Ex-Prince Andrew Arrested After Epstein Files Revelations

18:04Emily Maitlis:Well, I think certainly we also need to recognize not only their nuclear ambitions, but also the fact that we are engaged in diplomatic negotiations at this time. So So there are instances where countries like Iran want to posture and maybe bluff on what their nuclear capabilities are. So our intelligence community is assessing those things as a member of foreign affairs. As you pointed out, we do receive top secret classified briefings on a regular basis. Chairman Mast hosts those for those of us that are members of the committee every week when we're in session. And so when we go back next week, we're certainly going to be looking for more information from the intelligence community.

18:43Jake Tapper:There is obviously a logical concern about what Iran's retaliation might look like. On Tuesday, Iran's supreme leader threatened to sink U.S. warships if the U.S. chooses to strike. So if the U.S. does strike Iran, how do you anticipate Iran might respond?

19:00Emily Maitlis:Well, that's a real challenge in this situation. Obviously, they are not a rational actor. They have different motivations than most other participants on the global stage. And so, again, this is why you have to show great restraint that we don't get entangled into some kind of conflict unnecessarily. And so, again, when we go back into session next week, we're going to be looking for more information from the intelligence community, from the administration. But again, the War Powers resolution that's being proposed is not the answer. It is very vague and, again, would leave us more vulnerable and susceptible to attacks.

19:35Jake Tapper:Republican Congressman Ryan McKenzie from the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. We're back with what has been a big day for our friends across the pond in the UK. Police arresting former Prince Andrew on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Could this escalate to any sexual misconduct charges? An attorney for Andrew's most prominent accuser is going to join us next.

20:01Jake Tapper:And we're back with our law and justice lead and more on the fallout over the shocking arrest of King Charles III's younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the ex-prince's arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office in the United Kingdom. This comes after new revelations from the Epstein files released by the Justice Department. The family of Virginia Giuffre reacted to his arrest, issuing this statement, which reads in part, quote, he was never a prince for survivors everywhere. Virginia did this for you, unquote. Giuffre, who died by suicide last year, repeatedly claimed that she was forced to have sex with then Prince Andrew while underage in her posthumous memoir, Nobody's girl.

20:38Jake Tapper:Jouffre wrote about what she said in a sworn declaration in 2015, quote, Epstein, Andy, and approximately eight other young girls and I had sex together. The other girls all seemed and appeared to be under the age of 18 and didn't really speak English. Epstein laughed about how they couldn't really communicate, saying they are the easiest girls to get along with. Andrew has, unquote, Andrew has long denied the claims, which do not appear, as of right now, to be connected to his arrest today. He has yet to publicly respond to his arrest. Sigrid McCauley served as Virginia Jufre's lawyer up until her passing.

21:12Jake Tapper:She joins us now. Sigrid, what was your reaction to hearing the news of former Prince Andrew's arrest?

21:18Emily Maitlis:I will tell you it was really a monumental moment. The most heartbreaking part, though, was when I got the call at 5 a.m. My first instinct was to reach and pick up the phone and call Virginia. And I had done that so many times before when Epstein was arrested, we spoke immediately. When Maxwell was arrested, we spoke immediately. When John Luke Brunel was arrested, we spoke immediately. So it was incredibly heartbreaking not to be able to pick up the phone and celebrate this moment with her, a moment that she had worked over a decade for.

21:53Jake Tapper:Our viewers, I think, are familiar with Epstein's arrest and Ghislaine Maxwell's arrest. Explain to them who John Luke was or is.

22:00Emily Maitlis:John Luke Brunel was one of the key conspirators with respect to Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation. And he was the primary recruiter of young females that were models. And he used his modeling agency that was connected to Epstein in order to recruit those young girls.

22:17Jake Tapper:So we are getting closer to marking one year since Virginia died. I'll be talking to her brother and sister-in-law in the next hour. But you also had a very close relationship with her. She trusted you. How do you think she might feel about this? This, you know, this is huge news. And she was very public with her allegations against former Prince Andrew.

22:36Emily Maitlis:I think she would have seen this as a step in the right direction for justice. I mean, as we know, he has not yet been charged with sex trafficking, which was really what Virginia was after. She made those allegations again over a decade ago and worked tirelessly to make them public, to bring forward this information so that this sex trafficking operation would be exposed. So I am certain that she is smiling down from heaven on this information that was released today with this arrest. But it's just a sliver of justice. There is so much more to be done.

23:13Jake Tapper:How do you make sense of today's arrest? Because the arrest does not appear to be connected to Virginia's claims about him in terms of sexual assault, trafficking, etc., all of which Andrew denies. But it is an example of someone powerful facing some legal consequences overseas. And in addition to that question, why do you think that we're not really seeing legal consequences here in the U.S. in terms of charges against anybody?

23:39Emily Maitlis:I think what we're seeing with Prince Andrew or the former Prince Andrew's arrest today is really how the elite traded in this currency, right? This currency of I'll offer you a favor and Epstein, you'll provide me with these women. So what we see today is him abusing his public office. I am hopeful that the arrest and then the investigation will lead to additional information where he will be charged with his activity in this sex trafficking operation. And as we've seen, it wasn't just Virginia. So there are other survivors out there who were similarly harmed. And so I'm hopeful that this is a step forward where the investigation will go forward and there will be more information uncovered.

24:23Jake Tapper:Alright Sigrid McCauley, thank you so much, appreciate it.

24:25Emily Maitlis:Thank you.

24:26Jake Tapper:What could the next phase of this legal case look like for former Prince Andrew? We're going to get some legal perspective next.

24:52Jake Tapper:Because the tax is your whole life. Work, children, partner.

24:57Emily Maitlis:You can't do anything wrong. Right, nice. It doesn't look like the tax. Tax is done. Safe. With Visa, tax. Now, test it free.

25:22Emily Maitlis:royal family. It's a very, very sad. To me, it's a very sad thing. When I see that, it's a very sad thing to see it and to see what's going on with his brother, who's obviously coming to our country very soon, and he's a fantastic man, the king.

25:38Jake Tapper:So I think it's a very sad thing. The former prince was taken into custody this morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office. With me now, CNN's Kara Scannell and Ellie Honig and UK barrister and international attorney Andrew Eborn. Andrew, let me start with you. You know Great Britain's legal system. How serious are these charges? Could he face prison time? What do these charges suggest?

