Trump: Could Arrange Putin-Zelensky Meeting If Summit Goes Well

26:37Good for ratings. Maybe we'll see. What do you think? I think Gene Simmons told the truth. And now we'll see if there's the petty vindictiveness which also characterizes this president. Big fan of Spin Magazine. Glad to see it backed with a shout-out. But look, man, I mean, you know, we just got to stop trying to federalize, you know, arts and culture. This is Kennedy Center is great, but let's stop trying to mix politicized music as much as it is. Do you, are you worried at all about the, the Gene Simmons quote causing any uproar? No, I don't give a rat's rear end what most celebrities think about politics.

27:14This is a legendary, this is a legendary rock band. Oh yeah. A lot of people love them. They're a big part of our pop culture going back a long time. They obviously deserve it. So I don't care what Gene says. You've always wanted to rock and roll all night and party every day. No, you're acting like it's aspirational. I do this. Literally right here. This is why I work at this network. You rock and roll all night and party every day. That is what you do. That's pretty much my job. You are one of the knights in Satan's service. Kiss. All right, guys, everyone, thanks so much for being here. We really appreciate it.

27:45Coming up, when testing the texts, what happened when a journalist took up a scammer on one of the many spam text messages we all get in our cell phones. But first, Paul Whelan, the former prisoner of Russia, in his very first interview on The Lead after spending more than five years in a Russian prison, we're going to talk to him about what he makes of Trump trying to make a deal with Vladimir Putin. Stay with us.

28:08Back with our world lead and the million-dollar question, will President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin attempt to redraw Ukraine's borders when they meet Friday in this major summit in Anchorage, Alaska. European leaders say that President Trump told them he would not negotiate Ukrainian territory with Putin by himself. But Monday, Trump said himself there would be some, quote, land swapping. Joining us now to discuss is Paul Whelan. It is first time on the lead since his release from a Russian prison just over a year ago. Today, Whelan stepped foot back on American soil after five and a half years wrongfully detained in Russia on trumped up espionage charges, an official U.S.

28:47State Department designation wrongfully detained. Paul, it's so great to see you free. Please send our love to your siblings who would be frequent guests on the show. What is your take on the Trump-Putin summit?

29:03It's a fool's errand. President Trump is trying to make a deal with the devil. You saw how he held Evan Gerskiewicz, Alsu Kermaseva, Trevor Reed and I, Brittany Greiner as well, on trumped up charges. For what? So he could gain something from the United States. He's doing the same thing now. He wants President Trump to go on bended knee to ask for a ceasefire and ask for the war to end. But he won't give anything up. Putin will not give up territory, and he probably will ask for more. It's a precarious situation. I don't think it ends well. You spoke with our CNN colleague Jennifer Hansler about your work with the Levinson Act.

29:47The Levinson Act provides care to returning hostages such as yourself. You've been working with congressional Democrats from Michigan, such as Congresswomen Haley Stevens and Debbie Dingell, to fund the part of the legislation that provides medical and psychological and dental care to returning hostages. What have you heard from the Trump administration about the Levinson Act? Nothing. I'm trying to meet with Secretary Rubio now so we can discuss, make sure that he understands what the issue is. It shouldn't be me asking Congress to fund this bill. It should be the State Department asking Congress to fund the law.

30:24it shouldn't be up to hostages to ask for benefits. The benefits are in the law. The State Department should provide them. So I'd like to get in front of the secretary so that we can discuss the situation, make sure he understands what's happening and not happening, and then see about providing these benefits, which are supposed to be provided for a five-year period, to every hostage that's come home and those that will come home in the future. Viewers of the show, have heard from your sister Elizabeth and your brother David many times on the show. Talk to us about how your family has helped you through this difficult period of reacclimating to life in the United States.

31:06And what was it like seeing them fight on your behalf while you were in prison, if you were able to see that? Oh, I did. And I heard from people all over the world, including our government, the British, Canadian, Irish governments, about their activities. You know, I was proud of them. I'm proud of my parents for putting up with all of this garbage. It was pure nonsense on behalf of the Russians. They made up a story because they wanted something from the United States. And I was a pawn, a political prisoner for five years, seven months, five days. My parents did a lot. They supported me and also other prisoners in my camp by sending food and supplies, medical equipment, medical supplies, things like that, even medications.

31:53They'd go from Amazon through the diplomatic pouch to Moscow to me at the prison. While my brother and sister were on TV and beating up Congress and beating up the White House to get them to do something to bring me home, You know, my parents were in the background doing a lot. And the people in Manchester, Michigan, our community, they were doing a lot to support my parents as well. But I give credit to my parents. They lived through World War Two in England, emigrated to Canada, then the United States. They had a nice, quiet life. And then this is what Putin does. So, yeah, my parents, they went through a lot as children and they went through a lot when I was locked up.

32:34And, you know, great credit to them. You told Anderson Cooper back in December that two moments stood out to you as your lowest points in Russian captivity. One, in 2022, when WNBA star Brittany Griner got swapped for Russian arms dealer Victor Boot and you were left behind. And then second, when you learned that your dog passed away. Tell us what kept you hopeful during your time in prison, because I cannot imagine anything bleaker than being wrongly imprisoned in Russia. Yeah, the conditions are pretty bad. Outside of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia is a third and fourth world country. It is really bad.

