Comey’s Defense Team Moves To Dismiss Case In New Court Filings

25:20Unlike what happened in the Iraq war, we lost thousands of Americans, spent a trillion dollars. America's reestablished its dominant position in an important part of the world. That is a success for the United States. And that is a good thing. Now, we should use that power and prestige and power in the Ukraine situation. And in that situation, I fault the administration. There's no 20 point ceasefire plan. Just saying you should agree to what Putin said doesn't mean you're going to do it. You had a plan which you got the parties to agree to. There is none of that existing in Ukraine. Interesting.

25:55Rahm Emanuel, thanks so much. Appreciate it. How does a group of thieves manage to steal priceless jewels from one of the most popular museums in the world in broad daylight? The heist at the Louvre is next.

26:11An international manhunt is our world lead. A manhunt underway after thieves stole priceless jewels from the Louvre Museum in Paris. In what appears to be a professional heist, four collaborators managed to break in and steal tiaras, broaches, necklaces and earrings in just seven minutes. CNN's Melissa Bell is outside the Louvre with the latest on efforts to recover the stolen crown jewels.

26:39It was 9.30 a.m. when a witness calls the police from outside the Louvre to report suspicious individuals wearing motorcycle helmets breaking into the museum using a truck with a lifting platform. By 9.37 a.m., a museum alarm was triggered. Shortly after, a camera catches one of the robbers wearing a yellow vest as they break into a display case, then quickly escaping through the window they used to get in. By 9.38, the thieves flee the scene on scooters. The entire heist was done in just seven minutes and involved the most rudimentary of tools, this angle cutter and blowtorch. It does appear that these were extremely well-trained robbers.

27:24They clamise meticulously, obviously. The thieves made off with priceless jewelry worn by French queens in the 19th century, like this tiara necklace and a single earring of Queen Marie-Emilie. This large bodice bow broach of Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, and her tiara. One thing the robbers dropped as they fled from that window on the first floor was the crown of the Empress Eugidi, the wife of Napoleon III. What they made off with, though, were eight pieces of jewelry of inestimable value in historical and cultural terms. And they did so on the back of scooters as they headed down this bank of the Seine River.

28:04I think the pieces are already far from the country. It's the Ocean 13, it's Thomas Crown, so easy and not sophisticated. It's a drama for the French culture and also for our image. By Monday, the Louvre remained closed as investigators tried to piece together how so much could have been stolen so quickly and why. Either it was commissioned by a collector, in which case if we identify this collector and commissioner and can't find the jewels in good condition, or it could also happen that it was commissioned by people who just want the stones and pearls that they were made of. Authorities say the investigation continues, but the longer it takes to identify the suspects, the slimmer the chances of recovering the jewels.

28:49Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris. Melissa Bell, thank you so much for that report. Let's bring in Anthony Amore. He's the director of security for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, which you may remember. That was the victim of another infamous heist back in 1990. 13 pieces of art were stolen. That crime remains the single largest property theft in the world. It has never been solved. Mr. Amore was not in charge at the time. I want everyone to know. I think the question everyone is asking today, Mr. Amore, how in the world does this happen? At one of the most famous museums in the world where you would think there would be just incredible security.

29:26well jake you know there there is good security there and most museums do have good security but no place is impenetrable and when you see the method used by these thieves which was sort of a brute force approach they they combined this clever approach with using this construction equipment so that they sort of blended into the scenery and um and used tools to get through the window. It's a tough thing to prevent. You've suggested that the timing of the theft might suggest there was some kind of inside information. Tell us more. What do you mean by that? Well, it could be. Why didn't they do this at, say, 7 o 'clock in the morning or 8 o 'clock before the museum opened?

30:10They did it at 9.30 when the doors were open and perhaps, it's a speculation, the museum had lowered some of its technological guards protecting the building so that they could get in. I mean, the Louvre is the most visited museum in the world. I would suspect if it was me that if I was going to climb it for a window when the museum was open, the gallery would be packed. But when they got into the Apollo gallery, it was empty. They must have known that. So art recovery expert Arthur Brand says that because these pieces are so recognizable, he believes the thieves are probably going to dismantle them and sell the jewels and melt down the gold and silver.

30:47Do you agree? That's probably the reason they did this. I mean, you can't fence these things. It's sort of like a masterpiece painting. Nobody's going to buy it from you. There is no person commissioning these heists for that reason. There's no collector. But I think that the thieves are probably holding off for a bit first to see, hopefully, to see what the museum's response is going to be. It's a government museum, so it's probably self-insured. So I wonder if they're waiting to see if a reward is offered. Well, there might be some collector. I mean, the paintings that were stolen from the museum at which you work, they're hanging somewhere probably, right?

31:27No, no, that's never happened, actually, Jake. When masterpieces are stolen, the people who stole them quickly find out they're too recognizable and too valuable, and there's really no buyers out for them. You're not going to find an instance really in history where that's happened. So perhaps things are stolen thinking you can sell them, but you quickly learn you cannot, which is more difficult for an investigation because if you hold the stuff tight and you don't shop it around, then it makes for less witnesses. Anthony Amore, thanks so much. Appreciate your insights. Brand new pictures showing surprise images of demolition beginning at the White House of the East Wing.

32:09to build President Trump's massive ballroom. What? That story's next.

32:19Our politics lead now demolition crews. We're at the White House today at work, tearing down a portion of the East Wing in order to build President Trump's long-desired ballroom. At the time the president signed the executive order authorizing the ballroom construction, Trump said, it won't interfere with the current building. It won't be, it'll be near it, and not touching it and pays total respect to the existing building, which I'm the biggest fan of, unquote. But the photos that we're looking at right now, well, that says otherwise. My panel joins me now. Shermichael Singleton, quite an image.

