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call 1-855-237-0489. that's 1-855-237-0489. >> i'm rahel solomon in new york and this is cnn >> and we continue to follow our major breaking news. special counsel jack smith saying that he is ending the two federal cases against president-elect donald trump. trumps election subversion case and his classified documents case. >> cnn's paula reid and evan perez are both with us now. paula what are you learning? >> so we've learned that the special counsel, jack smith, he has asked to dismiss both of his federal cases against president-elect trump. so this morning, the first word that we got was that he was moving to dismiss the election subversion case here in washington, d.c.. but then we're waiting to see what he was going to do with the classified documents case. it's a little bit different because of course, trump has two co-defendants. that case is also currently on appeal after the trump appointed judge,

aileen cannon, dismissed it she sided with the defense attorneys, saying that the special counsel had been improperly appointed something that really shocked most legal experts. so what smith said is that he is going to dismiss that case as it pertains to trump, but he will let it proceed as it pertains to those two co-defendants, so they will continue to appeal that case, and it's going to be really interesting to see how the trump team handles the fact that you have these two sort of trump allies who are currently on trial, still on that case, because if they want to continue with that litigation, they could try to shore up potentially the appointments of special counsels if they want to use them. but if they dismiss the case or they pardon those two co-defendants, it could be problematic because you will have that precedent hanging out there from judge aileen cannon. so it sounds like a law exam question, which it is but that's going to be one of the first things to be. >> it will be. >> i'm so sorry to all the law students. i've been there. it stinks. we've made it even more worse for these hypotheticals. but this is going to be a real question for the incoming attorney general. >> it could be an interesting n

the justice department, that that tells the government what is and isn't constitutional and what we see here from the filing is that they did consult the olc. they didn't get a new opinion. but there is apparently, you know what they did is they read they talked to the to the office of legal counsel and they determined that because donald trump is now president elect, that he is that he enjoys all of the privileges of a sitting president, which means that they can't be prosecuted. and in the case of the justice department, they're saying they can't even, you know, pursue a case that's already in existence. and it's telling also that if you look at the filings, you'll see jack smith points out that this doesn't this isn't a reflection on the strength of these cases against donald trump. right. remember the thing that that that should hang over all of this is that donald trump, according to the special counsel, according to

the justice department, resorted to crimes after he lost the 2020 election. and then, of course, in the case of the classified documents case he left the white house and took hundreds of documents that were classified, that he didn't have a right to anymore. and those are the reasons for those two separate cases those things will live. i guess, in infamy for you know, for, for the sake of history. but these cases will not yeah. >> a historic moment though, as you pointed out. not surprising paula reid. evan perez, thank you both. so much. let's bring in retired new york state supreme court judge diane kiesel. judge, thank you so much for being with us. what's your reaction to jack smith dropping these cases against donald trump? did he have a choice here um, i really don't think he did. >> obviously, based on long e d justice was never going to be able to continue these cases

against donald trump once he became elected president. and uh, the president is already on record saying he would fire jack smith within, what, two minutes of his swearing in. so what would happen is the case would get handed over to a new, uh prosecutor who would be taking marching orders from a trump appointee. uh or at least, uh someone who does not have the same zeal for this case that jack smith would have had. the more interesting question, though, is what's going to happen if the new justice department does decide to continue with that appeal, that of just judge cannon's decision, because as paula reid so aptly points out, you know, they may someday want to use the special counsel provision in their in their favor by them. i mean the trump administration. but also think

about the result. if this case goes forward, that means a valley and the chief janitor down at mar-a-lago end up. what bearing the burden for what the president of the united states, the former president of the united states at this point, allegedly did. it's all rather strange. >> so talk to us a little bit about whether if you know when trump eventually leaves office, if the government could reopen the case, but also, as you mentioned, if the trump administration challenges that aileen cannon decision on the special counsel, you know what what that could mean for once he does leave office if the government would consider reopening this government might do, but we're talking about five years down the road. >> and i seriously doubt that the government would spend the time and the money to reopen