33:15Too bad to discuss on air. But, you know, I had traveled the world. We'd had golden retrievers for decades. And whenever I came home from wherever I was traveling, my dog would be there. And I expected when I came home from Russia that my dog would be there. My parents did everything they could to keep her alive. She was over 15 years old. And, you know, she was just she was just at the end. But while I was able to call home, you know, she would hear over the phone my voice and she'd walk over to the phone, stand by the phone wagging your tail. So she always remembered me and knew who I was. And, you know, we had we had some friends and people from the State Department over at the house while I was locked up.

33:58and we would have these phone calls and my dog would walk over to the phone and they were amazed that, you know, even after all those years, my dog still remembered me. But that was a low point. My cat Moppet died as well. And, you know, speaking about the trade with Brittany, you know, you have to keep in mind that in the background, Russia had changed the goalposts and they had wanted to trade Krasikov, the FSB assassin for me. So while we were trying to do a trade one way, they wanted to trade a different way. So yeah, it was terrible to be left behind for a second time, but there was a lot happening.

34:35And a lot of that was being handled by Secretary Blinken and Jake Sullivan, Roger Carston, Spiha, and also Director Bill Burns, who people don't really hear too much about. But these are the guys that brokered the deal that got me home. So I tend to look at the end game, me walking off the plane at Andrews and try to put all the rest behind me. Well, we're so glad that you're out. Paul Whelan, thank you so much. Thanks very much for having me. Have you ever gotten one of those spammy texts from a so-called recruiter saying that you're perfect for this new job? Well, you're not alone. One reporter answered the text, actually got the job, and then says things got weird quick.

35:22He joins us next.

35:30We have some breaking news and our national lead emergency crews are on the scene of a rollover crash involving a school bus in Travis County, Texas. CNN affiliate KVUE reports that multiple people are injured. 15 have been taken to the hospital. 42 children and one adult were on the bus at the time of the crash, according to Austin-Travis County Emergency Services. We'll bring you more news about that horrible accident as we get it. In our tech lead right now, has your phone, like mine, been blowing up with spammy texts from so-called job recruiters? If not, consider yourself lucky. They go something like this.

36:04Here's a sampling from my staff. Hello, my name is Wendy and I'm a recruiter from Indeed. Some include flattery, such as your resume has been recommended by many online recruitment companies. Others promise a great schedule and pay. The daily salary is$100 to$300, and you can work 60 to 90 minutes a day at your favorite time and place. Joining us now is Alexander Salmon. He's a futures writer for the great website Slate.com. And Alexander, you actually responded to one of these texts, and you got the job, and you write, quote, Soon I met someone named Kathy, and so began a saga that went deeper and got much weirder than I ever imagined.

36:40So tell us more about this. what you met with this person? We never met in person, but she was a real person, which that alone was a surprise to me. I texted willingly, signed myself up for this great remote work, and she shot me a message on WhatsApp. I thought probably this was automated. It was like a phishing scam. But then eventually she did reach out. She left me voice notes. She called my phone. We spoke and we had actually many weeks of intimate and extended conversation. And what did she want you to give your bank account information? Like, what was she after? What was she seeking? Yeah, I was trying to figure that out, too, for a while.

37:17I thought, you know, what does this scam actually look like? I thought, at first, yeah, you know, personal information, banking information. It turned out there was a job for me, and there was work to be done. And in the end, what they wanted was Bitcoin and small payments. But it took a while for us to get there. They wanted to give you Bitcoin, or they wanted you to give them Bitcoin? No, no, they wanted me to give them Bitcoin. So, you know, it was an exchange. I would give them Bitcoin, and then eventually they were going to make me whole with a payment that was beyond my wildest imagination.

37:47So you write, quote, Trump has taken a battle axe to the very departments that once existed to do scam prevention and enforcement, like, for instance, the FTC, that's a Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and parts of the Department of Justice. So do you think that the increased prevalence on our phones of this stuff is a direct result of Trump kind of like easing the pedal off the gas when it comes to enforcement against it? Yeah, I think it's a confluence of things. I think there's like a technological component to this.

38:17Obviously, the rise of cryptocurrency, you know, AI tools, all this stuff. But also like the enforcement mechanisms have been totally wiped out, right? Like those departments you mentioned, basically all the guardrails on this stuff has been done away with by the current administration. And so, you know, the downside of running a scam doesn't really exist anymore. And, you know, might as well give it a shot. That's interesting. So it took only a few minutes for what the producer doing the segment to compile some of these ones that I read at the top. And I honestly get like five or six a day. But you can report them as junk.

38:49It says report as junk. Does that actually do anything? I don't know. I think it's sort of like whack-a-mole. It's probably worth the attempt. Obviously, that's my reflex, too. And the one that I did eventually respond to, I was dreading the outcome. Once you respond to one, you know, you'd think that they come in droves. And it seems to be the case that they come in droves either way. But, yeah, I think it's worth a try. All right. Features writer for Slate, Alexander Salmon. Thanks so much. Great stuff. Really interesting story. We're going to keep a close watch on this, the brand new countdown on Taylor Swift's website.

39:21Might she have another big project to make public after announcing plans for a new album this week? But first, the countdown to Friday, a little bit more consequential, potentially, the Trump-Putin summit. What's the tone in Russia? ahead of this meeting. CNN has a team in Moscow, of course, and we're going to go there next live. Stay with us.

