Trump Filing Libel Lawsuit Over WSJ Report

25:52Take a listen. There is no Epstein client list that I can tell you that lists names of people who he purportedly took to an island with young girl or any place else with young women. I can assure you he would have used that disadvantage if there were. And I can assure you the accusers who were involved in those situations, if they were involved with fill in the blank, some famous person, they would have sued by now. Their lawyers are very aggressive and have made millions off of those lawsuits. What's your response? Oh, gosh, they did sue. They sued a lot of powerful men. We just don't know about it, because when you sue somebody that powerful, they settle.

26:33And so there were plenty of lawsuits that the victims filed against these powerful men. That's part of what their lawyers did. And it's been all settled all quietly. And we just don't know about it. So that's just simply not true. Schoen says he met with Epstein nine days before Epstein was found dead in his cell in 2019. And they discussed several topics, including Trump. Take a listen. I specifically asked him about Donald Trump. And he was adamant in making clear that he had no bad information about Trump. Remember, Trump had thrown him out of his club years earlier. He wasn't happy about the idea of Trump being falsely accused because Trump was one of the names being thrown out there, thrown around then.

27:16Now, there's still a lot unknown about Trump and Epstein's relationship, although nothing illegal has credibly been put forward. But according to The Wall Street Journal's news story, there's this letter bearing Trump's name with a drawing, a crude sketch of a naked woman that was part of this birthday book for Epstein in 2003. Again, that's two years before Epstein was ever accused of anything untoward with underage girls. The Wall Street Journal says the letter concludes with the line, quote, happy birthday and may every day be another wonderful secret. Again, President Trump vehemently denies this.

27:49He writing on Truth Social, quote, these are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures. He's also filing this libel suit against The Wall Street Journal and News Corp and Rupert Murdoch. On the drawings, just as a side note, here's a sketch Trump drew in 2005 of the New York City skyline. It was sold at an auction for nearly$30 ,000 in 2017. But regardless, what questions do you have when it comes to the president and Epstein and their relationship? Well, let me just set the record straight. I know what he said that Epstein told him when he was in prison, but Epstein told his own brother, and his brother has been public about this, that he told him that if the public knew everything that he knew about Trump, they would have to cancel the election.

28:35And that's his brother's words, not mine. So there is something there. I'm not saying it means that the president did anything illegal or he was involved with Epstein's operation at all. But, you know, the story that he told his brother is different from the story that he he told that lawyer, number one. The other point I wanted to make is, you know, he also said there's no list. I agree that there probably isn't a list. But my understanding is that Epstein kept files and he did keep files on people. I don't know whether the Justice Department got their hands on those files, but Epstein had some kind of records.

29:15It might not have been, and I don't believe it was, in a formal list that everybody wants to refer to. So I just think that Epstein told different people different things, and it's hard to know really what's true and what's not true. Once again, Julie Brown's book is called Perversion of Justice, the Jeffrey Epstein story. I highly recommend it for anybody interested in this story. And she's done so much excellent journalism related to this case and standing up for the victims of these atrocities. Julie Brown, thank you so much. Always good to have you here. The breaking news this hour, President Trump filing a lawsuit suing The Wall Street Journal for their report on Jeffrey Epstein's birthday letters that the journal says included a note bearing Trump's name.

30:00Also this hour, the Justice Department has formally asked a federal judge to release pertinent grand jury transcript excerpts in the Epstein case. CNN's Paula Reid's going through the filings. We're going to check back in with her next.

30:18Cozy season is ahead and you'll be spending way more time inside. Is your home ready? Don't worry. With Wayfair, you can upgrade your space without breaking the bank. Score up to 70 % off during their Labor Day clearance on furniture, area rugs, mattresses, and more. Plus, surprise flash deals you can't miss. Whether it's one room or the whole house, Wayfair has pieces for every style and budget. Shop Wayfair's Labor Day clearance now through September 7th at Wayfair.com. Wayfair, every style, every home. Let's have I got news for your ears, the podcast. I am your host, Michael Ian Black. We're talking about the administration's economic wars on Iran and Canada.