this old case at that point. but i do think that the while the judge cannon decision is an outlier and other courts have indicated that the special counsel appointment process is legal and valid, it does hang out there as a possible barrier to, again this upcoming trump. uh administration or any future one from bringing cases similar to this one. you know again, it just though politically and pragmatically, it calls into mind, does it not the 2016 situation where donald trump is caught on a hot mic saying something very terrible about what he could do to women, he gets elected president. but, you know, the interviewer was that billy bush? what what happened to his career? you know, and now you've got these two underlings who could

conceivably uh, go to trial and or be convicted and be sentenced to prison for final say about that though donald trump appoints the united states attorneys in all of the federal districts, is he really going to want to go forward with a case against, uh those two men when all of the evidence that would come in or much of the evidence would point to trump, trump's alleged behavior? i don't think so i suspect all these cases are going away. but that's just my worth, judge diane kiesel, we appreciate you sharing your analysis and perspective with us. >> thanks for joining us >> bye bye. happy thanksgiving. >> thanks. same to you. we are following more breaking news involving the president elect. sources tell cnn that trump's lawyers are investigating

allegations that a top aide sought to gain financially from his influence with the president elect. >> we have cnn's sara murray on this. sara, tell us what you're learning. >> well, we're learning that lawyers for trump have been investigating whether boris epshteyn sought to gain financially from his access to donald trump and others in trump's orbit. now this is something this internal investigation thatconfirmed to s and our colleague kate sullivan by half a dozen sources. again, this is an internal investigation this is not a criminal investigation. in one instance, though, the investigators looking into this learned that boris epshteyn requested as much as $100,000 per month in exchange for his services in one of these instances. and i want to tell you what boris epshteyn said in response to this reporting. he said, i am honored to work for president trump and his team. these fake claims are false and defamatory and will not distract us from making america great again. now epshteyn has served as a senior advisor to

donald trump. at times, he served as an attorney for donald trump. he's rubbed plenty of people the wrong way, but this investigation is an indication to how seriously some around trump took these allegations that boris epshteyn was trying to charge people essentially for access to trump and those in his orbit. guys and sarah epstein has rubbed a lot of people in trump's orbit the wrong way over the years. >> but he has managed to survive and notably, as all these top cabinet officials were being named and ambassadors were being named. his name was not among those in consideration. right. what is his status right now? >> well, he hasn't been offered a formal role in the administration, but you know, one of the initial recommendations that came out of this investigation, we have learned from sources familiar with the matter, was there was a recommendation that epstein should be removed from donald trump's proximity, that he should not be paid by or employed by trump entities. and as of at least monday afternoon, that does not seem to be the case. the trump transition is saying this was a

broad review of consulting contracts around the former president, and that everyone is moving together as a team, and you in donald trump's orbit for a very long time. he's very used to the kind of knife fighting that goes on around now, the president elect, you know he's rubbed people the wrong way, in part because he talks about his close closeness to the president elect, and also because of the access he gets to donald trump. and at least right now that doesn't seem to be changing, guys. >> sara murray, thank you so much for bringing us that breaking news. still ahead this hour on cnn news central, the menendez brothers are back in court today. we have a live report on their fight for freedom after nearly three decades in prison. plus, airport workers at one of america's busiest as well at one of american airlines busiest hubs are going on strike right as this holiday week is getting underway. the impact this could have on your thanksgiving day travel. >> and it is a bizarre but beloved by president joe biden. we have these stories and more all