39:44I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of the Chasing Life podcast. For a lot of people, it's obvious. The appeal of medical tourism is all about the cost. It's about the price tag. But cost isn't the only driver, as you're about to hear. My guest today is Harvard Law School professor Glenn Cohen. He's an expert in bioethics and the law, and he has written a book about medical tourism. So it varies a little bit by country, but I'll give you some examples of things that are sometimes discussed in the literature. So sex reassignment surgery is an interesting example. Thailand has long been, I think, ahead of us in sex reassignment surgery, and many people think that that's a great place to go for that.

40:25India has often been a leading center for cardiac, but the U.S. is very good at cardiac too. But when someone's thinking about cardiac, act, that's a possibility. Listen to Chasing Life, streaming now, wherever you get your podcasts.

40:40Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapp for this hour. President Trump is promising, quote, severe consequences if Vladimir Putin does not promise to end the war against Ukraine during his summit in Alaska. What might those consequences look like? And what else is the president saying about another potential meeting. This one with Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. Plus, the White House says to expect a, quote, significantly higher National Guard presence on the streets of Washington, D.C. tonight as President Trump's takeover of Washington's law enforcement takes shape. But what exactly will that look like for residents and for tourists?

41:16And might he target other cities next? Also, as we wait for a judge's ruling on whether we'll see any grand jury transcripts in the Jeffrey Epstein case. An attorney who has represented nearly 20 of Epstein's many victims joins me live ahead. And are you ready for it? We're just minutes away from the release of Taylor Swift's podcast with her boyfriend, Travis Kelsley, and his brother, the Super Bowl champion, Philadelphia Eagle, Jason Kelsley. Are we finally going to get more details on her upcoming album? A release date? A single, perhaps? What gives?

41:53The lead tonight, President Trump warning Russia will face, quote, severe consequences if Putin does not agree to end the war with Ukraine. This comes on the heels of the White House appearing to downplay expectations for any sort of major peace deal announcement on Friday. They're characterizing Friday's meeting in Alaska between Trump and Putin as a, quote, listening exercise by President Trump. CNN's Caitlin Collins is at the White House for us. And Caitlin, what else did President Trump say about this upcoming rather high-stakes summit? It is high stakes, Jake. And the president didn't indicate what those severe consequences could be if Putin does not agree to end this war.

42:27Obviously, there have been no indications that the Russian leader is prepared to do that as we've seen him continue to strike Ukraine in recent days and weeks, something that the president has complained about publicly and has created a lot of the dynamics going into this meeting. The question is what the outcome looks like and what we could see as a result of this sit down between Trump and Putin, the first of Trump's second term on Friday in Alaska. And one thing he raised today, Jake, was if the meeting goes well and he hears what he wants to hear from Vladimir Putin is this idea of having a trilateral summit with Trump, Putin and Zelensky.

43:00Listen to what he told reporters about what conditions, though, would need to be met or what he would need to hear from the Russian leader before that could happen. If the first one goes OK, we'll have a quick second one. I would like to do it almost immediately and we'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky and myself if they'd like to have me there. Now, there may be no second meeting because if I feel that it's not appropriate to have it because I didn't get the answers that we have to have, then we're not going to have a second meeting. I should note, Jake, those comments you heard from the president come after he had an hours-long phone call this morning with European leaders and President Zelensky on the line.

43:42Zelensky, for his part, has been pushing for more sanctions if Putin doesn't agree to end the war, if nothing really comes out of Friday's sit-down between Trump and Putin. But, Jake, two other notable moments that happened there that maybe could kind of foreshadow what we might see on Friday. One, the president was asked if he could convince Putin to stop killing Ukrainian civilians. And he basically pointed to the fact that he has urged Vladimir Putin to stop striking Ukraine in previous conversations, and yet the Russian leader has continued to do so, basically not listening to him. And secondly, he was asked about that New York Times reporting yesterday about Russia breaching a federal court system here in the United States, sealed court filings, and whether or not he would confront him about that when they do come face-to-face on Friday.

44:23Trump said he might bring it up, but he basically made the case, Jake, that very quickly that, yes, of course Russia hacks. He said the United States does as well, and he argued the United States does it better. Though obviously, of course, key questions about what exactly is going to come up in this meeting on Friday and what tone President Trump takes with him during that sit-down. Caitlin Collins at the White House. Thank you. And Caitlin and I are both hopping on a plane and heading to Alaska for the special coverage of the Trump-Putin summit that begins on Friday morning right here on CNN.

44:53Before then, don't miss Caitlin on her show, The Source with Caitlin Collins, that airs tonight at 9 Eastern on CNN. Let's go down to CNN's Fred Pleitkin, who's in Moscow, Russia. And Fred, how is Russia and how is the Kremlin reacting to President Trump warning of severe consequences if he does not, if Putin does not agree to a ceasefire? Hi there, Jack. Well, I think the Russians are very well aware of the fact that there could be risks involved in that summit that is going to take place there in Alaska with President Putin and, of course, U.S. President Donald Trump as well. But they're saying as little as possible about all that before the summit takes place.

45:27That's something that the Kremlin has actually told us, saying every word could be expensive, as they put it. But at the same time, the Russians coming out today, and this is the form of the spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry, and saying once again that for them this upcoming summit is not only going to be about the conflict in Ukraine, but about other issues as well, accumulated issues, as the Russians have said. They're saying that they also want to talk about a reset of U.S.-Russian relations and possible better business relations in the future. So for them, they think that the agenda could be broader.

