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at eight on tbs. >> closed captioning brought to you by inventhelp. call one ( 800) 710-0020. >> do you have an invention idea but don't know what to do next? call inventhelp today. they can help you get started with your idea. >> call now( 800) 710-0020. >> the man suspected of killing health care ceo brian thompson pleads not guilty in a new york courtroom. so what's next for luigi mangione as his attorney now accuses officials of using him as political fodder? >> plus, a brand new ethics report. years in the making details evidence of matt gaetz breaking several state and federal laws by allegedly paying tens of thousands of dollars for drugs and sex with women, possibly including a 17 year old girl. we'll tell you how the former congressman is responding, and president-elect trump apparently reviving his desire for the u.s. to buy greenland and reclaim control

of the panama canal. the incoming president's potential reasons for wanting to expand the united states footprint. we're following all of these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to cnn news central. >> luigi mangione. the man accused of killing a health care executive in broad daylight, pleading not guilty. that plea happening in a new york courtroom today. you see him being escorted in in this video. he was arraigned on 11 state charges in new york, among them first degree murder and terrorism. the 26 year old is potentially facing life in prison without parole. his attorney today expressing concerns in court claiming new york city mayor eric adams and law enforcement have politicized this case, potentially jeopardizing her client's chances of a fair trial. >> he's being prejudiced by some statements that are being made by government officials.

like every other defendant, he is entitled to a presumption of innocence. but unfortunately, the way this has been handled so far, his rights are being violated. and as you know, your honor, there's a wealth of case law guaranteeing his right to a fair trial. but none of the safeguards have been put in place yet here. in fact, it's just the opposite of what's been happening. he's a young man and he is being treated like a human ping pong ball between two warring jurisdictions. >> now, she went on to call out officials for the massive show of force, as you see here last week. this, of course, when mangano was extradited from pennsylvania, she called this the, quote, biggest staged perp walk she has ever seen. cnn's kara scannell joins us now. so walk us through kara. what else we heard in court today at this arraignment. so very quickly, off the bat, it only lasts about 20 minutes. but mangione was asked to enter a plea. >> that was the only time he spoke. >> and he entered a plea of not guilty to these 11 state charges. >> you know, then his attorney

took the opportunity to raise these concerns that she had about him, as she put it, being a human ping pong ball. >> and the issue that there are warring jurisdictions. >> so she raised this saying she was concerned he wouldn't have the right to a fair trial. the judge gregory carro telling her that he could only control what happens in his courtroom, but he assured her that mangione would be able to have a fair trial and that they would have a robust jury selection process to weed out any sort of bias. it was interesting in the courtroom today, there were four rows of public reserved for the public, and they were they were filled. they were mostly women. about two dozen women out of a group of, say, 30 or so people there. and no one spoke, of course, because the decorum in the courtroom is to keep everything locked up, as you could see, even from those images inside the courtroom, mangione, sitting at the defense table, is surrounded by court officers. they were behind him the entire time. and then walking closely, arm in arm with him in and out of the actual courtroom, down the center aisle. now, another issue that came up. his lawyers

asked for expedited discovery, and the prosecutor on the case said in his 30 years of being a prosecutor, he said he hadn't seen ever this much evidence. he said they have thousands of hours of video of mangione because this was a multi-day manhunt. they had been able to piece together the steps that that he is the alleged shooter of the united health care ceo. by looking at all of this video surveillance evidence, both at the alleged crime scene and then also tracking his travels throughout manhattan. so that is some of the evidence. he also said they have the evidence from the pennsylvania case where he was arrested there in altoona, at that mcdonald's, as well as what the federal officials have. so a lot of evidence that they say they will have to amass and give to them. so the judge is saying the next time they'll be in court will be in late february to kind of have an update of where they are on this investigation as this begins to move forward. but another wrinkle here was where was mangione mangione going next? and that's because he was a he was charged initially

