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tv   Anderson Cooper 360  CNN  November 16, 2023 5:00pm-6:01pm PST

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democrats in ousts the republican congressman. ten are indicating they will do so. they'll vote to expel him after thanksgiving. if that would happen, santos would be the only member in history to be expelled who hadn't been convicted in court yet or wasn't fighting for the confederacy. the house claims to have found substantial evidence of wrongdoing by santos for using campaign funds for his own personal use. santos responded by blasting the report, announcing he won't pursue reelection anymore so, there is that. but i spoke recently to congressman santos, and i asked him about one of the things, a disturbing allegation by a u.s. navy veteran who told him santos stole money that had been meant for life-saving surgery for his dog. >> congressman, are you saying you never spoke to him either? >> i -- look, this is even news to me now. this is breaking news for me. i don't even know this man's name or who he is, ever spoken to him. >> fbi agents are investigating santos' role in the alleged gofundme account that was meant
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for that veteran's service dog. thanank you so m much for joining us. "ac 360" starts now. tonight on "360," new video from israel they say proves hamas used gaza's largest hospital as a command and control center. we'll have the latest on the war and the body of an israeli hostage recovered today. plus, a cnn exclusive on the hunter biden investigation. we now know of a second grand jury in the probe and a biden family member, the president's brother has already been subpoenaed. also, the george santos house ethics report released today. the details are devastating, and now he says he won't seek reelection. good evening. we begin with israel's war on hamas. what you see here that we're about to show you is the first visual evidence israel's military has produced to try to support its assertion echoed by the white house that there was a command and control center along with a tunnel system operated by hamas at the al-shifa hospital complex. the only thing the idf has shown is one tunnel shaft. you can see an entrance there, what appears to be concrete
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reinforcement, exposed pipes and cabling can be seen close to the surface. the video has been geolocated by cnn, but we cannot independently confirm any of israel's claims about the nature of this site. now late today, hamas called israel's claims, quote, baseless lies. israel today also announced it had found the body of a hostage in a structure adjacent to the hospital. yehudit weiss was 65 years old. she was a grandmother. she was abducted from the kibbutz be'eri october 7th. her husband was killed during the terror attack. israel today said their search at the al-shifa hospital may take, in their words, a few days or weeks to finish. also, israel dropped more leaflets today on parts of southern gaza, telling residents to move. this suggests a possible expansion of israel's operation against hamas. jeremy diamond is in israel tonight with more on that new idf video. >> reporter: a hamas tunnel below gaza's largest hospital. that's what the israeli military says this video shows.
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nearly 48 hours after israeli forces raided al-shifa hospital, these interest first images of what the israeli military says is an operational tunnel shaft on the grounds of the hospital complex. cnn cannot independently verify those claims, but using this frame, cnn has geolocated this video to the al-shifa complex, about 30 meters away from one of the hospital's main buildings. >> it is here where hamas operates some of its command and control cells. >> reporter: for weeks, israeli officials have laid the groundwork for an operation targeting shifa hospital, claiming hamas operates a massive underground complex below it. and in recent days, the u.s. has also backed up those allegations. >> one thing has been established is that hamas does have headquarters, weapons, materiel below this hospital. >> reporter: as israeli special forces continue searching the hospital complex, they are also uncovering weapons and
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ammunition. >> there is an ak-47. there are cartridges, ammo. there are grenades in here. >> reporter: with the israeli military calls concrete evidence that hamas used gaza's largest hospital to wage war. near the hospital, israeli officials also say they found the body of 65-year-old yehudit weiss, who was among those abducted on october 7th. israel's decision to send troops into a hospital has drawn fierce criticism, the u.n.'s aid chief saying he is appalled by the raid. president biden standing by israel's actions. >> it's not like they're rushing into the hospital and knocking down doors, you know, pulling people aside and shooting people indiscriminately. >> bring them home now! >> reporter: amid the fighting, the families of hostages held by hamas ramping up the pressure. >> this whole huge march of families up to jerusalem comes to make a very clear stand to our government that they need to take any deal that they have and