31:00The state of education from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The latest on the midterms and what Team Trump is up to and how the Supreme Court feels about it. Plus, Scott Besson unleashes economic D-Day. Have I got news for your ears? Check us out on Apple, Amazon Music, wherever you get your podcasts. Even better, you can watch the podcast on Spotify. And we're back with our continuing coverage of the breaking news. The Justice Department asking a Manhattan court to make years old grand jury testimony related to the Jeffrey Epstein case public. Paula Reid joins us again. And Paula, you've had a couple of minutes now to go through this grand jury ask again for everybody watching.

31:46This is just one small part of the Epstein documents writ large. There's a lot that the Trump folks are not asking to release. But on this small part, what can you tell us? It's really interesting. I wanted to see what argument they were going to make here to this judge. They're arguing that all of this is in the public interest. And I will say the Justice Department has not gotten a lot right on the messaging about this effort. But here it appears that the Attorney General Pambani and Todd Blanche, they're at least striking the right tone. Look, I don't know if this is going to work. But what they're writing here, they're saying, quote, quote, public officials, lawmakers, pundits, and ordinary citizens remain deeply interested and concerned about the Epstein matter.

32:24They are noting the fact that in other places they have released portions of grand jury transcripts after concluding that the Epstein case qualifies as a matter of public concern. After all, Jeffrey Epstein, they say, is, quote, the most infamous pedophile in American history. The facts surrounding the Epstein case tell a tale of national disgrace. They argue the grand jury records are thus critical pieces of an important moment in our nation's history. They also argue that they understand there are privacy interests for victims and accusers, and they believe that a lot of the privacy concerns are diminished by the fact that Epstein is, of course, deceased, but they're willing to work with prosecutors to try to redact anything that could potentially impact victims.

33:05So the arguments here, they are well articulated. As you have said, this is just a tiny portion of the evidence that exists, And now the judge will likely want to allow those accusers, victims, their lawyers to weigh in on this possibility because grand jury material is by default confidential. And look, even if the judge decides that he will release some of this, there are still going to be questions about all the rest of the material that the Justice Department itself has the power to release and has not done so. Right. And just to underline it again for folks, this is the grand jury testimony related to the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

33:48The questions and the reason why people want more accountability, Jeffrey Epstein's dead, Ghislaine Maxwell's in prison, is because they're questions of all the other people who may have been involved. They will not necessarily be mentioned in this because the prosecutors were not going after them. That's exactly right. Highly unlikely that any of those other individuals are mentioned here. But the attorney general, I really think it's important to note that she said last week that they reviewed this case and they don't believe that they have evidence to go after any third parties. But clearly the public is not satisfied by that.

34:19All right, Paula Reid, thanks so much. At one point, the Epstein scandal threatened a key House vote that eventually did happen overnight. A House Republican will join me with the impact of that vote and much more that they were voting on. That's next.

34:34In our politics lead, the Republicans' bill to take back more than$9 billion in already appropriated and approved federal spending is just sitting there waiting for President Trump's signature. The House passed it earlier this morning. Only two House Republicans voted against it. One of the bill's supporters, Nebraska Republican Congressman Mike Flood, joins us now. Congressman, thanks for joining us. So the bill brings back or clause back or rescinds, whatever you want to call it, roughly $8 billion in foreign aid and another billion in money for public broadcasting. You're a co-chair of the Congressional Broadcasters Caucus.

35:06You also have a media company that owns radio stations in Nebraska. We heard Democrats and some Republicans argue that the public broadcasting cuts could endanger people in parts of rural America who get weather alerts via public radio stations where there aren't other commercial stations. Are you not concerned about that? Well, of course I am. I've been talking to the folks at Nebraska Public Media. We have talked about a lot of different scenarios and how this will play out. I think it's important to really note that what we did was end the automatic appropriation of these funds into the future.

35:43This still goes through the same process that we're going to go through when we put our budget together in advance of October 1st. This is going to go through the same subcommittee on appropriations, and it will eventually be voted on the floor. And I can tell you there are a whole bunch of different ways to get rural alerts today. Obviously, the emergency alert system is very important through broadcasters. And the system that we have in my home state, I mean, our state government appropriates$12 million to public television and radio in Nebraska. We are one of the best public media companies in the nation.

36:20In fact, we're the backbone of the system. If something were to happen to Boston or Washington, D.C., the Nebraska system is well prepared to run the entire network. We have all of that capability. So I'm confident in the state that I represent that those warnings and that transparency, everything that's been happening at public media in my state will be fine. Were you not concerned at all during the kerfuffle in the House Rules Committee about some of your fellow Republicans refusing to vote for the rule for this bill because they wanted there to be included an amendment that pushes the Justice Department to open more Epstein files.

