fierce denial in the face of a lawsuit tying him, along with sean diddy combs, to the alleged sexual assault of a minor all right. >> 6 a.m. here on the east coast, just before 6 a.m.. 559. live look at new york city on this monday. good morning everyone. i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us we begin with the stunning fall of the assad regime in syria. the people of syria celebrating in the streets, marking the end of more than five decades of the assad family's brutal dictatorship. overnight, a cnn team on the ground reports hearing strikes in damascus the u.s. confirming they hit more than 70 isis targets overnight and israel's foreign minister says the israeli military struck weapons

days. assad, fleeing with his family to. russia, where he had been granted asylum on humanitarian grounds. president biden calling his downfall. a, quote fundamental act of justice at long last. >> the assad regime has fallen. this regime brutalized and tortured and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent syrians. for the first time ever. neither russia nor iran, nor hezbollah. could defend this abhorrent regime in syria. >> syrian rebel leader abu mohammad al-julani, who's been on the u.s. terror watch list since 2013 with a $10 million bounty on his head, is declaring, quote, complete victory over the assad regime, reassuring religious and ethnic minorities. quote syria is for everyone. no exceptions. >> this victory my brothers, is

a victory for the entire islamic nation. this new triumph, my brothers. marks a new chapter in the history of the region. >> syrians sweeping into damascus, ransacking assad's palace, uncovering a luxury car collection worth millions, including a ferrari f50, a lamborghini a rolls and a bentley former state department middle east negotiator aaron david miller joins us now he's a senior fellow now at the carnegie endowment for international peace. sir, thanks very much for being with us this morning. >> thanks for having me casey. >> so let's start with this rebel leader abu mohammad al jolani. what we know about him, about the group he leads and what that means for america's interests and security well, you know, ahmed al sharaa is his real name. >> he's been showing up. not in at least one interview in suits. he's allowing the international media in. which is a very good sign. he's

saying. and doing all the right things with respect to talking about inclusion and protecting the rights of minorities. he's the senate representative to latakia the alawi stronghold, to assure the alawite minority that there won't be retribution against regime supporters. all of this strikes me as a as headlines. casey. the question is whether the trend lines will hold as he as he and the complex and consolidated sort of loose alliance of islamist groups begin to deal not with the issue of rebellion. that's hard, but governing is harder. and look, the reality is the track record here for overthrowing middle east dictators is not an inspiring one. in egypt, mubarak was overthrown. a repressive government followed. in libya, gadhafi was overthrown. libya is plunged into internal chaos and division in yemen. abdullah saleh overthrown the houthis

govern large parts of the area is in in iraq, which may be the best example. saddam is overthrown. and yet in iraq, in so many respects is dysfunctional. so the real question, i think, is whether or not you can convert this extraordinary moment which demonstrates the importance of individuals in for good or ill, in the course of of human events, whether or not jilani and the movement he holds will be able to reconcile itself and its islamic principles and the tasks of nation building in a traumatized society of 23 million people, which is riven by sectarian divisions. that's the real key here. and yeah, again, headlines look pretty good. the question is where the trend line is going. >> sir, what does this say about the bigger players that are really kind of pulling the strings behind the scenes, notably russia and iran? the fact that this happened where

assad has gone and what that means, not just for the future of of syria, but for iran, its nuclear program for russia, its war in ukraine, for all of it. >> yeah. you know the civil war paradoxically opened the door to foreign powers. um, the iranians, as you point out, the russians, which became the key powerbroker in saving assad. the turks, who have a complex relationship with kurds, they have 3 million refugees. they have a liaison relationship with tass. they wanted this to happen because more refugees in turkey will go back, and the kurds figure they'll take advantage of this in order to strike a blow at u.s. supported kurdish forces. but i think now you have a situation in which russia and iran are playing less of a role. hezbollah is weakened and hollowed out. the israelis are certainly acting for the first time in 50 plus years. they entered the 1974 disengagement zone prime ministers prime minister says it's temporary. we'll see

about that. but i think the syrians actually now have a degree of agency that they've never had before and we can't fix syria. um, i think the president elect has made it unmistakably clear that he wants no part of it. he wanted to withdraw u.s. forces from syria. the 900 that are deployed in the eastern part of the country, he had to be talked out of it. and i suspect without a compelling reason, that benefits him. i suspect he will want to push the americans deployed there to the exit so the the regional powers are going to continue to meddle. the question is whether the syrians can grab the opportunity that they have and lead this country into a better future. unclear at this point. casey. >> really unclear for sure. all right. aaron david miller starting us off this morning, sir. thanks very much for your time and expertise. i appreciate it. >> thanks. thanks for having me. >> all right. coming up here on cnn this morning, more on this developing story out of syria. as rebels capture damascus,

toppling the assad regime congressman dan kildee joins us to discuss. plus, the new allegations against music mogul jay-z, tying him to the diddy case and revenge prosecutions. donald trump says he'd like to see those who investigated him, some of them behind bars the executive branch can't go after the legislative branch because we embarrassed him. >> that's not a sin. that's not against the law you make good choices. >> always planning ahead. like to not just chase a career, but one day. follow your heart with ambition like that, you need someone who elevates advice to a craft. at ubs, we match your vision with insight and expertise to shape a unique outcome for you advice is our craft let's go walking in the city tonight

i'm feeling heavy and i can't explain how i feel for you. >> you got me dizzy and feeling blue like my fancy shoes i wore them just for you it's a lot to be a caregiver and a daughter. >> because you kind of have to take a step back. getting some help would be a great relief from companions to helpers to caregivers, find all the senior care you need at care.com i've got this. >> hey, susan. toothbrush big interview, huh? nice new suit, new haircut, ancient bristle stick. make the sonicare switch. all right, now go knock em dead, boss. can i get the wi fi? i'm gonna hang here hey. >> who's beetlejuice?