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pay any price for these people, for their citizens pretty much. >> reporter: as negotiations drag on over a deal that could see hamas free dozens of women and children in exchange for a multi-day ceasefire. >> this is my sister, and this is my niece. she is 12 years old. >> reporter: their families are racked with anxiety. >> it's been nerve-racking, to tell you the truth. again, we don't know who to believe. we are trying to kind of scrape the last remnants of faith and trust in our government that when a relevant deal comes to the table, they will take it. >> reporter: for now, they march and wait. >> jeremy diamond joins us now. is there any update on the hostage negotiations? >> well, anderson, those negotiations are certainly ongoing at this hour. we know that not only are u.s. officials in the region, but those updated by qatar between israel and hamas are ongoing. there appears to be a fairly
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specific deal on the table. perhaps 50 hostages, women and children in exchange for a three to five-day ceasefire by israel. but clearly, there has yet to be a deal. and we have watched of course over the last several weeks as deals have appear to have gotten close and talks have fallen apart again. and for the families of those who are missing like zohar avigdori, who i spoke with today, it's just nerve-racking, as he said. they don't know which reports to believe about what they're seeing, and they also aren't confident entirely that the israeli prime minister and his war cabinet will agree to the kind of deal that they would agree to. i asked zohar, do you believe that the israeli prime minister's priorities are where your priorities are? and he said he wasn't sure, but he said they better be, because he said it's the prime minister who works for him. >> is the idf standing by their claim of a command and control center under the hospital, which seems to be backed up by u.s. intelligence, although i assume u.s. intelligence was largely
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using intelligence from israel, because i don't think the u.s. has a lot of assets on the ground in gaza. >> the israelis are standing by it. the americans are standing by it. you heard president biden just yesterday continuing to really put his neck out there, perhaps further than he needed to in order to back up this claim about hamas' command and control center. hamas, for its part, though, is completely continuing to -- continuing to completely deny what the israelis are saying. in a statement tonight, the hamas-run government media office says these are baseless lies. they say that these are fabricated narratives, false scenarios, distorted information. and he says it is part of israel's efforts to try to avoid accountability for a raid on a hospital. of course, under international law, if you use a hospital for military purposes and you're actively using it to fight against the enemy, that hospital does indeed lose its protections. and that's why israel says that targeting this hospital with this raid is legitimate. hamas, of course, maintains that it's not actually using the
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hospital, and therefore it says israel's actions are illegal. anderson? >> jeremy diamond, thank you. joining us now is former chief of the hostages and unit in mossad. and wesley clark, former nato allied supreme commander. romy, the idf founded confident that there was a command and control center at al-shifa. they've shown this tunnel shaft they say they've found you. confident there is more? >> yes. the idf is not really raiding the hospital. as you can see, there is no real fighting in the hospital. they are delicately going through the hospital and through its basement and the trying to reveal the tunnels which are underneath this hospital. that's strengthen the claim is two things. first of all, there was a body of one of the hostages that was murdered in the gaza strip after
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the 7th of october in an adjacent building to the hospital. and they have also, what your correspondent has not said, also said have taken several bodies that are thought to be hostages to be checked in israel, to be verified as they are or they're not hostages. you've seen in the pictures, they found arms. they found all kinds of weaponry in the hospital. and it seems at the end of the day, we will see, we will justify the claim. but it's not really that important. for us, at the end of the day, hamas is underneath the gaza strip. the hamas has thousands of more fighters which are now hiding. nobody is above ground. and they are waiting to come -- they come out, fight guerrilla warfare, and try to shoot our
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force. the skirmishes have been little, and they have been losing them one by one. >> general clark, how confident are you in the idea that there is a command and control center here? >> i haven't seen any -- i don't have the security clearances to see what the president and his advisers are seeing. but i am very comfortable. we know -- this has been talked about for a long time. we've seen the maps. it's very consistent with the way hamas operates. i'm listening to the rhetoric hamas is using. clearly over the top. they're clearly trying to deceive the public on top of this massive media blitz that they've had against israel. and when i see the entrance to the tunnel, yeah, that looks like the entrance to an underground chamber. now, the next thing to do is put the camera down there on a pole. show us. and i'm sure israel will move into this, because israel