32:54What comes to mind when, like, I'm sure the ballroom will be beautiful. Sure, sure. He did say that this exact thing was not going to happen. Yeah, I wonder if the president knew what it would potentially take to build a ballroom of a certain size. And this isn't a negative or a knock against the president. I assume he wants to entertain foreign dignitaries and other guests, similarly to what he would do down in Florida at Mar-a-Lago. So I get it. This is a bit of a different addition to the White House. I'm curious, though, Jake, to see if other presidents in the future will keep it or if some may try to change it into something else.

33:28How much power does a sitting president have to make such drastic changes to the physical White House? Evidently to start knocking it down. I mean, this is what I'm getting at here. Well, the facade of the East Wing, but yeah. Something was knocked down. I saw a crane. I'm from East Texas. I know what a crane is. It's bad. Something's coming down. Now, the point of my rant here is that, man, it's just something else to be mad about, Democrats. I mean, good God almighty, it's the White House. And I know he said he wasn't going to mess with it and stuff, but the White House is sacred. Like, there's a lot of things about it that's sacred.

33:57You want to make an improvement? Make an improvement. But he shouldn't be knocking things down. Speaker Johnson found himself at the center of something of a, let's call it a sewage storm today, all thanks to an AI video that the president posted on social media. It's himself flying a naval jet like Top Gun, donning a crown, dropping what appear to be feces on hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of his fellow Americans exercising their American rights to peacefully assemble. That's who he's dropping that slop on. The AI generated video quickly went viral, prompting reporters to ask Speaker Johnson about it.

34:34The president uses social media to make a point. You can argue he's probably the most effective person who's ever used social media for that. He is he is using satire to make a point. The point that he's making, sure, Michael, that he wishes he could drop. Look, I think this is what I think. I think a lot of Republicans look at this and I've texted a lot of folks about it. They thought it was hilarious. They thought it was funny. Some of my Democratic friends thought it was a little over the top. But even they acknowledged to me, you know, I got to give it to Trump. He is good at sort of goading our side with some of these sort of satirical videos and other memes that he typically will post on social media.

35:12It makes it more relatable to the average person. You wouldn't typically see this from a president. But the average person looks at this, Jake, and they sort of laugh or they dislike it. But I don't think it's something to sort of set your hair on fire over. Well, people set their hair on fire when Hillary Clinton referred to half of Trump supporters in 2016 as belonging in a basket of deplorables. They set their hair on fire when Joe Biden referred to Trump. Yeah, Trump supporters as garbage or he seemed to be saying that. Here is the president. Those are gaffes, right? Those are accidents, mistakes.

35:41They wish they could take it back. Here's the president strategically putting out a video of him dropping human feces on the millions of Americans who not violent Antifa rioters, not dangerous MS-13 gang members who are not in this country legally, but people just assembling and protesting. him. I think that when we talk about the middle of the electorate, there's a whole group of people on the far right and on the far left. And as we come up on the midterm elections, there's a group in the middle, college-educated suburban folks who just want common sense things done. They're not far right, far left.

36:13Most of them are physically conservative. They're a little more liberal on social issues. When they see something childish, and I'll say childish like that, it's the reason why they don't want to vote for Donald Trump or the Republicans. And I think that this is going to have long lasting effects because it just happens over and over. Let me check. Come on. Look, I spent about an hour over the weekend looking at some of the images and videos of people who were protesting the No Kings rally. And it was mostly white people. I didn't see any men. You guys are struggling with that. I didn't see men of color.

36:40You guys are struggling with that. I didn't see a whole lot of black people. I didn't see a whole lot of Hispanic people. I saw mostly white people. So as a Republican, I feel pretty confident about midterms next year based on what I saw over the week. I've voted in every Democratic primary since I was 18 years old and I've never been to college. I was an all-state football player, and I was baptized in a Baptist church. Sounds like a Republican to me. We'll see. What position did you play in football? Right tackle. Right tackle. Interesting. We should note the reason we weren't playing the sound.

37:08The sound in the video is Kenny Loggins singing Danger Zone, which you might be too young to remember. You and I remember when we saw Top Gun. That was a big hit. Kenny Loggins wrote, quote, this is an unauthorized use of my performance of Danger Zone. Nobody asked me for my permission, which I would have denied. and I request that my recording on this video is removed immediately. Probably not a surprise to you, Shermichael. Yeah, no, there have been many artists in the past that have requested when the president was running, hey, we don't want you using our music. For the most part, the campaign at the time said, okay, no problem, we'll move on to something else.

37:40This is another case. I think the president perhaps loves the song. He typically plays a lot of songs from the 80s and 70s. And a lot of those artists at the time have, not surprising to me, different political views from the president. So, look, we'll play something else. It's not that big of a deal. The Department of Homeland Security is clapping back today after news broke that the Coast Guard bought two private jets for Secretary Kristi Noem and others to use. The department posted, bottom line, this is about safety and readiness. She'll have authority to use them. Sure, they're replacing 20-plus-year-old airplanes.

38:07Democrats, meanwhile, jumped all over the news, posting the government shut down. Health care premiums are skyrocketing. Americans can't afford groceries, and Kristi Noem gets two luxury private jets anyway. I remember when the Republicans were for cutting government costs and even when it created a dose to say that we didn't need things, it started laying people off. But when I saw it was$200 million for two airplanes, good God. Sir Michael? You know, look, I know a lot of people with private planes. I don't know a lot of private planes that cost that much money. Well, this is Coast Guard security, you know, I mean, like it's not just.

38:39I do wonder what was the cost to improve the other planes compared to buying the new one. And so it could have been the case where it was more cost effective to buy brand new planes than updating the old ones. And they'll sell the old ones and probably recoup some of that money. Sure, Michael Singleton, Chuck Rocha, thanks to both of you for being here. Police arrested a man outside the Atlanta airport this afternoon after his family warned officers that this man was armed and headed to the airport to, quote, shoot it up. We're going to bring you those breaking details next.