>> don't ever say that name. not ever. >> beetlejuice. beetlejuice beetlejuice. >> beetlejuice is loose. shake, shake shake to shake shake, shake i'm going to make you so happy this one's from the heart. >> beetlejuice beetlejuice. rated pg 13. now streaming exclusively on max. >> one law firm, klein inspector, has won some of the biggest verdicts in american history. so if a defective product motor vehicle accident or medical malpractice caused a catastrophic injury, contact klein inspector at lumber liquidators. we don't know how to make you a cappuccino, but we do know floors our flooring experts will help you find the right floor at the right price. and right now, save up to 50% on over 300 floors. lumber liquidators the flooring aficionado's lumber liquidators. com. >> you didn't get where you are playing it safe. you seek

opportunities. others don't. your growing ambition needs a partner built for growth. with markham now a part of cbiz. discover new ways to accelerate growth from insights that drive the bottom line to technology that powers enterprises. your relentless ambition deserves your business needs a network it can count on... even during the unexpected. power's out! -power's out! power's out!

comcast business has got you covered, with wifi backup to help keep you up and running. wifi's up. let's power on! let's power on! -let's power on! it's from the company with 99.9% network reliability. let's power on! power on with the leader in connectivity. get wifi backup for your business, or get started with comcast business internet. and for a limited time, get an $800 holiday bonus. call today. out and try to get you a refund for the money you lost actually, yeah. >> download rocket money today. >> i can't move again. >> you've gotten used to chaos. we can get rid of that. don't sell. oh my gosh is this our house? >> when leaving? just isn't an option, the brothers are here to help thank you. >> you're welcome. you're welcome. >> don't hate your house all new wednesday at 9:00 on hgtv ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the horribly and unfairly treated january 6th hostages. >> you see, the spirit from the hostages. and that's what they are. as hostages. they've been treated terribly unbelievable

patriots. and they were unbelievable patriots and are president elect donald trump. >> re-upping promised that he has made to the people that he calls patriots charged and convicted for crimes related to january 6th. more than a thousand people have either been convicted or pleaded guilty in connection to the 2021 attack on the nation's capitol. according to the department of justice, trump himself was facing charges until special counsel jack smith dropped the cases against him because he won reelection. now, in his first sit down interview since he won, trump signaling quick pardons for those involved but i'm going to be acting very quickly within your first 100 days, first day, first day, first day. >> yeah, i'm looking first day. >> these pardons, these people have been here. how long is it? 3 or 4 years. >> okay. >> you know by the way, they've been in there for years and they're in a filthy, disgusting place that shouldn't even be

allowed to be open trump does believe that some people should be in jail. >> those who investigated the capitol riot for what they did. >> yeah, honestly, they should go to jail. >> so you think liz cheney should go to jail for what? everyone on the committee, i think everybody on the anybody that voted in favor of going to director, fbi director and your attorney general to send them to jail? no, not at all. >> i think that they'll have to look at that. but i'm not going to i'm going to focus on drill baby. drill adam kinzinger, one of the two republicans on the january sixth house committee, says he's not worried about trump's threats ultimately, when we talked about him throwing his ketchup and hamburger against the wall, there's nothing illegal about that and most of the people that testified were actually his republicans. >> you know fellow republicans that went up and spoke in him so, look, he's he's he's all butt hurt right now because he was embarrassed. he's not going to come after us. and i'm not

worried about it at all all right. >> joining us now to discuss michael warren, senior editor at the dispatch lulu garcia-navarro cnn contributor, journalist for the new york times, megan hayes, former director of message planning at the biden white house. and matt gorman, former adviser to tim scott's presidential campaign. welcome to all of you. so you heard what kinzinger had to say there. we also received a scathing statement from liz cheney who, of course, really the lightning rod figure on on the committee. and this is what she says, quote, this was the worst breach. she's talking about january 6th of our constitution by any president in our nation's history donald trump's suggestion that members of congress who later investigated his illegal and unconstitutional actions should be jailed is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic. there is no conceivably appropriate factual or constitutional basis for what donald trump is suggesting. a justice department investigation of the

work of a congressional committee and any lawyer who attempts to pursue that course would quickly find themselves engaged in sanctionable conduct. michael warren kinzinger says he's not afraid. should they be? >> i kind of think maybe they should be. i mean, i think if you look at, um, it's interesting, i watched that entire hour, 16 minute interview with donald trump and there was a part where he says, you know my retribution will be success when i when the economy is great, when everything is going so much better, when i've said things i don't care about the past and just a few minutes later, the clip that you just played he's putting into place, or he hopes to put into place people like kash patel who, if you listen to what they've said on podcasts and interviews and these sorts of things, they certainly view retribution against specifically the january 6th committee, specifically against the fbi. they view that the fbi has overreached their bounds, going after donald trump specifically. they're serious about it. donald trump may say

