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The Situation Room

Trump Administration Seeking Death Penalty For Luigi Mangione; Interview With Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); Will TikTok Go Dark?. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired April 01, 2025 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:33:47]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Well, new this morning. TikTok may be just days away from going dark. The app is once again facing uncertainty with a looming deadline to sell its U.S. operations or face being banned in the U.S. again.

CNN's Clare Duffy joins us now.

Clare, how likely is it that there will be a deal by Saturday?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes,Pamela, what we know is that both President Trump and Vice President Vance have said there is almost certainly going to be a deal by the Saturday deadline.

We also know that there are a number of interested parties who have said they would be willing to acquire the apps, some really big names in the tech world there. You have got one group that's led by billionaire Frank McCourt and "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary. You have another group that includes TikTok star MrBeast.

You have got Oracle, which is TikTok's existing U.S. technology partner. But what we don't know is whether this deal is going to be signed and ready to hand over these TikTok U.S. assets by Saturday or if the administration will just be outlining a deal that they hope to make.

We also have gotten very little public indication that the Chinese government and TikTok parent company ByteDance are willing to play ball with a deal here. And, of course, that is essential if they are going to meet the Saturday deadline. Trump in recent days has indicated that he could try to sweeten the deal by offering to reduce tariffs on Chinese imports.

[11:35:03]

And I think that raises the question -- the fact that he is still looking for leverage here raises the question of just how close we are to a deal with this deadline days away.

BROWN: All right, Clare, we will watch and see. Thank you so much.

Just ahead: the talkathon on the Senate floor. Cory Booker has been talking for hours, as in 16 hours, in protest over Donald Trump's upending of the federal government.

Booker's colleague Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joins me to talk about it up next.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Breaking news: Attorney General Pam Bondi has just announced she wants federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione.

[11:40:00]

He's the man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last December outside a Manhattan hotel.

CNN's Kara Scannell has been following this case from the very beginning.

What more are you learning, Kara?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, this coming in a new statement from the attorney general, Pam Bondi.

She said she is going to direct the prosecutors for the Southern District of New York, the U.S. attorney's office here in New York, which is prosecuting the case, and instructing them to seek the death penalty on the one criminal charge that Mangione is facing in federal court that is death penalty-eligible. That is murder with a firearm.

She said she came to this conclusion after careful consideration, given that it was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America. So she is now instructing the prosecutors in New York to seek the death penalty in that case.

Now, Mangione is facing both state charges and also these federal charges. He was charged through a criminal complaint in the federal charges. We're still waiting for an indictment in that case. And what his lawyer had previously said during a court hearing was that she was in discussions with federal prosecutors around this issue of whether they would seek the death penalty, which appeared to contribute to this delay.

So now we do have an answer of what federal prosecutors will do. They say that they will now seek the death penalty in this case. This is a marked shift from the Biden administration, which had not sought the death penalty in many cases at all, the Trump administration making it clear that they will seek the death penalty in certain cases.

And, in this one, the attorney general pointing to the fact that this was a cold-blooded, premeditated murder. Now, Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the state charges. We have reached out to his camp for comment. We have not received any yet, but we will update you when we do -- Pam.

BROWN: And the federal death penalty in the U.S. is pretty rare, right, Kara?

SCANNELL: It is rare, Pam.

I mean, the Trump administration has said that they would seek the death penalty in certain cases. So, in this case, they're now making a very clear line in the beginning days of this administration that it is one that they will seek.

The big question, will the jury deliver a verdict of death? We have seen there was a case in New York in the same courthouse where a man accused of running down pedestrians on -- in a U-Haul truck, he was convicted. That case went to the death penalty. The jury didn't sentence him to death -- Pam.

BROWN: All right, Kara Scannell, thank you so much.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:47:12]

BROWN: Happening now on Capitol Hill, a marathon speech that began last night at 7:00 on the Senate floor is still going. New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker is protesting the Trump administration's slashing of the federal government. He has vowed to keep going as long as he is physically able.

So far so good from his point of view, although he's gotten a little help from his friends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL): But I didn't want to miss this moment in history, not just for the historic nature of it, but for the substance of it as well.

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY): Senator Booker, I have been listening to this debate all night, and I got to say, you're on fire. And you're on fire because the American people are very, very angry about what is happening. They are not happy with what this administration has done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Joining us now is Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.

Hi, Senator.

So we just heard you there cheering on your colleague. This isn't a filibuster, though. No, the legislation is being blocked as a result of this. So why do you feel this is an important step to take?

GILLIBRAND: Because we are protesting President Trump and Elon Musk's latest effort to cut Medicare, Medicaid, and to harm Social Security and to not allow our seniors to get their Social Security checks because they want to cut the staff.

We are going to vote on a piece of legislation this week called a reconciliation. It only requires 51 votes, so we don't have the opportunity to have a filibuster. So what Senator Booker is doing is being loud and clear about his objections to what's in this legislation, because it's going to cut money to the VA, money to Social Security Administration, money to the Department of Education, money to every agency in every part of government.

Why? To pay for tax cuts for Elon Musk and his billionaire buddies. The Cabinet alone is going to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax cuts because of this measure.

BROWN: So you're saying this is in response to that.