39:07You want to get your backyard summer ready, but you don't want to break the bank? Wayfair gets it. Planning on dining al fresco or relaxing poolside? Wayfair has everything you need to prep your space. Shop now and save up to 70 % off during Wayfair's 4th of July clearance. Score huge deals on outdoor furniture, area rugs, and more. We're talking thousands of products for every style and budget. Plus, surprise flash deals July 6th. Don't wait. Shop Wayfair's 4th of July clearance now through July 6th at Wayfair.com. Wayfair, every style, every home. When it's time to scale your business, it's time for Shopify.

39:41Get everything you need to grow the way you want. Like, all the way. Stack more sales with the best converting checkout on the planet. Track your cha-chings from every channel right in one spot. And turn real-time reporting into big-time opportunities. Take your business to a whole new level. Switch to Shopify. Start your free trial today.

40:07In our National League, police say that a tragedy was just averted at the world's busiest airport. Body cam video shows police arresting a suspect today inside Atlanta, Georgia's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. This after his family warned authorities that he was headed to the airport to shoot it up. Police say he had an AR-15 assault rifle in his vehicle outside. CNN's Isabel Rosales is in Atlanta. Isabel, how did this unfold? Jake, what we saw was Atlanta's mayor and his police chief profusely thanking the family of the suspect for averting what they believe could have been a mass shooting at the world's busiest airport by notifying authorities that something wasn't right.

40:48So let me give you the timeline of events here with the suspect, Billy Cagle, 49 years old. He's a convicted felon for marijuana possession more than two decades ago, and authorities say he had mental health challenges. So this started at 929 in the morning where Billy Cagle, he's on video arriving there at the South Terminal. Two minutes later, he leaves his car outside and then goes inside of the airport. The police chief here in Atlanta saying that he was very interested in the TSA check-in area that was heavily, heavily crowded with travelers. Now, by 940 a.m., this is when Cartersville Police Department, an hour north of Atlanta, alerts APD that there's a potential threat because they were hearing from the family of the suspect that he was on social media streaming, that he was armed, that he was headed to the airport to, quote, shoot it up.

41:36Cartersville police saying that he had, quote, intention to inflict harm to as many people as he could. Now, by 954, he was arrested there on the ground, not armed. This would have been 15 minutes since that first call came in to APD. So a very quick effort here by authorities. It's unclear, Jake, if he has an attorney, we're of course making those phone calls and reaching out. All right, Isabel Rosales, thank you so much.

42:03Welcome to the Lead Object Tower. This hour, a major reversal from President Trump, who now says he does not think that Ukraine can win the war against Russia after all. The new comments coming just a month after the president said he thought Ukraine could not only win the war, but win back the territory Russia had seized. How much of this is because of Trump's call last week with Vladimir Putin? Plus, he resigned from the Social Security Administration after warning that your personal information was being put at risk. In moments, that whistleblower is going to join me live for his very first TV interview to explain the reasons behind his stark warning.

42:40And new fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal as police reportedly launched an investigation into none other than Prince Andrew. Looking into whether he tried to use a bodyguard to dig up dirt on Virginia Giuffre after she accused him of sexual assault. We're going to go to London to get a live update ahead.

43:01Our lead tonight, President Trump making yet another reversal on how to ultimately settle the war between Russia and Ukraine when taking questions about Ukraine's chances today at the White House. They could still win it. I don't think they will, but they could still win it. I never said they would win it. I said they could win. Anything can happen. You know, war is a very strange thing. The seeming switch comes after what officials say was a tense meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, with President Trump even raising his voice as he became frustrated, we're told.

43:37He's now insisting that Ukraine make territorial concessions to Russia for the war to end. It's a notable change from just a month ago when Trump posted that he thought Ukraine was in a position to fight and win the territory back in its original form. This latest flip comes on the heels of a lengthy phone call last week with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, whom he's preparing to meet in Budapest later this month. CNN's Chief White House correspondent Caitlin Collins is joining us now. Caitlin, is it fair to say that Trump's opinion is changing based on when he last spoke with Putin? Yeah, it's kind of a pattern that we've seen playing out over the last 10 months, nine months since Trump has been in office, where oftentimes a conversation, whether he speaks with European leaders, with Zelensky, or he's frustrated with Putin, shifts his view of this.

44:21I mean, just a few weeks ago, he was saying that Ukraine could win all of it back. He wasn't as skeptical of it back then as he was framing that today. And so I think that's why this is such a notable shift. And we talked to people on Friday after that meeting with Zelensky at the White House, and they were describing it as frank, tense, at times uncomfortable. And you know when White House officials, you know, Jake obviously is covering the White House, when you take the reporting and they don't dispute it and they use words like direct and frank, obviously it was pretty tense behind the scenes because that's their diplomatic way of saying that it wasn't really the conversation that Zelensky came to Washington wanting to have.

44:54He thought the president was on the verge of giving Ukraine Tomahawk missiles because Trump sounded like he was on the verge of doing so. And then he really pulled back dramatically on that. He kind of looked at it going into the meeting, the call with Putin, skeptically, talking about the U.S. need for Tomahawk missiles. And so I don't think the meeting on Friday went the way Ukraine wanted it to go. I think they are still hopeful that eventually that something will happen. And the other framing of this is Trump is looking for a potential next meeting with Putin in Budapest. is that Ukraine views that as potentially a good thing because it'll show the president that Putin's not willing to make concessions.

45:30I don't think we know how that's going to play out, but we've seen how this has changed his position already. And Caitlin, Trump also gave us a preview of his upcoming meeting with President Xi Jinping of China. What did he say? He sounded really optimistic about the tariff aspect of this, the trade deal, framing it as something fantastic they could make. He called Xi a friend of his. That came after just a few weeks ago. A few days ago, he seemed to be about to call off the meeting with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a summit that he's going to in South Korea. So we'll see if that happens. But the two other things that he said about China that stood out to me also, Jake, was one, he's signing a critical minerals deal with the Australian prime minister today.