you know, they'll have to make those decisions. he's the one putting these people in potentially in positions of power. i think we should take it seriously because they certainly i'm talking about kash patel. but others in the justice department, in trump's justice department, potentially they are taking it seriously. >> megan hayes, this obviously plays into the conversation we're having starting last week about possible preemptive pardons for some of these people adam schiff has said he doesn't want one. there would, of course, be some sort of implication of of guilt if you accept a pardon like this. how do you think trump's comments are going to impact that debate inside the white house? >> look, i think this is why they're having that debate, right? i think that people should be fearful to your point of what's going to happen it's not it's not necessarily that they did anything wrong, but they can go after them. they can charge them with things. that's hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. it's not just about what's going to happen if they're convicted because they didn't commit crimes, so they're not going to be, but it's the whole process that's going to take years for this all to play out. and the money that they're going to have to spend. so i understand why the

biden white house is doing this. i understand why this is now a conversation, because the president elect is making comments, basically saying he is going to attack these people. >> lulu, do you think it would be smart of them to do these preemptive pardons, or would it be wrong? >> i'm i'm not a believer in the preemptive pardons because i think what ends up happening is donald trump distorts what we consider to be acceptable. and no one has ever done a preemptive pardon before. it would be really pushing the boundaries of what the norms are. he constantly does that and just in a comment already they're having this reaction. he hasn't done anything kash patel hasn't been actually put into into power yet and so i do think that democrats and republicans who might be targeted probably need to calm down. i agree with michael that i don't think that this is spurious. it it may very well happen, but i think this idea of preemptive pardons and putting biden in that position, i don't think it's wise. >> i mean, i think the norm breaker was was the hunter. pardon a week ago. right. and that that led to the preemptive pardons and i think candidly,

that made it a lot easier. a lot easier for trump to talk about january 6th pardons like he's doing now. right. come on, come on, come on. >> what he's come on talking about january 6th pardons. >> excuse me. excuse me first of all. but, you know, he also is open about it. he's not lying about it like biden did for months. number one. and number two, i think michael makes a good point. i mean, there was a difference between the retribution and success in the earlier part of that interview. and then this i think it's it'd be far more kind of flash on his face. >> yeah. >> i mean, this topic came up and look, this has always been that push and pull with with trump, with talking about the future and then the past right? i think trump has always helped far more by talking about and acting on the issues that he won on. right? primarily the economy and immigration. and i've said this, whether it's democrats or republicans, the more you're talking about 2020, the more you are not being effective. >> we're going to see and i am pretty sure the january 6th people pardoned and probably given congressional you know, not congressional, but like presidential what what proof do you have of that? you know,

medals at the white house. >> that's that's ridiculous. what proof do you have? >> i'm just i'm joking obviously i'm joking, obviously. but what i'm saying here is that for for donald trump, what matters is that these people are pardoned because they reflect on him. he sees them as his emissaries he doesn't think that what happened on january sixth was an assault on the government. and so therefore exonerating them exonerates him. >> do you fail to see, though, how much easier, easier politically and rhetorically and just in, as you talked about pushing the norms that last week's pardon of hunter led to all of this so much easier. >> so. right. but hunter didn't try to overthrow the government. these people tried to overthrow the government. they stormed our capitol. and i hear what you're saying, i totally do, but i just think that pardoning your son for crimes that that did not affect, that were victimless crimes are very different than storming the capital crimes he was not convicted of. >> and over a longer period of time, there was not simply crimes he was convicted of again, we talk about norms breaking it made it so much easier for both the republicans doesn't make it right. i'm not saying either of that. i'm

saying that the when we talk about norms breaking this made it so much easier. and also for trump to be open about it. >> if i can go back to the january the january 6th committee, you could hear donald trump i always pay attention to the words that he says. he laid out the predicate for prosecuting members of the january 6th committee and the staff, saying that they destroyed documents. this is something, again, you have to listen to these podcasts for 2 or 3 years, kash patel has been on, you know, if you can do it, put it on while you're working out or driving to work, and you can see where they've been laying the argument for going after trump's enemies. if they're back in power. trump is back in power he's going to put these people who are his retribution back in power as well. it's something that people who were involved in this should be concerned saying, and i think matt is actually laying the case out as well, which is like trump has been open about it he hasn't hid it. >> kash patel hasn't hid it. i mean, he they've all been very open. and so they feel like they have the mandate to do it and so they will. >> so as we button up this

conversation, i just want to make sure that we underscore and this was written clearly in the new york times by peter baker, that quote, the january 6th committee did not destroy all evidence. it released an 800 page report, 140 transcripts of testimony memos, emails, voicemail messages. the evidence remains online. mr. thompson explained in a letter last year. the committee did ask the executive branch to go through some material first to protect law enforcement, sensitive operational details and private personal information that, if released, could endanger the safety of the witnesses. and i think it's also worth noting that liz cheney, in her statement that she released over the weekend, said very clearly that the justice department should not be allowed under trump to destroy the evidence that jack smith has gathered in the course of his investigation. all right, we got to move on a little later on cnn this morning, a manhunt expanding net is tightening and we're going to bring this person to justice. coming up could fake

money prove to be a real clue in the search for the killer? plus, today, trump's cabinet picks pitching themselves to lawmakers. mark mckinnon is here to discuss all things trump transition five things brought to you by carvana carvana. >> they'll drive you happy oh, our car's value went up. >> maybe we should track all our car's value on carvana. we need more trackers. >> oh, i'm getting a value update do you see which one is going on? >> how's it tracking? >> some dips, some rises. now what hold. >> sold. track. your car's value on carvana today oh, yellow didn't pass the tissue test buckle up whoa! >> there's toothpaste white. and there's crest 3-d white strips white. >> whitens like a $400 professional treatment. >> prepare for nonstop smile crest