45:58There's one other thing, Jake, that really caught our eye also about the foreign ministry spokesman's statement. He also said that the Russian territory, as he put it, is enshrined in Russia's constitution, which seems to pour cold water on some of the things that President Trump has said about territory possibly being swapped. The Russians, of course, since 2022, have claimed that those four Ukrainian territories, Kherson, the other ones as well, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhia, that those are all Russian territories now, not just the parts of them that Russia holds, but the entire administrative body.

46:33So it's going to be interesting to see whether or not Vladimir Putin is going to be willing to compromise on that issue. Certainly, what the Russians are telegraphing today is a pretty hard line on the territorial issue, Jake. Fred, is Russia reacting at all to anything that Zelensky has said today, including calls for sanctions to be increased? Well, you know what? They actually are. And they were generally talking about the summit that took place today, that virtual summit with Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin, of course, with the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, but then speaking also to other world leaders, including President Trump.

47:05And the Russians call that insignificant, and they essentially said that they believe that those countries are trying to get in the way of this diplomatic process that they believe has started between President Trump and Vladimir Putin. So far, of course, the Russians have also not reacted at all to President Trump saying that he might want a three-way summit if the first summit goes well. Well, they generally have said that any sort of talk of a trilateral meeting or a direct face-to-face meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky is something that Putin is not completely averse to.

47:34But the Russians have said things are still pretty far away from that happening. So it's going to be interesting to see whether or not Vladimir Putin and the U.S. president come to some sort of agreement on all of that. But certainly the Russians also seem to be in that mode that President Trump was speaking about, about this being a feel-out summit for them. At the same time, of course, they are saying that Vladimir Putin is very much boosted by what they see as significant battlefield gains over the past couple of days. One Russian commentator on TV here saying that Russia is going into the summit as a winner.

48:04Jake. Fred Pleiken in Moscow. Thanks so much. Let's bring in former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Ivo Daldar. He's now president emeritus of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Pardon me. Mr. Ambassador, I want you to take a listen to President Trump's warnings to Russia earlier today.

48:39Do you believe him? Well, no, frankly, because it's not the first time that President Trump has threatened very severe consequences. He, in fact, detailed just a few weeks ago tariffs of 100 percent, more sanctions and other measures that he was going to take last Friday. And what happened on Friday? On Friday, rather than implementing those pressure points, which were necessary, he agreed to have a one-on-one meeting with Vladimir Putin and an indicted war criminal who's been indicted for war crimes at the International Criminal Court, who started a war not only just in 2022, but actually in 2014 when he illegally seized Crimea and invited him to come to the United States, of all places, in Alaska, a place that used to be Russian, of course, and the United States bought from Russia back in the 1870s.

49:38So why, if pressure points is necessary, Why not do that now before you have conversations with Vladimir Putin rather than afterwards? So, no, I don't believe that we're going to see a lot of pressure. He said that all along that what he wants is a one on one meeting that he thinks Trump, that he can actually solve this problem. Only he and Putin can solve this problem. That's what this meeting is going to be about. And we'll see what comes out of it. In his call with European leaders today, President Trump said he will not negotiate Ukrainian territory with Putin. This is according to two European diplomats familiar with the call.

50:16President Trump has already complained of getting, quote, a lot of bullshit thrown at him by Putin. You seem to think that he shouldn't be meeting with Putin face to face. Why do you think he is? well because the first and biggest interest that donald trump seems to have is to get that nobel peace prize by claiming that he is the only one who can end conflicts that others can't can't end uh he's been spending a lot of time talking about his unique capacity of ending all these wars that he never started and wasn't a part of but that only he can solve uh and i uh i think he knows that the only way to get an end to any war is to talk directly with protagonists.

51:00He's willing to do that now with Putin because Putin holds the key to the end of this war in his hands. It's after all Putin who started the war and it's only be Putin who can end it. I think that's why he's meeting with him. He's not meeting with him to help the Ukrainians or to make sure that European security and indeed American security is what he's doing is trying to find a way to him. He's the one who had a big deal. A European official says that the threat of these secondary sanctions against Russia is on if the talks in Anchorage, Alaska fall through. Do you think more sanctions would force Putin to back off or might it make him more defiant?

51:45I think more sanctions could help in increasing the pressure, particularly if those sanctions are imposed on someone. Because that's the country that is actually importing a lot of oil and gas and is providing critical technologies that allow the direction to continue to produce material that are used to fight the war against Ukraine. But I don't see President Trump sanctions or tariffs on China to just agree to accept the tariffs for another 90 days. I think, again, the Europeans, Ukrainians think that this meeting will lead to more pressure. I think they're going to be disappointed. All right, former U.S.

52:36Ambassador to NATO, Ivo Daldar, thank you so much. Appreciate it. The White House says more national troops will be deployed on the streets of Washington, D.C. tonight. We're going to check in with CNN's Brian Todd to see what he is seeing and hearing on the ground. Plus, I'm going to be joined live by the mayor of Oakland, California, as President Trump threatens to expand his federal takeover to other cities.