46:07That's to counter China. So that's moves that the White House is making in terms of countering China on that front. But he also said that he doesn't think China's going to invade Taiwan. He said that maybe it's something that Xi still wants and it's the apple of his eye, but he sounded very optimistic on whether or not the Chinese leader is actually going to go after Taiwan, which he believes is his, which I thought was a notable comment, given that has obviously been a concern of U.S. presidents that Trump says he doesn't think it's going to happen on his watch. Caitlin Collins, thank you so much.

46:36And don't miss Caitlin on her show, The Source with Caitlin Collins. That's tonight and every weeknight at 9 Eastern only on CNN. Joining us now to discuss Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke, who joins us from his home state of Montana. Congressman, the president has now seemingly shifted his views several times on whether he thinks Ukraine needs to cede territory to Russia. His newest opinion seems to be that battlegrounds should freeze where they are. This comes after a call with Vladimir Putin. Does it concern you at all that Trump seems to have not taken a firm stance? I would shape it this way.

47:11Okay. I would shape it this way. You know, as a former SEAL commander, situation and terrain matter. And actually, I think the president has been pretty consistent on Crimea. Russia's going to maintain Crimea. Pretty consistent, I think, on NATO, and pretty consistent on some territorial swaps. I think at the end of the day, what he recognizes is situation and terrain. Look, the Russians have lost 500 ,000 troops. The Ukrainians have lost generations. maybe two or three generations. They're fighting with older men and, in many cases, adolescents. Russia has a superior force, although both sides have been brutalized.

47:53The president wants to stop the conflict. He wants to stop the killing. So I think he's right in that. And I remember all along I've said, look, you know, Russia has weakened itself over time. And you look at the oil prices, One should look at this, too, how much pressure is on Russia as oil falls below 60 barrels a day. Not a lot of room for Russia to make a lot of money. Certainly no room to make sessions. So I think actually the strategy is working. And I'm actually hopeful we're going to see at least a ceasefire and a peace deal being made. Earlier on the show, we had former Democratic Congressman Rahm Emanuel, who gave President Trump lots of credit for the peace deal between Israel and Hamas, but said basically, where's the 20 point plan for peace between Russia and Ukraine?

48:49I think he was basically saying there needs to be more of a specific effort. These are the 10 things, 20 things that need to happen. What do you make of that? Well, I think at the heart of it is NATO, security, making sure that deals may be made, that Russia holds it. And right now, Russia has not held much. Remember, Russia is going after civilian targets. The Ukrainian, by and large, has not. Military targets, infrastructure. So Russia is the aggressor here. What assurance are we going to have? I think an international force probably would work. You know, I'm delighted what's happening in Gaza.

49:27But a couple of players in NATO, Turkey, one of them should be highlighted, had a lot of influence on getting rid of Assad, had a lot of influence, I think positive influence on Gaza. And Turkey can play a very positive role also in Ukraine. But I think there's going to be it has to be some security assurance, absolute, that this aggression stops. And we're going to have to hold to it. I think NATO, their forces, Poland, I think there's a lot of opportunity there to make sure we have a force of merit to stop the aggression for once and for all. Let's talk about the Middle East. Witkoff and Kushner are arriving to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu today in Israel.

50:10The ceasefire deal that they brokered, it was tested this weekend. And it's still there, but it was tested. Israel struck Gaza after Israelis, the IDF, accused Hamas of an attack that killed two IDF soldiers. Next up, if phase two is going to be phased in here of this peace deal, of the ceasefire deal. Next, point six is Hamas lays down its arms. How do you see that happening? Well, I think the only way possible is, again, the neighbors that have all come together, the international force is going to have to be proactive. In many cases, there's not a lot of difference between Hamas and the Gaza population, because Hamas was the ruling party.

50:56You know, not just a couple of months. We're talking a long period of time. And the rebuilding part. I think at the end of the day, Gaza needs to see hope that they can rebuild, that there's some carve out some future for them better than living in squalor and wreckage and violence. So what I'm hoping is, is that, yes, the security force to disarm Hamas. But also, on the other hand, I'm hoping we see some economic future being realized for the people of Gaza that have been long been suffering. There's no doubt about that. All right, Montana's Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke, thank you so much, sir, as always.

51:36Tensions escalating between the Trump administration and the country of Colombia over the strikes on alleged drug boats. And now a fight over a local fisherman who claims to have been a target. We'll explain. And in his first television interview, a former chief data officer at a very important federal agency warns that your personal information could well be at risk. We're going to talk to him next.

51:59And our worldly tensions are flaring between President Trump and Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro, after Petro accused U.S. officials of, quote, murder following a U.S. strike on an alleged drug vote last week. President Trump posted video of the strike, the sixth such attack by the U.S., and says the two, quote, narco-terrorists who weren't killed have been released to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador. Trump also hit back at Petro, calling him a, quote, illegal drug leader, and announced he would end all U.S. aid to that country. But Colombians are being told one of the earlier U.S.

52:34strikes killed a fisherman. That fisherman, Alejandro Carranza's family, spoke with state-run Colombia TV outlet RTVC Noticias and say he's innocent. Now, to be clear, CNN does not know if he was involved in the drug trade or not, but this is what the people of Colombia are being told.

52:56Alejandro Carranza is a fisherman. We were raised in fishing families. And, well, there. That's him right there. Because he's a curious person. And, well, he's there with the engines, and they are stranded. He said goodbye on Sunday at 5 a.m., as usual, September 14th. As usual, they left early to fish, and we haven't heard from him since. Again, that is state-run Colombian TV. We do not know if that is true or not, But that is what the people of Colombia are being told. Also this weekend, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed a seventh strike, alleging that the U.S. killed, quote, all three terrorists on board that vessel.

53:35Joining us now, CNN national security correspondent Natasha Bertrand and anchor for CNN and Espanol Juan Carlos Lopez. Juan Carlos, thanks so much for joining us. Natasha, you as well. So Colombia's interior minister says the surviving Colombian detainee from that sixth boat strike was in really bad shape when he was returned by the U.S. What else are we hearing from the government of Colombia? The story we're hearing is that the survivors are from the submersible. Now, you don't go fishing in a submersible, but the attack that they're alleging that killed the innocent French moe was a different one where the boat is just standing still, and he says the motor is raised, the outboard motor, and that was a sign that they were in distress and they were attacked.