and indicted in the state. but then last thursday there were federal charges that came the day that mangione was expected to be in the court. he was in today for this arraignment. so the judge asking who has primary jurisdiction over him, the feds or the state and the prosecutor in court today saying that it's the state authorities that have jurisdiction of him there, the primary case and the judge saying, well, i think you guys need to work this out and figure out where he's going to stay, if it will be in the federal jail in brooklyn, or if he might get shipped to rikers island in new york. >> erica, we will be watching to see if they figure that out. when they figure it out. kara. appreciate it. thank you. also joining me this hour, law enforcement and legal experts. michael alcazar is a retired new york police detective and also an adjunct professor at john jay college of criminal justice. cnn legal analyst joey jackson is the defense attorney and a former prosecutor, i should point out. good to see both of you. when we look at where things stand here, as we wait to see who in fact gets jurisdiction. joey, what's your gut here? >> you know, i think, erica, good to be with you, that the

federal government certainly could move forward first. >> and here's why i say that. i know that there's been public pronouncements to the contrary, but the federal government is very well resourced. and things in federal court move a lot swifter than they do in state court. it can take much more than a year to have any generalized murder case move forward, even and especially in manhattan. my former office and boroughs around new york city. whereas in federal court it's just much more expeditious. there's less litigants, there's the motion practice in terms of the discovery being exchanged and attorneys filing various motions. the defense, usually erica, to suppress certain evidence to make these arguments about unfair trials. and when you're ready to move forward, i'm not sure. as we look there at the federal counts, that a judge is going to say, oh, really? prosecutors? you made an agreement with new york city and manhattan. no problem. i'll hold it in abeyance. and so my gut would indicate that that would move forward. first and final point, erica. and that's this. it has a death penalty

potential in federal court. and so with the stakes that high with the consequences that high, it may very well be, despite what the official is saying, that when a federal judge says, hey, discovery has been exchanged, motion has been done, we're ready, let's go and not stand and wait for whatever state proceeding is upcoming. >> i was struck by the comments from from the defense attorney today talking about this perp walk, calling it utterly political, alleging it was unconstitutional because there was no legitimate law enforcement objective when it came to that moment. michael, how do you see that? >> well, you know, perp walks are done all the time in new york city police department. i've done it. when i made a good arrest, when i was in the detective squad. i'm not sure if it was political, but i think, you know, mayor adams being there. surely look political. we've never seen a mayor in a perp walk. so i can see why they're thinking that. but it's nothing new. it's something that we do when we make an arrest or we make an apprehension. it's just to show

the people that we. collared this perp. and here's your perp walk. >> how does that, joey? how does it come? the fact that mayor adams was there clearly wanted to be there. as you point out, michael, that is not something that you typically see, even though you may see a show of force, you don't see the mayor there. joey, when you look at this, there are some concerns about whether or not this is a fair trial. oftentimes you hear that concern coming from the defense. is that a concern, you think for the prosecution? >> yeah, that's a great question, erica. and here's why. i mean, with respect to the perp walk and what everyone is saying and the mayor there, i think it's an unprecedented case. i think you look at social media and people on social media really siding with as the person we're looking at there. luigi mangione he's a hero, right? they've got these saint luigi t-shirts and other things that they're sending out there. and i think the mayor remember, he's a former law enforcement as well, very tied into that community based upon his roots. he's going to be there, and he wants to ensure new york is that i don't care what the public says. an alleged crimes at alleged crimes. so we're going to ferrer ferrer it out and see

what happens. but the real concern, erica, briefly, is this whole issue of jury nullification. i think if anything, the defense and all of this social media thing that's coming onto it looks as the prosecutor might have an issue as it relates to a fair trial. people love this guy, and we could debate whether it's appropriate. it's not appropriate. i've never seen anything like this. and so she was right. his attorney that is marc agnifilo to make that record. but i just don't know. you can argue the lack of a fair trial when the social media has been so kind to him. and some of the comments are outrageously centered towards him. and if you saw that saturday night live skit, people were cheering at the mention of his name. so this is very different. and i wonder whether a jury, whether they get impaneled, really buys his message, hates health care so much that they say, hey, look, we saw what you did. we know what you did, but we'll excuse it. you never can tell. >> there is. there's a lot we still don't know, but some of the evidence obviously has been shared with the public prosecutors today saying there's just a volume of evidence that they have to go

