Sen. Paul: “Buck Stops” With Hegseth On Follow-Up Boat Strike

27:55You also represent victims who are living paycheck to paycheck now as a result of this fraud. What recourse do victims have now that President Trump has commuted the sentence? Jake, thank you for having me. Victims still have the opportunity to bring civil claims against the broker-dealers that sold these investments to them, and we're here to help them with things like that. We represented hundreds of investors of the 17 ,000-plus investors that have been victimized by David Gentile and GPB. We even represented a not-for-profit organization that provides shelters and therapeutic services to at-risk youth.

28:36This should not have been a political issue. David Gentile committed fraud, and David Gentile's sentence should not have been commuted. So, Adam, the White House argues this is not a Ponzi scheme, that Gentile did not make any fraudulent statements. They claim this is another example of weaponization by the Biden administration. What's your response to that? Joseph Nacella, who is the Eastern District's U.S. attorney, said that this was a Ponzi scheme. He was appointed by Trump himself. He said it back in May. So you tell me, was this a political commutation of Mr. Gentile's sentence or not? And why only Mr.

29:15Gentile? Why not his partner? His partner is still serving his sentence. And if Mr. Gentile really was innocent, Why not give him a full pardon? We reached out to Gentile's lawyer who told us no comment. Carol Ann Tutera, Adam Gana, thanks to both. You appreciate it. The major issue that has some Republicans splitting with President Trump, especially after yesterday's election in Tennessee, plus the very public spat that had Congresswoman Elise Stefanik calling out House Speaker Mike Johnson. Stay with us.

29:47In our politics lead, Republican Matt Van Epps. Holding off a Democratic upset in that special congressional election in Tennessee, the Army combat veteran, a Republican, scored a nine-point victory over Democrat Afton Bain. But remember, Donald Trump won that congressional district by 22 percentage points last year. So that is something of a warning sign for some Democrats that he was only able to get in single digits. Are you concerned at all that this was closer than it has been in the past? I'm always concerned, to be honest with you. And yeah, we got a real problem and we better wake up. What about issues like affordability and the like?

30:25Do you guys need to do a better job on that, those issues? Of course we need to. The best friend the Democrats have right now is the Republicans messaging because we do a terrible job of messaging. My panel joins me now. So Archie, the Republican won, but he won by eight and a half, nine points in a district that Trump won by 22. It is an off-year election, and December is a weird time to hold an election. But do you think this is actually good news for Democrats in a way? It was a shot in the arm for Democrats. I don't want to overstate this, but the fact of the matter is Republicans had to spend millions of dollars.

31:01They had to use star power, whether it was Speaker Johnson, the president, and a lot of energy and focus. Whereas Democrats were able to overperform in a significant way. And honestly, when you look at her as a candidate, she probably wasn't the best fit for the district. So if you I'm sure there are moderate Democrats in in that district thinking, wait, maybe there is this is proven concept to really actually maybe take a run at the seat. So you heard Republican Tim Bershad, a Republican from Tennessee, talking about this affordability issue. He stressed about it. Other Republicans also sounding the alarm of this issue.

31:35Take a listen. We have got to help people be able to afford the necessities of life and just get by day to day. And there's no better place to start than health care. So that's Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri. But if you ask President Trump, this affordability thing is not legit. Take a listen. You know, this whole thing is, they use the word affordability. It's a Democrat hoax. They're the ones that drove the prices up. And all they do is say, affordability. And you're supposed to say, oh, that means they had low prices. No, we inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country.

32:14So, T.W., what's your take? Affordability is an issue. And I think President Trump's vision for remaking the economy, the global trade environment, all are good things and worthy goals. We'll take time to materialize and we'll see what that looks like next year. But working with candidates all across the country, I can tell you, on the ground, they're hearing about the cost of living. Yes, health care. Yes, prices. Yes, heating. It's coming into winter, depending on where they are. It's a big issue, and it needs to be addressed. And to what Arshie said about the race, look, yes, Trump won it by 22.

32:49It's important to also note that Marsha Blackburn only won it by a half a point. It covers parts of Nashville, parts of Franklin. It's not exactly the biggest deep red district of all time. And you said something very important there. The type of candidate that was nominated. She doesn't like country music, tried to dissolve a local police department, had a bunch of bad stuff there. You're going to see that play out in a lot of districts across this country. I think the Mamdani win has accelerated that. You see people like Jasmine Crockett thinking about jumping in in Texas. Ayanna Pressley is going to jump in Massachusetts.

33:21A far leftward lurch. The generic ballot for Democrats looks pretty good right now in the House. But they can blow that, just like the Republicans did in 2010, if they go down that leftward path. So we saw some top Republicans in something of a public spat in the last 24 hours. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York, who's running for governor, she called out House Speaker Mike Johnson for not including a provision she wanted added in the House's annual defense policy bill. She took to Twitter or X and said, quote, just more lies from the speaker. And true to form, the speaker texted me yesterday claiming he knew nothing about it.

33:56Yeah, right. Right. So, Archie, her provision eventually did make its way into the bill. What's going on here? That's very strange Republican on Republican violence. I thought it was interesting. I mean, I defer to TW on the politics of what's going on within the conference. But I think it's interesting. A, what does it mean for her race in New York? Right. Because she you would think she would be New York, New York, New York all the time. So that was one piece. And I think it also there has been a lot of rumbling on the Democratic members that I've been talking to. And I don't want to overstate this, but they all feel like the Speaker is in trouble.