54:15That's what President Petro has been saying, but President Petro is very active in social media, just as President Trump is. And Colombia is very polarized. So you have people who follow him, believe what he's saying, but a lot of the population in Colombia don't believe what he's saying and know that something is going on in the Caribbean. Obviously, it's a drug route, but there is concern about the actions by the U.S. just eliminating boats without any type of evidence of what's happening there. And Natasha, is there a legal reason behind why the Trump administration decided to release the two people who were not killed in that boat strike on Thursday.

54:50One would think if they were narco-terrorists that they wouldn't be released. Yeah, keeping them in military custody, it would have been in keeping with their argument that they are in an armed conflict with these drug traffickers. But I think that the even more interesting question is what legal rationale would they have had to actually keep them in custody? That is what legal experts are raising questions about because while the Trump administration has kind of unilaterally declared that they are in this armed conflict with these enemy combatants that are these drug cartels. Congress has not issued an AUMF.

55:19There has been no litigation on this issue. And the U.S. military, actually, we have reported they really didn't want this headache. They did not want to try to figure out what to do with these two survivors. And so they, from the moment they picked them up, were leaning towards releasing them to their home countries because that was simply the least messy course of action. But again, it raises a lot of questions about, well, if you felt like you had enough evidence against these two individuals, couldn't you have tried to hand them over perhaps to civilian law enforcement for prosecution in the U.S.?

55:49Might you have tried to send them to Guantanamo, tried to charge them under some kind of military commission? Again, it raises a lot of questions about the strength of their evidence and whether or not they were prepared to have it challenged in open court, because, again, federal courts, they have not ruled on this issue of whether they're actually in an armed conflict with these traffickers. So that also posed a potential risk if they kept these guys in custody. And Juan Carlos, you heard President Trump has said that he's going to cut off all aid to Colombia. What kind of aid does Colombia get from the U.S., if any?

56:18For fiscal year, it's about$378 million between humanitarian aid and military aid. And there is a big, very deep relationship between the Colombian military and the U.S. Colombia has been a very strong ally, even during the Petro government. But Colombia is the largest producer of cocaine in the world, and the U.S. is the largest consumer. And if they're not working together, then the challenge gets even bigger. And you talked, Natasha, about there is no AUMF authorization for the use of military force against these alleged narco traffickers. Is there any appetite in Congress to either write one or at the very least start to assert some legislative power here?

56:58Well, you've heard from Democrats anyway that they at least want to hold hearings on this because there has been virtually no information given to the Hill about all of these strikes. But then you have some Republicans in Congress, like Corey Milfs, for example, who is crafting legislation for an authorization for the use of military force. The question is, is that actually going to move through? Is it going to get passed? But Congress right now is very much in the dark about all of this. All right, Natasha and Juan Carlos, thanks to both of you. I really appreciate it. Meet the whistleblower that tried to stand up to Elon Musk and his Doge staffers when they slashed budgets and potentially put the personal data of millions of Americans at risk.

57:34He's going to give us his very first television interview. That's next.

57:41In our politics lead, a whistleblower who warned the Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, warned that they were putting American Social Security data at risk is speaking out. Chuck Borges involuntarily resigned as the Social Security Administration's chief data officer in August. He said the agency took actions against him that made it impossible to just do his job. Today, a new profile of Borges details his experiences as Elon Musk's Doge staffers disrupted the agency. Quote, I cannot count how many employees I saw cry, and that is at all levels of the agency from executives downward.

58:17Unquote. Joining us now for his very first TV interview is Chuck Borges. Thank you so much for joining us, Chuck. So you say you suffered from a, quote, culture of fear. You wrote that in your resignation letter. Describe what you felt raising these concerns and being met with what you say was a hostile response. Raising these concerns was an extremely terrifying choice to make. As the chief data officer, I was responsible for the data safety and security of all Americans' personal information. and finding the series of checks and balances that we put in place around your data to keep it safe was frankly disturbing and I lost a lot of sleep because of it.

58:54As I investigated this issue and felt that I couldn't do my job to protect the public's data safely, I spent a lot of sleepless nights trying to decide what to do. At the same time, I encountered employees who were perpetually in fear for their jobs, being told to take involuntary resignations. There were times I saw employees breaking down at their desks and crying. I've seen employees cry in meetings. It was psychically and physically a very stressful time. Was the concerns you had about the safety of the data, okay, was it because the Doge people were incompetent and not knowing what they were doing, or were they trying to get the data to use it for some other purpose?

59:39I can't speak to the motives. As the chief data officer, I was never actually informed what the motives were for the need of this data. My concern was around the elimination of those checks and balances that I described, which put your data at risk. As an example, you have a laptop there. Let's say that laptop is the cloud, and you put your data on the laptop. That increases the risk of your data being exposed. Now I want you to give me the laptop. Once you give me that laptop, I want you to give me your password. And then I want you to walk away. Each one of those steps is a check or balance that we put around your data to keep it safe.

1:00:12And when you bypass or circumvent those checks and balances, it was the totality of risk about your data that I was concerned about the most. Yeah. Social Security Commissioner Frank Mike Bisignano told Senate Finance Committee Chairman Senator Mike Crapo that Social Security data is secure. And as of September, none of it has been, quote, accessed, leaked, hacked, or shared in any unauthorized fashion, unquote. Do you have any knowledge of that not being true? What I would ask the commissioner and what I would ask the Social Security Administration is to back that assertion up with documentation.

1:00:49There is a wealth of documentation that the agency maintains from system logs to audit trails, email communications, and chats between team members that could verify the truth of my claims or the truth of those assertions. So Bizignano also says that it's standard practice to store the specific data that you flagged in the agency's cloud. And he says the server is secure. Do you disagree? Again, I would say that you can back that up very easily with documentation. When I was the chief data officer and I raised these concerns internally. I asked for documentation from both my colleagues and from my superiors to try to prove or disprove my concerns.