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understands just as well as any of us do that they've got to use this information to sway global opinion. global opinion has been swayed by a bunch of lies promoted by hamas. it's time to set the record straight. and i think this is beginning to set the record straight. >> romney, do you have a sense of how most hostages would be held in gaza? would it -- would individuals be alone? i assume it would be sort of small groups of people. and obviously, according to reports, hamas doesn't necessarily have all of them in its custody. there is also islamic jihad that has some and also perhaps criminal gangs as well. >> hamas has claimed at the beginning that they have 150 hostages. the jihad has said 30, and the rest are kept by criminal families that have come into
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israel and abducted for personal gains here and there all kinds of people on the way. all together, 240 more or less hostages. we found out that some of them, like yesterday with this lady that was found in the adjacent building to the hospital, some have already been murdered. but they are probably they probably fled together with hamas to southern gaza. this is why you're seeing the flyers being put arnd khan yunis area. israeli forces to prepare to the next step. we do not want to harmony noncombatant citizen to the gaza strip. and we are trying, as you know, we are trying and will be successful in eradicating hamas. and the only way to eradicate the hamas is slowly go through
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the gaza strip and find each and every one of them, as have been doing up until now, until the end of the day, and that might take months. we'll see no hamas in the gaza strip. >> romy, this hostage had been murdered. i hadn't seen a cause of death. do you know that for a fact she was murdered? the only other alternative would be in some sort of a rocket strike was injured. >> she was taken out. she was taken alive from pictures that and information that was gathered by israeli intelligence. the fact she is dead. and the israeli army spokesman has said that she was murdered in the gaza strip. i don't think that the hamas would take bodies. they have 240 hostages. they did not need more bodies in order to haggle with bodies. they had enough hostages to use
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a strategic tools. this is what they're doing. they're using the hostages as strategic tools to stop the israeli -- to get the israeli army into a ceasefire situation, as you know from negotiations that are going on. >> general clark, in terms of those negotiations, there is reports of negotiations over pauses, maybe several days depending on how many hostages may be released. from a military standpoint, what does a pause in the fighting allow hamas to do? >> well, it allows hamas to replenish, reorganize, rearm its people, redeploy, gain intelligence information, plan strikes, obscure evidence, clean out the remaining arms in these other hospitals, and try to clean up the record. it's a big break in the military momentum. the israeli attacks have been very systematic. they've been very deliberate. they're using overwatch.
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they're using high technology. they're doing everything they can to prevent civilian casualties. but they're keeping the pressure on hamas. a three or four-day pause lets all that pressure go. and then the issue will be in the world opinion, you stopped for three or four days. don't get started again. don't start, don't start. so, you know, it's very hard. if i were the israeli military commander, i would be dead set against that pause, because once you do that pause, trying to get the political momentum to start it again against all the finger-pointing and everything else that's going to go on during the pause, it's exactly what romy was saying about the strategic use of the hostages. if israel wants to really eliminate the problem of hamas, it's got to press forward. now it's got to protect its information flank. so the information in these hospitals, what's underground and so forth is very, very important. the fact that this woman may have been murdered after she was taken hostage, that's very
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important for people in the world to understand. so israel has to come forward with the information that lets this become understandable to the world population. think of it, anderson, this is -- gaza wasn't a group of terrorists. this is a state. hamas was the government. >> yeah. >> and they attacked another state. and now they're hiding behind their own population. we didn't let nazi germany do that. >> general wesley clark. >> we won't let hamas do it is my prediction. >> romney igra as well. thank you very much. still to come tonight, attempted legal victory for the former president in his civil fraud trial. and the hunter biden investigation suggesting the evidence -- excuse me, i should say the investigation is expanding. also tonight, you knew the george santos ethics report was going to be bad, but the details are really bad. allegations he stole from his campaign to pay for botox and only fans. the details, plus his future, next.