34:30But at the same time, does it matter who's the Speaker of the House, given that there has been such a rubber stamp with the administration in terms of Congress? So in a new Wall Street Journal article, Stefanik was quoted saying this about Speaker Johnson, quote, he certainly wouldn't have the votes to be Speaker if there was a roll call vote tomorrow. I believe that the majority of Republicans would vote for new leadership. It's that widespread, unquote. What is she doing here? Because, I mean, obviously, look, she's running for governor. We can't pretend that's not potentially part of this. Is she looking at polls that say that the House of Representatives is unpopular?

35:05Because, I mean, as far as I can tell, Speaker Johnson has been pretty nice to her. Like, she, you know, her U.N. ambassador thing didn't come to fruition and he got her back on the House Intelligence Committee. He brought her back into House Republican leadership and this is what she's doing. And he made a role for her. That role didn't exist until Mike Johnson. Look, Mike Johnson has a really hard job. And Elise Stefanik is running, as you just said, running for governor of New York. I'm confused as anybody on how this helps her. Look, that provision, don't doubt that it's important. I do think it's very important.

35:41She tried last year, didn't say a peep. She should be all New York all the time. This provision is about the FBI has to notify Congress if members of Congress are being investigated. Correct. Which is, by the way, a privilege that the three of us don't enjoy or anybody watching. It's only members of Congress, so I don't know what kind of representation for New York that is. Right, right. And that might play really well in the halls of Congress, maybe on both sides of the aisle. I don't know. I haven't studied it that closely. But I don't think anyone outside of Albany or New York is worried about that.

36:14Look, she's frustrated. You mentioned the U.N. She's frustrated about the Mamdani meeting. She's frustrated. But don't take it out on Mike Johnson, who, by the way, doesn't have anything to do with it being in the bill in the first place. It's a Jim Jordan and judiciary problem. And guess what? Jim Jordan is supportive of it. So talk to him. Don't talk to Mike Johnson. All right. Thanks, one and all. Glad you guys had good Thanksgiving. We were catching up before. Today, House Democrats released even more photos and videos from Jeffrey Epstein's private island. what the images show. One of the lawmakers putting these images out is going to be here coming up.

36:47Stay with us.

36:56In our pop culture lead, great news. HBO is renewing the crime thriller Task, the show that follows an FBI agent leading a task force hunting down a masked man, a couple of masked people behind a string of violent robberies at drug houses outside Philadelphia. Let's Let's bring in one of the stars of the show who plays that serial robber, Tom Pelfrey, is the name of the actor. We should mention that HBO is also owned by CNN's parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery, but I legitimately love the show, regardless of what channel it's on. Tom, congratulations. People love the series. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 96 % approval rating.

37:31It's written by Brad Inglesby, who also wrote Mayor of Easttown, another amazing HBO show. When you read the script, did you know it was going to be as big a deal as it was, as critically acclaimed and as watched? I knew it had a chance to be. I thought it was one of the best scripts I'd ever read. I loved the role immediately. You know, there's a lot of ingredients that go into the soup of making something successful. But you know when you have a script that's as well written as that, you have the highest chances of success. Yes. Pennsylvania is investing nearly$50 million into the production of season two through the Commonwealth's film production tax credit program.

38:08Can you tell us anything at all about season two? I don't want to spoil anything about season one, but your character Robbie, does he come back in any way? I don't know if we're going to see any more Robbie. We'll have to wait and find out what Brad has in store. But I guarantee it'll be good. So Brad is the bard of Delco. For viewers unfamiliar with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Delco is Delaware County. It's the blue collar suburb right outside Philly. The accent there, and I say this as a Philadelphian who has been dinged for my Philly accent, the Delco accent is quite a thing. Very distinctive.

38:47You really got it down. Did you have like an elocution lesson? How did you do that? Oh, yeah. I had many lessons. Suzanne Sulby was the dialect coach. Many lessons with her and then a lot of deep diving on YouTube. I really was searching for clips of actual Delco speakers speaking in a way where they weren't self-conscious about people listening. So like local news clips, things like that really kind of helped me push it over the edge. And there are a lot of local news clips that come out of Delaware County. It's amazing. No offense to my friends from Delco, but a lot of news comes out of Delco.

39:22There was a woman who did something to a car not long ago that was quite a thing. Speaking of acting methods, did you fully immerse yourself into the Philly culture? I ran into Ruffalo the other day. He really has become an Eagles fan. I don't know how long that's going to last given the last two games. But are you now a Birds fan? I know you're from Jersey. No, sir. And I know you are, but I'm a diehard New York Giants fan. I bleed blue, always have since I was a child. So it was amazing to be welcomed into the Philly life, but I can only go so far. My last question is just whatever Philly gourmet food you love.

40:01I don't know if it's soft pretzels. You have a particular Wawa order, a place you love to get the cheesesteak, how you order it, your favorite hygge. like what just tell me tell me what you like they're gonna kill me because i can't remember the name right now but there's an italian restaurant there in philadelphia that we went to and they stuffed us so full you literally had to roll me out the door that that italian food in philadelphia is some of the best i've ever had in my life well tom you were amazing on ozark and you were amazing on task continued success we're all going to be watching your amazing work tom pelfry thanks for joining us jake thanks for having me on Welcome to The Lead.