what took you so long i'm sorry. >> there was a long line at the thai place. >> can you get the sauce? i like of course. >> you're the man i wish the future isn't scary. >> not investing in it is nasdaq 100 innovators one etf. before investing, carefully read and consider fund investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and more in prospectus at invesco. >> com this is our future. >> godaddy aero creates a logo website, even social posts in minutes oh, i like it. >> who wants to come see the future? >> get your business online in minutes with godaddy aero the best thing i've ever done. >> that's what freddie told me to change my life. >> it was the best thing i've ever done and yes, without a doubt, i don't have any anxiety about money anymore great people different people. >> that's for sure. and all of

them had different reasons for getting a reverse mortgage. but you know what? they all felt the same about two things. they all loved their home and they all wanted to stay in that home if you're 62 or older and own your home, you could access your equity to improve your lifestyle. >> a reverse mortgage loan eliminates your monthly mortgage payments and puts tax free cash in your pocket call one ( 800) 570-3062. >> why don't you call and find out what a reverse mortgage can mean for you? >> call finance of america and get your free info kit call one ( 800) 570-3062. 1-800-570-3062. >> at bombas, we make the most comfortable socks in the history of feet. >> so comfortable you'll wish you had more. visit bombas. com and get 20% off your first order. >> an alternative to pills,

voltaren is a clinically proven arthritis pain relief gel which penetrates deep to target the source of pain with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory

800) 269-9522. that's one ( 800) 269-9522. >> closed captioning brought to you by book.com if you or a loved one have mesothelioma we'll send you a free book to answer questions you may have. >> call now and we'll come to you. >> 800 821 4000. >> all right. welcome back. a woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by sean "diddy" combs has updated her lawsuit to include allegations that she was also assaulted by jay-z at the same party. the woman identified as a jane doe, says she was 13 years old at the time. the two men assaulted her at an after party. after the video, music awards in 2000. jay-z strongly denies the claim, calling it heinous. he writes this in a statement, quote, i implore you to file a

criminal complaint not a civil one. cnn legal analyst and criminal defense attorney joey jackson is with us now. joey, good morning. what do you make of this statement from jay-z, as well as the updating of this lawsuit yeah. >> casey, good morning to you i take it that he's swinging hard. he vehemently denies this, giving the indication that if this happened, then you know what i should be in jail. and so why not bring forward criminal charges and to the extent that the allegations in the complaint really do talk about what we've heard before, casey which is the drugging of someone this also indicates that he would have held her down and forcibly raped her, which would be rape in the first degree. doesn't have a statute of limitations in new york and so it should be investigated. but he really is saying that this is complete fiction. and the last point on this, casey, the lawsuit itself does give some indication of witnesses not only the fact that there was another

celebrity present, but after the fact that this woman went to a gas station, she was then a girl of 13 and a gas station attendant noticed her distress. and then she called her dad. and so there would be some indication or some witnesses which it would take to corroborate the fact that something untoward inappropriate or illegal happened to her if it did really, really tough and joey, there is something as well to the lawyer involved in this case. >> he came in for some criticism as well. can you help us understand that piece yeah, i think a lot of people are saying that he's sending these demand letters with demand letters are casey is there are letters saying that. >> listen, we will not sue you in the event that you enter into a mediation and we reach some favorable result, collective favorable, favorable result. now demand letters are generally pretty standard in the industry where prior to litigation, you give a person the opportunity who's going to be sued to settle the case he's saying that as jay-z, that

it was just blackmail, that he's trying to blackmail him and others really, by not wanting allegations to get public to sit at a table so that he could basically extort money from them and so jay-z is suing him as a result of that. and that's not the first lawsuit against busby busby suing another law firm. there are ethics around. certainly sending these demand letters. ethics really center around whether they're specific, credible facts that deserve a lawsuit in the first place. we'll see. it is an allegation. any lawsuit is an allegation. it has to be proven in a court of law. anyone can sue anyone for anything is whether there are factual issues that can be proven that really would carry the day or not. so we'll see how this develops. casey. >> yeah and of course, we're talking about tony buzbee, the attorney who's on behalf of of the girl and others who are complaining have complaints against sean "diddy" combs and apparently now jay-z, joey jackson thank you very much for your time this morning. i appreciate it all right. new york city police releasing two new photos of the

suspected gunman who shot and killed brian thompson the ceo of unitedhealthcare. the suspect's backpack found in central park was filled with monopoly money, but no weapon. an nypd dive team coming up empty after searching for the gun. this weekend in a central park lake. all right, coming up next here on cnn this morning, jubilation in syria as the assad regime falls. we're live in moscow after the ousted leader and his family flee to russia. plus congressman dan kildee is here to discuss how and if the u.s. should respond to syria. and later, donald trump ran on fixing the border. how he plans to make it a day one priority. >> i don't want to be breaking up families, so the only way you don't break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back new year's eve live with anderson and andy. >> live coverage starts at eight on cnn. >> with time, i can get paid when i want. why do we accept waiting two weeks for payday? i work hard every day, but i