through. michael, when you look at that in terms of preparing for that case, to joey's point, perhaps the federal case can get done quicker when you're dealing with that much evidence, how does it change things? >> well, i think this was a wealth of evidence. so it's a gift to to the prosecution. they just have to make sure that they process all the evidence, they link it to the weapons. the dna's properly processed, make sure everything is done and buttoned up correctly, because it's up to them to mess up this case. you know, you have so much, so much information, so much dna evidence, fingerprints, the gun, the bullets. um, you know, i think they just have to be methodical and present it properly. and it's it's for them to lose. >> mike lawler khuza'a joey jackson, appreciate you both joining us. we're not letting you go anywhere, though. we're going to make you pull double duty today, as i know you know, i'll hand that over to danny. >> erica. thank you. all right. new today, the house ethics committee releasing its scathing report on former

florida congressman matt gaetz finding, quote, substantial evidence that gaetz paid thousands of dollars to women for sex and drugs on multiple occasions, including allegedly paying a 17 year old for sex back in 2017. gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. for more on this, we have cnn's katelyn polantz. she's joining me now. caitlin, what more are we learning from this report today? >> well, danny, the house here and the ethics committee in their work, they are documenting that they believe there is evidence, substantial evidence, they say, to show that matt gaetz, at least 20 times between the years of 2017 and 2020, time when he was in congress, was meeting with women who were being paid to have sex with him and or provide him drugs. some of those women were telling the committee in testimony they were given, that there was a general expectation that they would be having sex with him. one was paid more than $5,000. there were adult women

traveling with him on a trip to the bahamas. and then there's that allegation about the 17 year old girl, an allegation that the committee takes a step further to say they believe matt gaetz was committing allegedly statutory rape, a violation of florida state law. now, he has not been charged with any crime. he had previously been investigated by the federal authorities and not charged. they declined to bring any charges there. but the house ethics committee details what happened with that woman who was an underage girl at the time, who spoke to them. they wrote. the committee received testimony that victim, a and representative gaetz, had sex twice during the party. that's a party in july of 2017, including at least once in the presence of other party attendees. victim a recalled receiving $400 in cash from representative gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex at the time. she had just completed

her junior year of high school. victim said that she did not inform representative gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age. the committee did not receive any evidence indicating that representative gaetz was aware that victim a was a minor when he had sex with her, and gaetz also has said in court filings today, as well as publicly, that he is denying these allegations against him from the house ethics committee. >> danny katelyn polantz, thank you so much for breaking all that down. all right. joey jackson is back with us to continue this analysis. joey, i just want to read from part of the report here. just because the language was so strong and forceful, the committee concluded there was, quote, substantial evidence that representative gaetz violated house rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of congress. joey, as caitlin

noted, the doj did decline to bring federal charges against gaetz a few years back. but do you think state charges are possible in florida after this report? >> so, danny, we're in a different world now. and here's what i mean by that. ordinarily, you'd ask me a legal question. i talked to you about the florida laws relating to statutory rape, relating to underage. et cetera. what does it mean? what is the elements? what's the sentence i talked to you about the federal statutes concerning trafficking and commercial sex and minor sex. but what is the different world that i'm speaking of in terms of any federal crimes that are noted in the report, because they specifically note the federal crimes that they believe. that is, the committee members that he violated donald trump. remember, suggested and appointed, not only suggested that he be the attorney general of the united states, he has a get out of jail free card. so even if you say, you know what, let's drum up these federal crimes again. he's not the attorney general. but as long as a person in the white house is a person who's a