40:41I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, chilling photos and video of Jeffrey Epstein's private island released by House Democrats on the House Oversight Committee today. That island off the coast of St. Thomas has long been a focus for investigators as it allowed Epstein to carry out his crimes out of the public eye. I'm going to ask the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee about the status of the investigation and the meaning of these images in just moments. Plus, former special counsel Jack Smith, who led both the January 6th and the classified documents investigations and prosecutions of President Trump, he's now set to testify on Capitol Hill.

41:16What his lawyer is saying today about the testimony and why Jack Smith's request to testify in front of the cameras and the public was rejected. Also in the Oval Office this afternoon, President Trump again ranted against Somali immigrants to the United States in a shocking display of bigotry. He also said Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar should be thrown out of the country. Congresswoman Omar will join us live to respond to the president.

41:46And we begin today with two major stories plaguing the Trump administration, starting with reporting that I broke with CNN's Zach Cohen. First on CNN earlier today, the Pentagon's inspector general has indeed concluded that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth risked endangering troops when he shared sensitive war plans on the unsecure Signal app. That's according to four sources who saw the classified inspector general report, which was sent to Congress last month. Now, you'll remember back in March, Hegseth posted on Signal about plans targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen. It was in a group chat with other members of the Trump administration and accidentally a journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic.

42:24Hegseth is having quite a week. he's already been facing tough questions from Republicans and Democrats on whether war crimes were committed when the U.S. carried on that follow-up strike on that suspected drug boat, killing survivors of the first strike. The other story that the Trump administration would prefer that we don't talk about or cover again is one relating to the Epstein files. And that story, once again, is rearing its head as the House Oversight Committee Democrats just released these new images from the private island of Jeffrey Epstein. Not these images, I don't think. These are the images from the boat that was hit in the Caribbean.

43:00We're going to a different Caribbean images, images having to do with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted dead pedophile and sex trafficker. The Oversight Committee also says it has received about 5 ,000 documents in response to its subpoenas of J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank for Epstein's financial records. This, as the Department of Justice, by law, only has 16 days left to release all of the Epstein files they have in the Justice Department's possession. CNN's Caitlin Collins is here with us. And Caitlin, let's turn back to that SignalGate story for a second, if we could. What is the White House saying about it?

43:34I mean, the IG report is pretty clear that Hegseth risked the lives of troops. Yeah, and they're picking certain pieces of the report to point to, because the Pentagon is coming out and saying it's a total exoneration of Pete Hex. But that is a phrase that this White House uses a lot. It's one the president himself has used a ton and used after the Mueller investigation ended, for example. And obviously, as you know, also not a total exoneration. The reality is more complicated than that phrase suggests. And I think it's something the White House had been bracing for. They knew it wasn't going to be a report that was glowing or put the defense secretary in a good light.

44:10I think the issue that is facing them and one that the officials I've spoken to today realize is that this is coming at a time when Hegseth is under intense scrutiny for these airstrikes on this alleged drug boat and whether or not that second strike, whether they knew there were survivors when they struck and why they did so. And the way this White House, this term, has registered whether something is really a criticism or something, a problem they have to deal with, not just scrutiny that they're facing on television, is what congressional Republicans are saying about it. specifically Senate Republicans.

44:41And I think with Hegseth in particular, because his confirmation fight was such a slog and they'd worked so hard to get him confirmed, which is why he's been able to stay in that position and have the kind of, I don't know if you would say success, but the loyalty from the president is because of what that fight looked like. And I think right now the White House views it as a headache, what's coming from the Pentagon, and that it seems unprofessional at least. That was the issue with SignalGate. And so now they're dealing with this and with real concern from lawmakers who want testimony and answers from the Pentagon over what happened here.

45:15Yeah, Senator Rand Paul, Republican from Kentucky, he said yesterday that Hegseth has either been lying or incompetent when it comes to the stories he's been telling. And you know what has stood out to me as we've been hearing and having our colleagues ask a lot of these Senate Republicans, many of them who voted to confirm Pete Hegseth into this position, is whether they still have confidence in his leadership at the Pentagon. And a lot of them have not answered that question, Jake. They're not saying no and going that far as to send that kind of warning shot to the White House. But they're saying they're not answering or they're offering some other kind of vague answer, which I think says a lot, actually, coming from these Senate Republicans.

45:51Yeah, what passes for courage in Washington these days, I suppose, not answering a question. Kaitlin Collins, thanks so much. And don't miss Kaitlin on her amazing show. It's The Source with Kaitlin Collins. Tonight she's going to be joined by Republican Senator Tom Tillis in North Carolina. That's a good get. And I wanted him on my show. All right. Well, I was just watching your interview with him, actually, Jake, and back in July, I believe it was, he told you that Hexeth, he didn't basically believe he was fully up to the job and that he was doing a good job. It's a real question of what he says now, given the results of this report that you brought earlier.

46:22I'll be watching tonight at 9 and Eastern on CNN. So all my viewers will be watching, Caitlin, so let's do a good show tonight. Now let's discuss the latest on the Epstein files with Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia of California. He's the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. Congressman, when you look at these images of Epstein's private island and the complex there that was released today by Democrats on your committee, it is very disturbing to think about young girls and women being in those spaces, being trafficked and such. What to you is the significance of these images?