don't get paid every day because of chime. i don't have to wait to get paid anymore. with my pay, i can get up to $500 of my pay on my schedule. there's no interest no credit checks, no mandatory fees. i love being in control of my money, and for the first time, i can control my payday. and you can too. and that's why i chime join me at chime comm and get paid. when you say whoa, how'd you get your teeth so white? >> you got to use the right toothpaste, doctor. >> see not all toothpaste whiten the same crest. >> 3-d white removes 100% more stains for a noticeably whiter smile. >> new personal best crest 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. give your dog more days of play with a once monthly injection given by your vet that controls

osteoarthritis. >> pain in dogs umbrella should not be used in breeding pregnant or lactating dogs. >> this is the best day of my life. >> la bella have you ever thought of getting a walk in tub for you or someone you love now is a great time to take a look at getting a safe step walk in tub with safe steps, standard heated seat and new fast fill faucet you can enjoy a nice warm bath up to 20% faster and the convenient touch pad control is right at your fingertips. >> each tub comes standard with a dual hydrotherapy system. the ten water jets can help increase mobility, relieve pain boost energy, and improve sleep while the micro soothe advanced air therapy system oxygenates and softens skin safe step walk in tubs are built to maximize safety so you can stay in your home and enjoy the comforts of bathing again so call now for more information and a free, no obligation consultation. >> call now to receive our best offer of the year.

>> a free shower package plus $1,600 off with the purchase of your brand new safe step walk in tub you've got a pepto predicament. >> you overdid it on the loaded fries. undo it with pepto fast melt when you have nausea, heartburn indigestion, upset stomach diarrhea when you overdo it, undo it with pepto-bismol. >> at granger, we know the ones who get it done where a lot of hats. a hard hat is one problem solver is another. whatever the job calls for, we're here for you we're america's trusted source for industrial grade products. with the scale and resources to deliver and the knowledge to help answer tough product questions. because we know that hats change. but having access to real people ready to help, combined with fast delivery, never goes out of style. call granger.com, or just stop by granger for the ones who get it done dexcom g7 is one of the easiest ways to take better control of your diabetes this small wearable

replaces fingersticks, lowers anc, and it's covered by medicare, not managing your diabetes really affects your health. >> for the future. the older you get, the more complications you're going to see. >> i knew i couldn't ignore my diabetes anymore because it was causing my eyesight to go bad for my patients. >> getting on dexcom g7 is the biggest eye opener they've ever had. >> i couldn't believe how easy it was this small wearable sends my glucose numbers right to my phone or my receiver with just a glance, i can see if i'm going high, low or steady so i can make quick decisions in the moment. >> now i'm a superstar. my anc is 5.7, my anc has never been lower. >> no other cgm system is more affordable for medicare patients than dexcom g7. >> don't wait. >> call now and talk to a real person imagine making premium cocktails at the touch of a button. >> introducing bartesian.

simply insert the capsule, select your strength and enjoy. >> get our best holiday deal now only at bartesian. >> com slash drinks. >> it's knockout time in the nba. >> emirates cup quarterfinals buckle up folks. >> win or go home the magic take on the bucks, then the mavericks face the thunder. >> the emirates nba cup coverage begins tomorrow at 630 on tnt all right, welcome back. >> syria's bashar al-assad arriving in moscow, where russia has granted he and his family asylum. according to russian state media as rebel forces closed in on the syrian capital saturday, a source told cnn that assad was nowhere to be found in the city. people quickly ransacked the toppled dictator's presidential palace walking out with furniture paintings and other personal belongings. let's bring in cnn's senior international correspondent, fred pleitgen, who is at the

syrian embassy in moscow. with more on this. fred, good morning hi there. good morning. casey. there certainly are some pretty clear signs that the russians are also coming to terms with the fact that the syrian arab republic under bashar al assad no longer exists. >> in fact, you can see right up there that above the syrian embassy here in moscow as of this morning, flies the flag of the syrian opposition. of course now, most probably the official flag of syria, we have asked the folks here at the embassy actually, and they say that this embassy continues to function and is functioning as normally. meanwhile, we're also getting some information here from the russians the kremlin this morning telling on a conference call telling reporters that the decision to grant asylum to bashar al-assad and members of his family was made directly by vladimir putin. he directly signed off on this decision. of course, we know that last night assad and family members arrived here in moscow, the russians also admitting that they were taken by surprise. how quickly the forces around bashar al-assad folded how quickly that regime folded as the opposition forces

were closing in on damascus and, of course, other cities inside syria as well. the big question for the russians right now, they were of course, the biggest backers of one of the biggest backers of the assad government is what happens to their military assets inside of syria. the kremlin there also saying at this point in time they simply don't know. they are saying that all of that will depend on what happens over the next couple of weeks, the next couple of months, the russians are saying that they are in touch with all of the armed groups on the ground. they say they do say that their forces on the ground are on high alert, but that right now the situation around their bases remains calm. casey. >> all right. fred pleitgen for us, this extraordinary day, there fred, thanks very much for that report and the fall of the assad regime in syria means that come january, president elect donald trump will inherit a new balance of power in the middle east helping trump craft his regional policy will be his new cabinet selections, among them former democratic