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up to 50% off and a free professional measure plus you can pay monthly at 0% apr, up to 24 months with paypal. >> it's time for the main event wayfair's black friday right now get up to 80% off furniture and cookware holiday decor, and more at wayfair's. lowest prices of the year plus score 24 hour flash deals. you have to see to believe and get free shipping on everything. save up to 80% off wayfair's black friday savings spectacular now through december second. wayfair every style, every home. >> laura coates live tonight at 11 eastern on cnn is underway that could kickstart a path to freedom for two of la's most high profile murderers. >> lyle and erik menendez are in court today for the first time in almost three decades, after they were convicted and sentenced to life in prison

without parole for killing their parents in their beverly hills home back in 1989. >> attorneys for the brothers want the court to consider new evidence that was not presented at they say supports their argument that the two men acted in self-defense after suffering years of sexual physical and emotional abuse by their father. cnn's jean casarez is live for us now with the latest developments on this. jean cameras are not allowed in this courtroom, but our cnn producers are there. what are you hearing about what's going on? >> well here's the latest that we are hearing because they can't even take their electronics into the courtroom, but they can come out to give us some notes. but the last word we had is that this hearing has not started yet. in fact, the parties are not in the courtroom. the judge is not there. defense prosecutors are not there now, traditionally, what that can mean is that they are meeting in the chambers with the judge. however we have no definitive word that that is happening. but they are not in the courtroom. and one

interesting point to remember is george gascon is still the district attorney of los angeles, and he really focused and made it his emotional plea before the election to stand out and say that these two brothers, lyle and erik menendez, even though they were sentenced with life without the possibility of parole, that they should be released. so you that is for their release. so there really is not an issue between the parties here. and i think the judge um, if in fact he is meeting with them, has to decide, is he going to allow the brand new district attorney to weigh in or will something happen today? now, this is just supposed to be a status hearing. it's based on a habeas corpus motion that was filed last year, which habeas

corpus means that you are being unlawfully held and detained. and they're saying that this is the case because there are two pieces of new evidence that a jury didn't get to see. and if a jury did get to see them, they very likely would have been found not guilty. one is a letter that to the defense, months before their parents were murdered, where eric is writing to his cousin i am so in fear of my father. i never know when he's going to come in during the night. i want to talk to my mother, but i'm concerned she's going to tell him and i'm very afraid. the second piece of what the defense says is new evidence is one of the former members of menudo, because remember, they recorded for rca and jose menendez, the father of eric and lyle, was an executive at rca and that man is alleging that when he was in his teens that jose menendez

sexually abused him which adds credence to what lyle and eric were saying at the time of trial. so that's what the habeas is, which is before the judge today in a status hearing but we will see when this begins, what actually happens and will it be more of a status hearing than what we believed it to be jean thank you so much. >> obviously, we're paying very close attention to this and we appreciate the update from you and all of our colleagues who are in the courtroom. let's talk about this now with casey jordan, a criminologist, behavioral analyst and attorney. and i wonder, casey, just as you were watching this, and we should note the kind of lives that lyle and eric have conducted in, in jail without the expectation we should say, of release. and here they are, perhaps with the potential for it. do they have a good case to make

stops to get this to the forefront, not only in the court's attention, but in the court of public opinion, because as we know, they've got celebrities like kim kardashian rooting for them and to the extent that people are incredulous, the bottom line is that when they got this um, habeas brief in front of the court, the district attorney was running for reelection. >> we now know that he's lost that reelection, and he seems to be one of their biggest advocates. he's the one who seems to be willing to resentence them to perhaps a lesser charge, which would mean immediate freedom for them. so there are three routes to freedom resentencing is one of them. but now that they aren't going to have the d.a. who was in favor of resentencing them, really, we're not sure what's going to happen next. it's all going to depend not only on today's hearing, but one that is rescheduled or one that it's coming up on december 11th, when a new da will be in in, in effect and kind of a new

sheriff in town who was elected on his get tough on crime. so we really don't know what's going to happen next. >> casey given what you've seen, the brothers do while behind bars, the degrees that they've earned, the programs that they've rehabilitated oh, that's the million dollar question. >> and let me explain why. if you ask people, do they believe that these young men were abused as teenagers by their father? it usually kind of goes one extreme or the other. yes we know so much more about it now. it's been 30 years. we know these things happen within families. uh you know, we have a better understanding and their behavior, you know, there's no predicting what victims of incestuous sexual abuse might do under those circumstances. the other camp is in the other extreme. i don't care how rehabilitated they look in prison they're sociopaths. they're psychopaths. they have been proved to lie and lie a lot and confabulate and make up stories. why didn't they tell anybody that this was going on