46:54I mean, look, I think what's really important here is that anything that we receive and any place that we get them from, in this case was from the U.S. Virgin Islands and the government there, we're going to put out to the public. We've put out over 150 images and videos today. The images are actually very disturbing. You think about the abuse, the rape of children and girls that happened here on this island. Much of the footage and photos that we have put out today have never been seen before and are new images. So it's important for the public to see these spaces where these horrors happened.

47:29And I think it just I think for the public and for this investigation just shines new light on actually what was happening and what these spaces actually look like. It's the dentist chair when in particular I think is very disturbing. Yeah, it's a dentist chair where who knows what was going on in that. And I think right behind it is a massage. There it is. The massage table. Can I ask you, why are the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee releasing things that the committee as a whole is not releasing? Because the committee as a whole is run by Republicans. And unfortunately, they oftentimes don't release things.

48:06They hold things back. And they only will go towards disclosure when we force their hand or push for a release. our commitment to the American public is if we get files or information from any source, whether that's been the Epstein estate, for example, on getting the birthday book that Democrats put out, whether that was getting the emails that we put out just two weeks ago about the president and Epstein and their relationship that we put out, we're going to put up the information that we receive. There should be nothing to hide and that the American public should not see, with the exception, of course, of protecting and redacting the names of any survivors.

48:42And so Republicans want to continue to drag their feet. They want to support the president in what we believe is a cover-up happening at the DOJ. And they choose to not release things. And we believe that when we get information, we're going to put it out. We received, as you know, about 5 ,000 pages of documents. Besides these videos, we're now working with two of the banks. We're trying to get information documents there. So that is ahead for the Oversight committee in our work. What are you learning from the bank records you received? Is there anything you can share? Look, we just received those late last night.

49:17And so they are a pretty complex set of documents. What I can share is every survivor that we have talked to has been very clear is that we should follow the money. We know that there were enormous amounts of wealth that essentially went into Epstein and his operation. There are ideas and thoughts of where that money has come from. Certainly there are powerful men, possibly foreign governments, where this money has been transferred into, as we know, for the sexual trafficking ring, for the abuse of children and of girls. And so understanding and putting together the financial piece is going to be very important.

49:53But I do want to note, what we received from both Deutsche Bank and from Chase Morgan is just a piece of what they have. They'll be sending us more information. And there are only two banks that we want information from. We have a list of over 20 banks and financial institutions that we need to subpoena. And so we've asked Republicans to join us in that subpoena of those 20 additional banks, and we hope that they do so. The Justice Department has 16 days left to comply with that law requiring a full release of all the files it has on Epstein with the names of the survivors redacted. Do you think they're going to meet that deadline?

50:32look i'm not holding my breath i mean the justice department has had over what three or four months to answer and respond to our subpoena at the oversight committee for the exact same group of documents and they have done nothing they've sent us essentially information in a small batch that was already made available to the public and so they don't they don't need anything to act they could today release all of the files now that congress has also voted in a bipartisan way you would think that would compel them more to release these files, but they're choosing not to do so. In fact, we're still concerned and bringing to light this kind of sham investigation that they've launched in the Southern District of New York that they may try to use as a way of slowing down this release.

51:13And so we will see what's upcoming. I hope they choose to release all the files. The survivors deserve transparency and they deserve answers. Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia of California. He's the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee. Thank you, sir. Good to see you. tomorrow vaccine advisors are going to discuss potential changes to which vaccines are recommended for children a look at why medical experts are really worried about what rfk jr is going to do there plus a cnn investigation into the fate of people who went missing while trying to find humanitarian aid in gaza that's ahead

51:55Some dramatic video just in. That's an Air Force Thunderbird crashing near Trona, California. It's about 200 miles west of Vegas. The pilot thankfully ejected before the crash. You can see the parachute to the left of the screen there. We're told the pilot's injuries are not life-threatening. We're going to keep following the story, bring you updates as they are warranted. And our health lead today, medical experts sounding the alarm against major changes that could be coming to the childhood vaccine schedule. A panel of CDC vaccine advisors once handpicked by HHS Secretary RFK Jr. after he fired the previous panel.

52:31They could vote tomorrow to delay the hepatitis B vaccine, usually given to newborns by weeks or even years. They're going to delay it by weeks or even years. doctors, potentially, doctors warn that if the vaccine is delayed by just two months, at least 1 ,400 kids in the United States will contract the infection, which is currently incurable. CNN's Meg Terrell spoke to one man who's lived with the illness for decades and says he hopes the vaccine that wasn't yet a recommendation when he was born remains available and required for newborns today. At 16, John Ellis went to the doctor with severe stomach pain and left with a diagnosis no one expected.

53:10Incurable chronic liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus. You know, at 16 years old, there was conversations around what it would look like for me to get a liver transplant. To be blunt, I thought I was going to die. John was born in 1990, one year before the U.S. recommended that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine. So he hadn't been vaccinated by age three or four, the time his doctors think he contracted the virus based on the scars on his liver. John and his family don't know how he was infected. Hepatitis B is incredibly infectious and people who don't even know they have it can transmit it to babies and young kids.