36:56Where are you on that issue? Do you want more transparency? Sure. I supported that resolution to make grand jury testimony more available, the Epstein files more available. But hey, we got to look at the big picture here. What Americans want are solutions to problems. They want to see us working together, unified to pass the Genius Act, the Clarity Act, the one big, beautiful bill and the rescissions package. That's what I'm focused on. I understand why my colleagues on the Rules Committee felt so strongly. This is an issue that it seems every American has an opinion on, and they want that information out there.

37:34There's no part of them that doesn't want that out there. And, you know, you've got people calling them these horrible names and they're like, hey, we want people to know this info. So I get why they're frustrated. I didn't blame them at all. I think they did what they had to do. And we got the job done. And here I am back home. All right, Nebraska Republican Congressman Mike Flood, have fun back home, sir. Good to see you. Police. Good to see you. Police raiding the home of the man once dubbed the Trump of the tropics. That's former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. That and more. Stay with us.

38:09Our world lead Brazilian authorities raided former President Jair Bolsonaro's home today and ordered him to wear an electronic ankle tag. Bolsonaro calls it a supreme humiliation. Here is CNN's Stefano Pozzavon. Early Friday, Brazil's federal police came knocking, raiding the home of former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, fitting him with an ankle tag and burrowing him from speaking to foreign officials and using social media. These measures ordered by Brazil's Supreme Court to prevent him from leaving the country as he faces trial for allegedly plotting a coup against his left-leaning successor.

38:49Bolsonaro lashed out against the ankle tag. Dammit, I'm a former president. I'm 70 years old. This is a supreme humiliation. And immediately brought up his close ally, U.S. President Donald Trump. If I had a passport, I would request an audience to visit Donald Trump. Trump casts a long shadow over this case, as he threatens tariffs of up to 50 % on Brazilian products in retaliation for Bolsonaro's prosecution. I think this is very personal for President Trump. I think that he believes that what is happening in Brazil right now is political persecution of former President Bolsonaro in a way that reminds Trump of what happened to him.

39:33and the parallels between the 2020 election in the United States and the 2022 election in Brazil. Bolsonaro's supporters stormed Brazil's capital on January 8, 2023, in striking similarity to what happened on January 6, two years before. This week, Trump wrote a letter to support Bolsonaro. But in the current Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Trump has found a formidable opponent. Lula claiming the country is prepared to retaliate with similar tariffs and calling out on Trump directly in an interview with CNN. We cannot have President Trump forgetting that he was elected to govern the U.S.

40:15He was elected not to be the emperor of the world. And Jake, what is playing out in front of our eyes could really escalate, especially because neither Lula nor Trump have any incentive to back down. Brazil does not depend on U.S. trade in the same way that many countries in the Americas do. And at the same time, Lula has said time and again that in Brazil the judiciary is independent and that he cannot interfere with the investigation. I think that what we are seeing here is just the beginning of this confrontation, especially if Bolsonaro is found guilty in the coming days or weeks. Jake? All right, our thanks to CNN's Stefano Posovo.

40:52Two major filings this hour, the Trump, President Trump formally asking a judge to release the grand jury transcripts on Jeffrey Epstein. President Trump also suing Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal over its reporting about Jeffrey Epstein's birthday book and what Trump, they say, contributed to that book. Trump's former fixer, Michael Cohen, is going to join me with his insight into all this next.

41:45We'll be right back. now through September 7th at Wayfair.com. Wayfair, every style, every home. This is CNN Breaking News. It is an active Friday evening. Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We are following breaking news. Just moments ago, the Attorney General of the United States, Pam Bondi, at the direction of President Trump, asked a federal judge to unseal grand jury testimony related to the prosecution of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. This move comes amid intense pressure from within the president's own party. And moments after President Trump filed a libel lawsuit in South Florida against the publisher of The Wall Street Journal for a story that they published Thursday night about a birthday letter that President Trump reportedly allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 as part of a larger compendium for a Jeffrey Epstein 50th birthday book.