at the time? there seems to be almost no middle ground. people either believe that they were abused or think that they are completely psychopathic charming, want to get over on the system manipulating the d.a. using celebrities to curry favor. the real question that people in the middle want to ask is if they are indeed sociopathic, even psychopathic. how did they get that way? could the reason be from abuse which they really can't prove because there is no physical proof? it's really just circumstantial evidence at this point, i don't think what they're doing in prison with getting married and leaving good lives is going to make a difference, because if you believe that they're psychopaths, that is just an act that they're putting on to secure their early release. it just depends on whether you believe the abuse story is real. >> well now they're saying, casey, that this letter proves' casey, that this letter proves that it was real and that it

was something that was written before and discovered later. but you also have this allegation that, you know, i suppose some people look at and some people look at in a different way. but of this member of menudo alleging a rape at the hands of their father which, you know, would paint, sort of maybe a pattern of behavior on the part of their father alleged pattern here um, these are the kinds of things that have some people looking at this prosecution with kind of fresh eyes and also a few decades later, as people have learned more about sexual abuse and the reaction to it and i wonder what you think about that well evidence, the hearing is about the allegation that jose menendez actually sexually abused or even raped a member of menudo, remember, he was managing them as a musical act at the time and the other one is the letter

that has surfaced that was written to the cousin, which everyone believes is legit, but which is very vague. >> it doesn't really say abuse, it just says i'm afraid of my father. he's crazy my mother is a shell of herself but it does not specifically say my father is abusing me. i am the victim of sexual abuse. it's very vague and i don't know if a jury and there's no jury involved in here would ever look at those two pieces of evidence. neither of which are really substantive in terms of proving the abuse would rise to the level of resentencing or even releasing the menendez brothers. i mean, they are doing everything to get out the question is, is it reasonable to believe that they were sexually abused, or is this one of those cases that's a little more political, where people kind of shrug and say, well, they've done more than 30 years chances are they're never going to do anything like this again and so we should just let them out honestly, if the if we didn't have that netflix special with the menendez brothers series on right now, i don't know that we would have

a hearing, but public opinion is very skewed on this. and so we're all going to be watching with bated breath to see how this hearing goes. >> casey jordan very much appreciate you sharing your expertise with us thanks. >> great to be here. >> stay with news central. we'll be right back my favorite babysitter is annalisa. >> she's pretty good. she's like my grandma. she says, ola go mustache. and then we go skateboarding from babysitters to nannies to daycare centers. >> find all the care you need at care.com. >> give the omaha steaks favorite gift package that includes bacon wrapped filet mignon chicken burgers, franks sides, and desserts. for just 89.99, you'll save 64%. order now to get four free burgers. visit omaha steaks.com/tv. >> you'll find them in cities, towns and suburbs all across america. millions of americans who have medicare and medicaid, but may be missing benefits. they could really use extra

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kicking off today just as workers who clean airplanes remove trash and help with wheelchairs are walking off the job at the international airport in charlotte, north carolina. >> and of course, the worry here is that this strike could directly impact this busy holiday travel season because that airport is one of the busiest in the country for american airlines. we have cnn aviation correspondent pete muntean here with what you need to know. pete, where do things stand? you know, this is important. >> not only if you are flying in and out of charlotte douglas international airport, but also if you're connecting there because, like you mentioned, it is one of the biggest hub for hubs for american airlines. it's its second biggest hub, ninth busiest airport in the united states. i spoke to american airlines earlier and they say so far the carrier insists that this will not have any impact on its flights, even though its strike. this strike is by subcontractors for the airline. abm industries and prospect airport services. that strike started at 5 a.m. local time today. these workers are represented in part by service employees international union