53:48I would much rather vaccinations be available at birth than to have someone else live the experience that I've lived. But now some people might. Advisors to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, handpicked this year by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., may recommend delaying the shots by months or years after expressing skepticism of the vaccine in previous meetings. There are gaps in what we know and understand about the effects of hepatitis B, particularly on very young infants. And I think that the conclusion that we know that it is safe is perhaps premature. But experts say it has a more than three-decade track record of safety, and delaying the birth dose could result in an estimated 1 ,400 or more preventable infections in kids each year.

54:42Dr. Anthony Fiore, a former CDC infectious disease specialist, tells CNN there's no rational justification for changing the recommendation. We've seen tremendous reductions in childhood infections with hepatitis B. This saves lives. We're afraid we're going to move back to the time when children were slipping through. The virus is strongly linked to liver damage and cancer. John Ellis is now 35. Right now, his viral load is low and he's been able to lead a generally healthy life. He hopes the vaccine that wasn't yet recommended for newborns like him remains available for newborns today. The perceived fear of the risk of vaccination has outweighed the real fear of the hepatitis B virus.

55:29And Meg Carell joins us now. Meg, this is not the only change to the childhood vaccine schedule that the panel might make. Yeah, Jake, so they are talking about hepatitis B tomorrow, but then there's a day two of the meeting on Friday where they're scheduled to discuss the entire childhood vaccine schedule. Now, the agenda that's been posted is fairly vague in terms of what exactly they plan to discuss there. But among the listed topics are they're going to examine how the CDC evaluates risk of vaccines. And they also are going to look at things called adjuvants, which are added to vaccines to make them work better.

56:01And there are certain adjuvants that are in lots of childhood vaccines right now. So if they made a change there, that would affect a lot of vaccines on the schedule. And Jake, this is such an influential committee because if they make recommendations that the CDC adopts, that can influence what insurance pays for vaccines. So a lot of implications here to follow. All right, Meg Terrell, thanks so much for that report. We appreciate it. He was in the running to be Kamala Harris's running mate. Now, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro says there's one thing Democrats could learn from Donald Trump.

56:29What is it? We'll discuss.

56:35In our world lead, a CNN investigation based on video, satellite imagery, and eyewitness accounts points to the Israeli military bulldozing bodies of some Palestinians killed near an aid crossing in northern Gaza. IDF whistleblowers who spoke with CNN also point to a broader pattern of the Israeli military mishandling bodies in ways that could amount to war crimes. These activities allegedly took place before the ceasefire began in October. The result of it all, families in Gaza left searching for answers about loved ones who went missing while seeking aid. CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports from Jerusalem.

57:14My brother is missing. Anyone who saw... My cousin went missing yesterday in Zikkim. Ahab Adel Mansour, 16 years old, went missing in the Zikkim area. My son went missing while going to the aid area in Zikkim on Sunday. Messages from desperate families, all searching for loved ones who went out to seek aid and never came back. 23-year-old Amar Wadi was one of them, last seen in June going to the Zakeem crossing in northern Gaza, where United Nations food trucks entered. His mother is still desperate for answers.

57:59Wadi's fate is still unknown. But a CNN investigation based on videos, satellite imagery, and eyewitness accounts points to the Israeli military bulldozing the bodies of some of those killed near the Zakhim crossing. IDF whistleblowers who spoke to CNN also point to a broader pattern of the Israeli military mishandling bodies in ways that could amount to war crimes. Collecting humanitarian aid became a deadly reality in Gaza over the summer, before the ceasefire took effect. More than 2 ,000 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire while trying to get aid, according to the World Health Organization.

58:46The Israeli military has acknowledged firing toward these crowds, but said it does not intentionally fire at civilians. Hundreds, some dead, others still clinging on to life, were hauled away amid the mayhem, including here, near the Zakeem crossing. But amid the clattering of gunfire, others were left behind.

59:14Six aid truck drivers told CNN they saw dozens of bodies near the Zakeem crossing. One shared these photos showing partially buried remains surrounded by aid boxes. Some said they witnessed Israeli military bulldozers burying bodies. They've asked us to conceal their identities, fearing retribution from Israeli authorities. There are bodies everywhere, decomposed skeletal remains, one truck driver told CNN. Some are covered with dirt because the army cannot tolerate the smell of decomposing bodies, said another. I watched Israeli bulldozers bury the dead, said a third. This video appears to show the aftermath of Israel's bulldozing.

1:00:01Alongside a crushed, overturned truck, partially covered bodies of several Palestinians jut out from the earth. A paramedic at the scene said rescue workers managed to haul away 15 dead Palestinians. With the ambulance full, some bodies had to be left behind. CNN geolocated the video to this location near the Zakhim crossing. You can see the overturned truck here, alongside bulldozed roads and track marks left by heavy machinery or armored vehicles. These are the roads where crowds of starving Palestinians swarmed aid trucks on a near-daily basis, where they were fired upon and at times killed by Israeli gunfire.

1:00:46We geolocated multiple videos of people being shot and killed to these bulldozed areas, the same areas where Palestinians said some bodies were left behind in the chaos. On August 9th, 31 hours after crowds are seen here, evidence of fresh bulldozing appears in the exact same location. This video shows just how close Israeli forces, including this D9 bulldozer, were to those crowds. The soldiers came in front of us, eyes to eyes, and the quadcopter was 10 meters away from us. They were shot in front of us, and there is a martyr that stayed over there, and no one could get close to him. We begged the soldiers to carry him back, but they didn't allow us.

