Kamala Harris Will Not Run For California Governor

25:10But we're going to do it this time. We have a very favorable map, regardless of how well this comes out. And we have policies we're delivering on our promises for the people. That's going to make all the difference. Let's talk about that, because moments ago at your event in Louisiana, you praised all the work that went into passing Trump's so-called Big Beautiful Bill Act. Let's discuss one part of the bill that greatly impacts your state. The Urban Institute estimates that 116 ,000 to 132 ,000 Louisiana adults could lose Medicaid because of the new federal work requirement. And the executive director of the Louisiana Rural Hospital Coalition this week told WRKF that hospital closures are likely because of this legislation.

25:52Take a listen. If you reduce what Medicaid is paying, there's less money for the providers to provide services to everybody, to expand services, to have access and capacity. If a hospital shut down, that shuts down for everybody, whether you have private insurance or Medicaid or Medicare. He said before those cuts take effect, federal and state leaders need to come up with a plan to keep rural hospitals afloat. I'm sure you care a lot about that. So what's the plan? on. Jake, there's a lot of misinformation out there. Let me take those in turn. The first one, you said it was the Urban League that came out with their study, said 100 ,000 plus people are going to lose Medicaid because of the work requirements.

26:31Then that means they're choosing to not work. Okay. Think about what we put into the bill. This is a very important reform that is about 90 % in public opinion polls. If you have able-bodied workers, young men, for example, without dependents, they need to be working, not riding the wagon. We only instituted in the bill, Jake, 20 hours a week, 20 hours to work, be looking for a job, be in a work training program, or volunteer in your community. Who can't do that? So if somebody drops out of the program because they're unwilling to do that, they did not deserve to be on that program in the beginning.

27:01And I will take that to any town hall in America, anywhere, and explain it. They made that choice. That's about 1.7 million people you're talking about, or about 4.7 million people, in fact. But also, we've got the illegal aliens out of Medicaid. That's 1.4 million people, and about 1.2 are people that were receiving Medicaid from multiple states at the same time, gaming the system, cheating the system. We had to do these reforms to shore up the programs, to strengthen them for the people that need it most. We're in the 60th anniversary of Medicaid and Medicare. Medicaid was intended for young, single, pregnant women, for the disabled and the elderly, not for people who could be working and are not doing it.

27:38They shouldn't be riding the wagon. With regard to the rural hospitals, Jake, there's a lot of misinformation out there as well. We did not cut Medicaid, And we did not cut the funding for the rural hospitals. In fact, in the big, beautiful bill, as you know, there's a big fund, a$50 billion fund for the rural hospitals and underserved hospitals. And we built in flexibility for the states to be able to work out their funding mechanisms. So there's a lot of alarm and a lot of misinformation out there right now that's just simply not true. And the reason I'm looking forward to that midterm election is because we'll be able to tell the truth that people will see the results of this.

28:09And they're going to vote accordingly. Well, let me ask you about that. You talked about public opinion polls. There's a new Wall Street Journal poll shows the Democrats as a party got their lowest rating from voters in 35 years. However, even with that, when people were asked how they would vote if the midterm election were held today, more voters said they would back a Democrat over a Republican. Three points, 46 percent for the Democrat, 43 percent for the Republican. What is the disconnect here? Do you worry that there could be a backlash for some of the Medicaid changes in the bill? which some Republicans in your own conference warned against, that there would be political repercussions?

28:51There won't be, because people will see the effects. We're going to demonstrate for them that we did the right thing. And the one big, beautiful bill is going to make all boats rise. It'll be just like what we did with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, but this time on steroids, jet fuel for the economy. I'm telling you, every demographic is going to be doing better. Wages will go up. People will have more money in their pocket that they won't have to send to Washington for their federal tax bill. They're going to have more opportunity, more economic mobility, and they will feel that before they go to vote.

29:18I don't put a lot of stock in election polls, and I certainly don't this early out. So who knows what the questions were asked, what the basis was. But I'm telling you right now that these policies are very popular. There was a poll, if you want to cite polls, a poll that came out about a week and a half ago, the Harvard-Harris poll. And they tested 21 of the major provisions in our bill, and 17 out of the 21 had majority support. That's in the face of the onslaught of the Democrats and the media's misinformation about it. So wait till our guys go out and ladies go out and tell the story. People will feel it.

29:48They'll see it. They'll understand it. They're going to vote accordingly. Let me ask you about foreign policy. I know it's an issue you care a lot about. We're seeing these images of dire conditions in Gaza, malnourished, starving children. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said, quote, there's no policy of starvation in Gaza and there's no starvation in Gaza, unquote. Now, President Trump disagrees. He says there is starvation and it needs to be alleviated. The Jewish Chronicle reports that at a meeting last night for the board of deputies of British Jews in the UK, attendees say its leader, Phil Rosenberg, quote, said Israel was increasingly at risk of moving towards pariah state status in the international community, unquote.

30:27Are you concerned at all about that? We've got a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. I mean, the pictures tell a thousand words, and it's heartbreaking. We want an end to the conflict there. We want peace, and we want to end that whole crisis. President Trump is using a strong hand to try to forge that, and we're moving in the right direction. The IDF under Israel, of course, has opened new channels for food aid to go into Gaza, and we've set up new mechanisms. The U.S. is going to work with our partners and allies around the world to make sure that happens. But that is going on meanwhile, while we're trying to broker the peace there.

31:05So I do hope it comes to an end soon and we bring an end to this suffering and misery, because it is quite sad and quite alarming to see. Stick around. I also want to ask you some other questions. House Speaker Mike Johnson, stay with us. We're going to squeeze in a quick break, and we'll be right back.