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major developments tonight in three different federal matters involving the former president as well as president biden. first, an appeals court judge has temporarily lifted the gag order imposed on the former president and his lawyers by the
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judge in new york civil fraud trial. last hour the former president posted his first truth social message since the order was lifted, attacking many involved in the case including the judge and the judge's clerk. also tonight, no charges are expected in the special counsel investigation into president biden's handling of classified material. however, in a cnn exclusive, sources say the special counsel investigating his son hunter biden is now also using a grand jury in california in addition to washington, d.c. in fact, it's already produced a subpoena for a key member of the biden family, the president's brother. paula reid joins us now. what more you learning, paula? >> anderson, we've learned prosecutors are using a grand jury in california to gather evidence connected to the president's son. now it appears that this investigation is focused on his alleged failure to pay taxes during several specific years. this was something that was supposed to be resolved with a plea deal earlier this year, but that fell apart. now these alleged tax crimes
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occurred in california. it's also where hunter lives, which is likely why they are using a grand jury in that state. we've learned that multiple witnesses have been subpoenaed for testimony and documents, and one of those witnesses is president biden's brother, james biden. he is also a one-time business associate of hunter's. now we me that hunter biden has previously been charged by the special counsel with gun charges in delaware, and the fact that they're now using a grand jury in california signals there could be more charges coming for the president's son. >> and in terms of the investigation of president biden's handling of classified documents, we mentioned the special counsel is not expected to bring charges. what details do you know? >> that's exactly right. multiple sources tell us they do not expect anyone will be charged as a result of this special counsel investigation, but robert herr, who has been overseeing the probe, he is expected to deliver a detailed report explaining exactly how they carried out this probe. this report is also, anderson, expected to be critical of
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president biden and his associates for how they handled these sensitive materials. now they expect to have all of this wrapped up by the end of the year, but i'm told that could slide a little into next year. now some trump allies are trying to draw comparisons between the biden document probe and the trump document investigation, which is of course going to be a criminal trial next spring. three key differences here, anderson. volume, dissemination of this information, and cooperation. we're talking about dozens of documents with biden, hundreds with trump. of course trump did not cooperate when the archives wanted documents back. biden did. and lastly, former president trump is on tape appearing to share classified information, sensitive information with people who don't have clearances. there is no such evidence for president biden. >> paula reid, thank you so much. elie honig, former assistant u.s. attorney and cnn political commentator kay bedingfield, former communications director in the biden white house. how significant, elie, do you think this is? >> it's bad news for hunter
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biden, any way you slice. this let's remember, he already had a pending indictment in the federal district court in delaware for the firearms-related charges. and now he potentially is looking at a second indictment out of california. and if we think about the potential tax charges here, it's important to keep in mind, when hunter biden went into court a few months ago with doj, they had a deal that he was going plead guilty to mcdonald's tax offenses, and they agreed. doj and hunter biden agreed he had failed to pay over a million dollars in income taxes that he owed. so assuming, which i think is a fair assumption that doj has evidence of that, that feels like the minimum charges he may face. it may get worse. but it's important to understand the fact that there is a grand jury does not ensure that there will be an indictment. but it certainly does make it more likely. and that's a problem. >> is this a problem you think both this grand jury? i mean, could this grand jury both politically and personally be a problem for the president? >> well, i mean, look. i think to some extent we did know this was coming, right, because david weiss said when the plea agreement fell apart, he intended to bring charges.