26:02Emily Maitlis:Well, the extremely serious charges, the maximum penalty is life imprisonment. But we also have basic rules in the UK about contempt of court. And what that is, very strict liabilities about what can be reported once somebody has been arrested. And if there's a substantial risk that the course of justice in the proceedings will be seriously impeded or prejudiced, then basically intent is irrelevant. And what happens, criminal proceedings become active upon arrest. That's what's happened. He was arrested. And they remain active until acquittal, sentence or discontinuance. Now, as has been reported, and it's alive as we go on here, Andrew Eborn basically says Andrew has been released under investigation.

26:47Emily Maitlis:This is about the former Prince Andrew and searches in Norfolk have basically finished. So we're expecting further revelations to come out over the next few days. But I would warn people around the world. I've been on more platforms than Paddington discussing this. And different jurisdictions have different rules and regulations about what can be said in the media about ongoing cases. In the UK, it is incredibly strict and intent is almost irrelevant from that point of view. So we need to be very, very cautious what is said over here. But the principle is that I always say that sunlight is the best disinfectant.

27:26Emily Maitlis:More is going to come out, but it will follow the due process. And all credit to King Charles. He came out and said, look, nobody is above the law. So it needs to follow the due process and he will respect that process.

27:39Jake Tapper:Quickly, if you could, Andrew, the other Andrew, former Prince Andrew, he's been released. He has not been charged. But do you expect charges?

27:51Emily Maitlis:that all depends on the police will weigh up the evidence uh that they gather and they will then determine that based on that particular evidence um and i say what's happened in the media a lot of people are interviewing people like virginia uh virginia dufray's family um that side does not form part of the arrest uh at the moment obviously further things may come uh about and lots of people are demanding that people look into that. Even the Clintons, they say that people should be coming forward with evidence if they have it. But we need to look at that sort of side. So it's not looking at the sexual side of things.

28:26Emily Maitlis:It's merely looking about this abuse in office, which, as I say, is an incredibly serious offense with a very draconian penalty.

28:33Jake Tapper:Ellie, in 2022, I spoke with Jeffrey Berman. He had been the U.S. attorney of the Southern District of New York, that's an office you worked in too, Berman prosecuted Epstein. And I asked him about his efforts to interview then Prince Andrew. Take a listen.

28:51Emily Maitlis:Lawyers gave us the runaround. We even filed an MLAT request, which was an official request to interview a foreign witness with the government officials in the UK. And that got stonewalled.

29:04Jake Tapper:You think he committed a crime?

29:06Emily Maitlis:You know, what we wanted was the information.

29:10Jake Tapper:He wouldn't give it to you even though he's out there lying saying that he was. Willing to.

29:13Emily Maitlis:He said he was willing to give it to us. He didn't give it to us. He stonewalled us. And as of the day I left, he was stonewalled.

29:21Jake Tapper:So, Ellie, today's arrest further highlights the difference in approach that the U.K. is taking compared to the United States. Do you see this putting more pressure on Attorney General Pam Bondi in any way?

29:32Emily Maitlis:Oh, for sure, Jake. The contrast here is absolutely striking. So 20 days ago, the Justice Department puts up its Epstein Files public library. And here we are just 20 days later, and the English authorities have used some of the documents, including emails that are in that library between Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein, to bring about this arrest. There's meaningful accountability here in the course of less than three weeks. Now, contrast that, and you just showed this with your clip with Jeffrey Berman, contrast that with the approach that the English authorities had been taking previously, but also with what we've heard from Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche and others who have been myopic and confused and confusing when asked point blank recently.

30:12Emily Maitlis:Is there any ongoing criminal investigation of anyone around Jeffrey Epstein? There's no indication that our DOJ is meaningfully investigating anybody. And I think the contrast with what the English authorities have done just now is going to be striking and it's going to be something they're going to be asked about.

30:26Jake Tapper:Kara, what might accountability look like? One presumes it would start with the DOJ talking to the survivors of Epstein, all of whom raised their hand in that hearing last week and said that nobody from DOJ had talked to them. Right.

30:39Emily Maitlis:I mean, as you'll remember from 2019, after Epstein died, Jeffrey Berman invited a number of the survivors into the office to meet with the prosecutors. And, ultimately, the only charges they brought were against Ghislaine Maxwell, because that's where they had the evidence. Their efforts to interview Prince Andrew were stymied over and over again. I mean, now what we're hearing is that the Justice Department appears to be not actively investigating anyone. Yesterday, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, who was directed by Pam Bondi to investigate Democrats after Donald Trump, the president, had posted on True Social that that's what he wanted.

31:15Emily Maitlis:He was asked whether there were any active investigations. And what he said was that they were ready to engage with anyone with credible information and their doors were open. But that did suggest that there wasn't anything that they were actively working on based on the information that they already have and the information that's in the files. So it would appear that they would they're looking for something new to walk in the door for them to open a criminal investigation, you know, because, of course, to be fair, they need some allegations of criminality. What we've seen in a lot of the for the U.S.

31:47Emily Maitlis:for years where we've seen people step down from, you know, prestigious positions or resigning entirely from their job is that it's their ongoing association with Epstein after they previously said they had cut off all ties that is costing them their jobs. But it doesn't appear that they were caught up in any kind of criminal activity. But, you know, we'll see what more comes to light as all of this information continues to come out.

32:11Jake Tapper:Kara, let's turn to CNN's new reporting on Harvard. In 2008, the school quietly decided it would refuse any future donations from Epstein. Cut to six years later, Epstein was still finding ways to channel his wealth towards some of Harvard's world-renowned scientists. What more can you tell us about this?

32:26Emily Maitlis:This is new reporting from our colleagues who went through the Epstein files and found that even after Harvard said it would cut off ties with Epstein after 2008 when he was arrested and convicted on those state prostitution charges, it shows that for a number of years afterwards, Epstein was communicating with some premier scientists working at Harvard, trying to set up a business with at least one of them. And that had all been under the radar. The reporting also shows that Harvard was being urged by some of these scientists and professors to accept money from Epstein yet again. But the dean at the time had refused that.

33:04Emily Maitlis:Now, Harvard said it is reviewing all the information that has come out of these folks and the individual scientists that were continuing to engage quietly with Epstein, including one of them discussing set up a company, did not return CNN's calls for comment. All right.

33:19Jake Tapper:Thanks to all of you. Really appreciate it. In our national lead, a Philadelphia museum exhibit on slavery is back up after being taken down last month. The panels were restored today to Independence National Historic Park. Well, litigation over their removal ordered by the Trump administration continues. A district court judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore the display, citing George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 in her ruling, saying, quote, as if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell's 1984 now existed, this court now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power claims to dissemble and disassemble historic truths when it has some domain over historical facts.