1:01:33We provided the Israeli military with GPS coordinates for the locations where bodies were likely bulldozed and a detailed list of questions. The military said bulldozers positioned in the Zikkim area are, quote, used for operational purposes, to deal with IED threats and for routine engineering needs. It denied they were used to remove bodies, but did not address questions about burying them. The military also declined to describe its protocol for dealing with bodies in Gaza. The Israeli military's apparent improper disposal of bodies of Palestinians stretched far beyond Zikkim. We spoke with two Israeli soldiers on condition of anonymity due to fears of retribution.

1:02:19Both described bodies of Palestinians being buried in shallow, unmarked graves in different parts of Gaza. Essentially, the idea was to shove the body with a bunch of dirt clearing the road and push it to the sides. And that was it? That was it, yeah. The grave was not marked? No. There was no identification process or notification process to any international or Palestinian organization. Not that I was aware of, not in my unit. So essentially, we were never given any protocol or any order of how to handle any bodies. There was never once that anyone told us, if you have a body, this is what should be done.

1:02:57By allowing the dead to become the missing, international law experts say bulldozing bodies into unmarked graves can violate international law. And if those bodies are mutilated or desecrated, the practice can rise to the level of outrages upon personal dignity, a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. As for Amarwadi, about a month after he went missing in late June, his phone was returned to his family. A message had been left on the home screen. Forgive me, Mom, if anything happens to me. Whoever finds my phone, please tell my family that I love them so much. A message that reads like a young man's final words.

1:03:41Words that are impossible for a mother to accept without a body to bury. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem. And our thanks to CNN's Jeremy Diamond for that report. He investigated Donald Trump and now former special counsel Jack Smith is expected to testify on Capitol Hill about his actions. what we could learn from that testimony next.

1:04:07In our Law and Justice League today, former Special Counsel Jack Smith is expected to testify privately before the House Judiciary Committee in the coming days. Let's bring in former Federal Prosecutor Ellie Cohn in to discuss. Ellie, Republicans on the committee subpoenaed Jack Smith. Did he have to agree? Could he have tried to fight this? Well, Jake, Jack Smith could have tried to fight this a couple of ways. One, he could have invoked his Fifth Amendment rights. Now, two of his senior prosecutors actually did take the fifth, over 70 times each when questioned by this committee. Doesn't mean anyone committed a crime, means you're afraid your words might be used against you.

1:04:43Smith has chosen thus far not to do that. He also could have gone into court, argued that the subpoena was defective or illegal. I think that would have been a tough argument to make. So he's chosen not to fight this anymore, and he's now agreed to testify in a few weeks. Let's listen to what President Trump had to say about all this today. I think Jack Smith is a sick man. There's something really wrong with him. I'd rather see him testify publicly because there's no way he can answer the questions. What do you make of the fact that this Republican-led committee won't allow Smith to testify publicly as he requested?

1:05:18So Jack Smith clearly believes Donald Trump committed serious federal crimes. He indicted Donald Trump for holding classified documents improperly at Mar-a-Lago for trying to steal the 2020 election. However, Jack Smith never had a chance to make his case in court to a jury. And so I believe Republican members of Congress do not want to give Jack Smith a platform where he can give those opening and closing statements he never got to give in court to the American public with the cameras rolling. What arguments do you expect to hear from Republicans during the testimony? Tony. So if you look at the letters Jim Jordan and others have sent Jack Smith, they clearly believe that he overreached in his investigation.

1:05:56He did obtain phone records, not a wiretap. He didn't listen in, but he obtained records of phone calls involving nine different Republican members of Congress for a four day stretch. There's been concern voiced on both sides of the aisle about that. And Jack Smith did subpoena dozens of conservative and Republican interest groups, political groups, including Turning Points USA, Charlie Kirk's group, and various Republican political committees. So I think they will want to dig into the reasons for that as well. There has been a debate and accusations about whether Smith was acting politically during his investigation, as opposed to a neutral arbiter of the law.

1:06:34What do you fall on that? What do you think? Well, Jack Smith clearly is fond of saying that he treated Donald Trump no differently than any other defendant. But I think that's demonstrably false. I'll give you one example. The average defendant in the federal court where Jack Smith charged Donald Trump in DC gets two years after indictment to prepare for trial. Jack Smith begged the court to let him try Donald Trump four months and change after the indictment. In a case with 13 million pages of discovery, there is no physical way Donald Trump's lawyers could have exercised his constitutional rights to review the discovery.

1:07:11Now, look, the reason for that, Jake, you and I have discussed is obviously Jack Smith was pressing to try Donald Trump before the 2024 election. Now there's a fair argument about whether he should or should not have been doing that. I can see both sides of that, but you cannot deny that he was trying to try Trump before the election. In fact, subsequent reporting has confirmed that. And I think if you're a prosecutor and you're treating a criminal defendant differently than others because he's running for office and you want to try him before that election, that's inherently political. Ellie Honig, thanks so much.

1:07:44Yesterday, President Trump called her garbage. Today, he said she should be kicked out of the United States. Coming up next, Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is going to join us live to respond to these disparaging comments and the president's attack on Somalis in her state. Stay with us.