31:30I'm for transparency. We should put everything out there and let the people decide it. There is no daylight between the House Republicans, the House, and the President on maximum transparency. He has said that he wants all the credible files related to Epstein to be released. That's House Speaker Mike Johnson, not long ago, calling for more transparency from the Trump administration on the Epstein files. A few days later, he said there's no daylight between House Republicans and President Trump when it comes to the issue of maximum transparency. It does seem, though, along came some daylight. Republican Congressman Tom Massey of Kentucky and Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California filed a discharge petition that would force a House vote on the release of all the Epstein files.

32:10Speaker Johnson argues the petition doesn't do enough to protect the victims and says it would force the DOJ and FBI to release information, quote, that was not even credible enough to be entered into the court proceedings. I don't understand Thomas Massey's motivation. I really don't. It's interesting to me that he chose the election of President Trump to bring this, to team up with the Democrats and bring this discharge petition. After that, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comey said he would subpoena the Justice Department for additional Epstein files, and House Speaker Mike Johnson's back with us.

32:40Here it is, Speaker Johnson. As I told you, your favorite topic, the Epstein files. So this issue is going to be waiting for you when Congress returns. And just this afternoon, Congressman Massey posted, quote, Speaker Johnson has been promoting this non-binding resolution, hoping to give cover to those who don't want a full release of the Epstein files. Embarrassingly, section three of his resolution refers to section two, which doesn't exist, unquote. Massey calls your resolution a glorified press release. He says his bill would be binding, has the force of the law. And he says it does protect the victims.

33:10I wanted to give you an opportunity to respond. Look, I have no interest in getting a back and forth with Thomas Massey. He's doing what he's doing. Everybody can judge the motivation for themselves. I don't know what he's talking about. I don't have a resolution. There is a resolution that's out there that was passed by the House Republicans on the Rules Committee, and that's, you know, Freedom Caucus members and a cross-section of members who are for maximum transparency as well. It is carefully drafted. it protects the victims, and it has disclosure requirement within a 30-day window or shorter time period, if I remember right.

33:44That is the right method to do it. The discharge petition was brought in a way that was, in my view, just a little bit haphazard, okay? They didn't have lawyers drafted. I don't think they used the legislative council to do it. And so there are some things that are erroneous in the legislation. For example, they say they want to protect child sex abuse victims, but they cite the wrong federal code articles. so it makes it unworkable. So there's some problems there. We have to make sure that while we're pushing all the credible evidence out and information to the people so they can draw their own conclusions, we have to protect the innocent victims.

34:17And we have a responsibility to do that. And I'm gonna be insistent about it. So, you know, people can say whatever they say, but we're gonna get transparency for the folks, but we're gonna protect the people that have already gone through great harm. Yeah, without question, I think everybody agrees that the names of the innocent victims, the names of the victims of this should be redacted, full stop, no question. I do want to ask you, though, because in 2023, when you announced plans to publicly release thousands of hours of footage from the January 6th, 2021 Capitol attack, critics argued that it could be a safety risk because the footage detailed how rioters access the building and the routes lawmakers use to find safety.

34:53You said in a statement at the time, quote, this decision will provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations and the media an ability to see for themselves what happened that day rather than having to rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials. Now, obviously, the Capitol attack and the Epstein sex trafficking scandal are two different things. But the principle of trusting a small group of government officials is the same. I think one of the problems people have, especially MAGA-based people, MAGA Republicans, is that a small group of government officials entered into a sweetheart deal with Epstein in 2007-2008 and then seemed to have been protecting a lot of the bad guys who availed themselves of these victims.

35:44Well, look, all I can say is we've been intellectually consistent about this whole thing. I want everything to come out about the Epstein evils that is possible to be released, because the people that were involved in those unspeakable evil acts should be punished with the greatest severity of the law. And it should have happened a long time ago. So I'm fully in favor of that. We have to do it in a responsible manner. That's why we're intellectually consistent just with the J. Sick tapes. We want people to draw their own conclusions, but there's a couple of hours that were never released because it shows the secret exits, for example, in the Senate.

36:15Like, that would create a harm for people who serve in that body. So we have to do it in a responsible manner. But, look, I'm pushing aggressively for the full release of everything that is possible. And, by the way, so is the president. He has said the same thing. We're using every mechanism within our power to do that and to do it as quickly as possible. Let's turn to something that's a very important topic to not only you, but all those beautiful people behind you. FEMA and natural disasters. During the Los Angeles wildfire disasters earlier this year, you said that California leaders were derelict in their duty.

36:46And you said that you agreed with President Trump that there probably should be conditions on FEMA aid to California because of that. Next month, as I'm sure I don't need to tell anybody in that room, next month is the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated your state, the storm and also the failure of the levies. Now, Louisiana at the time had a Democratic governor, Kathleen Blanco, and she was also very criticized as unprepared. That would not have justified President Bush from withholding federal aid for the people of Louisiana, though, right? No, but the policies that were pursued in California is very different than the things that happened in Louisiana with the failure of the levies.

37:28This was not dereliction of duty in Louisiana. It is in California because they forced these radical leftist policies and bad governance, frankly, that put them in position where the natural occurrence of a wildfire, the damage was exacerbated exponentially. It was the results of bad policy choices. So what we've said I think is very common sense. They're going to have to improve upon that if they want federal taxpayers to bail them out. And that is, I think, a very reasonable position, and I think it's one that most taxpayers around the country would demand and respect. By the way, after hurricanes in Louisiana, the big events that we've had over the years, there's often strings attached to federal aid.