1:01:30I received some information from my colleagues that only increased my alarm and my queries to superiors were completely ignored. What information did you get that increased your alarm? When I made my initial disclosure, I raised concerns that that specific data had been copied to a cloud environment and And again, the independent security controls around it had been bypassed. The information that I received in my investigation seemed to corroborate that. And what could somebody do with this data if they had access to it? So Social Security maintains a very complete set of personal information on everybody.

1:02:10When you apply for a Social Security card, it's basically all the information on your birth certificate. Think your mother's maiden name, your father's middle name, your place of birth, all those wonderful pieces of information that we use to answer security questions when we apply for an account at the bank or for a mortgage. Usually, bad actors have to go to the dark web or somewhere else and build that picture of you piece by piece. This is that complete snapshot of your personal information. So it's the most critical data set, I feel, that Social Security maintains. and if it were to be accidentally leaked or breached, the results would be catastrophic.

1:02:51You were a naval officer for decades. You served in Iraq. And I'm wondering, did that play any role? Your experiences as a veteran play any role or as a seaman play any role in your feelings, your need to come forward to be a whistleblower? Did the sense of duty play role there? They did. It did. As a military officer, we get a lot of training and we spend a lot of time in discussion and thought about what to do in certain ethical or moral dilemmas, what to do when you feel like you may be faced with a immoral or an illegal order, and how to react to that. From my perspective as the chief data officer, responsible with oversight for all your data and seeing these checks and balances being bypassed and being abrogated and seeing the risk to the public.

1:03:42Through my training as a military officer, it helped me work through the moral dilemma and feel like I was compelled to report my concerns. Why would they fire you? Why would you? I mean, it seems to me like you're exactly the kind of person I want in charge of my data. You resigned, but you said kind of like involuntarily. You seem like the kind of person anybody would want in charge of their data. You're very, very serious about it. And even if the administrator disagrees with you, I would still want that person being a pain in my ass about it until he felt good about it. It doesn't make any sense to me.

1:04:17So as the chief data officer, I have a statutory obligation to protect the agency's data safety and data security. When I found these checks and balances being bypassed and I saw the risk to the public's data, I had a couple of considerations I had to make. The first was that I could be legally liable for any possible laws being broken around this data being moved. And that was a serious concern for me. Again, as the C-suite official in charge of data, I had a responsibility that others do not. Additionally, once I reported these concerns, I was essentially ignored by senior leadership. I had very little interaction with them, and it was a very stressful time.

1:04:58All right, Chuck Borges, thank you so much and thanks for your service. Thank you, Jake. Thanks for having me. Really appreciate you being here. If you wondered why Prince Andrew suddenly gave up using his royal titles last week, well, the answer may lie in some new disturbing allegations related to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal that we're going to tell you about next.

1:05:28But you booked with Engine, found the right hotel with one click, and avoided cancellation fees. Because Engine lets you do that, too. Yes change, no charge. Engine. Free to join. Flexible when plans change. Teams travel spend. Managed. Head to engine.com slash flex to get started. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task. Unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website, to marketing, to selling, and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and Allbirds continue to trust and use them.

1:06:09With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your$1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer. In our Worldly Today, two new developments involving Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre are putting renewed focus on the abuse she suffered and renewed scrutiny on Prince Andrew. One, in her posthumous memoir, which is set to be published tomorrow, Giuffre feared that she might die a sex slave at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein in his circle. And two, police in London are investigating whether Prince Andrew asked an officer to dig up dirt on Giuffre, who had accused him of sexual assault.

1:06:52CNN Royals correspondent Max Foster joins us. And Max, there are also some new allegations against Prince Andrew in Jufres' memoir. Tell us more.

1:07:02So some of these books have been released ahead of schedule. The British media managed to get them from a bookshop, but should have been putting them out. But we're getting a sense of it. And also Amy Wallace, who co-wrote this book with Virginia Jufres, has also just started appearing in the media as well. So in this book, Dufresne describes in harrowing detail some of the abuse that she suffered at the hands of several men, not just Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew is the only one that she's naming. And Amy Wallace is saying it shouldn't be up to the survivors or victims to out their abusers. It should be the authorities that should do that, which is why she's calling for the broader Epstein files to be released.

1:07:42We've also been hearing from Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who's also been pushing for these documents to be released as well, backing calls by the author Andrew Frey to have the Epstein files released. So in the book, for example, she describes how Prince Andrew tried to hire trolls to harass her. and that ties in you could argue with a police investigation currently underway here in London looking into an email where Prince Andrew apparently tried to dig dirt on Virginia Dufresne asking a police officer to look into her criminal record and even handing over her private social security number and date of birth so that's being investigated and the royal family had hoped that last week they could distance themselves from this by working with him to get rid of those titles.

1:08:30Instead, it's just drip, drip, drip. And today King Charles was actually in Manchester, the scene of that horrific terror attack, trying to support members of the Jewish community. And the palace was only asked about Prince Andrew, and it's clearly frustrating them. But there are many people who feel that actually the royal family could be doing more here, Jake. All right, Max Foster in London. Thank you so much. Let's bring in James Marsh. He's an attorney who has represented several of Epstein's survivors. James, thanks for joining. So on Friday, the House Oversight Committee released transcripts of its interview with former U.S.

1:09:04Attorney Alex Acosta, who had negotiated that 2008 sweetheart plea deal with Epstein. Acosta, in the interview, defended his handling of the deal. He said, quote, if we go to trial and we roll the dice and we do the crapshoot and we lose, what kind of signal does that send that says that he got away with it, that you can do that more? So we thought it was very, very important to send that signal. And that's why, that's one reason we favored the negotiated plea, unquote. What do you make of that explanation for not taking the case to trial for settling with this plea deal that was pretty cushy?