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so it's not entirely shocking. in terms of political ramifications, remember, this is about hunter biden. it's not about joe biden. it's not about president biden. and we've seen time and again republicans have tried to make political hay out of this. they've tried to make this a problem for joe biden. and it hasn't been. and that's in part because hunter has been very forthcoming about his own personal struggles, his own addiction, what he was going through at the time that some of this was ongoing. and joe biden has been very clear, that he had no involvement in his son's business dealings. so i think for republicans to try to make this a political opportunity, i think it's a miscalculation on their part. >> so i assume you would be advising the president to not really say anything, to kind of remain silent on this? >> absolutely, absolutely. i think when the president has been asked about this, he has said he is proud of his son. he has talked about his personal relationship with his son, the things hunter went through. but he has been very quiet about the specifics here. and he should continue to be. he should continue to be. this is a legal matter that hunter is dealing with. most voters across the country
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want to hear from joe biden what he is going to do toyb make their lives better, and that's where the focus should stay. >> and certainly on the special counsel regarding the handling oclassified documents, that's certainly good news for the administration. >> it's got to be a relief. the special counsel has now been at it for 10 or 11 months. while there was no public indication that joe biden had criminal intent or criminal knowledge, you never know. this is an aggressive prosecutor. robert hurd, the special counsel. i'm sure there is a sigh of relief coming from the white house. what remains to be seen, and there will be a report, we remember the mueller report, for example, will it say that even though there is not a crime, there was some bad conduct? or will it completely exonerate joe biden? but either way, good news for joe biden. >> and kate, if -- assuming no charges, if there is criticism about the way the president and his staff handled classified documents, how damaging is that for the president, especially juxtaposed to the former president who obviously we know the issues with his handling of
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classified documents. >> well, that's the key, right, anderson. any discussion of this in the political arena is going to be juxtaposed with trump and with trump's wrongdoing here. there is a dramatic difference between the way the biden white house and president biden handled this, and the way donald trump has handled the inquiry into his handling of classified documents. biden has been incredibly forthcoming, said from the outset he would cooperate with doj, would provide anything that they wanted. we've seen that that has been the case. we've seen reporting that has showed for example, that his attorney was very clear with doj that they could have any access that they wanted. and that's strikingly different than president trump, who has intentionally withheld documents and, you know, we could talk forever about the ways in which he has mishandled classified documents with intention. so i think any discussion of this in the political arena is going to be juxtaposed with trump's wrongdoing. that contrast i think is a good one for biden. but at the end of the day,
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again, i would go back to what voters want to hear is how the president is going to help their lives. and so any discussion of this for republicans is taking away from an opportunity to take what they're going to do to help voters. >> and elie, on the gag order on the former president and the new york civil trial, is that gone for good? >> no, it's on hold because the court of appeals said we want the take a look at this. i actually think this gag order was narrow and appropriate. i was never a fan of gag orders as a prosecutor. i never asked for one. this one says hands off, no comments about my staff. that's it. so trump is free even under the gag order to criticize the judge, the prosecutors, the ag, the case. the only thing he can't do under this gag order is attack the clerk, the courtroom staff. to me that should be upheld. that is a narrow gag order. it's pending right now. the court of appeals is going to rule on it soon. >> elie honig, thank you so much. kate bedingfield as well, thank you. >> thank you. next, a new damning ethics report on congressman george
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santos. the question, will he be expelled? the latest from capitol hill nenext.
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in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be a smart, efficient, savvy. making the most of every opportunity. that's why comcast business is introducing the small business bonus. for a limited time you can get up to a $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. yep, $1000. so switch to business internet from the company with the largest fastest reliable network and that powers more businesses than anyone else. learn how you can get $1000 back for your business today. comcast business. powering possibilities. new york republican congressman george santos says he will not run for reelection next year following the release of a damning ethics committee report today. santos condemned the investigation and the report. manu raju, who has had many exchanges with with the congressman has details.