congresswoman turned republican commentator tulsi gabbard, who sat down with then president bashar al-assad in a highly controversial 2017 meeting. she has also previously declined to say whether assad is a war criminal. and now, of course, those positions have emerged as a key obstacle for gabbard as she prepares for her senate confirmation hearing. this is how she defended those questions. when i asked her about them back in 2019. do you think assad is our enemy? assad is not the enemy of the united states because the united syria does not pose a direct threat to the united states what do you say to to democratic voters who watched you go over there and and what do you say to military members who have been deployed repeatedly in syria, pushing back against assad people who have been deployed to syria have been there focused on their mission, which has been to defeat isis. >> our troops have not gone to syria to wage yet another

costly, destructive regime change war. >> all right joining us now to discuss democratic congressman dan kildee of michigan. he currently sits on the house ways and means and budget committee. although you are in your waning days, congressman, thank you very much for being here. thank you. i want to start with tulsi gabbard, who is somebody that you served with and has been nominated, of course, to be the director of national intelligence. um based on what we've seen out of syria, based on what she has said about the syrians, this is, of course, tied in with russia. uh what implications would having her as dni have in this situation? >> well, it's concerning tulsi gabbard is completely wrong. bashar al-assad is an enemy of the united states unless we feel that a leader who is willing to drop barrel bombs and use chemical weapons against his own people is okay. the united states has some moral responsibility to stand up for people who can't stand up for themselves, and to think

that we can just be neutral on this question of assad's regime shocks the conscience, and it does call into question whether a person who held those outrageous views could suddenly be sitting next to the president of the united states and have the last word as he makes decisions about how the u.s. should respond to a situation like this she's completely wrong and it's a it's a dangerous moment. and i hope the senate takes that that particular line of questioning very seriously as they consider her qualifications. >> there is new reporting from nbc about how there was at one point a syrian defector who came to speak to members of the of the committee. i believe it was house foreign affairs and the aides i'll just read it. quote. the aides were concerned that gabbard might leak information about the defector who had hidden his identity out of fear of reprisal from the assad regime. some worried that she might even reveal his identity to someone associated

with the syrian government, which at that point had killed hundreds of thousands of its own citizens both democratic and republican aides told the syrians accompanying the defector, known as caesar to ensure that he covered his face before gabbard entered the room just in case. what are the implications of that? >> i mean, that kind of sets the frame as to how outrageous this whole transition could end up being. the first trump administration. while i had huge disagreements with them it seemed as though he surrounded himself with people who, whether he intended or not were willing to push back against him when it came to these big questions, the concerns that members, democrats and republicans, at least their staff members have expressed about tulsi gabbard, ought to be chilling when it comes to what what bashar al-assad has been willing to do to his own people. he's not a friend of the united states. >> let's talk briefly about what we heard from president elect trump over the weekend. we just had a long conversation

about it on the show. he vowed to pardon many of the people who have been jailed in the wake of the capitol riots. he also said that the people that should be in jail are the people who were on the committee who investigated him. the january sixth committee. you i know, have spoken extensively about your experience on that day. what's your reaction to what donald trump said? >> well, it's just offensive. i mean, i was there, i saw it firsthand. people attacked the capitol. they beat police officers, people died. had they gotten through passed those officers, what they would have done to some of us who were trapped in that gallery on that terrible day. we don't know what they would have done. and the very notion that the people democrats and republicans who were trying to hold those individuals accountable would, in donald trump's mind, be those who are culpable

and he would somehow see these attackers. this mob that's unruly, dangerous mob is somehow being righteous either he's intentionally stupid which i'm not sure how much he understands about how the rule of law ought to function in society, or he's just has so much more in common with some of these totalitarian dictators that he seems to align himself with, that he's willing to do these sorts of things. >> do you think president biden should preemptively pardon members of the january sixth committee before he leaves office you know, first of all, i'm not a fan of the pardon authority, but i think there is a serious question as to whether there's something that can be do to protect those individuals. >> but i'm not a lawyer, and i don't really agree with the presidential authority to offer pardons, no matter who it is. but i do think we're at an incredibly important inflection point. i would hate to see people who are simply trying to do their job to protect this country, suddenly become the victim of a totalitarian

leaning president. >> all right congressman dan kildee for us this morning, sir. thanks very much for being on the show. thanks, casey. all right. straight ahead here on cnn this morning, donald trump's retribution hinting over the weekend at how he could get revenge on people he views as his political enemies. mark mckinnon joins us to discuss. plus, dissecting the election. harvard's institute of politics always takes a deep dive into what goes right and what goes wrong for campaigns. they did it this weekend for donald trump and kamala harris. >> this political environment sucked okay. we were dealing with ferocious headwinds you only come across an artist like luther vandross once in a lifetime. >> luther never too much. new year's day at eight on cnn. >> that's part of the party snooping in the bathroom. ooh party fell. not listening to your dentist make the sonicare switch for a champ. be gentle, be effective be you. i love you

i use beetlejuice, don't ever say that name. not ever beetlejuice. beetlejuice beetlejuice. >> beetlejuice is loose. shake shake shake shake shake. >> i'm going to make you so happy park se-hyun this one's from the heart beetlejuice beetlejuice. >> rated pg 13. now streaming exclusively on max it's gonna be okay hi, mom. >> when are you coming home? >> they're relying on her. >> they really need me here. >> we're relying on you. please donate. >> you went to nutcombe with the best of intentions. >> you went to get the christmas gummy bears, jordan almonds and chocolate truffles for your neighbor with a sweet tooth and a holiday customizable tray for your kids. fourth grade teacher and sam's pants for your uncle, who dresses up every year and

the winter wonderland box for your gift swap. but don't you need holiday treats to get through the season two? better make that shopping cart a double. treat yourself and others with 20% off and free shipping on your first order nuts. com much more than just nuts looking for a great deal on new flooring, lumber liquidators cuts out the middleman, not the quality. >> buy, direct and save at lumber liquidators and right now save up to 50% on over 300 floors. lumber liquidators great floors for less lumber liquidators com it's a lot to be a caregiver and a daughter because you kind of have to take a step back. >> getting some help would be a great relief from companions to helpers to caregivers, find all the senior care you need at care.com at bombas, we dream of comfort and softness, which is why we make the best socks and slippers in the history of feet visit bonobos.com and get 20% off your first order.