42:41And the allegation is that it included a sexually suggestive drawing and some texts that said, quote, happy birthday and may every day be another wonderful secret. The journal says it was under Trump's name. President Trump vehemently denies having anything to do with that. CNN's Evan Perez is with me. Evan. Yeah, Jake. So we have the filing now from the attorney general signed by the attorney general and the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche. and it says that the reason for moving to take the unusual move of releasing the grand jury testimony in the Jeffrey Epstein case is because it is in the public interest.

43:21Of course, none of this mentions that a lot of the public interest and why the public is talking about it is driven really by the actions of the attorney general and people around President Trump who have really driven some of the conspiracies around the Jeffrey Epstein case. But nonetheless, here we are, and I'll read you just a part of what it says in this filing. It's a four-page filing filed with the judge in the Southern District of New York that was overseeing this case. It says, given the public interest in the investigative work conducted by the Justice Department and the FBI, the Justice Department moves to court to unseal the underlying grand jury information in the Epstein case, subject to appropriate redactions of victim-related and other personal identifying information.

44:09And that's a very important part of this discussion, Jake, because now what will happen is the judge will have to take into consideration whether the material, the evidence, the testimony that was presented to the grand jury, whether it is in the public interest to have that stuff out there and whether there is harm to some of these victims and some of these accusers. Now keep in mind, even if their names are taken out, a lot of people can figure out who we're talking about just by the circumstance and the context of some of that testimony. So the judge is going to weigh on this very, very closely.

44:43The other thing that the filing makes note of is that other judges in the Epstein matter have released testimony. If, for instance, the Florida state court judge who oversaw that case before the federal case was done in 2019, released a grand jury testimony in that case and said that the Epstein case tells a tale of national disgrace. This is cited in this filing that was made today, Jake. All right, Evan Pettis, thanks so much. Let's bring in our legal panel to discuss. Bill Brennan, do you think public interest will be a persuasive argument for this judge to release this grand jury testimony in the cases against Jeffrey Epstein and his aide, Ghislaine Maxwell?

45:29Jake, it may well be. I mean, there is some quasi precedent for this type of argument. I recall here in Pennsylvania, my home state in the Eastern District, when the comedian Bill Cosby had his case opened, a now retired federal judge, Judge Robrino, was persuaded by an argument that said that sealed records and sealed depositions could be released because Mr. Cosby made himself a public moralist in his monologue. And that led to eventually the prosecution. So I think when you raise the issue of public interest, it takes the presumptive secrecy of sealed records or grand jury proceedings, and it puts it at play.

46:14Tom Dupree, Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman, a former prosecutor, he posted this reaction to Bondi's request, quote, nice try, Attorney General Pam Bondi. What about videos, photographs, and other recordings? What about FBI 302s, witness interviews? What about texts and emails? That's where the evidence about Trump and others will be. Grand jury testimony will only relate to Epstein and Maxwell, unquote. Now, obviously, we don't know if there's anything in there about Donald Trump, but isn't his larger point true that if we're looking for other people beyond Maxwell and Epstein who did anything wrong, it probably won't be in this grand jury testimony.

46:54Look, the Congressman is right that this is a fraction of the total amount of evidence that the United States government has amassed in the course of its Epstein investigation. The grand jury testimony, you're right, It typically will be focused on the name defendants, and it will not include many of the things that the congressman mentioned. For example, it will not include statements obtained by FBI investigators. It won't include documentary evidence, video evidence, all sorts of evidence that goes beyond the name defendants and may include third parties who are present with Epstein and that sort of thing.

47:25So, look, I think the congressman has a point, and I think the release of this grand jury material is a very important and salutary first step. But there still is a lot of information, a wealth of information that remains out there. Tom, let's turn to the new libel lawsuit the president is filing against the Wall Street Journal publisher. He just filed it in South Florida. What do you make of where this was filed? It just happens to be the home and there's a chance that he'll he'll we don't know that he will, but there's a chance he'll get Judge Eileen Cannon. And in general, Florida is thought to be a little bit friendlier to Republicans, I think.

48:03Look, I think that was a strategic decision made by the president's lawyers that he's statistically likelier to get a friendlier judge, a more welcome reception in Florida than he probably would have in other jurisdictions. So I don't think the Florida decision was an accident. At the same time, look, I mean, the law of libel is very difficult for plaintiffs to overcome. I have not seen anything that suggests that the Wall Street Journal acted improperly here that would provide a basis for a libel judgment. Of course, that's not hasn't stopped the president in the past from suing. He seems to like these sorts of uphill battles against the media.

