this had actually transpired? yeah. so this has really all gone down in the last few weeks. the fbi immediately scrambled to try to locate, investigate, assess the backgrounds of all the different individuals who had come into the country through the work of this facilitation network. the u.s. also broke up the smuggling network and turkey at the behest of the united states detained the isis linked smuggler involved in this group and that allowed the u.s. pretty quickly to determine that this person was really more like an independent contractor. he was not a member of isis. he was somebody who had personal sympathies with the group which gave them confidence pretty early on that this was more of a human smuggling case than it was a potential terrorism case. so for some officials that we spoke to, this whole episode is really evidence of the system working the way it should. the u.s. received additional intelligence about a group of migrants inside the united states. they investigate
spoke to in the course of our reporting, this episode was a lot more alarming. for these people, the whole incident just shows how vulnerable the united states is to the possibility that terror groups like isis could try to essentially sneak across the southern border by hiding amid the flood of the surge of migrants seeking asylum in the united states. for these individuals, phil, this whole episode really a test case that proves a chink in u.s. armor. a very complex and dynamic test case. katie bow lis lil, thank you so much. thank you, phil. right now back to florida where our sara sidner and the team have been keeping a very close eye on what is now a hurricane that they are waiting for. we have been seeing it play out off the coast of cuba, headed in the direction of where sara sidner is right now in clear water beach, florida. sara? it is an absolute beautiful day, but that is going to
when that shooter fired 11 rounds into her car killing her. it s unclear whether she was dropping off someone she knew at the time or whether this was a passenger. and ashley says this about her mother. my mother, quote, was an incredible woman. she was fearless and thoughtful, rough yet gentle. my family lost the light but gained a star. and phil, in a moment of just incredible grace she said this to the shooter s parents. that she sends them prayers and condolences because they too lost somebody. they lost their son. she says this, although his actions are malicious, i don t blame them. phil? that s remarkable and point yent. thank you so much for sharing that with us. ahead, what new cnn reporting is revealing about an isis smuggler s ties to the u.s./mexico border. plus a judge set the date for the trial over trump s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. that day is march 4th, one day before primary voters in more than a dozen states head to the polls. and we re go
officials know in this moment. reporter: yeah, phil. it s important to say at the outset that u.s. officials believe at this point that there is no indication of any terrorist plot or any terrorist planning against the united states. they really see these people as seeking a better life in the u.s. the biden administration views this as more of a human smuggling case than a potential terrorism case. what happened here, phil, was basically a case of bad timing. this group of use beck nationals presented themselves as seeking asylum in the united states. what happened was that the u.s. only later developed intelligence that allowed them to understand that the human smuggling network that facilitated the travel of the individuals to the united states had an individual in its group with some pretty troubling links to isis. and that obviously set off some pretty loud alarm bells across the federal government, phil. so what has been the i guess, how did u.s. officials respond when they
i think they ll lean more into the 2024 general items like the economy, china, the border, all the things we know a lot of voters liked when he had these policies, maybe not his rhetoric. they ll try to hone that. but again if he s being there are so many of these trials he has to go through, all these legal troubles. it s something his campaign i don t think has figured out how to spin to general election voter. it s a big concern within the trump campaign itself. no question ability. it s a very different team and very different infrastructure than they had in 16 and 20, much more professional team. interesting to see how they do that. good to see you. thank you, guys. now to cnn exclusive, the fbi scrambling to find dozens of migrants who crossed the u.s. southern border with the help of a smuggler that had ties to isis. u.s. officials say no specific isis plot have been identified but they re tracking a number of the migrants as possible criminal or national security threat