53:03New today in our Law and Justice League, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are demanding answers in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi about Epstein Associate Ghislaine Maxwell's unusual and abrupt transfer to a minimum security prison in Texas from a tougher prison in Tallahassee, Florida. This, as another Epstein victim joins the calls for more transparency from the Trump administration in an interview with CNN's Randy Kaye. I'm in a hostage situation right now with our government. I am. The government has me in a position where I can't continue my healing journey because I have to process and address every day what's going on in the media.

53:44and they won't rip off the Band-Aid and just unseal everything that needs to be public. Joining us now to discuss is attorney Jack Scarola. He has represented nearly 20 of Jeffrey Epstein's victims in court and has spent 18 years litigating cases against Epstein. Jack, thanks for joining us. Is what Haley said similar to what you're hearing from other victims right now about this sudden rise in public interest about the case and feeling in this kind of no man's land in terms of wanting justice and not getting it? The need for transparency has been something that the victims have been talking about for 18 years.

54:26The cover-up of Epstein-related information began in September of 2007, and it has gone on continuously since then. Earlier this week, a judge rejected the Justice Department's bid to unseal the Maxwell, the Glenn Maxwell grand jury materials. The judge said in his opinion, he referenced because so much of the information the Justice Department was asking to be disclosed was already publicly available. The judge said that the Justice Department's request could be seen as a diversion rather than as transparency. Is that how you look at it? Were they just attempting a diversion instead of pushing for real transparency?

55:08There is no question whatsoever but that efforts to unseal grand jury testimony are nothing but a diversion. The grand jury testimony is not going to disclose any information whatsoever that is not already well-known and well-documented. But there are alternatives that are readily available to the federal government that could make a difference. There is an 85-page prosecution memorandum that was drafted in 2007 that contains substantial details with regard to the Epstein investigation that could be released tomorrow if the Department of Justice were really interested in transparency. There's a 53-page indictment that was drafted by the federal government detailing Epstein's crimes, describing the conspiracy and conspirators who were involved in those crimes that has never been released, that could be released tomorrow if the Department of Justice were really interested in transparency.

56:21There are transcripts, presumably, of the interviews that were conducted with Ghislaine Maxwell that could be released tomorrow if the Justice Department were truly interested in transparency. And if there were really an investigation that were directed at determining what this cover-up is all about, why it began, Alex Acosta would be at the very top of the list of individuals to be interviewed because it is well documented in Acosta's own words that he actively participated in concealing the circumstances of the sweetheart deal that Jeffrey Epstein received back in 2007. And he was the individual who signed off on an absolutely unprecedented non-prosecution agreement that granted immunity not only to Jeffrey Epstein, but to specifically named conspirators that worked along with him to abuse hundreds of children.

57:35So let's talk about this Acosta deal. Alex Acosta was the U.S. attorney in Southern Florida for the Bush administration at the time. He later worked as the Secretary of Labor for Trump in the first administration. So this all started in 2005, the law enforcement part of it, 2005, the stepmother of a 14-year-old girl reported to police that her stepdaughter had been molested by a wealthy man. That ultimately led to Epstein's arrest, although Epstein had been tipped off before the cops showed up, so computers were missing. In 2006, Epstein was indicted in Palm Beach County by a grand jury, but the prosecutors only went after him on a single prostitution charge, and that led to this deal of the century where he ended up only serving 13 months in prison.

58:17A lot of it, he was out on work release. He only really was in prison at night. then followed by house arrest. Why? Why was he so coddled? Did you ever get any meaningful answer to that question? No, there never has been a meaningful answer to that question. There is no question but that the local prosecutors in Palm Beach County had identified and documented the abuse of over 20 victims by Epstein and others. Why they chose to present a case to the local grand jury at all is a question that has never been answered since in the ordinary course of events, criminal charges under those circumstances could have been directly filed by the state attorney himself.

59:16That wasn't done. There was a case presented to the grand jury that did not come anywhere near reflecting the full magnitude of Jeffrey Epstein's criminal conduct. And the local investigating authorities, the chief of police of the town of Palm Beach, was so upset by what went on that he is the one that went to the federal government and said, something needs to be done about this. And that's when the federal investigation began. But the federal investigation got shot down by Alex Acosta. It was terminated. In spite of 85 pages of prosecution memorandum, Alex Acosta agreed that the ongoing federal grand jury investigation would be terminated and outstanding grand jury subpoenas would be withdrawn.

1:00:15No one has ever been able to explain why that occurred or why Epstein was given the sweetheart deal that he was given that extended the non-prosecution agreement not only to Epstein himself, but to others named and unnamed. That's an extraordinary provision. That doesn't happen. And it's bizarre that the House Oversight Committee did not include Alex Acosta in their list of individuals that they're going to sit down and interview, including former U.S. attorneys, former FBI directors, former President Bill Clinton. It's unusual. Attorney Jack Skrull, come back soon and let's talk more about this.

1:00:59Thank you so much for your time. You are welcome. Thank you for the attention being paid to this matter. It needs it. With more members of the National Guard flooding the streets of D.C., how long will this go on? We got a hint of that today from President Trump, what his next steps could look like. That's next.

1:01:20Our National League now, the presence of National Guard troops, is expanding in Washington, D.C. as President Trump is urging Congress to pass a crime bill and also extend his federal takeover of the Washington, D.C. Police Department. So we're going to need a crime bill that we're going to be putting in, and it's going to pertain initially to D.C. It's almost, We're going to use it as a very positive example. And we're going to be asking for extensions on that, long-term extensions, because you can't have 30 days. We're going to do this very quickly. But we're going to want extensions. I don't want to call a national emergency.