or seiu. they clean airplane passenger cabins. they drive trash trucks on the ramp. they push wheelchairs through the terminal. their main push is for higher wages, and the union says they make between about 1250 and $19 per hour. i want you to listen now to abm worker priscilla hoyle. she cleans the inside of planes and says she is living paycheck to paycheck right now. >> i'm actually facing eviction because i don't make enough to be able to pay my rent on time. it's hard having kids and have to look them in the eyes and sit there and say, mommy works a full time job, but i don't know if we're going to be able to keep a roof over our heads. >> union reps say a total of a few hundred workers are participating in this strike. abm says it's taking steps to minimize the disruption here for passengers. union reps say this strike is to end tomorrow, which is expected to be one of the busiest days for air travel ahead of the holiday. tsa anticipates 2.8 million people at airports nationwide tomorrow, 2.9 million people at

airports nationwide on wednesday. >> all right, pete, thank you so much. we'll be tracking this carefully. the much bigger threat to thanksgiving travel may be weather nearly 8 million americans are expected to hit the roads, catch flights, board cruises. sounds like fun for those folks during this holiday period. is someone trying? someone is trying to get into our studio. studio trying to get out. >> that's what it is. people trying to get out. >> you don't have to knock, pete. all right, back to the weather. a major winter storms could be impacting plans nationwide. >> meteorologist elisa raffa is here with the forecast and dealing with our nonsense. alissa, what are you watching? >> so we have two storms that we're watching right now. there's one that's been bringing some minor delays to the great lakes today with some rain and snow showers. the much bigger storm, though, is developing off the west coast and starting to move inland it's been causing problems in san francisco all day. this will likely be the bigger source of problems for delays as we go through the travel week. you can see that front that first storm that we were talking about again mainly

exits going into tomorrow should should really be out of our hair by tomorrow evening. meanwhile, that second storm right behind it really starts to come together tomorrow and starts to deepen and develop and could cause more headaches as we go into thursday wednesday we've got one exiting that one not quite developed yet, but then by thursday, look at the swath of even some snow and interior new england and the rain that stretches down the east coast to the southeast. we're looking at a pretty soggy thanksgiving for a lot of people. so you can see several inches of snow possible from maine into interior new england. and then you've got at least an inch of rain possible from d.c. down to atlanta. a lot of the southeast, and again, some snow up in the mountains and the rockies there. so as far as these delays go, again you've got one exiting on tuesday. you start to have some problems in the rockies going into tuesday. and wednesday. and then we start to find this storm flourish and develop. going into thursday. i mean, some of these delays we could be looking at from the snow from boston back towards detroit on

thursday and then down the east coast from dc to atlanta with some of that rain by thanksgiving evening. so again, pretty soggy along the upper along the eastern seaboard here with all of that rain, we have cold air that comes in behind this front. so it's going to be pretty chilly. cold for black friday and the weekend behind this front. we'll have a punch of some of that wind coming with it too so it does look soggy. unfortunately for that macy's thanksgiving day parade guys, that's a bummer. >> i like those turkeys though. on your forecast, that one guy, though, he had a he had a real wobbly neck. he's got to gblock of a general who oversaw the withdrawal from afghanistan. is it the first sign of the retaliation that president-elect trump has promised for the chaotic pullout? we'll have that next >> how do you sleep at night on a mattress for mattress firm?

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year and get instant access to member benefits and social programs. >> join and get an insulated trunk organizer free plus aarp, the magazine on all the major cabinet positions and president-elect trump's incoming administration are now filled. >> trump announcing several picks over the weekend, including choices for key public health roles for u.s. surgeon general. trump selected doctor janette nesheiwat. she is a family practice doctor. she is pro-vaccine, crediting trump's vaccine efforts in his first term for saving lives during the covid pandemic. trump picked doctor marty makary to be his new fda commissioner. mccary is a surgeon and researcher at johns hopkins university, and during the pandemic, he was critical of the fda, arguing covid 19 revealed the fda to be a broke administration mired in politics and red tape. >> trump also named doctor david weldon to head up the cdc. he's a physician. army veteran and former congressman and while serving in the house, he introduced