friend of his, there will be no federal prosecution, much less any charges. let's go to state court. danny, very briefly, who is in charge of florida, and that is mr. desantis, who ran for president, also aligned right with the current incoming administration. and so even if there was a prosecution, right, trump can't pardon him. but guess who can. the governor of florida. so i'm not suggesting that that will happen. i'm not suggesting he will be prosecuted. i'm not suggesting he's guilty. everyone deserves the presumption of innocence. i'm a defense attorney. i'll yell that from the mountaintops. what i'm suggesting is that we're in a different world, and we're in a world that says that if you know friends in high places and they happen to be in elective office, they can pardon you. and so as as it relates to state crime, he could be he could be prosecuted but pardoned. and as it relates to federal crimes, he could be prosecuted in part. but i would not look for either in this circumstance. >> all right. well, let me then take advantage of your defense attorney hat then here for a second, because we've actually been hearing from the former

congressman who really kind of went on a bit of a tweet storm this morning as this report was being released, saying, at least in part in one tweet, giving funds to someone you're dating that they didn't ask for and that isn't charged for sex, is now prostitution. there's a reason they did this to me in a christmas eve eve report, and not in a courtroom of any kind where i could present evidence and challenge witnesses. joey does statements like this help gaetz at all? >> i think that the imperative here. because remember, danny, he's no longer a congress person. he resigned. and therefore the committee doesn't have jurisdiction. you can argue whether they should have released a report many members felt they shouldn't have some. of course, a majority said that they should. so he right is not going to be subject to any congressional type of reprimands. et cetera. the only other thing he could be subject to is prosecution. he has a right to defend himself. everybody is presumed innocent. there has been no trial. he's entitled to due process. he's entitled to question these witnesses, to push back forcefully, to say he

didn't do it. and maybe he's right. that would be for a jury to make the determination. so he's going to protect his interests, protect his brand, protect himself. and he should, because everyone deserves a defense. but at the end of the day, until these are vetted, this is a committee report. it needs to be vetted. there needs to be a trial. that's our system of justice. we can't brand them guilty. but this report is it looks pretty bad whether or not it will see the light of day in a courtroom such that it could be shined under the glare of cross-examination is another matter. and i say to you, danny, that's not going to happen, is my view. >> you know, one of the things joey is as interesting as or rather as harsh as this report was specifically for matt gaetz. the report also detailed a lot of frustration the committee had with the doj for not helping their investigation. i was curious what you made of that. we can see right here. part of the report was saying the doj refused to provide the relevant statements and other significant evidence to the committee. the doj's initial deferral request and subsequent

lack of cooperation with the committee's review caused significant delays in the investigation. now, obviously, these are two totally different bodies, but is that normal to have a doj really drag its feet or not help at all? a house committee? >> yeah. so generally speaking you have a lot of interagency cooperation at every level. right. we've seen that in what we talked about before. danny, what i was talking about with erica luigi mangione different case, different time. but the reality is right for matt gaetz. right. but he's now luigi mangione. you had pennsylvania cooperating with new york. you have the federal government and prosecuting him, cooperating with new york state. right. there's this level of cooperation as it relates to this specific case involving gaetz. you would expect and anticipate. doj department of justice is investigating. they would open their file. they would share it with the committee. the committee would open its file and share it with them. why it happened. who got involved? what were the dynamics? what were the politics? what really did occur? we may never know,

but know generally speaking, there are these cooperations between prosecutors when you're trying to get to one objective and that objective. objective. excuse me, danny, is justice. and how do you get there if people are not talking to each other, people are dragging their feet. i don't know what the political dynamic is. we may not want to know what the political dynamic is, but for whatever reason, you know, they didn't speak. and that's a problem because critical evidence may not have come out, which could have given this report more emphasis. but on its face alone, it's it's pretty bad. these allegations. he hasn't been proven guilty of anything. of course, like you said, joey, we live in interesting times. >> thank you so much for your analysis. really appreciate it. as always. all right. still to come, what do canada, greenland and the panama canal all have in common? well, president elect donald trump potentially wants them under u.s. control. we'll tell you what we know about the newest items on his presidential wish list. plus, new fallout after actress blake lively accuses the director and costar of her latest movie of