38:07For example, if you live on the coast, you've got to rebuild at a higher elevation. You have to put your house up on stilts if you're on the coast, those kinds of things. And no one says that that's unreasonable. So we're being consistent with public policy. We're being good stewards of federal taxpayer dollars. And I think what we're demanding of California is some sanity for a change. And I think the American people are behind us on that. Well, I hope the people in that room and everybody in your region doesn't have to worry about FEMA for a long, long time. Forever, really, if I had my wish.

38:35Me too. House Speaker Mike Johnson, thanks for joining us today. Really appreciate it. Thank you. And thanks all my friends for being with us. Thanks, Jake. Thanks, everyone. Coming up next, the tsunami scare across the entire Pacific after one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded. It is the time to worry over. Can we exhale? We're back in a moment.

39:03And our worldly lingering effects throughout the Pacific after a record-setting 8.8 earthquake off of Russia's east coast, it sent tsunami waves across the region, threatened all of the U.S. west coast. CNN's Nick Watt joins us now from Santa Monica, California, which was also on Tsunami Watch earlier today. Nick, is it time to exhale? Are we out of the woods? Pretty much, Jake, but there is still one area of concern up on the California-Oregon border around Crescent City, because up there, there is a weird channel under the ocean that really channels waves into Crescent City. You know, back in 1964, 11 people were killed there, nearly 300 buildings destroyed when a tsunami hit.

39:47So they are concerned. During the night at about 3 a.m. they hit high and a dock was pulled off pilings up there. But as one city official says, we were fortunate this time. However, up in that area on the border with Oregon, people are still being advised to stay out of the water because it's not just one wave necessarily with the tsunami. There are a series of waves and of course there can be currents as well that are dangerous. You know, we saw this down by Half Moon Bay down by San Diego overnight. We saw boats and the marina just getting lifted up continuously, up and down, by the relentlessness of this wave.

40:23It wasn't just a single wave. Now, Hawaii was perhaps the biggest area of concern. All warnings have been lifted there now. There were evacuations. Hilo Airport was even closed, so people could evacuate from a neighborhood just by the airport and cross the tarmac. Worst we saw there was about ankle-deep water in a parking lot. But listen, this is an inexact science. It's better to be safe than sorry. We've all seen from 2004, more than 200 ,000 people died. This time, all good, better safe than sorry. Nick Watt in Santa Monica. Thanks so much. Just hours ago, despite pressure from President Trump, the Federal Reserve announced that they were going to keep interest rates unchanged for the fifth time in a row.

41:07What does that mean for your money? What does it mean for the future of Fed Chair Jerome Powell? Is he about to get fired? We have some new reporting on the pressure on Powell from Trump and his allies next.

41:54Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, the U.S. economy rebounds, showing growth that surprised even some experts. But there might be still a few red flags. We're going to break it all down in just moments. Plus, former Vice President Kamala Harris announcing she will not run for governor of California next year's midterms. Does that mean she's preparing for another White House run in 2028? Also, in a very rare move, Arab and Muslim countries are calling for Hamas to disarm and relinquish power in the Gaza Strip. Is anyone in that terrorist group listening as the humanitarian crisis inside the Strip gets worse by the day?

42:32And the new details released today as investigators try to figure out exactly what caused the a deadly collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter six months ago outside Washington, D.C.

42:48The lead tonight in economic uncertainty has the Fed holding interest rates steady, but with some dissent in the ranks. Is President Trump's pressure campaign working? This decision comes in the middle of a massive week for economic news with Friday's fast-approaching tariff deadline and a gross domestic product rebound that is spurring debate. CNN's Phil Mattingly is standing by to explain all of this. Phil? Yeah, Jake, it is a flood of news and a critical week for data. Data that is still pointing to a lot of the uncertainty that the Fed was talking about and meeting over over the course of the last couple of days.

43:23Now, as you noted, the Fed maintaining rates where they were despite the intensive pressure campaign from President Trump and his top advisors. But for the first time, Jake, in more than 30 years, It wasn't a unified vote of the 12 members of the Federal Open Market Committee. In fact, two governors, both Trump appointees, dissented and appear to back some of the policy arguments, if not the pressure campaign, that the Trump administration has pursued. Now, Powell was asked about this very rare event, at least in recent history. This is what he said. What you want from everybody and also from a dissenter is a clear explanation of what your thinking is and what are the arguments you're making.

44:08And we had that today. The majority of the committee was of the view that inflation is a bit above target, maximum employment is at target. That calls for modestly restrictive, in my way of thinking, modestly restrictive stance of policy for now. Now, Jake, what Powell made clear is that he wasn't going to commit to any future rate cuts at this point in time because there is just still too much that needs to shake out in large part because of President Trump's tariffs, as you noted. That August 1st deadline, just a couple of days away and things likely to settle in the wake of that deadline. Powell, however, making clear, still views this as an early stage part of the process.

44:46And Phil, this new GDP report shows the economy grew at a rate of 3 % last quarter. The White House is touting that, understandably. But there are some complex details in there. Can you tell us about it? Yeah, the top line number is big. It is a very good number that beat expectations. But not unlike the first quarter number, which was actually quite bad. It was actually less than 1%, less than 0 % in the negative. It's complicated. It's not quite that clear. And just as you couldn't decide that the economy was in a terrible place in the first quarter, you can't say it's necessarily thriving in the second quarter.

45:22If you take the median of the first six months, the economy grew at about 1.2 percent, growing but sluggish. And beneath those first two quarter numbers, you actually see mirror images of what exactly was driving it. And that was Trump's tariffs yet again. In that first quarter, importers were racing to import goods, which skewed how the actual GDP calculation is made, rolling up major inventories ahead of those tariffs, trying to front run things. In the second quarter, you saw the inverse start to occur as tariffs started to bite and exporters started to roll up their purchases as well. So how this shakes out in the months ahead, again, it feels like everything comes back to the idea of how are tariffs actually going to settle in?