joined now by doctor richard besser. he's the former acting director of the cdc. also, the president of the robert wood johnson foundation. doctor, thank you so much for being with us. what do you make of these picks from president elect trump for key public health positions? what's your reaction overall well, you know what gives me pause is having as a nominee for secretary of health and for the director of cdc, two individuals who have done a lot to undermine trust in vaccination in america and i practice general pediatrics for more than 30 years. >> and public health as well during that time. and there's nothing that i did in public health or pediatrics that i know has more value in protecting children's lives than getting them vaccinated fully and on time. and so having two people in those roles who have questioned that, um, it gives me great pause and great concern. and i'll be

watching the confirmation hearings very closely and trump picked doctor dave weldon, a former florida congressman, to fill your old job as a doctor and policy maker weldon's focused on vaccine safety. >> he's been skeptical of the cdc's role researching and promoting vaccines. as cdc head, what influence would he have on cdc policy? >> well, there's a lot the cdc director is the one who makes a recommendation in terms of what vaccinations children or adults should should receive in america. the left to the state, but it's the cdc director who makes those recommendations. and once the cdc director recommends a childhood vaccination, it kicks in payments from the government so that no child in america will have to worry about getting a vaccine based on based on income. we need a similar system for for adults but for children that cdc recommendation is is critical. and so it will be important for

for the senators to explore what what approach doctor weldon will be taking when it comes to childhood vaccination. another key piece, the cdc, is a events. um this is one of the first cdc directors who has no experience in public health. and so exploring how doctor weldon would, would lead the next time of public health crisis arrives, because it's not a matter of of if, but but when we we always, uh experience public health crises. we can't predict what they're going to be. and you want to make sure that he has there at the cdc with him. people with with significant experience in managing a public health event so, doctor, seeing as how this is the first time that a president's cdc nominee faces senate confirmation, if you were sitting on the dais as a senator, what question would you ask weldon well, i would ask him questions about

ask him questions about vaccination and his approach. he raised questions when he was in congress about connections between childhood vaccination and autism uh, concerned about a compound in mercury compound in vaccines. that's been taken, that was taken out of vaccines back in 2001 for routine childhood vaccination. and we've seen autism rise since then. it's really important to to look and see what are the causes of that vaccination yet. doctor weldon, uh, even after the the national academy of medicine, an independent body, reviewed the evidence, he still kept raising concerns about vaccines and autism you know, as a as a parent, what are you going to do if one of the top health leaders in the nation is raising concerns? it really makes it challenging. and so that's an area to explore in great depth. >> yeah. and we think they probably will. doctor richard

besser, great to have you. thank you thanks very much. a new battle is brewing in the senate about another military promotion. cnn has learned that oklahoma republican senator markwayne mullin is blocking the promotion of lieutenant general chris donahue. president biden nominated donahue to lead us army forces in europe and africa. >> but some republicans are taking issue with the general's role overseeing the messy u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. cnn's oren liebermann is covering this for us from the pentagon. and, oren, last year we saw senator tommy tuberville block promotions for months over the pentagon's abortion policies. could something similar happen here at least in theory? absolutely it could, brianna. >> and bars. it's a question of is senator markwayne mullin willing to give ground here if the questions he has about lieutenant general christopher donahue are answered, or does he simply refuse to budge until the senate changes over and we see republican majority in the

senate? that's one of the key questions. the pentagon said earlier today. their legislative affairs team here is very much willing to work with the senate when it comes to questions like this so what we've learned is that senator markwayne mullin is holding the promotion of lieutenant general chris donahue. donahue was nominated to be the commander. the four star commander of u.s. army europe africa. he currently serves as the lieutenant general in charge of the 18th airborne corps at the time of the afghanistan withdrawal, he was the commander of the 82nd airborne division. he was brought into afghanistan to effectively manage the closing of the withdrawal. those last few critical weeks, in which we saw 13 u.s. service members killed because of the bombing at abbey gate. it was donahue who was on the ground there, and there was a very sort of symbolic, iconic picture of him being the last u.s. soldier out of afghanistan. you see that picture on your screen right now? what was effectively the end of the u.s. presence there and the end of the 20 year war? certainly not how the u.s.

