Kayla, thank you very much.

Also tonight, new developments in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, where there is a renewed hope right now for a ceasefire deal. Several hostage families in Israel have received what are called signs of a life of their loved ones taken captive more than a year ago. Journalist Elliott Gotkine is in Jerusalem for us.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN JOURNALIST: Wolf, from Israel's war and ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon to the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, this corner of the world has been chock full of dramatic developments of late. So much so that it's easy to forget that more than a year after the Hamas led terrorist attacks of October 7th, Israel's war in Gaza continues to rumble on and continues to exact a heavy toll on Palestinians.

In one of the latest incidents, a Hamas official say an Israeli operation in Nuseirat in Central Gaza killed or injured at least 50 civilians. When ambulance crews were finally able to retrieve bodies, they found cats feeding on them. The video is too graphic to show. The IDF didn't respond to requests for comment. In the north of Gaza, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital says it's been under siege for almost three months.

[17:55:08]

He now says Israel has placed what he describes as explosive robots at the gates of the hospital. The IDF says it did not place explosive robots or any type of explosives at the entrance to the hospital. Against this backdrop, there's renewed optimism about ceasefire talks aimed at securing the release of the hundred or so hostages to being held captive in Gaza.

Israel believes around a third of the hostages are dead. But according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, several Israeli families recently received what they describe as signs of life from their loved ones. Any deal, though, would need to be signed off by Hamas and, of course, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Monday, he was in court for his fifth day of testimony in his corruption trial, facing charges which he denies, a fraud, breach of trust and bribery. Wolf?

BLITZER: Elliott Gotkine, reporting from Jerusalem, thank you very much.

Coming up in the next hour right here in The Situation Room, we'll have more on the legal and political fallout as we're combing through the House Ethics Committee's very damning evidence against former Congressman Matt Gaetz. We'll be right back.

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