sexually harassing her and then plotting to ruin her public image, allegations, he denies that and much more. all coming up on cnn news central. >> and it has been one wild year. >> i know that whole live stream was crazy. >> what you have been following actual news right oh, boy. >> new year's eve live with anderson and andy. live coverage starts at eight on cnn and streaming live on max this holiday season. >> kevin. kevin. all aboard the freedom unlimited. >> kevin. kevin. kevin. >> kevin and kevin. i mean macaulay. take a very special trip to the mall where anything your little kid is cash. michael mccaul. really? >> yeah. anything is cash packable. >> chill. sorry. >> tis the season to cash back with chase freedom unlimited. >> how do you cash back? chase, make more of what's yours? >> my moderate to severe crohn's symptoms kept me out of

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today at four on cnn. >> with just 28 days now to go until donald trump's second inauguration, the president elect is sharing some of his ideas for his new administration. in a speech on sunday at a conservative conference in phoenix. trump, doubling down on plans posted on his social media. he wants to take back the panama canal. he's also pushing back on democrats claims about billionaire elon musk and his increasing political clout with republicans, despite some in the party welcoming musk into the fold. >> it's interesting. we have a president, we have a vice president, we have a speaker. it feels like as if elon musk is our prime minister. and i spoke with elon a couple of times this week. i think many of us unelected, well, unelected. but i mean, he has a voice and i think a lot of large part of that voice is a reflection of the voice of the people. >> cnn's steve contorno joining us now live from florida. so it's interesting to see all of these moments, especially that reference there to elon musk being sort of the prime minister as we look at

all of this. a lot to unpack. we'll get to elon musk. talk to me, though, about panama. greenland, canada. i mean, these are some interesting ideas to be throwing out at this point. steve. >> it certainly is certainly nothing that came up during the presidential campaign, though the idea to purchase greenland has been sort of a long time fixation of donald trump. >> he first floated that all the way back in 2019. greenland is a is an autonomous territory of denmark, which has repeatedly said it's not for sale. but he is clearly reviving that idea here. the idea, though, to seize the panama canal is coming out of left field. in fact, i've talked to several people close to trump's transition team who said they are not entirely sure what provoked trump to suddenly become interested in the panama canal. several people have said it wasn't something that was on

their radar, though they did point out that trump has been very focused on trade issues. certainly what happens in this passageway between the pacific and atlantic oceans would count toward that. but take a listen to why he described the need for the u.s. to get involved in this, in this, in this issue. >> has anyone ever heard of the panama canal? huh? because we're being ripped off at the panama canal like we're being ripped off everywhere else. a secure. he just said, take it back. that's a good idea. it was given to panama and to the people of panama. but it has provisions. you got to treat us fairly, and they haven't treated us fairly. if the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the panama canal be returned to the

united states of america. >> trump basically said that, look, we are we have to pay fees to use the ca and those fees should be lowered. and if they are not, then perhaps we would have to take over the canal once more. and so that was certainly the the threat he put out there. i will point out, erica, that with his threats on tariffs looming and the the potential increase that could cause on consumer goods and prices, perhaps getting the cost of shipping and using the canal is one way to to lower costs. >> interesting to see whether or not this ends up being some sort of a negotiating tactic to that point. steve. appreciate it. thank you. joining me to discuss. cnn political commentator jamal simmons and republican strategist erin perrine. good to see both of you. erin, when we hear this from donald trump throwing out the idea of taking over control of the panama canal, which, of course, the president of panama then pushed back on very strongly because it is under panamanian authority, floating again the idea of greenland. how is this helpful? is this a