46:06The Trump administration making very clear they do not believe they will have any of the impact on consumers. That has long been feared. But there's still a lot that needs to kind of settle in to the market over the course of the coming weeks. Phil, President Trump's tariff deadline is coming up fast. It's just two days away. He's floating raising the blanket rate to somewhere between 15 to 20 percent. that's up from the current 10 % blanket rate. What would be the impact of that? What's interesting about it is the Overton window on this has shifted. Now, keep in mind, when Trump came in, 2%, a little above 2 % was the net U.S.

46:43tariff rate. As it currently stands, post-EU agreement and post-warthing standard right now, it's at about 17%, maybe a little bit above that, the highest since the 1930s. And yet that is considered a survive an advanced number for people or for the EU, for other countries that have been willing to make agreements. And by that, I mean their economies can survive it. Their producers can figure out a way to not shut down entirely. Now, there will be an impact, the scale of it, and probably most importantly, whether U.S. consumers see it directly. That is still just very volatile at this point in time.

47:21And we're going to see how it plays out. All right, Phil Manningly, thanks so much. Almost simultaneously, President Trump taking further action on tariffs ahead of his major Friday deadline, imposing new duties on copper imports and hiking his tariff rate on Brazil up to 50 percent. Let's bring in CNN's chief White House correspondent and anchor Caitlin Collins. Caitlin, Trump's deadline is just two days away. How many more announcements are we expecting? Well, Jake, the question is really what happens on Friday and whether or not that deadline sticks, because obviously we've seen previous deadlines from the president change or be shifted a little bit further down the road.

47:56And so that's really a question of today. But if the president's view of this is an indication, he posted in all caps today saying that the August 1st deadline is firm, that it is going to stay that way. He wrote on Truth Social, it stands strong and it will not be extended. Obviously, that is something that a lot of nations are on tenterhooks right now, trying to wait and see if that truth actually comes to fruition come Friday, because that has been the big question here of these nations as they've been negotiating. At times, we've heard they don't know exactly what it is that the White House wants or what the United States is seeking.

48:28The president has often made clear, Jake, though, in his talks and as these negotiations have gone on with several countries over the last few months, whether or not he's frustrated with them or don't think that they are doing enough. You just mentioned a slew of options that he took today. He also said he is threatening 25 percent tariffs on India on August first. That is just one percent lower than what they were on on the so-called Liberation Day back in April. He went off on them for their trade barriers, for buying weapons and whatnot related to the war happening between Russia and Ukraine.

48:58And so that is a real question, Jake, because obviously that would have a massive impact as well. And so it rains to be seen what that August first deadline actually ends up looking like come August 1st. And it's no secret, obviously, that Trump wants to empower the lower interest rates. How is the mood today at the White House with today's news. No, it's not. I mean, Jake, when he was standing next to Fed Chair Jay Powell last week, he kept saying that he would do the right thing. And obviously, in the president's mind, he has made quite clear doing the right thing, in his view, is lowering interest rates.

49:26And obviously, they remained unchanged today. That's not a surprise to the White House. I was talking to officials this week who said that they were expecting them to not change at least this time. The question is what happens going forward. And you saw Jay Powell citing in his remarks earlier today that there's a little bit of an indication of what the tariffs are doing to prices and to inflation. But he wants to see, is it going to be persistent? And what is the long-term effect of this going to be, especially as a lot of these deals and negotiations are still either yet to happen or being hammered out now.

49:54And so that remains to be seen. We actually saw the Treasury Secretary, Scott Besson, earlier today. I asked him if he had a response to Jay Powell. He did not answer that question, Jake. But obviously, one thing the White House has collectively made clear is what they would like Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve to do here. Let's talk about the 50 percent tariff on Brazil, if we can. We actually have a surplus with Brazil. Is this entirely rooted on the fact that there's a prosecution and investigation of a strongman, former former president of Brazil that President Trump likes? Are we really going to be all spending more money on Brazilian coffee because Trump has a thug friend he wants to support?

50:36Yeah, and Trump says he's not his friend, Jake, but obviously we've seen Jair Bolsonaro at Mar-a-Lago. The president has a very strong affinity for him, thinks he is being wronged here in this corruption trial, or this trial he's facing when it comes to the election and the election results in Brazil that happened. And what we've seen in the new president there is really pushing back on President Trump in a way that other world leaders have not been doing, especially when it comes to these trade negotiations and whatnot. And when I asked the president a few weeks ago, we were outside of the South Lawn after he had just announced what he was going to do with Brazil, why he was doing that, given that massive surplus that the United States has with him, because obviously with other nations, he has cited a trade deficit as his reasoning for putting tariffs on.

51:17He basically told me, Jake, because he can. Now, whether or not that ends up in legal filings as they try to challenge this remains to be seen. But obviously it would have a huge impact. And it goes against the rationale that he had for putting nations on other countries and making very clear it is about what is happening to Bolsonaro here. Yeah. The United States has a$6.8 billion trade surplus with Brazil. Billion with a B. Caitlin Collins at the White House. Thanks so much. Caitlin's working on new reporting for her show, The Source, with Caitlin Collins. Her guest tonight, Paul Dans, who is the architect behind that controversial Project 2025, much of which seems to be coming to fruition.

51:53That's tonight and every weeknight at 9 o 'clock Eastern only on CNN. What a memo from the Justice Department is revealing about its latest request for grand jury transcripts in the Jeffrey Epstein case. Plus, former Vice President Kamala Harris passes on a run for California governor. Does that mean she has her eye on something else in, say, 2028, perhaps?