33:58Jake Tapper:It does not, unquote. We're staying on top of a trial examining the addiction of social media and the possible effects on younger users, including children. and one mother who lost her daughter to suicide has been at the courthouse for this trial, and she's going to join us next.

34:19Jake Tapper:We're going to continue in our tech lead covering the landmark social media addiction trial that is continuing in Los Angeles today following high-profile testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Meta denies claims that it knowingly created addictive algorithms which harmed young people. Zuckerberg cited privacy concerns when asked why the company waited until 2019 to start asking users to verify their age. Zuckerberg also said that teens make up less than 1 % of Instagram's revenue and weren't, quote, valuable for advertisers, unquote. But an internal meta document presented reads, quote, if we want to win big with teens, we must bring them in as tweens, unquote.

35:05Jake Tapper:The CEO was also grilled on beauty filters. Meta consulted with 18 experts who warned that the filters could be harmful to users. Still, Meta decided to allow them, though they didn't recommend them. Zuckerberg said denying the tools would have been paternalistic. In the courtroom today was 20-year-old Kaylee, the woman who brought the lawsuit against Meta, along with parents who say their children died or were harmed because of social media. Joining me now is one of those other parents, Lori Schott. Lori, your daughter, Annalie, had a social media addiction and was just 18 when she died by suicide.

35:42Jake Tapper:We are so sorry for your loss. I'm sure this trial is a lot to take. So let me start by asking you how you're doing.

35:51Emily Maitlis:You know, I'm all full of emotion. I'm hollow. I'm mad. I'm angry. The grief is outpouring because my daughter is not here. She should be getting married and graduating from college. but instead I'm going through the courthouse doors to hold people that caused her death accountable.

36:09Jake Tapper:You were in the courtroom today and yesterday during Mark Zuckerberg's testimony. Do you feel like he took away any, he took any accountability?

36:18Emily Maitlis:Absolutely not. I think there were well-rehearsed talking points that was just trying to script around every issue there was. You cannot argue about the unsealed emails and communication, especially in my situation with Ana Lee taking her life in relationship to algorithms that told her about anxiety and depression and beautification filters that just destroyed her. And they had 18 out of 18 researchers tell them that this harms children's mental health, and they did nothing. Their own internal meta employees even warned them of the dangers. So for me, my blood was boiling along with my heart was breaking.

36:56Jake Tapper:We've seen you and other parents outside the courthouse this week. Tell us about that network of support and what you are hoping to get out of this trial.

37:06Emily Maitlis:You know, we've come together all across the United States. We were joined by the Archwell Foundation, an association with Prince Harry and Meghan, that basically had the foresight early on in 2021 that there were parents that were trying to survive the social media harms that their children experienced. They brought us together. They gave us strength. They propped us up. We had mental health support. And I feel like they propped us up so much that we were able to stand in front of that courthouse the other day. And that is something that we cannot ever not say thank you for.

37:40Jake Tapper:For people who are not familiar with your daughter Annalise's story, you referred to algorithms and anxiety and depression and beautification filters. Give us a short summary, if you would, about how you blame, why you blame social media for Annalie taking her own life.

38:04Emily Maitlis:You know, I think they pick on children that are vulnerable. These algorithms, as I've learned today, are even more calculating than what I ever imagined to keep children engaged. And my daughter, she's struggling with some things mentally. It found an opportunity to engage with her on anxiety and depression and beautification filters to make sure, you know, that she didn't feel good enough. So that comparison level with algorithms pushed to her, not of her asking, destroyed her.

38:31Jake Tapper:This trial's one of more than a thousand lawsuits against social media companies. What kind of real change do you want to see?

38:42Emily Maitlis:I want accountability. I want controls. I want our children to be able to basically us as parents also to have like a TV remote where we can change channels, where we can control what they see. We can turn the volume. We can turn the volume up and down. But I am also going to take this information because I want policy change. They need to be held accountable and not be shielded by laws like Section 230.

39:07Jake Tapper:What is your message to other parents out there who are trying to navigate their children using social media?

39:15Emily Maitlis:Stay strong, get the facts, follow the trials and the media related like you're giving us the opportunity today so they can have a window to the world of how these platforms are designed. And it's all for profit. So keep that in mind. Your children are their bottom line and we have to break this pattern.

39:34Jake Tapper:Your daughter, from the photographs we've been showing, is such a beautiful child and with such a wonderful smile. Tell us something about her other than the sad, you know, the tragic details of the end of her life. Tell us how you want people to remember her.

39:53Emily Maitlis:She was kind. She was compassionate. She loved the rural life we had in eastern Colorado. And she made a difference. You know, all these children that are gone because of social media harms are making a difference and they're driving our change. And that's nothing that we cannot ever underestimate the power of a child.

40:14Jake Tapper:Laurie Schott, thank you so much. I know it's not easy talking about these things. May Annalise's memory be a blessing. We really appreciate your time today.

40:23Emily Maitlis:Thank you, Jake.

40:25Jake Tapper:And if you or anyone you know is considering suicide, there's help. please dial the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can call or text, dial 988, or text 988. I promise you, there is help for you. There is love for you. Coming up next, CNN's royal correspondent, Max Foster, what he's learning about the arrest today of the former Prince Andrew. We're gonna go live to Buckingham Palace.

40:58Jake Tapper:Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, the former prince, Andrew, brother of Britain's King Charles, has been released from custody after he was arrested this morning. Police saying he's still under investigation on suspicion of misconduct in public office following revelations from the Epstein files. We're going to go live to Buckingham Palace in just moments. Plus, as the search for Nancy Guthrie continues, we're on day 19. Mexican officials say there's no indication that the 84-year-old was taken across the border. So is the FBI any closer to locating the mother of beloved NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie?

41:32Jake Tapper:We're going to get an update live from Tucson ahead. And President Trump in Georgia this afternoon visiting local businesses as he tries to tout the U.S. economy. But is that a message that will resonate with voters? Or does he have a different idea in mind for rallying support ahead of the midterms? We have new CNN reporting tonight.

41:53Jake Tapper:The lead tonight, stunning images of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, being released from police custody tonight, hours after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. UK police say he is under investigation, although they have not said exactly what specifically led to his arrest. Police had previously said that they were investigating claims that Andrew shared sensitive information with Epstein while serving as UK trade envoy. They'd also been reviewing allegations that a woman had been trafficked to the US, I'm sorry, to the UK by pedophile Jeffrey Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Andrew.