distraction from something else? >> i'm not 100% sure what the strategy is here, but i heard a couple of things in steve's reporting that kind of piqued my interest here. >> one, you heard that steve was saying regarding the panama canal that he's hearing from transition folks that this was out of left field. they don't really know where this came from or why trump has decided to put this in. however, from what i heard of trump's speech and i didn't see it, so i'm not 100% sure on this, it sounded like those were almost prepared remarks put into the speech about seizing back the panama canal, which means people in trump's circle do know what's going on here. he has been talking about it at least enough that somebody typed it up and put it into remarks, potentially. >> i again didn't see the full remarks, but what i heard sounded a bit more prepared than off the cuff, like you normally hear from donald trump. >> it does sound. and again, we don't elaborate or explain if you've ever worked for donald trump, but it sounds like it's an attempt at a negotiation tactic. i'm not sure. on the greenland front either, but if it's true that steve's reporting says that people

don't know where this came from and people are that much in donald trump's ear right now. susie wiles needs to be able to step in and say, enough's enough. let's get this back on track and remain focused on what we've promised to deliver for the american people. >> in terms of people being in donald trump's ear. of course, there's a lot of focus on elon musk's involvement. you just heard representative gonzalez refer to him as almost like the prime minister. what's been interesting to watch jamal, is this seems to be one area, as democrats are still struggling to find their path forward and their message forward. this seems to be an area where they are all coming together with a common message. is it effective? >> yeah, it's an easy hit. >> listen, elon musk is literally the richest person in the world. i mean, he helps control our access to get on and off the planet through spacex. he controls a lot of what we think through his ownership of x, formerly known as twitter. and now it appears he controls our politics through president trump. so, you know, if this were doomed, he'd be paul atreides. he's kind of one of

the biggest people on the planet right now, and he is exerting his influence over donald trump and american politics, even though he wasn't elected. and even though he couldn't be elected because he was born in south africa. so it's something that we really have to be mindful of. and when you think about what's happening with the with the panama canal and greenland, if you go back and you study the period in the 1870s and 1890s going back. so a little bit of history, the gilded age, the post-reconstruction period, the american expansion into the west and seizing of native american land was something that really built a lot of the reputation for some of the presidents. it was something the country was focused on. it got people off of this idea of reconstruction. and i think if you're donald trump. expanding, building, trying to figure out what to do with american wealth and american prestige, i'm just not convinced he doesn't think that expanding american territory is a way that he's going to increase his standing on the global stage as a former president. >> it is possible when we look

at where things stand moving into this next administration and even this next congress, there are a lot of questions, aaron, about whether speaker johnson can hold on to that role, given what we saw last week. who do you think has more influence when it comes to whispering in lawmakers ears about johnson? is it elon musk or is it donald trump? >> oh, i mean, that's pure speculation. i would have no idea. but the first thing to consider when it comes to the speakership and election for speaker is the rules that will be set in congress by the republican party. that's part of what changed for kevin mccarthy, that he was so more easily ousted previously than any other speaker before, because they changed the threshold. when it comes to whether or not that threshold will change again in the new rules package, that will set the rules for this congress. that will be indicative of the speaker's strength. speaker mike johnson's strength and his ability to hold on to the job. he did get this cr through. the government is continuing to function, getting work done in

leadership is one of the hardest things. winning elections is easy. governing is hard. this rules package will be a bigger indicator. i think, of trump and elon than anything else because that sets the stage for the motion to get there, to start to elect your speaker, erin. >> and jamal simmons, good to see you both. thank you. thank you. just ahead here, new details about possible charges for the man accused of killing a woman by lighting her on fire in a new york subway. stop. >> luther. never too much. new year's day at eight on cnn. >> no more gross cough sirup. >> i'll want you to feel better. >> i want extra tv time, or i'll walk. how about this? introducing the only kids soft shoe for medicated cough relief. new mucinex children's mighty chews are mighty clever. >> someone need a hug? sing