48:37But there's a long way to go. And I think the selection of a judge will be an important first step. But even if the president draws a judge that he likes, doesn't necessarily mean that this lawsuit ultimately will succeed. Bill, I have to say, I find the whole strategy kind of curious. Even if you believe everything alleged in the story that President Trump did it all and he denies it all. Right. He denies it all. But even if you believe it, it's just kind of a weird letter and a crude cartoon. And this is in 2003, two years before Jeffrey Epstein was ever even accused of anything untoward involving underage girls.

49:15Do you think it's a smart legal strategy to take this to court? Won't the president have to answer a whole bunch of questions and release a bunch of information he might not want to? Well, if we take the president at his word that he never drew a drawing or a photograph in his life and this is not his letter, then this is the move he has to take. And apparently he gave fair warning. And as you know, Jake, the standard New York Times versus Sullivan is the lead case. It's a 1964 case where some writings were published about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the standard was set that there's a distinction between a private figure and a public figure, he would have to show actual malice on the part of the publisher and the reporters.

50:00It is a tougher standard, but he's filed it. And, you know, he's not afraid to file a lawsuit. So I would, if I was representing the defendants, I would take it seriously. Oh, absolutely. I'm not saying don't take it seriously. I just think it's a weird legal strategy. And also a little Streisand effect in there. You know, all of a sudden now we're paying a lot more attention to this story than I think we probably would have otherwise. Bill Brannan and Tom Dupree, thanks to both of you. Joining us now, Michael Cohen, who served for years as the personal attorney for Donald Trump, obviously not a fan of his now and vice versa.

50:30He's the host of the Substack channel, The Real Michael Cohen, and the host of the Mea Culpa podcast. Michael, good to see you again. David Schoen, the former attorney for Jeffrey Epstein, as well as Donald Trump, in a separate case, told CNN there is no client list. He also said this about they also he also said about Trump's relationship with Epstein. I specifically asked him, quote, I specifically asked him about Donald Trump and he was adamant in making clear he had no bad information about Trump. Remember, Trump had him thrown out of his club years earlier. He wasn't happy about the idea of Trump being falsely accused because Trump was one of the names being thrown around then, unquote.

51:06Does that square with your understanding of the relationship or lack thereof between Trump and Epstein? So I want to be clear that I didn't come into Trump's orbit until 2005 and then full time employ as executive vice president until 2007. So I can only speak for that 13 year time period. And during that 13 year time period, I never heard Trump mention Jeffrey Epstein. I never saw Jeffrey Epstein in the office. The thousands of times I showed up into Trump's office, I never once heard Jeffrey Epstein on a phone. So I don't know about the relationship that preceded me. You know, I also, as we start talking about the various different issues that this thing is bringing up, one of the big issues is the fact that there's nothing but conspiracy theories coming out of it from both sides of the aisle.

52:05And I don't know who it was or who recommended to Trump not to just release the file. Why allow these conspiracies to explode, which they certainly have when you claim complete innocence? And I can understand his desire now to want to start to release some of the... I just lost audio there of Michael Cohen. Can you hear me, Michael? No, I'm still here. Like I said, there's these conspiracy theories are running rampant. A lot of people will make claim that it's because of MAGA. Right. For years, these loyalists had built this alternative reality around the Epstein story. And it wasn't for them.

52:55It wasn't just about exposing pedophiles. It was about confirming their worldwide view that the world is run by these democratic liberal elites and that Trump and Trump alone is the lone warrior who is going to protect it and shut it down. Well, when he stopped deciding to allow the information to come out, that's what ultimately brought MAGA to the table. Yeah. President Trump is vociferously denying this Wall Street Journal story about this birthday letter that he reportedly sent Epstein. He posted, quote, these are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures, unquote. When you read the story, when you heard about it, what was your take?

53:43I agreed with him. I have never, not once in again, over 13 years of being by the man's side. I have never once seen him doodle. I never saw him draw a picture. In fact, I would be very shocked if Donald Trump actually can doodle. It's just not his thing. And the language using words like enigma, that's not a Donald Trump word. I mean, he certainly knows what the word is, but it's not a word that he uses. I found the whole thing just to be odd. Now, I wouldn't be shocked if somebody had turned around and reached out to the office and said, hey, look, we're putting together a birthday book for Jeffrey.