42:33Jake Tapper:Andrew has previously denied all allegations of misconduct regarding Epstein. Andrew has yet to publicly respond to his arrest. CNN royal correspondent Max Foster is outside Buckingham Palace in London. And Max, I mean, the arrest of a British royal, a senior British royal at that, truly an astonishing moment. This hasn't happened since the 17th century. What are you learning about the investigation?

42:58Emily Maitlis:And consider the fact that the police were acting on the king's behalf, representing the crown. So the king effectively his forces arresting Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on the king's estate. The police spent the day searching through Mountbatten's house. You would assume going through all of his communications, any communications that may have been related to Epstein. An extraordinary day and a moment in modern modern British history.

43:31Emily Maitlis:Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested after new revelations in the Epstein files in an extraordinary development without precedent in modern history. British police took the former prince into custody on Thursday morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office, having said earlier this month that they were assessing claims that Andrew had shared sensitive information with the late Jeffrey Epstein while serving as the UK's trade envoy. They've not said exactly what led them to this arrest, which comes after the latest tranche of emails released by the US Justice Department appeared to show that Andrew was sending confidential material to Epstein.

44:12Emily Maitlis:Sparky renewed scrutiny of the already disgraced royal. He's previously denied any wrongdoing and hasn't commented publicly on these more recent misconduct allegations. Your Majesty, how are you feeling after your brother's arrest? King Charles didn't answer reporters' questions about his brother's arrest, but said in a statement that he learned with the deepest concern of the news and reiterated his wholehearted support and cooperation with the authorities. Good choice, that's good choice. I haven't done badly, have I? Andrew became trade envoy in 2001. That position saw him travel the world, carrying a duty of confidentiality.

44:51Emily Maitlis:He stepped down a decade later after coming under fire over his association with Epstein. Questions over his friendship have haunted him ever since. That's in part because of Epstein's conviction in 2008, when the financier pleaded guilty to state prostitution charges involving an underage minor and served time in jail. And yet the senior royal stayed in contact with Epstein, even after claiming in a BBC interview to have cut ties with a convicted paedophile in late 2010 during a trip to New York. Now I went there with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen together.

45:35Emily Maitlis:Emails released since then call that timeline into question. and Andrew's been dogged by a years-long crescendo of Epstein-related scandals and allegations. Late last year, the 66-year-old was stripped of all his royal titles and kicked out of his residence and essentially vanished from the monarchy. The same police force that arrested Andrew on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office is also looking to allegations that a woman was trafficked to the UK by Jeffrey Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Andrew. That investigation is ongoing.

46:16Emily Maitlis:So there was clearly some new evidence that came in that gave the police confidence to go in and make this arrest. What happens now? Well, they could have spent more time interviewing Andrew. They didn't use up all of that time. They decided to release him to continue their investigations, clearly using information they may have gathered during the interview or indeed what they may end up finding within his home. So he hasn't been charged yet, but it's not over for Andrew. He may still be charged, potentially if he's found guilty, serving a life sentence under what they're investigating here. So very serious for him, but also ultimately a huge impact on the British monarchy.

46:57Emily Maitlis:People talking about this coming to define Charles's monarchy. It's an extraordinary moment.

47:03Jake Tapper:Max Foster at Buckingham Palace. Thank you so much. I want to bring in Sky and Amanda Roberts. They are the brother and sister-in-law of prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre. Giuffre repeatedly claimed that she had been forced to have sex with then Prince Andrew while underage. Andrew has long denied those claims, which do not appear as of now to be connected to his arrest today. Sky, I want to talk about today's developments in a moment, but I know this has been a very long and grueling journey for you and your family. And I want to know how you're doing. Oh,

47:43Emily Maitlis:man, Jake, you get me with that most of the time because today we started the day with a very like uplifting feeling of just rejoice and vindication again for Virginia. And yeah, we woke up at 3 a.m. this morning from a phone call from Virginia's longtime publicist and friend, Deanie Von Muffling. And we had that instant, like, I don't know, just adrenaline rush. And then I think as the days kind of settled down, like, we felt really sad.

48:09Jake Tapper:We felt sad that she's not here to celebrate this with us and with her survivor sisters. And I think it's a lot of mixed emotions. So we know we're prepared to have a lot of ups and downs today. But I appreciate you asking. Sky, did you ever think that now former Prince Andrew would ever be arrested for anything?

48:28Emily Maitlis:You know, this battle is long and hard and hard fought. My sister was the first one to really uncover that and what that looked like. Did we ever think this day would ever come? Well, I can tell you for damn sure we were going to fight for it as long as we possibly could. So, you know, the fact that he was arrested this morning is a step in the right direction. The investigation needs to flow. I think last time I was on Jake, I said, hey, follow the money, right? I mean, follow the money, follow the trails. For damn sure, we're going to keep fighting because he's not the only one.

48:58Jake Tapper:Yeah. And Amanda, after Andrew's arrest, his brother, King Charles, issued a statement promising, quote, wholehearted support and cooperation with the authorities. Do you believe that will happen? And what does cooperation look like for you?

49:13Emily Maitlis:I want to be hopeful that that is going to happen. I will say every point that we have pushed with the UK. First, it was, you know, the acknowledgement, then it was the stripping of the titles, and he had to acknowledge that. And then now this investigation, and now he has to acknowledge that. So I think with the continued push, and unfortunately, having to put our leaders in this position, that is what it's going to take. I am hopeful he did say that he wants the full law to be upheld, which is such a stark contrast to what we're seeing from our own president, from our own head of the Department of Justice, Pam Bondi.

49:54Emily Maitlis:Where is the accountability here? And so I would hope that they start to take note at what's going on in other countries.

50:03Jake Tapper:And Sky, that's my next question for you. there have been individuals who have resigned because of reputational damage done to the firms or the companies that they work for, but we have not seen accounting when it comes to public officials in the United States. Why do you think that is? Do you think it will ever happen here?

50:26Emily Maitlis:I'm going to replay what I just said. We're damn sure going to keep pushing until we can get there. I mean, reality is, no, I mean, not enough has been done at all. And it really does. I mean, it's kind of become the prototypical thing to say, but it does stink of a cover-up. It feels like our own government is protecting potential perpetrators. And all we're asking for is to open up an active investigation. I mean, let's not forget there's another person, Peter Mandelson, in the UK that also has an open investigation. Although Andrew now has been arrested, why isn't that same type of authority being taken place here?

51:00Emily Maitlis:because once you open that investigation, you can start going down the pathway of true accountability. And again, it may not be for sexual assault. There's statute of limitations. We understand there's barriers there that can't be crossed to some degree, but there's so many other things that we can potentially be looking at. So we need to do more, Jake. And I hope our department takes that seriously. And as I stated, we're damn sure gonna keep going until we can try to get there.