52:17In our Law and Justice League, despite growing calls for the Justice Department to provide more transparency to the American people regarding the Jeffrey Epstein case, Tuesday's late night Justice Department request to the Southern District of New York was for just two items of testimony, both of them from law enforcement officials, according to a Justice Department memo. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche personally filed the unusual request. Joining us now to discuss Julie Kay Brown. She's an investigative reporter with the Miami Herald. She's been covering the Epstein story for years.

52:47She wrote the fantastic book, Perversion of Justice, the Jeffrey Epstein story, came out in 2021. I recommend it for anybody trying to find out more, learn more about this story. So, Julie, two law enforcement officials who are, according to the Justice Department memo, quote, the same FBI agent from the Epstein grand jury proceedings and a detective with the NYPD who was a task force officer with the FBI's child exploitation and human trafficking task force. That's what they requested. So no other witnesses, no other victims. What do you make of this very limited request by Bondi and Todd Blanche?

53:26Well, we always knew, you know, whenever you go before a grand jury, you don't present your whole case. You just present enough to get the indictment and then you keep working on the case. And that's what they did here. I mean, I know from the beginning they were still searching for more victims when Epstein was arrested after his indictment. they needed more information from victims. They would put out a call to please come to us. So they were they still had a lot of information that they had to investigate and to build their case. So they just preliminarily, I would imagine, presented enough information from the law enforcement people for them to get the indictment.

54:09Yeah. Trump, oddly, we keep learning new different reasons why Trump and Epstein had their falling out. First, we were told, it was in that Grifter's book about Mar-a-Lago, that Trump cut off Epstein from Mar-a-Lago because he was a creep. He had hit on a daughter of a Mar-a-Lago member. Then the New York Times reported that the Epstein Trump falling out was over a real estate deal. They were both bidding for something that Trump ultimately won. But now, just a few hours ago last night, Trump said that it was because because young women who worked at Mar-a-Lago were poached from his employee by Epstein.

54:50Listen to what Trump said last night on Air Force One when asked about Virginia Giuffre, one of the victims. I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people. He stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever. So, first of all, he stole her is an interesting way to talk about the victim of sex trafficking. But it also raises a significant question about what Trump knew at the time and just the whole timeline here. Yeah, well, because that was in 2000, she was working at the spawn. By the way, technically she was stolen by Maxwell, who is the very person that his Justice Department is now speaking to.

55:46And she's been convicted of helping him with his sex trafficking organization. So it's sort of ironic that he keeps saying that Epstein coached his employees or Virginia when Maxwell was really the one directly involved in that. So, you know, it's odd how the reasons for their falling out or their, you know, them not being as close of friends keeps changing. And since we last spoke, Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, and his partner, the one who groomed all these young victims for him, offered to testify before Congress. She demanded a lot of conditions, one of them immunity.

56:31Her attorneys also say she would only testify after her Supreme Court appeal is over. She also demanded all the questions ahead of time and on and on. What are you hearing from the victims? I have to imagine that they are concerned about yet another predator getting some sort of sweetheart deal here. right well one of them actually called me today and she's just you know they are beside themselves because they don't understand what's going on um imagine you're you know after all these years this turned into an international story once again and you're hearing all these you know not only the news that we're talking about here but all the conspiracy theories they listen to all those things.

57:19And some of them are deeply affected by some of the things that are all over the, you know, the Internet. So this is a re-traumatization of what they've always felt, which is that nobody is really listening to them or understanding that this was such a serious crime and a travesty of justice. All right, Julie Kay Brown, thank you so much. Appreciate it, as always. The longest-serving Senate Republican pushing back today at President Trump after days of pressure and criticism. That GOP back and forth is next.

58:01Back with our politics lead. Last hour, I spoke with House Speaker Mike Johnson. If you missed any of it, we're going to post the entire thing online. But right now, I want to bring in our political experts to discuss this moment and much more. Tiffany, take a listen to what Speaker Johnson just told me about releasing the Epstein files. I want everything to come out about the Epstein evils that is possible to be released because the people that were involved in those unspeakable evil acts should be punished with the greatest severity of the law. And it should have happened a long time ago. So I'm fully in favor of that.

58:32And by the way, so is the president. He has said the same thing. We're using every mechanism within our power to do that and to do it as quickly as possible. I believe that in his heart he wants all that. Do you think President Trump does? Yes, absolutely. And he's made it clear that he is being transparent about releasing the files to the American people. He's done it over and over repeatedly. Every time this comes up in the media, he's been very clear they're willing to sit down with Ms. Maxwell and get more information or more leads on anyone that might have been involved with this evil man.

59:01And anyone that has been involved with him needs to be held to account. He's been very clear about that. But it's also important to note, like, while the media continues to talk about this and spin it, as President Trump trying to withhold something, he's out working for the American people. And as the conspiracy theories will continue to spin and fly around, he's out getting stuff done every single day. Do you think President Trump wants it all released? No. If he did, he would. It's very simple. But he is. He's about, well, he's sandwiched, Tiffany. He is in control of those files and he's not releasing them.

59:35And every day he has a different excuse. He could release them today. He should release them today. All of them. He won't because he can't. I don't know why he can't, but he just feels like he can't do it. And it's not from some principle. Okay? His only principle is self-interest. So I think that those victims, they deserve this. The country deserves this. And Mr. Trump is covering it up. And I don't know why. There's no good reason why he would be covering it up. Well, he's also protecting the victims. And it has to go through the courts before anything is released. No, it doesn't. You need to remember that there are really people that...