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york. gloria, what can you tell us about this new information? >> well, danny, we are learning that the suspect in this case is expected to be charged with murder in the first degree. >> that's according to my law enforcement sources. and this is an extremely rare charge. but i have been told that the reason he is being charged with murder one is because the homicide, the killing of this woman on the subway train happened while he was also committing a felony. >> in this case, the arson, the fact that he lit her on fire. he is also facing a count of murder in the second degree. now, as you noted, this happened early on sunday morning. a man approached a woman who was asleep inside of a subway car in brooklyn. police tell us that he walked up to her, used a lighter and set her on fire. now, this woman was covered in a blanket along with a lot of other clothing that she was wearing, according to police. and that is believed to be part of the reason why the flames engulfed her as quickly as they did.

now, when the fire began, the man exited the subway, the subway car, and he sat down on a bench right there on the platform and essentially watched as this woman was burning. so police officials in the last several hours have been processing this suspect. and we are expecting to hear more details about a potential arraignment in the coming hours. we expect the brooklyn district attorney to be prosecuting this case. we have heard from his office. they are waiting to get the charges, and they have said that they expect to prosecute this to the full extent of the law. but for now, we're getting that detail. murder in the first degree, expected to be the charge in this case, danny, gloria pazmino, thank you so much for that update. >> really appreciate it. all right. when we come back, the star of one of this year's biggest movies accuses her director and costar of sexual harassment on set and a smear campaign to hurt her reputation. the new legal filing from blake lively

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we'll come to you. >> 800 821 4000. >> there is new fallout after actress blake lively filed a civil rights complaint alleging sexual harassment by her costar in the hit film. it ends with u.s. sexual harassment and also a coordinated smear campaign. sources say justin baldoni, who also directed the film, is no longer with the talent agency william morris. william morris endeavor. that firm also represents lively and her husband, ryan reynolds. lively submitted the complaint against baldoni, alleging that he sexually harassed her and others, and had also plotted to, quote, destroy her reputation. baldoni, for his part, denies the claims. here's more from cnn's elizabeth wagmeister. >> there was already intense speculation over what was going on on this set. the reason why is because when this film was released, a lot of fans noticed that blake lively and other cast members from this film didn't follow justin baldoni on social media, and the two

stars never posed for a photo together or did a single interview in the promotion of the film, which obviously is incredibly rare for two costars. well, now we are learning more of what happened, at least from blake lively's side in this civil rights complaint where she alleges that she was subjected to an unsafe work environment during production of the film, and that she was subjected to sexual harassment by justin baldoni and another male producer on the film. now, some of her allegations include that there were unwanted sexual comments made that justin baldoni was talking about his sex life. she alleges that he and that male producer came into her trailer numerous times, uninvited, when she was either undressed or breastfeeding her newborn. but this isn't just a sexual harassment complaint. this is also a retaliation complaint. blake lively and her lawyers are alleging that after she spoke up about this alleged misconduct and alleged sexual harassment, that her team asked

for safeguards and they got that there was a meeting because things got so bad that they had to have a meeting and come to an agreement over different protocols that would make blake and her employees feel more safe. they all agreed to have an intimacy coordinator on that set, but then afterwards, blake says that she believes that justin's team led a sophisticated and coordinated campaign behind the scenes to essentially take her down. now, this lengthy, lengthy complaint includes dozens, if not hundreds of screenshots of text messages between justin and members of his team. i believe that we have one of those, and i want to read you part of it. erica. this is between two representatives of justin saying in part, we can't write. we will destroy her. so they're blake's team saying, this is proof that they were putting a coordinated effort to quite literally destroy her reputation. now, justin baldoni team is denying this fiercely.