51:27Jake Tapper:Sky, before you go, it's been about 10 months since your sister died? What do you want the world to remember most about her?

51:37Jake Tapper:Oh, man.

51:41Jake Tapper:What a sweet soul.

51:43Emily Maitlis:What a, just a fighter, somebody that could never be replaced in this world. And what I want them to know, and I want them to remember about her is that she did this for you. And this is a win for all survivors out there today. It's a win for all of her survivor sisters. And again, it may only be an arrest for something alternative to it, but man, we'll take that win. We'll take that win because the goal here was always to be, you know, to hold these guys accountable. And the famous saying, Jake, I always remember it. He knows what he did. I know what he did. And only one of us is telling the truth.

52:16Emily Maitlis:And I know that's me. And I want the world to remember her as a truth teller and know that we have so much more to go. Her depositions are out there. They're in the files. We need to start looking through the other names that she would have named. We've got more work to do here, but just remember her as just a fighter, a truth teller, and goodness, she did this for you and for the next generation.

52:37Jake Tapper:Sky and Amanda Roberts, thank you so much for your courage coming on today. May Virginia's memory be a blessing. Thank you, Jake. And to reiterate, the former Prince Andrew is not currently facing any charges and he has denied all accusations and allegations against him. CNN has not been able to reach former Ambassador Mandelson for comment in recent days. He previously said, quote, I want to say loudly and clearly that I was wrong to believe Epstein following his conviction and to continue my association with him afterwards. I apologize unequivocally for doing so to the women and girls who suffered, unquote.

53:11Jake Tapper:The giant new banner of President Trump that went up today outside a building that is supposed to operate outside of politics. That's next.

53:28Jake Tapper:In our politics lead, we may theoretically be a nation of laws, not men, but you wouldn't know that from the brand new banner of President Trump that's now hanging outside the Justice Department headquarters in D.C. It's a visual reminder of how this president and this administration are reshaping the nation's top law enforcement agency. White House Press Secretary Caroline Lovett frequently points to the Biden administration's past weaponization of the Justice Department whenever asked about the president's, this president's pardon decisions. But as one former federal prosecutor is now warning, stripping away the ability to hold wealthy lawbreakers accountable seems to be the norm.

54:06Jake Tapper:For example, crypto mogul Chengpeng Zhao. He pleaded guilty to money laundering before President Trump granted him a pardon in October. Authorities allege backed actors utilized his crypto exchange platform freely for transactions involving terrorist financing, narcotics, child sex abuse. But coincidentally, the Trump family's crypto firm, World Liberty Financial, is hosted on Binance. And last year, an Emirati-backed investment firm agreed to use World Liberty's financial stablecoin for a$2 billion investment in Binance. At the time, Binance was lobbying for Changpeng Zhao's pardon. There's also the story of Ross Ulbricht.

54:46Jake Tapper:He's the founder of the dark web marketplace Silk Road, found guilty on a variety of charges, including money laundering, drug trafficking, hacking in 2015. Silk Road has been linked to at least six drug overdose deaths. Trump's pardon of Albrecht eliminated his two life sentences and the$184 million he owed in restitution and fines. And it made good on a campaign promise Trump had made to the Libertarian Party and the cryptocurrency industry. Then there's the story of Trevor Milton. He He founded the electric Trump company, Nikola. Milton was convicted in 2022 on charges of securities and wire fraud.

55:26Jake Tapper:He says his Trump pardon came from a personal phone call, that it was about every American who's been railroaded by the government, he says. But I mean, not every, quote, American railroaded by the government, unquote, can afford a more than$1.8 million donation to President Trump's campaign reelection fund. Those three are just the tip of the iceberg. Here with me now is former federal prosecutor Brendan Ballew. And Brendan, you're here because you wrote an op-ed all about this topic for The New York Times. And there's a case you focus on right at the beginning of your piece about Andrew Wiederhorn, the former chief executive of the company that owns Johnny Rockets and Fatburger.

56:00Jake Tapper:He's alleged to have stolen$47 million from the business in payments disguised as loans. But that case never even went to trial because then Trump won. What happened?

56:12Emily Maitlis:Yeah. So after Trump was elected, the company that Widerhorn ran gave$100 ,000 to his inaugural campaign. And then two extraordinary things happened. The first is that the line-level prosecutor on the case was personally fired by a White House official, essentially an unprecedented action.

56:30Jake Tapper:This is just not a political appointee, just a bureaucrat.

56:34Emily Maitlis:A career prosecutor, apolitical, personally fired by a White House official. And then a few months after that, the case is dropped entirely. Similarly, Weiderhorn is not only now free, he actually returned to running the business that he allegedly stole tens of millions of dollars from. Unsurprisingly, the business is now bankrupt.

56:52Jake Tapper:And in the article, you write whether or not a criminal quid pro quo occurred in any of these cases. They are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to largely dismantle the infrastructure for prosecuting rich lawbreakers. just just to be clear for our viewers out there about a quid pro quo means specifically a politician would say if you give two million dollars to my reelection campaign I will pardon you and I will clear you but even if that isn't stated President Trump is like so many leaders before him like King Henry will no one rid me of this turbulent priest right it's just kind of like oh, this is so horrible.

57:32Jake Tapper:Like, people know. They understand. Even if there isn't a direct quid pro quo, does it matter?

57:38Emily Maitlis:Yeah, yeah. And I'm not alleging that this is criminal. We need more information. But in terms of whether it matters, probably not in the sense that this is now a boom business. You know, there are at least 18 people and companies that donated money to the Trump inaugural campaign, then had their government investigations dropped, their civil litigations dropped or in extraordinary cases, their criminal cases dropped entirely. This is something that has essentially never happened before. And I think it's important for viewers to understand. The administration is still prosecuting and investigating people for these same kinds of crimes.

58:12Emily Maitlis:But those people have exactly one thing in common, which is they haven't donated to the Trump campaign.

58:18Jake Tapper:We've been tracking this pattern here on The Lead. We spoke to a woman in December named Carol Ann Tutera. she lost nearly half a million dollars to a guy named David Gentile. He ran a private equity. He was a private equity executive. He was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison as part of a fraud scheme. President Trump commuted his sentence in December. Take a listen to what Carol Ann had to say.

58:40Emily Maitlis:It makes no sense. I don't have an answer as to why this guy can do what he did basically build the Ponzi scheme, walk out scot-free. And you got Bernie Madoff who had to live it out and people were returned funds. I mean, my mother lost over a hundred thousand. My sister is in the same boat as I am. You know, you just, you lose faith in these type of people. I've lost faith in Wall Street.