wanted to see that end. and some republicans, including president elect donald trump, vice president jd vance and senator markwayne mullin have continuously criticized the biden administration. trump, on the third anniversary of the abbey gate bombing said when he comes into office, he wants all of the senior officials who took part in the withdrawal of afghanistan to resign immediately. mullen even issued a statement on that same day saying that nobody has been held accountable. and although much of the criticism has focused on the chairman of the joint chiefs, general mark milley, at the time, it was mullen who specifically name checked general donahue. so it is a question now of if he's willing to simply ask questions, learn about the issue learn about donahue's role here, or if there's no way he gives ground here. and that's one of the key questions we'll be looking at as we see how this plays out. worth noting that tuberville's hold on. hundreds of nominees lasted months. >> yeah it did. we saw the effects of that. the military doesn't make the decisions here, though. oren they offer certainly counsel to the

administration but ultimately it is a civilian leadership. it is the white house. it is the president who decides how to proceed as was the case when it came to the withdrawal of the biden administration from afghanistan. donahue is well respected. i probably why he was the guy in the picture as the last one there. is there a specific gripe that mullen has about him, or is he just kind of getting caught in the middle here? >> i think it's more caught in the middle. and you're absolutely right to point that out. it was general mark milley, the commander of u.s. central command at mckenzie, who gave their opinion. and they both say they were heard by the senior leadership of both the trump administration and the biden administration. and both of them recommended against a complete withdrawal. and and yet, the civilian leadership that runs the military that is then president trump and then president biden decided to continue with the withdrawal. donahue, as a two star, was brought in essentially to manage a very difficult situation. and he did what he

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pentagon and this is cnn >> the annual presidential turkey pardon taking place at the white house this morning. it's the last time that president biden will use his pardon powers for such good to let these gobblers go free. >> yeah, this was the 77th time that this annual thanksgiving tradition has taken place, in which presidents talk turkey, eliciting some lighthearted laughs along the way i'm glad

i can make at least one turkey happy this year. >> make sure they have plenty to eat for their thanksgiving dinner for the sake of our feathered guests, i'm not going to elaborate on the contents of those baskets. >> i want to take a moment to recognize the brave turkeys who weren't so lucky, who didn't get to ride the gravy train to freedom, who met their faith, fate with courage and sacrifice and proved that they weren't chicken sums up the spirit of a hungry people. yes, we can thanksgiving is a special day for turkeys, i guess probably for the most part, not a very house with a411 on all the fowl play today mj bring us more puns please. >> yeah, well, i certainly don't want to ruffle anyone's feathers with this following statement but this presidential

pardoning of turkeys that we see every thanksgiving, it is a pretty strange white house tradition, as these traditions go. >> now, let me tell you about these two turkeys. they are named peach and blossom named after the delaware state flower which is the peach blossom they weighed 41 or way i should say 41 and 40 pounds respectively. and as is customary, they spent last night here in washington d.c. at the willard hotel. they were born over the summer in the state of minnesota. the president, of course, following the tradition, seized the opportunity to have a lighthearted moment. but he also, in a more somber tone, marked the very last thanksgiving he is celebrating as president. take a listen tell me the 2500 people here today looking for a pardon based on your temperament and commitment to being productive

members of society, i hereby pardon peach and blossom this event marks the official start of the holiday season here in washington. >> it's also my last time to speak here as your president during this season and give thanks you, it's been the honor of my life. i'm forever grateful so those were brief pre-thanksgiving remarks from the president. >> we've really not heard much from the president himself really, since election day. other than those remarks at the rose garden than those remarks e rose garden where he said everyone needed to accept the results of the election, it's clear that he seems to be laying low as of course, there has been a lot of anger towards the president since the election not taking a lot of moments to address the public since then. guys. >> all right, mj lee, thank you so much. on a day of

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