Man charged with killing health insurance CEO pleads not guilty | The Excerpt
On Tuesday’s episode (first released on December 24, 2024) of The Excerpt podcast: Paste BN Breaking News Reporter Claire Thornton has the latest after Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Monday to state murder and terrorism charges in New York. President Joe Biden might pardon others before leaving office. How does that work? Paste BN Domestic Security Correspondent Josh Meyer breaks down a Matt Gaetz ethics report that found 'substantial evidence' of statutory rape and prostitution. Former President Bill Clinton has been hospitalized with a fever. NORAD and Google have live tools to track Santa this Christmas Eve.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and today is Tuesday, December 24th 2024. This is The Excerpt. Today, the man accused of killing a healthcare CEO has pleaded not guilty. Plus, how do you ask for a presidential pardon? And an ethics report into Matt Gaetz finds substantial evidence of statutory rape and prostitution.
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Man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson pleaded not guilty yesterday to state murder and terrorism charges just days after a dramatic return to New York City to face federal counts in the case. I spoke with Paste BN breaking news reporter Claire Thornton for the latest surrounding Luigi Mangione and to get a sense of Monday's scene in court. Hello, Claire.
Claire Thornton:
Hey, Taylor.
Taylor Wilson:
Claire, thanks for hopping on today. So I just want to start with this. I mean, what was the scene like in court yesterday?
Claire Thornton:
Dozens of protesters were outside the criminal court at around 9:00 AM. And people had signs that were criticizing for-profit health insurance companies, some people had signs saying, "Luigi Mangione is innocent until proven guilty." One person was even leading protesters in chants on a bullhorn. I was talking to some demonstrators and one person in particular, he said his name was Nicholas, he lives in Manhattan, and he used to work at a cell phone store. And one day he said he was injured on the job and he said he ended up having the same procedure that Luigi Mangione had to have for back problems and he had a nightmare experience with his insurance. And he said so on this sign that he held up outside the courtroom on Monday. And he said that in his opinion, the case surrounding Mangione and the slaying of this health insurance executive, there's a lot of context behind it and a lot of people can perhaps identify with the struggle that Mangione said he had dealing with health insurance companies.
Taylor Wilson:
Wow. And did that tension, did that energy seep into the courtroom itself? I mean, what was it like inside?
Claire Thornton:
On Monday morning, the courtroom was very hushed as Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty to these state criminal charges. And his defense attorney spoke with the judge. It was a pretty brief hearing and there were lots of journalists typing away in the courtroom. And there were also a couple dozen members of the public seated to witness the court proceedings and they were seated in the back of the courtroom in a couple of rows that are reserved for members of the public.
Taylor Wilson:
You mentioned his defense attorney, Claire, what are we hearing from lawyers on either side after this arraignment?
Claire Thornton:
Mangione's defense attorney is pushing back against how the judicial system is trying Mangione in Pennsylvania on state charges there, back in New York City on federal charges of stalking and murder, and also in New York on state charges including murder in the furtherance of terrorism. So the defense lawyer is saying that she's never seen anything like this in her career. It's unprecedented. And she said that the judicial system and law enforcement are treating Mangione like, "A human ping-pong ball." They're making him go to all these hearings in quick succession. So prosecutors in this case are pointing to what they say is evidence that Mangione planned the killing of this health insurance executive for months.
Taylor Wilson:
In terms of where we go from here, Claire, I mean what's next? As you mentioned, it's not just New York, I mean we have all kinds of different levels that Mangione faces charges on. But give us a little bit of a sense of the timeline over the next few months of where we go from here.
Claire Thornton:
In January, there is another preliminary hearing scheduled in the federal case. And in February it looks like there's going to be a hearing on evidence that may or may not be used in an eventual trial. And so looking ahead, I think we can expect a trial by jury in this case.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. Claire Thornton covers breaking news for Paste BN. Thanks as always, Claire.
Claire Thornton:
Thank you, Taylor.
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Taylor Wilson:
Despite being the stingiest president so far in more than a century when it comes to making individual pardons, Joe Biden is now making a late run at granting additional clemencies before his term ends next month. So how does a defendant or a prisoner ask the president for help? Having a relationship with the incumbent president or a close friend is one way, hiring a well-connected lawyer to contact a top White House aide is another strategy. Sometimes politicians or advocacy groups lobby the president directly, as was the case before Biden's move yesterday to commute the sentences of nearly every inmate on federal death row.
And with just weeks left in Biden's term, legal experts who have been through the process in the past say it can become more haphazard as President-Elect Donald Trump's inauguration approaches. Formal requests for a presidential reprieve are processed through the Justice Department's Office of Pardon Attorney, government lawyers review applications and make recommendations to the president based on issues like the nature of the crime and the person's rehabilitation. We also know that Biden is considering offering pardons for unspecified crimes to protect people Trump has threatened to investigate. You can read more about how pardons work and what might be next for Biden with a link in today's show notes.