59:12Jake Tapper:It does seem as though if you are wealthy and you're charged with a crime, there is an easy way to get pardoned or commuted.

59:23Emily Maitlis:Yeah, absolutely. And unfortunately for Carol Ann, her story is not extraordinary at all. You know, you were talking about Trevor Milton earlier. Prosecutors allege that he had$660 million that needed to be repaid to the investors he scammed. Now, when Donald Trump pardoned him, all those restitution obligations went away. Those investors never get to recover anything.

59:43Jake Tapper:Brandon Ballou, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. It's day 19 of the desperate search for Nancy Guthrie. Are investigators any closer to locating the mother of beloved NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie? We're going to go live to Tucson for an update next.

1:00:03Jake Tapper:Internationally, the team of federal prosecutors is standing by to charge anyone found to be attempting to extort the Guthrie family. An official familiar with the investigation now tells CNN that word as the search for the 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today Show anchor Savannah Guthrie, stretches into day 19 in Tucson, Arizona. Let's get right to CNN's Ed Levandera. Ed, have officials shown any indication that these ransom notes sent to the media are legitimate?

1:00:32Emily Maitlis:No, they haven't. They've continued to only say that they're taking them very seriously. Clearly, the Guthrie family has been taking them seriously, and investigators have dealt with them, in the words of the sheriff, as if they were any other tip. But in all of this saga, there has been no clear indication that they're legitimate or authentic. And that kind of really speaks to the moment we are at, at this moment, Jake, in this investigation, where it has been just incredibly quiet on the number of developments. We just got a statement from the Pima County Sheriff's Department that really has no new develops, nothing, no new details about what is being done, simply that the DNA analysis from the sample that was found here at the Guthrie Home continues, that the calls and they're still describing this as an active investigation.

1:01:18Emily Maitlis:But, you know, the Pima County Sheriff also says that the sheriff will not be doing interviews or holding briefings tomorrow or through the weekend unless there is major developments in this case. We also haven't seen any new videos released by Savannah Guthrie herself since Sunday afternoon. We haven't heard anything from the FBI. So it just seems like everything is incredibly quiet and no real clear indication that there has been any kind of significant breakthrough in any way as to where Nancy Guthrie might be.

1:01:48Jake Tapper:I'd love Andera. Thank you so much. Authorities still need tips in this case. And if you think you know something that can help, please call the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 520-351-4900. or you can call the FBI, 1-800-CALL-FBI. You can also reach the bureau online at tips.fbi.gov. That's tips.fbi.gov. Today, Microsoft founder Bill Gates canceled a keynote address to a big AI convention as he faces increased scrutiny over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. So will Gates be called to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee that's investigating Epstein? I'll ask one of the committee's most active members next.

1:02:29Jake Tapper:We're back with our law and justice lead in the fallout from today's arrest of King Charles III's younger brother, former Prince Andrew. The ex-prince's arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office in the UK comes after new revelations from the Jeffrey Epstein files released by the Justice Department. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has denied all prior allegations against him and insists he never witnessed or suspected any of the behavior of which Epstein has been accused. In the meantime, the House Oversight Committee here in the United States is continuing its Epstein investigation. And joining us now is one of its members who also led the push, along with Congressman Tom Massey, to get the Epstein files released, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California.

1:03:10Jake Tapper:Congressman, so what is your reaction to former Prince Andrew's arrest?

1:03:17Emily Maitlis:I'm glad there's finally accountability. I've been hearing from survivors all day who are relieved that some action is taking place. Now, Jake, you've followed politics a long time. A lot of times what happens in Britain comes to the United States in six months. And I hope we'll be inspired by what Britain's doing in terms of accountability for the former prince, for Mendelsohn to have accountability here in the United States.

1:03:43Jake Tapper:You and the rest of the House Oversight Committee will hear from Bill and Hillary Clinton next Next week, the former president and secretary of state, they're appearing separately for closed door depositions related to the Epstein probe probe. What questions might you have for them?

1:03:57Emily Maitlis:Well, I plan to be there and I want to know from President Clinton what he knew about the island, who he saw or heard went to the island. Did he know about other people who raped or abused underage girls? I also want to understand his view of Epstein. How did Epstein make all this money? Why did Epstein have this kind of access to powerful people around the world?

1:04:24Jake Tapper:Another famous person facing scrutiny over ties to Epstein is tech billionaire Bill Gates. Earlier today, Gates canceled his speech at an AI summit in India amid the ongoing scrutiny. He's never been accused of any criminal wrongdoing related to Epstein by law enforcement. We should note all of the documented interactions with Gates in the Epstein files occurred after Epstein's 2008 conviction on prostitution-related charges, including a minor. A representative of Gates says he, quote, unequivocally denies any improper conduct related to Epstein and says, quote, Mr. Gates never visited Epstein's island, never attended parties with him, and had no involvement in any illegal activities associated with Epstein.

1:05:03Jake Tapper:But I want you to take a listen to what his ex-wife Melinda French Gates told NPR earlier this month.

1:05:11Emily Maitlis:No girl should ever be put in the situation that they were put in by Epstein and whatever was going on with all of the various people around him. Whatever questions remain there of what I don't, can't even begin to know all of it, those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me.

1:05:35Jake Tapper:Has the House Oversight Committee requested an interview or deposition from Bill Gates?

1:05:41Emily Maitlis:We have not, but we should. Frankly, anyone who has had email correspondence about potentially going to the island or correspondence with Epstein after he was convicted of pedophilia that raises concerns should be under oath. they should be investigated by the House committee and they should be investigated by DOJ. I'm not saying that Bill Gates did anything criminally wrong, but how do you not call him up and ask him questions about what he knew? I was shocked that Les Wexner yesterday testified that he's never been called by the DOJ or FBI, even given his close ties to Epstein.

1:06:25Jake Tapper:Why hasn't the committee requested an interview from Bill Gates?

1:06:32Emily Maitlis:We should. I mean, I have suggested to both the ranking member and Chair Comer that every single person who is in those files, who's emailed about going to Epstein's Island or Ranch should be called to testify. It shouldn't just be Bill Gates. It should be all of these folks, whether they're Democratic donors, Republican donors or prominent folks. Frankly, I think that Speaker Johnson should appoint a special committee, a select committee to do this. But we can also do it at oversight.

1:06:59Jake Tapper:All right. Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. Thank you so much, sir. Thank you, Jake. President Trump's in a key battleground state tonight trying to sell his message on the economy. Are voters there buying it? Our panel weighs in next.