1:01:56If I have to, I will. Brian Todd's in D.C. Brian, are you seeing a larger number of National Guard troops on the ground? We are seeing a larger staging presence here, Jake. And we are told by a White House official that starting tonight, there will be a significantly larger National Guard presence on the streets of Washington, D.C. As I mentioned, this is a major staging area. My photojournalist Andrew Smith and I will kind of go down this fence line here and show you what you're looking at. This is the National Park Police Facility in the Anacostia section of Washington, D.C. You can see National Guard armored Humvees right here.

1:02:32We are told that guardsmen and other federal agents have been staging from here for the last couple of nights. You can see Metropolitan Washington police vehicles here. We have seen FBI personnel coming in with Kevlar vests and weapons and one taking a rifle out of his vehicle. Now, the National Guardsmen, we're told, will not be carrying firearms on their person, but they will have them in their vehicles ready if need be. You can also see kind of a command control center over there where those temporary communication stanchions are, and you can see some personnel gathering over there. We have seen several jurisdictions represented here, including the Capitol Police, the Metro Transit Police, again, the FBI and others.

1:03:11Now, according to a White House official, Jake, there were 43 total arrests last night in the district. That official saying that that was double the number from the previous night. And significantly, the official told us that with those 43 arrests last night, the total number of arrests as of last night surpassed more than 100 since this operation began last Thursday, August 7th. Now, among those arrests were one for homicide, 33 firearms violations, seven narcotics-related charges, and several other charges. Again, we're told that, again, the National Guard presence will be significantly larger tonight.

1:03:44The White House official who we spoke to said the National Guard, though, will not be arresting people. They are here to make the environment safer for other officers. And we're going to see what the task force comes up with tonight. We've been fanning out with them for the last couple of nights. And again, National Guardsmen will be making themselves much more present, at least visibly, here in Washington tonight. All right, Brian, Todd, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Let's discuss this now with the mayor of Oakland, California, Barbara Lee, former congresswoman. Madam Mayor, President Trump said his crime bill will initially focus on D.C.

1:04:14How concerned are you that what the president is doing in Washington, D.C., where he does have rights because D.C. is not a state, that he'll attempt to do so in other cities, including Oakland? Nice being with you, Jake. Well, of course, he called out Oakland in that speech that he gave. But let me just tell you, we're working with our allies and our coalition and our partners to make sure that if, in fact, he decides to militarize and occupy, Oakland will be ready, will not allow these acts of provocation to accomplish his goals. Let me tell you, First of all, no one in Oakland knows Donald Trump and his playbook like myself.

1:04:56Remember, I served four years in Congress when he was president and also was sitting on the floor, Jake, you may remember, on January 6th when he sent his people in to try to thwart the peaceful transfer of power. And so we're not going to allow this militarization and occupation of Oakland. Our crime rate, quite frankly, is going down 28 percent. Violent crime, homicides down 24 percent. And finally, I'll just say in those cities he called out, it does not go unnoticed that these cities have large populations of black and brown people, first of all. Secondly, the crime rate is going up. Oh, we lost.

1:05:36Well, there you are. There you are again. Is she back up or not? We're having some control issues. We don't. OK, we're going to we've obviously have some comms issues. We're going to squeeze in a quick break. If we can bring back the mayor, we will. In the meantime, our small business series is also coming up with a shoe designer and manufacturer who says that her business is being suffocated by Trump's tariffs. What is the company's message to lawmakers? We'll find out.

1:06:04Hopefully the communication gremlins have been disposed of. Let's bring back Oakland, California Mayor Barbara Lee. Madam Mayor, President Trump, as you noted, singled out your city of Oakland earlier this week. Let's let's roll that clip. We have other cities that are very bad. New York has a problem. And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. We don't even mention that anymore. They're so far gone. We're not going to let it happen. We're not going to lose our cities over this. This is obviously in the context of the president sending the National Guard to reduce crime in Washington, D.C.

1:06:40What's your reaction? Well, first, he's fear-mongering, and he is not leading with facts as we are. The crime rate in Oakland, California, in my city, where I serve as mayor, has come down significantly, about 28 percent. Homicides down 24 percent. Do we have ways to go? Do we have more work to do? Yes. But let me just say also, it's not lost on anyone that the cities that he is calling out, first of all, have large numbers of black and brown people. Secondly, the crime rate is going down in all of these cities. Thirdly, they're all headed by black mayors. Now, what does that say? What does that picture paint?

1:07:20So we all know who he is. Also, let me just say here in Oakland, for example, we have a Department of Violence Prevention and Cease Fire, and we're working with the police department. And that is why our crime rate is coming down. If this president wanted to help cities instead of militarize and occupy them to provoke a reaction, what he would do would be fund these violence prevention efforts that will help us with our continuation of the trajectory of reducing crime. His motivations, we all know, it's outrageous and we're going to keep fighting and we're not going to allow the militarization of our city.

1:08:01Your state's governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom, announced that there's going to be a news conference tomorrow with other legislators, seemingly to lay out California's redistricting plans in response to Republican leaders in Texas doing the same. Do you support this gerrymandering tit for tat? Texas creates five more Republican seats. California creates five more Democratic seats. Absolutely. And, Jake, it's not really tit for tat. We're trying to save our democracy. and what this administration is doing is trying to dismantle our democracy. And so what the governor is doing is fighting for the entire country as well as California because we're on the edge.