>> you didn't get where you are playing it safe. you seek opportunities. others don't. your growing ambition needs a partner built for growth with markham now a part of cbis, discover new ways to accelerate growth from insights that drive the bottom line to technology that powers enterprises your relentless ambition deserves a

reputationdefender.com or call 1877866 8555. >> cnn news central next closed captioning is brought to you by uqora. >> help maintain a healthy urinary tract with uqora. >> i've been having utis for ten years. at uqora, we make uti relief products. we also make proactive urinary tract health products uqora is a lifesaver. try it today at uqora. >> com khuza'a tom homan said they can be deported together. is that the plan? >> that way you keep the. well, i don't want to be breaking up families. so the only way you don't break up the family is

you keep them together and you have to send them all back. >> we are learning more details about trump's plan to enact his campaign promises when it comes to the border. and on tariffs as well. when he returns to the white house on the trail, donald trump vowed repeatedly to carry out a nationwide mass deportation starting on day one. now, in his first sit down interview since winning reelection, he's also attacking the idea of birthright citizenship, something that is, of course, protected by the 14th amendment. >> we're the only country that has it through an executive action. we're the only country that has it. do you know if somebody sets a foot just a foot, one foot, you don't need to on our land. congratulations you are now a citizen of the united states of america. yes. we're going to end that because it's ridiculous. >> the president elect was also asked about his recent threats to increase tariffs on some of america's largest trading partners, that many economists say would raise prices for american consumers can you guarantee american families won't pay more? >> i can't guarantee anything. i can't guarantee tomorrow.

but i can say that if you look at my just pre-covid, we had the greatest economy in the history of our country, and i had a lot of tariffs on a lot of different countries, but in particular china. we took in hundreds of billions of dollars and we had no inflation. >> i can't guarantee anything. the president elect, striking a cautious tone on prices after the election. let's recap what he said about this topic and the border on the campaign trail. >> but prices will come down. you just watch, they'll come down and they'll come down fast. not only with insurance, with everything. as president, i will seal the border. i will send them all back to their countries where they belong. prices will come down and come down dramatically and come down fast. >> all right. our panel is back. lulu, i want to start with what he said about immigration and families and deporting people together. those comments seem to suggest he is willing to do that, which

would, of course involve american citizens. is that not? i mean, he legal? >> yes. yes i think the word you were looking for is, is illegal also, by the way. birthright citizenship. i mean, what he said, this is something that very much the trump administration wants to enact. they tried to do it in their first term. this is something that is a big thing that they want to try to stop, because they see it as a way of the changing the demographics of this country. and so birthright citizenship, to be clear, is something that is protected in the constitution. so that would require not just a sort of waiving of the presidential wand, but something like going to congress and getting two thirds of the states to ratify it. i mean, it's a big thing to shift. so we'll see what the plan is. but that's going to be very hard. also deporting american citizens not legal macgorman clearly, americans said in the campaign they think

immigration is a problem the border is a problem. >> but where do you think is the line? i mean, how far do you think americans will tolerate president-elect trump going on this? >> first of all, i'm having flashbacks to you at the iowa state fair asking scott walker if he was if he would end birthright citizenship back in august 2015. so i feel like a better memory than i do. i remember very well i was sitting in jeb bush headquarters it was a problem for him. i think it was it was a problem because he said, this has been talked about for a while and surprisingly not done on the campaign, at least this time around. look i am fascinated to see. right. i think very clearly trump has political capital to spend on immigration and the economy. and so what do those first bills look like? what are those first executive actions look like? is that political capital there to fight for a constitutional amendment on birthright citizenship? now look, there's a little bit of debate on the right whether that can be done by executive action or constitutional amendment but that's a major, major step. so i am really interested to see, as these bills come together how they

actually go about this. yeah. >> all right. i want to turn now to another moment from trump's nbc interview yesterday while donald trump repeated his desire for former congresswoman liz cheney and others to go to jail for their work on the january 6th committee, trump did distance himself from one promise of retribution, saying this about his prior threats to go after the biden family you said president biden quote, that you're going to appoint a real special prosecutor to go after joe biden. >> you said that. what did i say that the campaign where you said that on truth social june 12th, 2023, i will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the united states, joe biden, and the entire bible. that part is crime family. are you going to do that or are you going to go after joe biden i'm really looking to make our country successful. >> i'm not looking to go back into the past. >> all right. joining us now former adviser to george w. bush, john mccain, mark mckinnon. he's the creator of paramount's the circus mark, it's monday, so it's wonderful