1:07:18Jake Tapper:In our politics lead just moments ago, President Trump wrapped up a stop in the important battle run state of Georgia.

1:07:25Emily Maitlis:Do you notice what word have you not heard over the last two weeks? Affordability. Because I've won. I've won affordability. I had to go out and talk about it.

1:07:38Jake Tapper:The sales pitch is in the Northwest Georgia congressional district of his former ally turned fierce critic, former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned from Congress last month. Here now is our panel. Hey, guys. Good to have you here. So take a look at this Reuters Ipsos poll from just last week. 30 percent respondents approve. Sixty one percent say they disapprove of how Trump is handling the cost of living. So I don't know that he won affordability. What do you think?

1:08:08Emily Maitlis:I guess the message that he won hasn't sunk in with the voters. No, that's the problem, right? The voters make that decision. And as I'm sure you saw up front in the White House and the Biden administration, it is very hard for political messaging to change people's perception, what they think the economy looks like.

1:08:27Jake Tapper:Well, having been through this with President Biden, who, like President Trump, was frustrated that more people didn't appreciate the job he was doing. What's actually the message that a president should convey?

1:08:40Emily Maitlis:I understand what you're going through, and I'm doing everything in my power to make things more affordable for you.

1:08:45Jake Tapper:Not it's all good.

1:08:46Emily Maitlis:Not it's all good. I won. And I understand where presidents come from because you do get, you know, you get all of this macro information fed to you by your economists who tell you, you know, GDP is good and we're easing the rate of inflation. That doesn't mean that inflation is actually coming down for people who are going out and purchasing things. But the rate of inflation is decreasing.

1:09:05Jake Tapper:It's not increasing as highly as it used to. Right.

1:09:07Emily Maitlis:So, you know, I mean, those are valid economic arguments. Those are not arguments that translate into people's lives when they feel like they're paying more for groceries or gas or health care. So the message is I understand and I'm doing everything in my power to make things cheaper for you.

1:09:23Jake Tapper:Speaking of health care, President Trump wants to focus on health care in the midterms. Here's what Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, possible 2028 Democratic presidential contender, said about that earlier today on CNN. Bring it on. Democrats are going to win a whole lot of elections. Why? Because his Congress has refused to extend tax credits for those that were already struggling to afford coverage while giving tax cuts to the wealthiest of Americans. It's not just Democrats saying that. Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene posted this ahead of Trump's visit to her former congressional district.

1:09:56Jake Tapper:Quote, approximately 75 ,000 households in my former district had their health insurance double or more on January 1st of this year because the Obamacare tax credits expired and Republicans have absolutely failed to fix our health insurance system that was destroyed by Obamacare. It affects everyone except the billionaires running the White House and administration and Congress, whom all have a very nice affordable government health insurance plans. Ramesh.

1:10:22Emily Maitlis:I don't think that health care is a winning issue for Republicans. It almost never is. That said, it's going to be an issue in these elections, and it probably makes sense for the Republicans to engage on it rather than have it be an entirely one-sided conversation.

1:10:36Jake Tapper:But how do they engage in it?

1:10:38Emily Maitlis:Well, for example, I'm not totally sold on the policy myself, but this administration has broken with previous Republicans in trying to have price controls on a lot of pharmaceuticals. I don't think that they have squeezed the political juice that they could out of that. And if you're going to do that policy, which you're obviously doing for political reasons, you may as well try to get some political benefit out of it.

1:10:58Jake Tapper:And Kate, look at this recent polling by KFF. It's found that registered voters trust Democrats 40 percent over Republicans 27 percent on handling health care costs. Those registered voters also trust Democrats, 35 percent of Republicans, 30 percent on handling prescription drug costs. I mean, again, President Trump, you know, is working on the prescription drug cost issue in a way that's very different from how previous Republicans would do it, not really getting the credit for it.

1:11:26Emily Maitlis:Well, that's because there was also a Navigator poll this week that said that people blame Republicans two to one over Democrats for their health care premiums rising. I mean, And I think the impact of the Obamacare subsidies lapsing has had both has having both a real, obviously, tangible impact in people's lives. But people also heard it. They heard the message. It broke through. They they understood that the Republicans were not willing to come to the table and make a deal on that. So, look, I will tell you in the Biden White House, the work that President Biden did capping insulin costs was one of the singular most one of the single most popular, you know, well testing things that he did.

1:12:02Emily Maitlis:And I'm sure the Trump people are seeing that, too. But if people believe, as they do right now, that Republicans and Trump have made health care more expensive, they're not going to hear the prescription drug message. It's not going to resonate.

1:12:15Jake Tapper:President Biden did talk about the insulin thing. President Trump talks about a lot of things. I don't know if the prescription drug price going down or whatever the negotiations is part of that. But he also tends to talk about a lot. He tends to talk about the 2020 election. Right. He's in Georgia. I'm coming to you in one second. The president said this today about the FBI's raid to get voter data from Fulton County, Georgia. That's the Atlanta area last month. Take a listen.

1:12:42Emily Maitlis:The Democrats are fighting like hell. And I think it goes before a judge tomorrow to not let anybody see the ballots. Why don't they want them to see the ballots after all these years? You know why they don't want? Because they cheated. I mean... You know, two points here. One, when you're thinking about what the message of the Trump administration and Republicans are, you've got to compare it to the alternatives. Health care may not be a great message. It beats that we're redecorating the East Wing message. It beats that we're trying to take over Greenland message. It beats that we're relitigating 2020 message.

1:13:21Emily Maitlis:But the other thing is, these stories about Trump wants to focus on health care in advance of this election, he's not going to, right? He is incapable of having a disciplined campaign message all the way from now to November.

1:13:34Jake Tapper:So the assignment for the least rewarding job in American politics today was announced. The response to the State of the Union address. This time it is a Democrat, obviously, and it's going to go to the newly elected governor, Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.

1:13:51Emily Maitlis:It is traditionally a thankless task. It is hard to deliver. Who has ever done a good job? It's tough. But I will say, look, in this modern media environment, more people will consume clips of her delivering her speech than will actually sit and watch the entirety of the speech after they watch the entirety of the president delivering the State of the Union. So for her, newly elected represents what I would argue is an ascendant wing of the Democratic Party and a wing of the Democratic Party that can win in places where the Democratic Party needs to win. And so for her, I think, to be the face of the Democratic response is great for the party.

1:14:25Emily Maitlis:And I think it will be good for her, too.