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>> george santos is a fraud. he should not be a member of congress. >> reporter: george santos now at serious risk of being removed from congress, as support grows for his expulsion following a devastating report from the bipartisan ethics committee saying he set to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his house candidacy for his own personal financial profit. the panel found that santos blatantly stole from his campaign, including for travel and botox, even making a payment to only fans, an online subscription service that primarily showcases adult content. the report also alleges he reported fictitious loans and sustained it all through a constant series of lies. >> i think the people of his district need representation, and they're not getting that right now. >> reporter: the damning report concludes that he knowingly filed false reports with the fec and made willful violations in financial disclosures with the house. the gop chairman of the ethics committee plans to file a
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resolution to expel santos. an expulsion would be unprecedented. while he would be the sixth house member ever expelled, the others were removed after being convicted in court or fighting for the confederacy. >> that will be enough for members to be able to make a decision as to whether or not they believe that it would be proper to expel representative santos. >> reporter: in an interview with cnn this months, santos acknowledged making mistakes in his filings. they said you made up your income, and that could be a problem for your ethics probe. what happened? did you not list your income properly here? >> all i can say is, first, no, that's not true. second, were there mistakes made on those forms no now i know they were. were they malicious? no. i didn't understand how that worked. and i'm a new candidate, and i'm sorry that mistakes were made. >> reporter: and denied making fake loans to his campaign. >> one of the things they say there is a $500,000 loan that you made. >> oh, i made the $500,000. >> but you had $8,000 in your
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bank account. >> i made -- i can guarantee you that i made the financial loans to my campaign that are on the record. >> reporter: today santos blasted the bipartisan committee, calling the report biased and a disgusting politicized smear. yet he did announce he would not seek a second term next year, saying his family deserved better. a reversal from just two weeks ago. >> so they expel you, and then they put someone else in the seat, you're going run in 2024? >> absolutely. >> now the chairman of the house ethics committee michael guess plans to begin that process tomorrow to expel george santos, filing a resolution with the house. a vote would be expected at the end of this month. it would require two-thirds of the house to get there. by our calculations, that would require 53 republicans who had previously opposed expulsion to join with democrats who are expected to kick him out. right now there are about a dozen of those republicans who have switched their position, will now support expulsion.
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but anderson, the republican leadership is still silent on this issue, including the speaker of the house mike johnson, who issued a statement through his spokesperson calling it very troubling, but the membership should keep in mind that the institution that they serve as they cast a potential vote in the days ahead here. so still some questions about whether santos can survive this. >> thank you so much. with me now is republican congressman ken buck from colorado. he is a member of the conservative house freedom caucus and part of a growing number of lawmakers in support of santos being expelled following the release of this report. congressman, thanks for being with us. what specifically in the ethics committee report led you to conclude that santos should be expelled? >> well, anderson, i didn't vote for his expulsion the first time that we had a vote. i changed my opinion after this. he didn't receive due process the first time. he hadn't been convicted of a crime. the ethics committee hadn't investigated. now they have investigated, drawn some very troubling conclusion, and they didn't even look at the most serious allegations because they didn't want to interfere with the criminal cases.
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but when the ethics committee says that he, george santos has brought congress' reputation into disrepute, that's fairly significant. it's hard to bring an institution that only has an 11% approval rating into disrepute. but evidently george santos can do that. >> speaker johnson called it troubling, but stopped short of calling for santos' expulsion or resignation, as manu said. do you think it could succeed if it is put to the vote? >> i think it will get more momentum as individuals are home for the thanksgiving break. i think when we come back, you'll see that motion to expel. i think you will see more and more members voting for that. and it will be maybe a close vote, but i think he will be expelled, if he doesn't resign. i hope he resigns before we get to that point. >> obviously, if santos is expelled, that would give republicans an even slimmer majority in the house. do you think it's ant important factor for your colleagues to consider when voting? >> i don't. i think his conduct is the most important factor.
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we actually get a member, a member retired from utah. we'll get that seat back. and before this expulsion will take place. it will happen right around the same time and we'll have the same number of republicans in the house with -- after the expulsion. >> you're a former high-ranking federal prosecutor. do you think the case against santos is strong? >> you know, i haven't seen the evidence in that case. i've seen the allegations. the allegations are certainly very serious allegations, allegations that would warrant a prison term if he is convicted of those allegations. >> he says he is no longer running for reelection in order to protect his family from unwanted media attention. do you think it's an attempt to stave off an expulsion? >> i don't think it will be work. it may be an attempt. i don't think it will work. i think congress at some point -- we've had a number of ugly incidents just this past week. we've certainly had a lot of name-calling before that. i think tensions are high right
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now. i think that george santos has shown that he doesn't have the character to serve in congress, and i think that he is likely to be expelled. i think that it's going to happen in the next couple of weeks. >> you talk about ugly incidents. there was this alleged physical altercation between congressman mccarthy and burchett the other day. he said mccarthy elbowed him in the back. senator markwayne mullin almost got into a fistfight with a witness during a hearing. given your experience, what is going on? does it seem crazier than usual, or just -- what do you attribute this to? >> well, i do think it's crazier than normal. i think that we have been here for a number of weeks in a row, i believe ten weeks in a row. obviously, we've had weekends and other things, but it isn't always easy to get back to a lot of the districts over the weekend. so people have been in d.c. away from their family, and i think tensions are getting high. i think tensions are also getting high because we're not passing the appropriations bills and moving forward.