1:09:39I mean, that's not an unusual reaction by prosecutors in cases like this, especially when you have vulnerable victims and victims of sexual assault. I think what is more interesting about his testimony was the fact that this sentence was to be served out in the state court system. Now that's very unusual and should have raised a lot of red flags. And this whole notion of this non-prosecution agreement, which has never been adequately explained in any of the testimony or investigation. So while the sentiment is accurate and sometimes protective of victims, I think all of the other things that were the result of that decision are much more concerning.

1:10:20Acosta also said, quote, many victims refused to testify. Many victims had changing stories, unquote. How are Epstein survivors reacting to Acosta's remarks here? I mean, part of the problem with this original prosecution is the lack of involvement and respect for victims. That case went all the way up to the 11th Circuit. So the lack of victim notification, victim support, victim engagement, I think really reflects poorly on this decision making process. And it's just not fair for him now to turn it around and blame the victims for not being willing to do the job that they should have done in that office to begin with.

1:11:01I know for some survivors of Epstein's abuse, some we've spoken with, the continued coverage over this case can be a lot to deal with, triggering, re-traumatizing. Do they have confidence in the House Oversight Committee's investigation? What do they want to come out of it? I mean, I'm counseling people and my clients and everyone in general, but this is going to be a long process. We're really going to get to the bottom of who Jeffrey Epstein was, how he came to power, how he's able to leverage that power, especially in this prosecution. Some of the top lawyers in the country were working for him.

1:11:35Some of the lawyers that were working for him had served in that office under Acosta. So it really shows you what power and privilege will bring in the criminal justice system. Our clients and other survivors are painfully aware of that reality. And it's going to be a long, long time before we get the entire answer here. One of the things that was intriguing to me was this whole notion of whether or not Epstein was involved with intelligence. And Acosta spoke to that. But it also raised more concerns because if you trace that story back to its origins. That's from reporter Vicki Ward. And she got that information from the Trump transition team.

1:12:14So there's a whole nother set of records and questions that we need to be asking just on that specific point. So I think in order to be an effective investigation, it's got to be long, thorough and leave no stone unturned. And that's obviously very difficult for these clients and victims and survivors who've waited decades for any kind of accountability. All right, James Marsh, thank you so much. Really appreciate your time. Is President Trump's former best buddy about to lose out on a massive government contract? Why Elon Musk's mission to the moon could be in jeopardy? That's next.

1:12:53In our politics lead, we have an out of this world kind of trolling. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced today that his agency is now reopening the books for a contract that had and been awarded to Elon Musk's SpaceX, the project known as Artemis 3, which aims to return astronauts to the moon in mid-2027, is behind schedule, Duffy says. Of course, one company that stands to benefit, Musk's fellow billionaire and tech rival, Jeff Bezos, who owns Blue Origin, in addition to his position at Amazon. Chuck Roker's back with me. Also, Ashley Davis, a former Homeland Security official for the George W.

1:13:29Bush administration. And New York Times reporter Ken Vogel is with us. mainly because he has a new book out. It's called Devil's Advocates. It's the hidden story of Rudy Giuliani, Hunter Biden, and the Washington insiders on the payrolls of corrupt foreign interests. We'll get to this in one second. But I do want to get to Ashley Musk, Elon Musk, quick to respond to Sean Duffy, posting on X, quote, Blue Origin has never delivered a payload to orbit, let alone the moon. How much do you think this is about, like, which is the best craft versus sticking it to Elon Musk now that he and Trump have their falling out?

1:14:05I don't necessarily think it's about Duffy sticking it to him because of the Trump fallout. Remember, they've been kind of bickering since March over the doge cuts at FAA. And so I think that there's never been good will. But I also think the most important, this is a space race. Listen, I mean, we're competing against China to go back to the moon, to build infrastructure, to get to Mars, which is the ultimate goal. And if they, I mean, I don't know if they're really behind contract. I'm assuming that's true. But the president wants this done by the time he's out of office. And so if they're behind schedule, then it should be opened up again.

1:14:40I thought that Musk and Trump had maybe patched things up. They were at the Charlie Kirk funeral to get together. No? I mean, their relationship is not what it once was. And the timing here is notable, I think, because it was only back in May when Trump put forth his budget proposal that actually included more money for NASA despite cuts across the government and cuts at NASA for other things for privatized lunar space exploration which was intended for Musk and maybe a little bit for Bezos. But you know fast forward a month they had this falling out and now all of a sudden there's a different tune being sung by the administration.

1:15:17Let me put the Wisconsin spit on it. Duffy's from Wisconsin. I'm going to bring this home. Elon Musk spent a whole bunch of money there trying to win a Supreme Court race. And so Duffy's still a little bitter about that on top of the Doe stuff, on top of the cuts to the FAA. So let me bring in former Republican congressman turned felon George Santos as an issue here. He's making the rounds after Trump's commutation, saying he's been given a second chance. Take a listen to what he's had to say on CNN. I have been granted a second chance. I have made a very, very concise decision to apply that for good and use that to make amends with my community, with my friends, with my family and those who I have left a sour taste in their mouth.

1:16:00This isn't about, you know, glitter stars and glam or going back to Congress. Democratic Senator Alyssa Slotkin of Michigan responded to this news by saying, quote, ban the presidential pardon. I wonder, Chuck, after Biden pardoned Hunter and then pardoned many members of his own extended family on his way out the door, did Democrats have a leg to stand on when it comes to pardons or commutations? I think what Biden did belittles the process, just like I think George Santos belittles the process. As somebody who's made lots of mistakes and asked for forgiveness, I think there's a process in place for folks who have rebuilt their lives, for folks who went through the process of going through the pardoning procedure.

1:16:41That's why they have it. And so folks who've done all the right things get some little bit reward at the end. But I think all of this just belittles the whole thing. And actually, some Republicans, especially New York Republicans, who were the first ones in Washington to call for Santas to step down or be censured, are balking at this Republican Congressman Nick Lelotta said this when asked about it. He stole. He's not only a liar, but he stole. He stole$3 million in campaign funds from many of my constituents, many of my supporters who got built by him and his lies. He stole an election, defrauded voters of New York's third congressional district, a district that borders mine.