1:00:05The grand jury transcripts have to go, but most of the files are not grand jury transcripts. And I guess I have to ask the question, if there really is a smoking gun in this Epstein case, then why didn't Joe Biden and Merrick Garland release anything? Yeah, I have no idea. First off, Garland should have, first. But second, I have no idea what's in there, neither do you. But Trump does. He's been briefed on it. His attorney general, according to published reports, told him he's in some of those files. Now, maybe perfectly innocent. Honestly, he deserves the benefit of the doubt. We're all innocent until proven guilty.

1:00:32But he's proving himself to be hiding this and covering it up. And it's the worst thing he can be doing to his own base. They care more about this than anybody else. The MAGA base is being stabbed in the back by Mr. Trump. No, they're not. So let's just move on. Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced a few hours ago that she is not going to run for governor in California in 2026. Does that mean you think she's going to run for president in 2028? I think so. Yeah. I haven't talked to her. I don't have any inside knowledge. But sure, you know, the late Mo Udall, who ran for president, is a congressman from Arizona.

1:01:04He said the only cure for presidential fever is formaldehyde, embalming fluid. So I always presume they're all running. And I think she should. I mean, my party's got a huge bench, a great bench. We have no leader right now. Absolutely leaderless. But that's what a presidential primary is for. I want a big, crowded, messy, aggressive, hard-hitting primary. You didn't get one last time. No, we didn't. And we should have. Do you think that's Kamala this time around? I want a primary. Who knows? We'll put them all on the track. But I want what we did not have in 2024, which is a tough primary. In light of the mass shooting in New York City the other day, that horrible shooting, mayoral nominee for the Democratic Party, Zoran Mamdani, is walking back comments he made in the past about defunding the police.

1:01:48Here he is earlier today. My statements in 2020 were ones made amidst a frustration that many New Yorkers held. I am not defunding the police. I am not running to defund the police. Andrew Cuomo is far more comfortable living his life in the past and then attacking tweets of 2020 than in running against the campaign that we have been leading for the last eight months. Now, one of the tweets he's referring to, he wrote back in 2020 and said, we don't need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer and a major threat to public safety. What we need to do is hashtag defund the NYPD.

1:02:32Andrew Cuomo obviously seized on this, as would be malpractice if he did not, after the attack. So what do you think of all this? I mean, this is what he just won his primary on, right, was defunding the police, free housing, free communities, free grocery stores. And so I think he's going to have a hard time walking back those comments now. New York is one of the most strict gun law states, and to see something like this happen, it's horrific. I mean, I was talking today to folks about it, my drivers about it. It's absolutely horrific that this is happening in our country. And Mamdani is by far the most progressive far left candidate that our country has ever seen.

1:03:14And it should wake everyone up. Everyone stand by. I want to turn to a brouhaha raging on Capitol Hill right now. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, says that he has been insulted by what President Trump posted on social media about him. It has to do with how the Senate handles opposition to nominees to the federal judiciary from both senators from that state. It's called blue slipping. It's not it's kind of in the weeds, but it's a long held tradition. CNN Congressional Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju is going to break it down for us. Manu.

1:03:50Jake, this has become a very personal fight with very significant implications for the Senate. One of the last bipartisan traditions in the United States Senate is to allow home state senators to sign off on district court nominees and U.S. attorney nominees who are picked by the president. That essentially gives Democrats veto power if they don't like one of the President Trump's picks, whether it's to those lower courtships or potentially for a U.S. attorney position. That's what Donald Trump wants to do away with. He does not like the way Democrats have been handling this. And that's what Senate Republican leaders are pushing back against.

1:04:27And Donald Trump escalated things pretty dramatically and launching a series of attacks on Truth Social, reposting attacks on Truth Social against Chuck Grassley, calling him a rhino and the like. And Grassley, a veteran Republican, the longest-serving Republican in the United States Senate, someone who was elected into the chamber in 1980, made clear he is not too thrilled by the president's attacks. I was offended by what the president said, And I'm disappointed that it will result in personal insults. And, Jake, I also asked Grassley about the president's claim that it was because of Trump's endorsement that Grassley won re-election back in 2022.

1:05:15Grassley told me, quote, I have never been down by the polls. He referred to also his primary win when he won by almost 50 points. And so he said, I could have gotten elected without his endorsement. But Jake, he added, but I did appreciate his endorsement. All right, Manu Raju, thank you so much. Why bring this up against Grassley? I mean, Grassley, just for the record, he's not a rhino. He's not a Republican in name-own. He's a very conservative Republican. He's an institution in Iowa. Well, look, I think President Trump is frustrated, and rightfully so, with the delay in getting his nominees through.

1:05:47And he sees this as an outdated rule that's sort of impeding him to getting what he wants and delivering results for real America, right? That's why he won, to break through the status quo, to shake things up. And at the end of the day, Thune, Grassley, President Trump, they all want the same thing. And that's to get President Trump's nominees through as fast and as quickly as possible. And they're running into some roadblocks. So I think it's just a frustration on the president's part. And he is the master negotiator, so he knows how to get what he wants in the end. So I think one of the problems here is Alina Habba.

1:06:14He wants her to be the U.S. attorney in New Jersey. And that state has two Democratic senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim, and they don't want her. And this is traditionally a way that both parties use the blue slip process. And it's a way to make sure that the U.S. attorney in Texas during a Democratic administration is somebody that Republicans in that state feel like they can work with. Right. It's one of the last vestiges of bipartisanship. And so, of course, Mr. Trump's going after it. What he wants is to be an autocrat. And he's well on the way there. He doesn't want checks and balances. This is the Senate checking and balancing the president.