1:08:42As I mentioned earlier, I was sitting on the floor of the House of Representatives on January 6th. I know this playbook and this is what they're about. And so, yes, we have to fight to protect our democracy. And if they're going to come out and try to destroy it, then we have to fight to protect it. And this is one way to do that. All right, Oakland, California, Mayor Barbara Lee. Good to see you again, Madam Mayor. Thank you so much. Nice to be able to see you. It's time for our Business Leaders series, where we talk with small business owners from coast to coast about the impact of President Trump's tariffs.

1:09:13Highline United, that's a footwear designer and manufacturer based in Dedham, Massachusetts. The company produces wholesale shoes for a number of brands, as well as under their own label, which is called Ash. CEO Marina Rosen-Levine, did I get that right? You got that right. I got it right. It's here with me now. How are tariffs impacting your business? They're crippling our business. How so? We started with tariffs already baked into our product because we import everything from China, Vietnam, and also other countries. And then the tariffs went up during the first administration. Then they went up again with the fentanyl tariffs that came in.

1:09:51And then at a certain point, the tariffs hit nearly 150 percent. With footwear, our margin is tiny. So as soon as the tariffs went back down to about 47 percent, we used that opportunity to bring in our product. But there is no margin in the footwear anymore. Have you had to raise prices? We're selectively raising prices. You know, Jake, I think the story is not so much about the consumer experience right now. It's about how we're holding our prices on most of our products because we already experienced during the 2018 tariff increase that consumers push back. So right now we're holding we're trying to keep our market share knowing that there's no money in the shoes.

1:10:39Yesterday we saw inflation stayed steady. Prices did not go up. in some businesses they did, but generally speaking, the average stayed steady. When do you think we're going to see as Americans, people like you just say, I can't do it anymore. I'm either going to go out of business or I'm going to have to raise my prices. So, and prices go up. When do you think that is going to happen? Is that like fourth quarter, first quarter of next year? What do you think? I think first quarter of next year. People are just holding off as long as they can. Yeah. And then, you know, we're going to, that's as long as we know we can hold out.

1:11:14And if you could say anything to President Trump, what would you say? I would say that I'm surprised that he hasn't created a carve out for footwear. You know, his family has made a lot of money prior to his first administration in the footwear industry. His daughter, Ivanka Trump, started her fashion empire with licensed footwear. And they know what it means to produce overseas versus here. There is no production here. And if we are to create footwear production in the United States, by the time that happens, we're going to be out of business. Well, that's, I mean, one of the reasons, the president says he's doing this for two reasons.

1:11:55One is to have fairness in world trade. And the other one is to bring manufacturing back to the United States. Has this resulted in anyone manufacturing shoes in the United States so you can buy them? You know, the footwear industry is a$100 billion industry here. 90 % of that is produced outside of the United States. We simply don't have the skill set to produce shoes here. The footwear industry is very labor intensive. That's why there are so many licensing partners and production facilities to do it outside. You know, most people don't have the skill set in the United States anymore. And if footwear is produced here, the retail cost of that would be at least$300.

1:12:41And where should people go if they want to help you out and buy some shoes? They should go to us.ash.com. us.ash.com. All right, you can stop for Highline United's brands on their website. Marina Rosalind Levine, thank you so much for being here. Really good to see you. Thank you so much. A court hearing is scheduled for tomorrow as a number of rural health clinics say they may have to shut down because of provision in President Trump's so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act. We're going to take you to one of those clinics as it treats some of America's most vulnerable next.

1:13:20Off to Maine now we go on our health lead. It is a group of health clinics in rural Maine that could be forced to close soon unless a legal injunction is extended. An issue specifically is a provision in President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act that prohibits certain clinics from accepting Medicaid funds if they provide abortions outside of cases of rape, incest, or when a woman's life is in danger. Maine Family Planning, which is a nonprofit that provides not only abortions, but primary care to thousands of people on Medicaid, is hoping that a court will intervene. CNN's Meg Terrell filed this report.

1:13:58They call it health on wheels. This mobile clinic covers hundreds of miles across the state of Maine every week, bringing health care directly to those who may not be able to get it otherwise. Today, they're taking us along for the ride. This is kind of our typical start of our day. A soup kitchen in Waterville, a town of about 17 ,000 just north of the state capital, Augusta. The mobile clinic is part of Maine Family Planning, a network with 18 other locations that's provided reproductive health care and other services to those in the state for more than 50 years. We are doing appointments here today if you need to be seen for anything.

1:14:35Peace of mind, testing, wound care, a little bit of primary care, that type of stuff. Happy to get you in if you want to do that. Oh, yes, thank you. Many of their patients, especially those served by the mobile clinic, are on Medicaid. Primarily, it's folks who are underserved is kind of maybe the best word to use. Folks who may not have other options due to lack of transportation, lack of insurance. So we are able to provide care to folks who can't get care otherwise. But last month, their ability to keep serving Medicaid patients was dealt a blow because of a provision in the Trump administration's so-called Big Beautiful Bill focused on abortion.