they are saying that this is commonplace where there are private conversations behind the scenes, where publicists have to talk about public image. in fact, they say that blake lively's team was actually planting negative stories about justin. i want to read you part of the statement that i obtained from justin baldoni attorney. he says, quote, it is shameful that miss lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations at yet another desperate attempt to fix her negative reputation. now, blake lively, in a statement saying, quote, i hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on the sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted. now, erica, you walked through some of the support from blake lively's former costars. there has been some other support from the author of the book on which this movie was based on. also a former director that blake lively worked with and

justin baldoni has been dropped by his talent agency, wme. i confirmed that with the source over the weekend, and it is important to note that wme, that talent agency, also represents blake lively and her husband ryan reynolds. >> and our thanks to elizabeth wagmeister for that report. still ahead here, a joyful and tearful return home. >> i just want to say how truly happy i am and how blessed i am to be standing here free after 17 years. >> 17 years, two people who served 17 years behind bars for a crime they did not commit, will be home this year to spend the holidays with their families. how it happened. next. >> all there is with anderson cooper. listen, wherever you get your podcasts. >> this holiday season, kevin. catherine. all aboard the freedom unlimited. >> kevin. kevin. kevin. >> kevin and kevin. i mean

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you, mr. palacios. >> and to you, miss pleitez, for what you've gone through, for the suffering you've endured. um, there's no words that can. that can truly describe what you have gone through. >> cnn's veronica miracle joins me now. veronica, truly an incredible story. what more can you tell us? >> well, danny, it is rare to see a district attorney apologize to two people convicted of murder. but as you just saw, los angeles county district attorney nathan hochman says that not only does he believe these two people are innocent, they now believe they have evidence to suggest who actually committed this crime. >> so charlotte pleitez and lombardo palacios, they were in the middle of serving a 50 year sentence. 17 years in for the murder of a man back in east los angeles back in 2007. at the time of his arrest, palacios was just a teenager and pleitez was a few years

older, and they both have maintained their innocence throughout the years. so their attorneys, along with california innocence advocates, worked with the district attorney's conviction review unit, and all of those teams were actually able to find new evidence to suggest who actually committed these crimes. so just in time for christmas, palacios and pleitez went before a judge, and that judge vacated their convictions. take a listen to their emotional reactions. >> it took a long time. >> 17.5 years is a long time. but it did happen. it's some kind of christmas miracle, and i'm just filled with gratitude that it really did happen to me. thank you all so very much. >> this past few days have been the very best days of my life. i'm making up for everything, for all the lost um. it's just. i'm adapting. it's been unreal. i still can't believe it. i still

can't believe that i'm free. um. i'm the happiest man in the world. >> yeah. just no words, danny. the district attorney also says there's now a new investigation to arrest and go after the people who actually committed this crime. the district attorney also did mention that the officers who originally investigated this case, and the prosecutors who were on this, did nothing wrong. danny. >> just incredible. a step closer to justice for those folks. veronica. miracle, thank you so much. and when we come back, like father, like son. how tiger woods son charlie stole the show during a tournament with his dad. their heartwarming response that's coming up next. >> welcome to times square. >> it's the biggest party of the year. happy new year with the biggest guests. >> we have even more amazing guests lined up for you with performances by music's biggest

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>> start your liver health journey today at dose daily.co, the lead with jake tapper next on cnn. >> well, a hole in one that proves the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. or perhaps in this case, trees or woods oh yeah, great job dude. >> thanks. couldn't hurt.

>> is it in yeah, yeah i love the crowd knowing before he does. >> yeah, that was charlie woods, the son of golf legend tiger woods. the two were competing in the pnc championship in orlando as a duo. well, that hole in one right there propelled team woods back to the top of the leaderboard. erica, that's that's so cool. >> i mean, it is something ultimately they did lose the tournament. but you know what? they won in the end. despite falling short of the title, they were asked where the de ranked the younger woods said number one, not even close. not a bad day with your dad. >> love that so much. >> good stuff danny. it's a pleasure being next to you. there's a wall separating us, but i can i can feel that we were really working together today. >> yeah. likewise. your energy is right through the wall. >> yes, yes, we should do it again tomorrow. >> sounds good. >> all right, stay tuned. the lead with jake