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and that's a difficult sign. we've had some difficult votes like the continuing resolutions. and so i think that this break, this thanksgiving break is really necessary this time. and i hope that people come back with a better attitude. >> congressman ken buck, thank you so much. appreciate it. >> thank you. new polling out of new hampshire tonight comes as the former president outline an extreme agenda in his bid to return to the white house. we'll be right back.
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i could use a little help. yeah, there's a lot of risk out there.
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huh ♪♪ hey, is this thing hard to learn? nah, it's easy. huh. you know, i think i'm going to ride it home. good thing you chose u.s. bank to manage and grow your money. with our 24/7 support at least you're not taking chances with your finances. yeah, i think i'm gonna need a chair. oh, ohhhh. new cnn polling out of new hampshire support for the former president is at 42% among likely republican voters. that's up three points from
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september. nikki haley rose 8 points, putting her in second. president biden is already putting out a plan what a second term would look like for him. kristen holmes has that. >> reporter: not only does donald trump plan to win back the white house, but he and his allies are already outlining plans to overhaul the federal government and implement radical policies within hours of taking the oath. vowing to purge the federal workforce. >> and day one, i will reissue my 2020 executive order restoring president's authority to tell rogue and corrupt bureaucrats you're fired. >> reporter: and use the justice department to target political adversaries. >> on day one of my new administration, i will direct the doj to investigate every radical district attorney and attorney general in america for their illegal racist and reverse enforcement of the law. >> reporter: as for the second day and beyond, trump and his
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allies have promised to wield the power of the executive branch in unprecedented ways. >> in 2024, we are going to put america first like never before. >> reporter: with a focus on revenge, telling univision this month -- >> if i happen to be president and i see somebody who is doing well and beating me very badly, i say go down and indict them. >> reporter: as in his first term, many of trump's policies are expected to prompt robust legal challenges. >> this is what democracy looks like! >> reporter: and political opposition. >> the people united will never be divided. >> typical constraints of the political process don't seem to apply to him. there is not a lot of law to deal with a president who just doesn't care about the law. >> this time to avoid delays, trump al lined groups are laying the groundwork in advance. >> this is for conservatives to help the next standard bearer to be ready day one. >> reporter: paul dan's overseas
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project 2025, a transition team run by conservative think tank the heritage foundation. >> we're a coalition now of 70 of the leading conservative organizations essentially conjoining our forces to bring great people into the fold, to put our ideas and people into the bloodstream in the next administration. >> reporter: these efforts are welcome, to a point. two of trump's senior campaign advisers tell cnn, quote, none of these groups or individuals speak for president trump or his campaign. >> build that wall! >> reporter: one priority in a second term, a crackdown on illegal immigration that would go beyond the hard-line proposals that fueled trump's first run for office, including mass deportations and detention camps. >> we will use all necessary state, local, federal, and military resources to carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in american history, and we have no choice.
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some people won't like that. we have no choice. >> mr. president! >> reporter: the former president has also promised to extend his travel ban from predominantly muslim countries. >> no hate, no fear -- >> reporter: that joe biden rescinded after taking office. >> when i return to office, the travel ban is coming back, even bigger and much stronger than before. >> and anderson, one thing to reiterate here is that this isn't just rhetoric or musings about a potential second term. he is surrounding himself with like-minded idealogically aligned people who are trying to figure out how to actually implement this. and to be clear, it's not just these two-bit lawyers. in some cases it's constitutional experts. and the big difference between 2016 and now is that donald trump knows exactly what he wants to implement going into office, meaning that he can screen people ahead of time, making sure that the people who are surrounding him are people who also want to see that through. anderson? >> kristen holmes, thank you. ahead, the fbi director's
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warning about anti-semitism in this country and new reporting on how some bigots are using ai to spread their message. also, the fallout for elon musk after he agreed with an antisemitic post on his social memedia site x.