There was a recent CBS News poll that showed 86 percent of Democrats say elected officials could be doing more to oppose President Trump's policies. Is this also a move in response to this push from Democratic voters for your party to do more?

GILLIBRAND: So there's very few legislative tools that we have to do anything to stop Trump's agenda.

So the most important thing we can actually do is let our voters and our communities know what's happening and what policies are actually harming them, so that they can use their voices and they can use their vote at the appropriate time.

And so that's what Senator Booker is doing. He is telling the country for as long as they will listen each of the harms that these decisions are making. And, today, I talked about the cuts to Social Security, that if there aren't people there to answer the phone -- and Elon Musk says you can't provide phone service anymore -- you can't even get an appointment unless you call by phone.

[11:50:05]

So how is someone supposed to get an appointment? Asking seniors to be only online with the Social Security Administration, also not fair. Many seniors are not computer-literate or good on the computer.

BROWN: So I want to also go to other news of day. You just left this Armed Services Committee hearing with Trump's pick for the Joint Chiefs chairman.

And there were a couple of topics that you brought up, one being the Signal discussion with classified information. What did he say about that?

GILLIBRAND: Well, I really pressed General Caine on what would he have done in this situation. And I was able to get from him that, if he was on a Signal chat and war plans or details of when an assault would take place was shared on that non-secret, nonclassified platform, he would stop the conversation.

And that is the clearest statement we have heard from anyone in the administration that when you have shared the timing of an assault or a bombing, you do not share that on an unclassified platform.

BROWN: The White House says the case is closed now. What do you think about that?

GILLIBRAND: That's just more B.S. from this White House and more lies from the administration and more disinformation to the United States and to our people.

BROWN: What do you think should happen?

GILLIBRAND: I think that we should hold Hegseth accountable in whatever way we can by keeping this issue front and center.

We should be asking all -- any nominee that comes in front of the Armed Services Committee or the Intelligence Committee their perspective, their opinions. He should step down. And he is obviously not qualified. We opposed his nomination from the beginning because of his lack of qualifications for this job.

But to be so uninformed or careless or reckless to share that kind of information, war plans, fighting details, bombing details, it should never be shared on a nonclassified app, notwithstanding the fact that somebody who was on the chain shouldn't have been on the chain.

But just the act of putting that on Signal in and of itself is -- shows his recklessness.

BROWN: So you say he should step down. Do others on the Armed Services Committee share that sentiment as well, particularly Republican colleagues?

GILLIBRAND: I don't know their perspectives. I just know that I think it's an outrage and people should be aware that this is our national security apparatus.

And so that's why I pressed General Caine today, who's going to be chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, to know that he's on notice that he has to get control of this. This is a national security risk and we need to keep our country safe.

BROWN: I know another national security risk that you have been very focused on is drones. You have legislation that you're working on -- that you have been working on with Senator Cotton.

You brought that up as well during this hearing. What did he say? What did the general say?

GILLIBRAND: So I brought up the case of Langley, the fact that we had two weeks of drone incursions hovering over Langley doing God knows what and God knows who. We don't know if they were Chinese, Russian, Iranian, some adversary.

We have no clue what technology was being used. We didn't have the ability to see them coming or see them go. And we didn't have the authorities to take them down or to track them to their place of launch or to their place of return. And so I asked him very pointedly, will you support legislation to be

able to take drones down that are above military bases and have the authorities to track and trace them as they are approaching and as they are leaving? And he said that he would work with the committee on that.

This is a piece of legislation that has over a dozen co-sponsors, Democrats and Republicans, and hopefully we can get some -- a hearing on it in the Armed Services Committee and maybe a markup soon.

BROWN: All right, we will see on that front.

I also just want to ask you about this so-called, according to President Trump, liberation day, when he will issue these large tariffs on some of our biggest training partners announced tomorrow. Sources tell CNN that many of Trump's own advisers are still in the dark about his plans. What do you think about this gamble and the potential impact of these tariffs on the U.S. economy?

GILLIBRAND: It's going to raise costs.

President Trump hasn't done one thing yet in his administration to lower costs for American families. That's what he promised the American people. And, unfortunately, he lied to them. He created a falsehood. He captured them and captured their votes on the idea of this lie that he would get costs of groceries and housing and cars and computers down.

Tariffs will raise prices on all the things that people need to buy for their families. So, the raise in food costs, the raise in housing is all because of his decisions and his administration. So it's just another example of him promising something that was never true and he is not delivering on.

BROWN: All right, last question.

President Trump is once again talking about the idea of running for a third term as president, which, of course, is against the Constitution. He says he's not joking about it, though. What do you think?

[11:55:03]

GILLIBRAND: Well, obviously, President Trump has a certain kind of narcissism that thinks he's above the law.

And it is unconstitutional. And we will fight this in court. We will fight this through advocacy, and we will do everything we can to make it clear to the American people he has no right to do that and he would be breaking the Constitution and the things that he's swore an oath to uphold.

BROWN: All right, Senator Gillibrand, thank you for your time.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning. You can keep up with us on social media @PamelaBrownCNN and @WolfBlitzer. We will see you back here tomorrow and every weekday morning for our

expanded two-hour SITUATION ROOM at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

"INSIDE POLITICS WITH DANA BASH" is next right after a short break.