1:14:27Jake Tapper:A little wish casting there, the ascendant wing of the Democratic Party. What do you think?

1:14:30Emily Maitlis:She had a good streak and had to come to an end sometime. Now she's got a little bad luck.

1:14:36Jake Tapper:Thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. Team USA has a lot to celebrate tonight after a successful day at the Winter Olympics. Get your champagne. We're going to toast the golden girls. That's next.

1:14:50Jake Tapper:Internationally, there's an app that helps children in Florida navigate life in foster care. Foster Power was founded as a way to give kids in foster care accessible and digestible information about benefits, protections and legal rights. CNN's Randy Kay met with a user of the app to ask about his experience. And he placed me in foster care.

1:15:10Emily Maitlis:For your protection.

1:15:11Jake Tapper:For my protection.

1:15:12Emily Maitlis:How old were you when you were placed in foster care? I was 15. Now 22, Ahim King is studying to be a nurse at Florida State University in Tallahassee with dreams of going to medical school. something he always thought was out of reach as a foster child. He says he felt lost in Florida's foster care system, despite the fact Florida law says foster children are supposed to be made aware of their rights. You have to have that mental fortitude to keep on going and keep on asking for help. You may find something like Foster Power and then that just be the thing that clicks. Ahim found this app called Foster Power.

1:15:42Emily Maitlis:It changed everything for him. Foster Power is the first and only app in the country that explains the benefits, protections, and legal rights of kids in foster care in Florida, all in one place. There's guidance on court appearances, mental health, education, and more. What did it resolve for you? It helped me get to medicine. So I started taking medicine and my scores went up just like that. It was amazing. And you wouldn't have known about the medicine had you not looked at the foster powerhouse? I would not have known about anything, any mental health services, nothing. Taylor Sartor, an attorney in Tampa, Florida, created the Foster Power app.

1:16:18Emily Maitlis:I like to say it's everything you need to know if you're a child in foster care. We started to have questions about different things that they were entitled to. Do they have the right to visit with that sibling or not? Someone maybe prescribed psychotropic medications and didn't want to take it. What happens next? You can click judicial review. You can see what type of hearing this is. And it really just explains any hearing that you could expect. When 24-year-old Dina Santos was in foster care, the Foster Power app wasn't available yet. She and her siblings were separated, and without the app, she didn't know she had the legal right to contact them.

1:16:52Jake Tapper:I felt like my experience was so isolating. It sent me into a spiral of depression.

1:16:57Emily Maitlis:She now travels the state training case managers, group home staff, and foster children about the app.

1:17:03Jake Tapper:I realized when I was 18 that there's a disparity when it comes to the lack of information around the resources we were being given. And I turned into an advocate.

1:17:13Emily Maitlis:Isabella Cruz had been in foster care her whole life, when of all people, Taylor Sartor got assigned to her case and told her about the Foster Power app she'd created.

1:17:22Jake Tapper:I didn't have the answers to my questions. I didn't know that I was going to be able to go to college. I didn't even know I was going to be able to graduate high school.

1:17:30Emily Maitlis:She found those answers in the app. Isabella is now hoping to study medicine at the University of South Florida.

1:17:36Jake Tapper:I have an apartment. I'm in school. I'm about to graduate, and I don't think I could have done that without the app.

1:17:42Emily Maitlis:Knowledge is power. Knowledge is power. Back in Tallahassee, Ahim King is focused on his future, too. The app helped him figure out that the state pays college tuition for foster children in Florida. I felt like it was my out, it was my ticket, that I can make it, despite everything that I've been through. How grateful are you? I'm extremely grateful. I feel as if an out can help with so many things, like internally, to where they can externally be better, strive for more.

1:18:11Jake Tapper:And our thanks to Randy Kay for that report. Before we go tonight, we've got some golden news in our sports league. Let's get straight to CNN's Coy Wire at the Olympic Games in Italy. Coy.

1:18:21Emily Maitlis:One of the most highly anticipated events of the Winter Games, women's figure skating, and Team USA's Alyssa Liu is the new Olympic champion. She retired after last Winter Games, needing time away, and it paid off. She told me she loves dancing and fashion, therefore she missed skating. Unlike the stereotypical skater with her unconventional piercings and carefree striped hair, skating to the beat of her own drum, the 20-year-old Liu takes gold. Great sportsmanship afterwards as Japan's Amina Kai took the bronze, celebrated with her. Japan's Kaori Sakamoto takes the silver. One of the greatest sports rivalries on the planet, Team USA and Team Canada women's hockey delivering an epic Olympic final.

1:19:05Emily Maitlis:Again, these two nations have won every Olympic gold dating back to the 98 Nagano Games. Canada was up 1-0 in the third, but Captain Hillary Knight scores the equalizer to send it to overtime, becoming America's all-time Olympic goal scorer. And in overtime, it was Megan Keller hammering home the game winner, Team USA taking down the defending Olympic champs in dramatic fashion, unreal scenes in Milan. We had a snowmageddon at the Olympics in Cortina Thursday. Our photojournalist Christian Strive was battling the elements and snowballs, as was my producer Dan Moriarty. Sorry, Dan. Our live shot survived the snow globe, But it was so bad we almost missed our interview with Michaela Schiffer and that's me in the blue pushing our van did not work.

1:19:51Emily Maitlis:We switched to another van with chains on the tires and made it to the winningest alpine skier of all time who finally cracked the code and won Olympic gold again for the first time in eight years. Here's part of our chat with Michaela sharing some of the tactics that helped her pull off the comeback. I've been writing sticky notes on my mirrors and all of this like self-talk stuff. It's been more than I've ever done in my career. But in these couple of weeks, I really, I really bought into the self-talk idea. You know, all the work that we do day in and day out to be able to just achieve this for two runs, 47 seconds on a slalom course is, it just feels monumental.

1:20:31Emily Maitlis:Cheers and congratulations to you. Yes, sustenance. Yes. So there you go. One of the greatest skiers ever. Michaela's Keys to Success, plastering sticky notes, visualizing goals that bring home the gold, and celebrating with espresso martinis. Of course, back to you.

1:20:50Jake Tapper:All right, Coy Wire, thanks so much. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, threads, Blue Sky Accent on the TikTok at Jake Tamper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram at The Lead CNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, don't forget to download the CNN app. You can watch anything you want. Aaron Burnett out front starts now.

1:21:12Emily Maitlis:President Trump's first State of the Union address of his second term. With the midterm elections only months away, can Trump put his party on a path to victory? Join CNN for in-depth coverage and analysis. The State of the Union, February 24th at 8 on CNN. Or watch on the CNN app.