54:27Can Donald doodle something on there? And these are the words that we want you to use in some doodle. He then gave it to an assistant. Many of his assistants were not just good artists, but fabulous artists. And so that's probably what happened at at the worst. Now, chances are I don't know the answer. And that's the whole problem with this entire story. None of us know the answer. If you despise Donald Trump, you want it to be true. If, in fact, you like him and you support him, you want it to be false. Why should any of us have to guess? There's no reason for us to be guessing. And in fact, I agree with kind of what Dan Goldman said.

55:10Just release the file. And if you want, I'm more than happy. I'll read the file. As somebody who's been critical of him, let me read the file. I'll come to the American people and tell you exactly what it says in there, because that's what America wants. That's what America needs to move forward. Look, let me be clear. I've been very clear. I don't like the overturning of Roe versus Wade. I don't like the immigration policy. I don't like, you know, the ICE agents running around states in America wearing these flap jackets with AR-15s, faces covered, detaining people and disappearing them. I don't agree with these policies.

55:51Let's move on to the important stuff. This is important, but here's the difference. We have the information. Law enforcement has already put together a file. All it requires now is Donald Trump telling Pam Bondi, release it. Release it all. And Michael Cohen volunteering there to be the special master of the Epstein files. We'll see how that volunteering is received. Good to see you. Probably doubtful, but it was a good throw. Well, I mean, if they're gonna, I mean, I'd love to do it too. I mean, if they're gonna let anybody do it, but Michael Cohen, I appreciate it. Thanks so much. Much more in our breaking news ahead as the Justice Department officially asks for grand jury transcripts to be released in the Epstein case ahead.

56:31A former judge explains what kind of information we could see and what we definitely will not see if a judge agrees to move forward. Plus, a large-scale prisoner swap sending hundreds of detainees back to Venezuela and freeing 10 Americans who had been detained in Venezuela. It's a great news story. Congratulations to the Trump administration on this. Coming up, what we're learning about the deal and when those Americans will return home.

56:59And our world lead, good news. The Trump administration has successfully completed a large-scale prisoner swap with Venezuela, securing the release of 10 Americans that the Trump administration says were being wrongfully detained in Venezuela. This involves hundreds of prisoners, including Venezuelans deported from the U.S., who were being held in El Salvador. It's a massive operation. CNN's Kylie Atwood and Priscilla Alvarez have been working this story. And Kylie, what do we know about the Americans being freed from Venezuela? Yeah, it's a big group of people. It's 10 U.S. nationals. We don't know the full list yet, but what we do know is that one of them is Lucas Hunter.

57:37He's a 37-year-old American. He had been in the region, actually, in Colombia kite surfing. That's what his sister told CNN earlier this year. And he was arrested by Venezuela border agents along that border. He was in Colombia, according to sources familiar with the matter. There's also another American, Wilbert Joseph Castaneda. He was just there visiting a friend. He was arrested while he was in his hotel room. Both of these arrests happened. Just take a moment there. This is a photo from the State Department, the people who do this prisoner swaps. And what a great photo of these people. I'm sorry to interrupt, but just like, I mean, I just want to take a moment to look at the joy on their faces.

58:17Congratulations to everybody involved there, Adam Bowler and anybody else who was involved. And this plane actually is going from Venezuela to El Salvador. And a senior administration official told me that Adam Bowler, who is the special hostage envoy, is going to be meeting with those Americans when they arrive in El Salvador before coming back to the United States. And while they're there, they're going to be meeting with the leader there, Bukele. And Priscilla, President Trump has a very close relationship with the president of El Salvador, for better or for worse, in this case, for better, I suppose.

58:50Explain more about El Salvador's involvement in all this. Yeah, just moments ago, actually, there was a filing in one of the many immigration lawsuits from a senior immigration to customs enforcement official who said that while the U.S. handled the diplomatic arrangements here, it was El Salvador who had ultimately decided to release and repatriate the Venezuelans who came into their custody because of the U.S. So the reason El Salvador is involved in this at all is because in March the U.S. had used that sweeping wartime authority to send these over 200 Venezuelan migrants to the notorious mega prison in El Salvador.