1:06:50We're not used to seeing that in the last six, seven months because Mr. Trump has been so successful at cowing all these. The Republican senator is so cowed you can hear him moo. Chuck Grassley is standing up on his hind legs. And I don't think he's scared of Trump on this because he's got, believe me, he's got the Senate behind him on this. Because it's a senatorial prerogative that they're not going to turn loose of. All right. Paul Begala, Tiffany Smiley, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. As we continue to see these haunting images of starvation in Gaza, yet another Western country is now saying it's going to recognize a Palestinian state in just weeks.

1:07:22That's next.

1:07:29This just in. The Trump administration has reached a$50 million agreement with Brown University. The school agreed to several measures, including dismantling certain diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. In exchange, the federal government will reinstate federal grants, frozen in response to allegations that Brown failed to protect Jewish students on campus after the October 7th attack on Israel. The White House and Brown say the$50 million are going to be paid over 10 years to Rhode Island workforce development organizations to help the regional economy and create jobs. This agreement comes just after last week's$221 million settlement with Columbia University.

1:08:08In our world lead now, for the first time, a group of Arab and Muslim countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, have issued a joint call for Hamas to disarm and to relinquish power in the Gaza Strip. Just moments ago, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney also joined a growing chorus of Western nations planning to recognize a Palestinian state at the big United Nations Assembly in September. Unlike the United Kingdom, whose leaders said the UK would back down if Israel achieved a ceasefire, Canada did not put similar conditions on its announcement. All of these unprecedented moves come as Gazans keep dying while they try to reach, try to eat, trying to reach aid More than 50 people were killed today, according to the director of the Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza.

1:08:51Joining us now to discuss is David Miliband. He's the president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee and former British Foreign Secretary. Secretary Miliband, good to see you as always. Let's start with Prime Minister Keir Starmer's recent announcement. Take a listen. The UK will recognize the state of Palestine by the United Nations General Assembly in September unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza. Canada doesn't have those conditions. They said they're just going to acknowledge a Palestinian state. Do you think the UK is going to follow through in September?

1:09:27Is this just a threat to try to get Netanyahu to take the starvation crisis seriously? I think there's a very deep-seated sense of political emergency about the situation in the Middle East and particularly whether there'll ever be a resolution of the dispute of a land between Israel and the Palestinian people. I think that I would describe it as the British and now Canadian governments trying to put a defibrillator on an essentially moribund political process. Obviously our concern as a humanitarian agency is the moral and political emergency in Gaza but I think there is obviously a wider context.

1:10:06The humanitarian So the humanitarian emergency has a very clear resolution. The politics is obviously much more complex. Yeah, and tell us about what you think the significance is of this group of Arab and Muslim countries, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others, calling on Hamas to disarm and relinquish power. That strikes me as quite significant. Yes, I think that's a good point. Look, there's always been a demand that there'd be more straight talking, straight talking about who should govern Gaza. clearly post-October the 7th. It needs to be a new administration. Clearly, in addition, it's very important there's straight talking about the way in which all countries of the Middle East are going to have to contribute to a resolution of this issue in a way that guarantees safety and security for Israel and dignity and statehood for the Palestinians.

1:10:55That's been at the essential conundrum all along. Now, I would argue that feeding people is not the cause of terrorism. And feeding people is an imperative. It's not feeding them that is fueling the danger that we're seeing around the region. You have a new article in Time magazine where you say, quote, the solution is tragically simple. First, open all viable land crossings, not for hours and not with caveats, but at scale with fast screening and consistency to flood Gaza with aid immediately. Second, ensure unimpeded access for humanitarian organizations to reach children and their families from Rafa to northern Gaza.

1:11:29Third, the political track still matters. A ceasefire remains vital." If you could speak directly with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu today, what would you tell him? I would say that the opening of the land crossings proved its worth in January, February and early March. During the ceasefire, we showed how to get aid in, to get it to the right people, and to make a difference to people on the ground. Now we're in a situation where an independent agency has assessed that effectively 100 % of the population are facing acute food insecurity. This is a very unusual kind of finding because even in somewhere like northern Nigeria, the assessment is only one in six people are in acute food insecurity.

1:12:11For the independent international phase classification system to say 100 % of people are facing acute food insecurity and that there is effectively famine, two out of the three conditions met, the only two they were able to measure. This is an unprecedented political and moral emergency. and it's one that has a clear resolution in the opening of the crossings in the way that's proven it's worth before. But opening the crossings is not the only issue here. The United Nations has a graphic on its website showing the amount of aid that's reached Gaza since mid-May this year. In the past few months, the UN says nearly 30 ,000 pallets have been collected from the border crossings, but more than 25 ,000 of those have been intercepted either, quote, peacefully by hungry people or forcefully by armed actors during transit in Gaza.

1:12:59So that leaves roughly 4 ,000 pallets that reached their intended destination. A recent U.S. government review found there was no widespread looting of aid by Hamas, however. So what are you hearing from your IRC staff on the ground about the looting, about the fact that according to the U.N., a lot of pallets are seized? Well, I'm very glad that you've raised this because I discussed this directly with our own teams on the ground who are both providing nutrition and water and sanitation services, but also trying to deliver medical aid. We have pallets trapped on the wrong side of the Israel-Gaza border.

1:13:36What they say is, first, it's the shortages that are putting a premium on the small amount of goods that are coming in. That's what's fueling the violence around the crossings. Secondly, the aid drops are actually contributing to disorder rather than helping to resolve it. And that's why, thirdly, we should use the trusted mechanisms, not just the four distribution points that have been open for the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Forum, where the 50 deaths that you rightly note today are a further tragic occurrence on top of another thousand. What we need is the effectively 400 distribution points that were being used in the period of January, February, March, when we were able to make a significant humanitarian difference.