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agreeing with a post on his platform x. writing in response, quote, you have said the actual truth. also tonight, ibm has suspended its advertising on x after one of its ads appeared alongside pro-nazi content. the ceo of x, linda yak amino, wrote in a post, x's point of view is clear that -- should stop across the board. on wednesday the fbi director christopher wray said the bureau has seen threats rise after october 7th. donie o'sullivan shows us how hate groups in the u.s. are actively trying to stoke anti-semitism. we want to warn you, some of the images you're about to see are offensive. here's what donie uncovered. >> reporter: these are not propalestine supporters outside the white house. >> it's a bunch of lies just
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like your [ bleep ] holocaust bull is a bunch of lies. >> reporter: some of the same people who were behind the 2017 unite the right rally in charlottesville, virginia. they're just one of multiple hate groups in the united states using the hamas conflict to push an agenda of anti-semitism. extremists are not just showing up at pro palestine protests. they're jumping flyers in neighborhoods across country. >> i can't believe the hate that still exists towards the jewish people. so, i totally despise this. >> reporter: some of the flyers are work the of the goien defense league, a network of anti-semitic extremists, who are also linked to disruptions at city council meetings across the country. they call in to spew hate. >> >> reporter: but a few weeks ago in calabasas, a new tactic
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using artificial intelligence. >> i'm john greenblatt, and i'm the ceo of the antidefamation league. >> reporter: that sound like john greenblatt -- >> the adl tracks anti-semitics incidents. >> reporter: but it wasn't him. it was a fake voice created using a.i. >> we are finally admitting the truth. >> reporter: it sounded like the adl was endorsing the hate group's anti-semitic flyers. >> we can't debunk them. they are true. >> reporter: this is just an attempt by individuals to disrupt and demean and shock people and get a response that affects others. >> reporter: the head of the group is currently serving a 30-day jail sentence in florida for littering charges related to the anti-semitic flyers. >> community members are sharing active footage from hamas celebrating the deaths of jewish people. >> reporter: a threat analysis
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company that tracks online hate. he says there's been a massive spike in support by hamas by american extremists. 4chan, a notorious hate-filled site. and the extremists are taking it a step further, using a.i. not only to imitate but to actually create anti-semitic and hateful images. >> there's this weird fusion that began to occur in which actual hamas propaganda started to esthetically blend with anti-semitic tropes and memes that have been on 4chan for years. >> reporter: the threats are serious and drawing the attention of law enforcement. in this document obtained by cnn, the department of homeland security warns that u.s. hate groups continue to call for violence, are celebrating attacks on the jewish community, and that they could use the hamas attacks as an inspiration to fight. [ crowd chanting ] >> propalestine protesters made it clear to us, they don't want anything to do with these hate
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groups. >> neo-nazi hate groups showing up to demonstrations like this, how does that make you feel? >> i think it's horrible. i think it fully derails the entire movement. >> white supremacist opportunist who are using the palestine cause as a vehicle for their prejudice are not welcome. the palestinian stands against all forms of racism. >> i mean, donie joins us. going into an election year, all these fake voices, fake images, it's going to be a mess. >> a real mess. and i mean, look, you remember a few months ago we had a bit of fun using voice generation. a.i. made it sound like i was you. and these things can be used for fun. but i really think the combination of elon musk and -- you saw what he said yesterday -- his position at x and the mess that that platform is. meta the past few days, it's emerged they're going to take money, they're going to allow ads of campaigns saying the 2020 election was rigged in the
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lead-up to 2024. you have all this a.i. stuff. i really -- it really does feel like we are on the precipice going into 2024 of just saying misinformation mess. >> donie o'sullivan, thank youo. we'll l be right b back.
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