1:08:06Internationally, new video shows Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino on the ground in the suburbs of New Orleans today. This is the first day of the immigration crackdown in that city with the Department of Homeland Security aiming to make more than 5 ,000 arrests. That crackdown coming as a separate immigration operation is underway in Minnesota. That one targeting Somali immigrants who have been the subject of public scrutiny after a New York Times report detailing how fraud took root in pockets of the community with some, quote, making small fortunes by defrauding government programs of more than$1 billion of taxpayer money during the pandemic.

1:08:40We're talking about dozens of people in a community of thousands, of course. Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota is here with me now. First of all, federal prosecutors say 59 people have been investigated in these schemes so far. Americans at large stole tens of billions of forms of aid during the pandemic all over the country. Minnesota's fraud scandal stands out, according to federal auditors. What are you hearing from investigators right now? Well, I've been following the cases closely as they've gone through the courts, and we know that there are more indictments possibly coming.

1:09:15I think that number might go up to 73 is what I'm hearing. Okay. Can you shed any light on why the fraud got so out of control in Minnesota? I think what happened is that, you know, when you have these kind of new programs that are designed to help people, you're oftentimes relying on third parties to be able to facilitate. And I just think that a lot of the COVID programs that were set up, they were set up so quickly that a lot of the guardrails did not get created. Obviously, whatever the ethnic group, the actions of a few dozen should not impugn an entire community of thousands of people. OK, I want to make that very clear.

1:10:00President Trump has used this fraud to make rather, to me, shockingly bigoted comments about Somalis in general, including you, but the entire Somali community in Minnesota. He did it yesterday and he did it again today. Let's run some of that. These Somalians have taken billions of dollars out of our country. They've taken billions and billions of dollars. They have a representative, Ilhan Omar, who they say married her brother. She should be thrown the hell out of our country. And most of those people, they have destroyed Minnesota. She should not be, and her friends shouldn't be allowed. Frankly, they shouldn't even be allowed to be congresspeople.

1:10:46They shouldn't even be allowed to be congresspeople because they don't represent the interests of our country. It's pretty shocking to hear it, although I don't know how shocked you are at this point anymore. But Somali immigrants in general, you in particular, have been the target of his attacks for a long time. What's your response? Yeah, I mean, I'm not shocked because we know that the president oftentimes resorts to very bigoted, xenophobic, Islamophobic, racist rhetoric when he is trying to scapegoat and deflect from the actual failures that he has himself. We know that this administration has not fulfilled majority of the promises that they've made, whether it is bringing costs down, whether it is the tariffs that are decimating businesses in the United States, whether it is the possible war crimes that his defense secretary is committing.

1:11:50And so to me, it is important for us, one, to remind folks that we are Americans. We're not going anywhere and we will continue to be in this country. And two, that Minnesotans are resilient and we will continue to thrive. What is the practical impact when a president of the United States demonizes an entire group of people based on ethnicity. And again, you can point to any ethnic group and find dozens of people in that ethnic group who are committing a particular crime. The mafia comes to mind, right? But you don't hear people saying that about Italians. They did 100 years ago, but they don't do it today.

1:12:32What is the practical effect on the Somali community when the president says things like that? I mean, it creates fear. And there is a possible danger that a lot of the people who follow the president have exhibited violence in many cases, especially in my case, whenever he has said something about me that is derogatory or says I'm a threat to the country, I've gotten death threats. There are so many people that have been incarcerated over the years that have been encouraged by the president's words. And so there is fear for Somalis, not just in Minnesota, but across the country, that some of these people might attack and harm them.

1:13:16Ahead of the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, CNN asked the Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin about the remarks from the president. Here's what she had to say.

1:13:30This is not about politics. This is about public safety. We saw what just happened last week with the terrorist attack against us here in our nation's capital, where one of our great heroes, Sarah Beckstrom, was killed. That's what the precipice of this was. What's your response to that? Well, certainly not. We know that Somalis, over 90 percent of them, are citizens of this country, majority of them having born in the United States. And we know that if you are a criminal, you already have deportation orders. And there is an easy way for them to do that instead of creating this sort of fear where they are having raids.

1:14:12And today we saw them stopping citizens and people were proving their citizenship by showing their passports. And so we know it has really nothing to do about keeping a community safe. It's actually terrorizing a community and creating fear. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, thank you so much for being here. Really appreciate it. My political panel is also in the studio. Joe, your reaction to what we just heard from Congresswoman Omar, as well as President Trump's comments today? Well, I mean, Jake, my reaction is, as a former prosecutor, I think my first take is that this is the result of sort of lawfare and the abuse of the legal system, that when you have one president followed by another president just utilize the system to what seems like punish his enemies, Then you see an investigation like this one coupled with racist comments and people just say you have no faith in what's being done here.

1:15:03There was a time when federal prosecution would never have been questioned because it would have been said that whatever president brought it, these were legitimate cases. Now you have a situation where when you couple political leaning on the justice system coupled with, frankly, racist comments from the president, people look at it and don't know what to believe. And you heard it was sad, actually, that Congresswoman Omar said that doesn't even shock her anymore. I have to say I found these comments shocking. Not that President Trump hasn't said bigoted things before, but to besmirch an entire community from one specific country in terms of their heritage, I found shocking.