to see you thank you for being here. what's your response there to what trump said? because i mean, honestly, there was a significant difference in tone and approach when he was asked directly about the biden family and when he was asked about january 6th. >> listen casey, good morning. i think the best stance is to expect the worst. um, there's two approaches here. there's the bobby mcferrin the musician's approach, which is don't worry, be happy, which i think a lot of people did in 2016. and or to take to adopt the john mccain approach, which is his philosophy, was it's always darkest just before it goes completely black and trump campaigned on this notion that i will be your retribution. and what he said also in that interview about is going after the people on the january 6th committee that should send chills down everybody's spine and listen trump doesn't really have a political ideology. if he has an ideology, it's loyalty and that's what's different this time, too. he's not coming in with a bunch of broken toys. he has people who know what they're doing and the

people that he turns and listens to now is not like you know, mitch mcconnell, like you did in 2016. it's the maga iron triangle of steve bannon. tucker carlson and charlie kirk. that's where he's getting his and and just look at pete pete hegseth right now. that's you know the fact that he's still alive says a lot. and i think there's a very good chance he'll now be confirmed. and so that's that's what it's all about now. it's simply, you know, does it meet the loyalty test and just expect, you know, just expect donald trump to do what he said he was going to do during the campaign because maga is going to turn up the heat. if he doesn't. >> so, mark, one of the other things that, of course trump has said during the campaign involves ukraine. i mean, he has said that he is going to end the fighting there he was actually we can show everybody with this looked like a pretty striking image. he was with emmanuel macron and volodymyr zelenskyy over in france. of course, they were attending the reopening of notre dame and there you can see the two of

them together. there's also this kind of photo spray of the three of them standing there and you know trump did talk a little bit about what he said. he said, okay, zelenskyy wants to end this war. what did you make of of how this played out? well, i mean, biden is still president of the united states. obviously, he's going to be, you know, until january 20th. um but this is obviously, you know, they're getting ready for for him to come in here, considering especially also the events in syria. what does this all mean well, i think it means a lot. >> and don't tell trump that he's not president yet. um i think the most significant changes we may see immediately are the impact on american foreign policy and it's striking that trump is it's such a departure from from john mccain and from ronald reagan and george w. bush and the typical, you know, republican history here of embracing our allies. trump's approach is america first. and and that's it's going to be fascinating to watch what happens with syria, because there's going

to be a huge vacuum here if america doesn't step in and others are going to fill it. if we're not there, then then others will fill it. so we're going to see the direct impact on a national stage of the trump presidency immediately because of what's happening with syria. >> all right. mark mckinnon for us this morning sir. thanks very much for being with us. i always love having your perspective. see you soon. >> thank you casey. thank you. >> all right so top advisers for both donald trump and kamala harris's campaign met to discuss the election at harvard's institute of politics over the weekend. but according to harris's chief of staff, their campaign was flawless quote, i would posit she ran a pretty flawless campaign. she did all the steps that were required to be successful this is something that sheila nix said at this gathering. trump campaign co-chief chris lacivitas rebuked the idea that harris ran a flawless campaign. lacivita said this flawless campaigns don't lose. our

panel is back now. matt gorman for people who are not familiar, every election cycle the harvard institute of politics gathers the top campaign managers from both teams in this case, of course, trump and harris it's moderated by reporters. it's designed to be a report for history of how it all unfolded. i was there in 2016. i mean, it is a fascinating room to be in. you were there kind of take us inside because it really i mean, this this word flawless stuck out to me because, as elizaveta says, a flawless campaign isn't a losing campaign what was the energy like? >> so. so the way it broke down, it was thursday night. there was a dinner. when everyone comes to campus and every campaign from both primary i was, i was there representing the tim scott folks and the general folks like kamala or biden gives their theory of the race for about five minutes to stand up. and they say how they could have won. and so this flawless comment came during that. and it's in the middle of dinner. you're sitting at your table.

and then when that word was said, everybody kind of looked at each other like, did she just say flawless? and and then of course, it became a little bit of a mocking thing for the rest of the day. so when lacivita said that that was friday during the larger panel, and it really did belie harris campaign was very defensive. still, as we saw from their multiple interviews, it continued on. megan it does seem i mean, the narrative that seems to be emerging from the harris team now is that while this was inevitable, there was basically nothing we could have done. >> do you think that's right? >> no, i don't think that's right. and i also think that having some contrition would go a long way with the voters. and i think that when you are trying to rebuild a party, maybe saying that we did some things wrong would go a long way heading into the midterms, into the next cycle presidential cycle. but i think that it's hard right now, so close to be a little bit more introspective. so it will be interesting to see how this evolves over time and how their opinion of the race evolves over time. >> what they say in private and what they say in public are two different things, which is what's annoying. i think as reporters because we know that to be true. so i think if they

said in public what they say in private, it would be better for everyone. >> yeah i don't think this helps in terms of trust in institutions. yes presidential campaigns aren't exactly the most important institution, but it does suggest that, uh, democrats and the harris campaign haven't quite figured out why they lost or if they have, they're not talking about it and that doesn't seem good for the party to kind of try to move forward and figure out 2028 is not, in fact, 2026 is not that far away they've got to figure out what their party is going to look like in the next two, four years and how they're going to respond to donald trump's administration. >> tim walz said he was stunned. i mean, in interviews with the local press in minnesota so that he was surprised. >> and by the way, they spent $1.5 billion with a b on something that they really thought it was inevitable. they couldn't have won. >> right. and i also just don't think that they want to look yet. and i think that that's going to be the problem heading into 26, because the democrats have a lot to do to to move voters heading into the midterms. yeah t