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The House Ethics Committee found substantial evidence former Congressman Matt Gaetz engaged in prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, and obstruction of Congress in a long-awaited report on alleged misconduct. I spoke with Paste BN domestic security correspondent Josh Meyer to learn more. Josh, hello sir.
Josh Meyer:
Hey, Taylor.
Taylor Wilson:
Hey, Josh. Thanks for hopping on on this. So let's just start with this. What did the House Ethics Committee principally find here on former Congressman Matt Gaetz and how did we get to this point?
Josh Meyer:
Yeah. So this was a long-awaited report. It was based on years worth of investigations first by the FBI and the Justice Department and then by the House Ethics Committee. And it basically had five findings that Gaetz paid for sex, that he allegedly had sex with a 17-year-old girl, which is illegal, she was underage at the time. This was in Florida, the age of consent in Florida is 18. And that he paid for sex with her. There was substantial evidence that Gaetz used cocaine, ecstasy and marijuana often at parties where he was also paying for sex with these girls. He's denied any wrongdoing of course. And then also that he used his congressional office to help a woman that he had paid for sex get a passport. And also the committee found evidence that he took a trip to The Bahamas with some of these women and that that violated gift rules. It's impermissible for a member of the House to get gifts if it's considered a form of a bribe.
Taylor Wilson:
So really how is Gaetz responding here after this, Josh?
Josh Meyer:
There's not a lot of contrition there. Gaetz did say in a post on social media last week when it became clear that the report was going to be released, that he was wilder in his younger days and that he engaged in more womanizing and other bad behavior than he should have and that he is now older and different. So he didn't really say that he regretted doing any of this and he didn't admit to paying women for sex, certainly not for having paid for sex with an underaged girl, but he did acknowledge that bad behavior. But I think there's a lot of critics out there that are saying that he hasn't shown the kind of contrition that one would have given the circumstances of this report, even if the allegations that he is taking exception with turn out not to be true. I mean, there's other things in there that the Ethics Committee found that they said paint Congress in an unfavorable light and him as a member.
Taylor Wilson:
Josh, president-elect Donald Trump originally tapped Gaetz as attorney general, Gaetz has of course since resigned from Congress, withdrew his name for that attorney general position. But are we hearing from Trump at all about this report? Where does he land on this?
Josh Meyer:
We've been trying to get response from them. We have not heard much. We heard from Elon Musk who many say is playing a very outsized role in the Trump administration and the transition. But Trump so far hasn't said much. He spoke at a political action committee yesterday, a very conservative political action committee and did say that Gaetz is his friend and spoke very favorably of him. But I don't think he's addressed these allegations specifically just yet.
Taylor Wilson:
So really what's next functionally for Gaetz, I guess Josh, and where do we go from here with this story?
Josh Meyer:
That's a good question, Taylor. I mean, I think the report is the end point for the committee. Gaetz resigned from Congress very abruptly when it appeared the report was going to come out. So there was some question whether the committee would even release the report because he was no longer a member of Congress. So there's nothing more for the committee to do. I spoke to a lawmaker who said that if the report is true that Gaetz did violate statutory rape laws in the state of Florida, they could investigate this as well. So there could be further investigations. Gaetz is standing by his position that he's a changed man and this was basically politically motivated and that whatever he did in the past shouldn't influence him going forward. He has talked even in just the last few days about hinting at running for the Senate seat that Marco Rubio is vacating to become Secretary of State. So who knows, it's just one day at a time here, there's a lot of revelations about the Trump transition team and what's going to happen with the new administration. So we'll just wait and see.
Taylor Wilson:
Great breakdown for us as always. Josh Meyer covers domestic security for Paste BN. Thanks, Josh.
Josh Meyer:
Thanks, Taylor.
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Taylor Wilson:
Former President Bill Clinton has been hospitalized in Washington for testing and observation after developing a fever, his deputy chief of staff announced yesterday. Clinton has had a series of health issues since leaving the White House. In 2021, he was hospitalized for a urological infection that later developed into a blood infection known as sepsis. He underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery after experiencing shortness of breath and chest pains in 2004. He also had surgery for a partially collapsed lung in 2005 and had two stents implemented in one of his coronary arteries in 2010. But Clinton has spoken publicly about adopting a vegan diet and making other changes to improve his health. He also hit the campaign trail for Vice President Kamala Harris this year, speaking at events in key swing states.
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Thanks to Santa Trackers, we know exactly where Santa Claus is as he travels around the world delivering presents to children tonight on Christmas Eve. Both the North American Aerospace Defense Command or NORAD and Google have live tools to track Santa and see exactly when he will reach the US, following Saint Nick's once a year journey starting from the North Pole. And they can do it even if English isn't their native language, thanks to Interpreters Unlimited and its network of more than 10,000 interpreters. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.
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And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio, and if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson and I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from Paste BN.