1:17:22He's a distraction. He's a shame. And we need to be able to move on sometime soon from George Santos. I'd rather go back to talk about Ken's book or the Eagles because I don't have much to say about George Santos. But listen, I mean, the bottom line, he's still a felon, which is the most important part of this. Even though he was commuted, he is not. He's still a felon. So it's different than a pardon. Remember, this is what happened with Scooter Libby. That's what Bush did to Scooter Libby. He commuted him, not pardoned him, which is why he was still never able to practice. Right. And Cheney has never forgiven Bush for that.

1:17:52All right. Let's talk about devil's advocates. You shine a light on this underground world that ties Washington insiders such as Paul Manafort and Hunter Biden to foreign cash. Corrupt foreign interests. Tell me the most shocking thing you learned while we're researching this. I think it's the bipartisan nature of it. You know, you have these consultants and lobbyists who do battle in the U.S. on domestic politics, and they're standing on ideology for whatever their party or candidate believes. And sometimes they clash bitterly, and then they go overseas, and they're not on the red team or the blue team.

1:18:26They're on the green team. They work together for sometimes brutal autocrats who are misaligned with U.S. interests, and they're willing to take that money to try to whitewash their reputations and get them at least out of the crosshairs of the U.S. government, sometimes the international community, and sometimes even further, to get them funds from the U.S. in the form of military assistance or other foreign aid. Give us the most blatant example. I mean, you mentioned Manafort. for it. He's really a pioneer of this space. And of course, it ended up with him being prosecuted by the Mueller team and going to jail before getting pardoned by Donald Trump.

1:19:05He's back out. He's doing some of the same stuff. He's working for politicians in Albania who were sanctioned by the U.S. And he's trying sort of a different spin on what he did back in the 80s and the 90s when he would bring these politicians to Washington and say, this person is your bulwark, President Bush or President Reagan, against communism in this part of the world that's geopolitically important. Now, he's saying, this person, just like you, President Trump, was persecuted by the deep state and their country, and they believe that you're the greatest president ever. And that's sort of the new twist in this.

1:19:41And what about Hunter Biden? You have Hunter Biden on the cover here. I mean, we know about Burisma. What else do we need to know? Yeah, there was a fact pattern where Hunter Biden basically went around the world and offered his services to people who were targets of anti-corruption campaigns that were pushed by the U.S. government and sometimes by his father. In the case of Burisma, in the case of another example that I get into in Romania, he is essentially working for people who want to use his influence in his cachet to brush back the U.S. or to get the U.S. on their side. How prevalent, Ashley, how prevalent do you think this is?

1:20:18I mean, I suspect there's a lot more of it. I don't know Hunter or Paul Manafort, but I suspect there's a lot more of this than we even know. Absolutely, and having a firm in this town, the only foreign clients that I will ever take are ones that are part of either the EU or Canada or Mexico. I will not take any foreign clients because I think it's so dangerous. Political consultants are now doing this and they're going in helping people run for office, not doing government affairs work. But I see it all the time. We don't take any foreign class because of that. But you see Democrats and Republicans going into foreign countries, helping run the election and helping give advice because they know how to do it here.

1:20:54And there's also media figures, not news media per se, but media figures who take foreign investments and then give, they just happen to coincide with them saying nice things about that country. We've seen some of that people taking money from Russia, I think, last year, right? Yeah, yeah, that's right. There was influencers who were taking money from Russia. They say they didn't know, but there were charges brought against sort of the middleman. And actually, the story last week that was excerpted from the book about a number of people, close Trump allies, who went over to Republika Srpska. It's a small autonomous region of the Balkans.

1:21:28And they were they were preaching the gospel of this authoritarian leader who's trying to who's under sanctions in the U.S. and is facing charges from an international body that's trying to push him out of office. You had Rudy Giuliani hosting this guy on his podcast, Mike Flynn tweeting favorably about him, Laura Logan hosted him on his podcast, hosted him on her podcast. So, you know, a lot of this stuff is not disclosed in the way that the regulatory regime in the U.S. is set up to capture this stuff and apply transparency. So it's really up to like reporters or folks who are watching it to try to sleuth that out, and that's what I try to do.

1:22:03It's not worth the money. I think people, so many people in this town that have fallen very quickly are because of this, because of this, exactly what you're writing about. All right. I'm not going to start saying names. Chuck Rocha, Ashley Davis, thank you so much. And Ken, congratulations again on this book, Devil's Advocate, out in bookstores today. We just got an update on President Biden's treatment for prostate cancer. That's next.

1:22:30Just into our health lead, former President Joe Biden has finished a course of radiation therapy as he battles prostate cancer, a spokesman confirms to CNN. Ashley Biden posted a series of photographs on Instagram and wrote, quote, dad has been so damn brave throughout his treatment. Grateful, unquote. It's unclear what Biden's next treatment steps will be. He is expected to speak on Sunday when he receives a Lifetime Achievement Award. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Blue Sky, and on the TikTok at Jake Tapper. You can follow the show on X at The Lead CNN if you ever miss an episode of The Lead.

1:23:03You can listen to the show once you get your podcasts. Aaron Burnett Outfront starts right now. Take it away, Aaron.

1:23:16Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for$15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made$15 bills. But it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Evening. Buyer's remorse.

1:23:49Buy a new car? I'll be moving in. Let's get started. Uh, sorry, I think there's been a mistake. I bought it from Carvana. You what? Yeah, great price. I even have seven days to love it or return it. So there's no... No, no buyer's remorse. More like buyer's rejoice. Ugh, I guess I'll let myself out. Congratulations. I mean it. Buyer's rejoice. Buy your car today on Carvana. Limitations and exclusions may apply. See our seven-day return policy at Carvana.com.