1:14:17Secretary Milibank, thank you so much and thanks for what you do. Really appreciate it. Always great having you here. Coming up next, the new details revealed today about the final seconds before the deadly collision between an American Airlines passenger plane and an Army helicopter. Stay with us.

1:14:36In our national lead, an investigative hearing is underway right this minute here in Washington, D.C. as the National Transportation Safety Board tries to figure out exactly what caused that horrific crash between an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter earlier this year. CNN's Pete Muntean has more for us now on the new details revealed today about the final seconds before that horrific collision. For the deadliest crash involving a U.S. commercial flight in two decades, a hearing of unprecedented scope, three days of testimony, 200 new documents, and 10 ,000 pages of interviews, tests, and transcripts to find out how an Army helicopter and American Eagle jet could collide over the Potomac River.

1:15:20National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy. This is not an adversarial hearing. This does not mean difficult questions won't be asked. The agency's packed hearing room fell silent as investigators showed 11 minutes of flight tracks and audio of a controller in the Reagan National Airport tower warning the Blackhawk pilots of the incoming CRJ-700.

1:15:51Just released transcripts from the helicopter's voice recorder detailed that exchange prompted the Army pilots on a training flight to discuss changing course. The instructor tells the pilot, come left for me, ma 'am, and the pilot responds, fine. But it was too late. Not a second later, the recordings captured the sound of the collision. How much tolerance for safety should there be when civilian lives are at risk? How much is that tolerance? I think it should be zero. The board grilled Army officials for what they call discrepancies with the helicopter's instruments. Following the crash, the NTSB tested three Blackhawks from the same Army unit and found their altimeters displayed 80 to 130 feet lower than the helicopter's actual height.

1:16:37Investigators underscore only 75 feet separated the helicopter route and the approach path passenger planes fly into National Airport. That's significant. My concern is where else in the National Airspace does that exist? Doug Lane lost his wife Christine and son Spencer in the crash. Tuesday, Senate Republicans proposed a bill mandating harsher rules for helicopter flights near airports. Every meaningful step towards transparency, accountability and safer skies is a victory for every family who has suffered an unimaginable loss. PSA Airlines was operating this American Airlines regional flight and the NTSB spoke to its pilots And they said they got collision alerts for helicopters flying near Reagan National Airport five times in as many months, including one the night before this crash.

1:17:33There was also this bombshell admission by the Army Aviation Brigade in which they said that its helicopters would regularly fly below flights descending into land at Reagan National Airport. The major theme here, Jake, this was so preventable. So tragic as well. Pete Muntean, thanks so much. My next guest says there are signs that a comet in space may actually be an alien craft on its way to Earth. Stay with us.

1:18:09In our Out of This World lead, where some scientists see a mere rock hurtling through space, one professor sees possible signs of alien life. Comet 3I Atlas is the third known object outside our solar system discovered by a NASA-funded telescope. Let's bring in Harvard astronomy professor Avi Loeb. Professor Loeb, thanks for joining us. What makes you think 3I Atlas could actually be an alien spacecraft? Thanks for having me. Well, if it's a solid object, it has to be quite large to reflect as much sunlight as we detect. But the main unusual aspect of it is that it's moving on a very special trajectory that lines up with the orbit of the Earth around the sun, with that plane.

1:18:58It will get closest to the sun when we won't be able to see it because we will be exactly on the opposite side of the sun. It gets unusually close to all the inner planets with a likelihood of less than one part in 20 ,000. And moreover, it moves in the opposite direction to the motion of the Earth around the sun that basically prevents us from reaching it or intercepting it with any of our rockets. And it also came from a special direction in the sky that is very crowded in stars. So that's why it was discovered only recently. And one wonders whether this trajectory was designed. You know, we are in a special time right now when astronomers can discover objects from outside the solar system.

1:19:44And we expect a new one every few months. And I argue that we should check each and every one, whether it might be alien tech, because that would be a security concern. We should note that this is not the first time you've projected that there's alien life on its way. In 2017, you suggested Oumuamua, the first interstellar object detected in our solar system, also might be an alien spacecraft. You have critics, as you know, who call your claims sensational. What makes this one different? Well, it was not sensational. It's just that Oumuamua was on its way out. So we didn't collect enough data.

1:20:25My main motivation in suggesting the possibility that the 3i Atlas might not be a comet is to encourage my colleagues to get as much data as possible. You know, science should be asking questions and answering them with data, with evidence. And assuming that we can tell the answer in advance is really inappropriate. It's anti-scientific. and I am saying we sent out technological objects to space. Voyager will be on the opposite side of the Milky Way galaxy in a billion years. So we should be humble and expect smarter kids on our block. You know that we are late to the party. The sun formed only the last one third of cosmic history.

1:21:11And we should just examine the sky and see what comes our way. And this one is moving on a very special trajectory. So let's monitor it. If it ends up being a comet, so be it. And we should then monitor the next one that comes along. At some point, one of them is going to be an alien craft. One has to think. Professor Avi Loeb, thank you so much. Appreciate your time, sir. Thanks for having me. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, ThreadsX, and on the TikTok at Jake Tapper. You can follow the show on X, The Lead CNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show once you get your podcasts.

1:21:45all two hours just sitting, waiting for you to pluck it like a ripe peach. Aaron Burnett out front starts right now.

1:22:15ending zero tears. 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. Go inside the sports moments that brought us together and made history. From the underdogs to the rivalries and the miracles. It sends chills down your spine. It's what sport was all about. The new CNN original series, Decades in Sports, now streaming on the CNN app.