1:15:16Maine Family Planning provides abortions, which are legal in Maine until fetal viability. The law prohibits certain clinics that receive more than$800 ,000 in annual Medicaid reimbursement and which provide abortions from receiving Medicaid funds for a year for any health care services. I mean, I guess if you stopped offering abortion, you could continue to accept Medicaid. Is that ever in the consideration? We refuse to compromise the services for our patients. We offer life-changing care, life-saving care, and we're just not going to give up on that. The practice says it already never used Medicaid funds for abortion under long-standing federal law.

1:15:55But the new law has put its ability to continue at the same level into question. We are now, as of July 4th, ineligible to receive Medicaid reimbursement. However, that has not stopped us from providing direct care and continuing to provide direct care to Medicaid-insured patients. We don't know how long we can continue to do that, but we're going to continue to do it as long as we can. In Waterville, like many communities in rural states, primary care facilities have been closing, making Maine family planning services more essential. These are HIV home test kits. The practice has been helping respond to an HIV outbreak centered about 50 miles away in Bangor, providing testing, prevention and help with treatment.

1:16:39Carla Karin, who oversees the soup kitchen in Waterville, tells us what Maine Family Planning also offers is trust and community. The medical health unit is having an impact and it can't go away. It can't go away. Our communities need this. They need more of it, not less of it. Last month, Planned Parenthood won a temporary block on the funding ban. Maine Family Planning has filed its own lawsuit along with the Center for Reproductive Rights, and its day in court is tomorrow. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a defendant in that lawsuit, told CNN it doesn't comment on matters in litigation, but in legal documents, it's fighting that request for an injunction.

1:17:20All right, Meg Terrell, thanks so much. All the way to Maine for that story. This next story is definitely better than revenge. The countdown is on in the highly anticipated Taylor Swift podcast. drops in just minutes. We're going to break down what could be in store for all you Swifties. That's next.

1:17:41And our pop culture lead, Swifties. Swifties, I need you to stay, stay, stay for this segment. We are watching the countdown clock, but you already know all too well, there are only four minutes left until Taylor Swift makes her podcast debut on New Heights. The podcast hosted by her boyfriend, Kansas City Chief Travis Kelsey, and his big brother, the former Super Bowl champion, Philadelphia Eagle, Jason Kelsey. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister is joining us now. Elizabeth, what's the big fuss? What's going on here? What did Taylor and the Kelsey brothers have in store for all this madness with the Swifties out there?

1:18:21It is absolute madness. As you see, I'm in my orange. Everybody is celebrating. Here's what I know for sure. What they have in store is the biggest podcast ratings of all time. This is just going to be massive. And Jake, I know that Jason Kelsey is your favorite Kelsey brother because, of course, the Eagles. But I have to tell you, I'm now a huge Jason Kelsey fan because he is Taylor Swift's ultimate hype man. Now, this morning, they released a little teaser. And Taylor, she is in on the joke. She knows what football fans say about her. Take a look. As we all know, you know, you guys have a lot of male sports fans that listen to your podcast.

1:19:03And I think we all know that if there's one thing that male sports fans want to see in their spaces and on their screens, it's more of me. See, she knows what we are all talking about. Now, Jake, this is a really big deal, not just because of her 12th album coming out, but also this is really the most insight we've ever gotten into Taylor's personal life and her relationship with Travis Kelsey. This is a big deal for her to be on her boyfriend's podcast. So everybody is wondering what are they going to talk about? Yeah, no, I mean, it's a look, my my wife and daughter care quite a bit about this relationship.

1:19:44um could Taylor have any other surprises up her sleeve other than this new album absolutely we don't know what they are but let me take you through some swifty knowledge that your wife and daughter absolutely know but I'm gonna enlighten you Jake so what you see here on your screen is what was on Taylor's website a few hours ago so this is a golden orange door now Now, why is that important? Because there was an orange door on her ERAs tour. The second that Taylor announced that she was having her 12th album come out, the fans said, oh my gosh, there was an orange door. This is her walking into her next ERA.

1:20:24Now, you see on the bottom there, there's four little lockboxes. So fans, including myself, think this means there could be four announcements. Does this mean that there is going to be a four-part ERAs documentary? Does this mean that there are going to be four variations of the album? And here's my four theories. I think we're getting the album cover for sure. That's number one. I think we could get a release date of the album. Number two. Number three, but I don't think likely. Travis engagement news, maybe. And number four, maybe we will find out what the first single is. And many Swifties are speculating, will she be collaborating with Sabrina Carpenter?

1:21:04Okay, it's like you're reading the entrails of a slaughtered beast or the stars. It's quite something to behold. Look, Jake, you speak football, I speak Swifty, okay? So we're a good match. If you say so. If you say so. Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much. I think I'm even more confused than I was before. Erin Burnett out front starts right now.

1:21:34Hey, I'm Anderson Cooper. On my podcast, All There Is, we explore grief and loss in all its complexities. My guests are David Frum and Danielle Crittenden. They're both journalists and writers who've been married for 38 years. They've had three children together, Miranda, Nathaniel, and Beatrice. Miranda, their eldest, worked as a journalist and model before she died unexpectedly. Parental death feels in the natural order of things. You lose a child, it not only upends the universe and your universe, but it was a grief with a capital G. There are those who are in grief, and the rest of humanity I now call pre-grief, because it's coming.

1:22:20Talking grief, building community. That's what the podcast is all about. This is all there is. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.