1:15:38What did you think? I mean, it seems like it's a pattern of conduct in terms of distraction and just really the public discourse has just taken at all time low. So I think it's been hard to watch, particularly I'm a daughter of an immigrant. When you look at the immigrant community, I mean, there's not one day that goes by that I'm not grateful to be a part of the United States of America. And I think that's what most immigrants feel. Today, President Trump issued a full and unconditional pardon to Texas Democratic Congresswoman Henry Cuellar for bribery charges brought against him in 2024. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries was asked about this pardon earlier today on CNN.

1:16:18Listen, the reality is this indictment was very thin to begin with, in my view. I don't know why the president decided to do this. I think the outcome was exactly the right outcome. Do you support the pardon? You're a Democrat. Well, I would just say that innocent till proven guilty. So this was preemptive in many ways. And so from that perspective, I actually thought the first thought that I had was that this related to the Tennessee special election. And is this, you know, Henry Cuellar has been very known to be a pragmatist, bipartisan. He has worked with Republicans. So if there was a political lens to this, pardon.

1:16:56So Cuellar, of course, you know, was asked if he has any plans to become a Republican. He does represent a district on the border. He has been very critical of Joe Biden when it came to the immigration debate during the Biden years. Here's what Cuellar had to say. Look, I'm a conservative Democrat, and I work across the lines, and I want to see the president succeed, President Trump. And it's good for the country, and I will work with anybody. Now, we might have some differences, but if I can work with him, I will work with President Trump. But you're going to file as a Democrat in that district.

1:17:37That is correct. So Cuair's 28th congressional district in Texas was part of the redistricting of the Texas map. did President Trump basically hand Democrats a seat in Texas? Bipartisanship is a great thing, right? I mean, look, that Texas redistricting was mishandled from the get-go. And it shows that while something may be legal, it's why you don't bend the rules for short-term political gain because it's backfiring. And of course, it is in fact backfiring because now the courts are going to hold it up. So it's hard not to think of it as a cynical ploy. Big picture, I think it's time to basically repeal the pardon power.

1:18:14Every time we've talked about it in recent decades, it's been in a negative way. When the Constitution was enacted, federal prosecutions were very, very rare and different. So I think this is a time, let's take a step back here, look at the pardon power, and either fix it or repeal it altogether. The Atlantic magazine, Tim Alberta, just released a new profile on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who's thinking, who's said to be contemplating a 2028 presidential run. In the profile, they asked Shapiro about President Trump and how Trump fought his way back to the Oval Office. Shapiro says he dislikes the president.

1:18:47He doesn't agree with most of his policies. But then he said this. I do respect Trump's ability to communicate with these constituencies. Donald Trump has been a once-in-a-generation political figure who's managed to connect on a deeper cultural level. That's kind of an interesting thing for a potential Democratic presidential candidate to say. I think it's fair. I mean, Donald Trump is a political force. You look at what he's done in Washington, D.C., he has solidified control in a really significant way, whether it's Congress, whether it's administration in terms of the agencies. All of it is all solidified under his under his control.

1:19:25So I think it's a fair conversation. And I think Democrats would be ill advised to underestimate the president. And one of the quotes from the article that's getting the most attention is Tim Alberta, the reporter, actually is the one who told Shapiro what was in Kamala Harris's book about him, a whole bunch of allegations. And he wrote, he said to, in a very rare unguarded moment, Shapiro said, she wrote that in her book. That's complete and utter bullshit. I can tell you that her accounts are just blatant lies. What do you think? Look, as a Republican, I'm sitting back and watching one of the worst recent Democrat candidates in decades attacking a potential, one of the best potential Democrat candidates going forward.

1:20:05And so I'm sitting back and laughing at this whole thing. But look, Shapiro is a guy that as a Republican, I'm worried about him in the future. He's the kind of guy that can appeal in the swing states that Harris lost zero out of seven. That's right. Thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

1:20:26Our last leads start with what happened today at the White House. Surrounded by auto industry executives, President Trump announced his administration is rolling back Biden-era fuel economy requirements. Instead of averaging over 50 miles a gallon by 2031, automakers can get by with 34 and a half miles a gallon, a change that the president predicts will lower car prices by$1 ,000, although the impact on the environment, who knows? We do have some very exciting positive news to share with you before we go. C.J. Rice welcomed a new son today, Theodore Rice, born just after 1 a.m. He weighs 7 pounds, 9 ounces.

1:21:05Fans of the lead will remember our coverage of C.J. over the years, how he was wrongfully convicted, how he was freed 12 years later after my dad, Theodore Tapper, who made it his mission to get C.J., his former patient, out of prison. he's out and CJ has named his son after my dad Theodore Jacob Rice congratulations to CJ and his family you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, threads xbluesky and on the TikTok at Jake Tapper you can follow the show on X and Instagram at the Lead CNN if you ever miss an episode of the Lead you can watch the show on the CNN app Aaron Burnett out front starts now

1:21:44Hey I'm Anderson Cooper on my podcast All There Is we explore grief and loss in all its complexities. You'll hear deeply moving and honest discussions with people who have faced and are living with life-altering losses. My guest is writer, poet Megan Fowley, who is married to the poet Andrea Gibson. Andrea died last summer after a years-long battle with cancer. Is grief different than you thought it would be? Yes, it is. I don't think that I thought that I would be able to have as much joy as I've had. I guess if I wasn't able to find joy and laughter now, I would have missed the point of Andra's messaging.

1:22:28Talking grief, building community. That's what the podcast is all about. This is all there is. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.