59:21So they have been there all this time, really without any contact with their friends or family. So there is a scramble happening right now among so many families of these detainees trying to get information about their loved ones who are now being sent back to Venezuela. But Jake, this may be the beginning, but certainly not the end when it comes to these migrants, because immigrant attorneys and advocates have been saying They should have been in that notorious migrant prison in El Salvador to begin with. Already we're hearing from LegalEarn, the ACLU attorney, who has been in this litigation.

59:52And he said, quote, The administration sent these individuals to languish for months in comunicado in one of the most notorious prisons in the world without any due process and now appears with this latest maneuver to be trying to avoid all judicial accountability. Going on to say that this will not be remedied by just transferring these individuals to Venezuela. So certainly there is going to continue to be litigation on all of this. But for now, as it's good news for the American families, it's also been welcome news for the Venezuelan families who for weeks have not heard from those detainees sent to El Salvador.

1:00:25And they will no longer be in that notorious prison. They'll be theoretically, I guess, free in Venezuela. So it's nice to have you guys here for a good news story for once. Kylie and Priscilla, thanks so much. Now that the Justice Department has officially asked a judge to release transcripts from the Epstein case, what happens next? I'm going to ask a former judge in moments. Plus, the tech company finally responds after that viral video showed its CEO caught on the Jumbotron at a Coldplay concert, embracing a woman who is decidedly not his wife and, in fact, the head of HR at his company. A brand new verified statement from the CEO.

1:01:05Next.

1:01:09Cozy season is ahead and you'll be spending way more time inside. Is your home ready? Don't worry. With Wayfair, you can upgrade your space without breaking the bank. Score up to 70 % off during their Labor Day clearance on furniture, area rugs, mattresses, and more. Plus, surprise flash deals you can't miss. Whether it's one room or the whole house, Wayfair has pieces for every style and budget. Shop Wayfair's Labor Day clearance now through September 7th at Wayfair.com. Wayfair, every style, every home. Back to the breaking news. The Justice Department this afternoon officially asking a judge to release pertinent grand jury transcripts in the case of accused sex trafficker and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, as well as his aide, Ghislaine Maxwell.

1:01:52Retired California Superior Court Judge LaDoris Hazard Cordell joins us now. She's written a book about her career on the bench in the book, Her Honor, My Life on the Bench, What Works, What's Broken, How to Change It. Judge, thanks so much for joining us. What do you think the public can expect once and, I guess, if the grand jury testimony is released? Yeah, these transcripts are very important because they contain the evidence on which the grand jury based its decision to indict Jeffrey Epstein. So these transcripts are very important and they're frequently accompanied by exhibits, documents that the witnesses are asked to identify.

1:02:26And these documents are considered by grand jurors. So everything in these are important. So what happens next? There is a request now from the Trump administration to disclose the transcripts because grand jury proceedings are held in secret. And the only people who can talk about a grand jury hearing are the witnesses. Witnesses can go out and say what they want. But the judge, the prosecutor, court staff, that court reporter can never talk about it. All right. So the release of the transcript is entirely in the discretion of the judge. And so what will happen is the judge is going to have to read the transcripts.

1:03:06That's the first step, because there is an exception to releasing transcripts from the grand jury, and that is if there is a public interest in them. And what that means basically is this, is that where the public interest in disclosure outweighs the need for secrecy. So the judge has to then look at a number of factors. What is the public interest? Will it promote transparency? What will be the impact on individuals' privacy and their reputations if these are released? So also the judge will look at, well, you know, how long ago were these proceedings? Well, these proceedings weren't that long ago in that they were in 2019.

1:03:47So the judge is going to have to read them. That's going to be a delay. That's some time. After that, the judge has got to consider, these are probably victims who testified, and they're not likely to want their testimony made public, because it could lead to their being identified. And then, of course, you have Ms. Maxwell, who will likely object to the release because it'll probably hurt her case, which is on appeal. This is going to take a lot of time. Delay could take weeks. It could take months. It even could take years before this actually happens, if it happens at all. So there's a competing interesting interest going on here, separate from this, because my understanding is that, let's say that the names and identifying characteristics of the victims are redacted, they're blacked out for their privacy, which is certainly understandable.

1:04:35It's still grand jury information for prosecutions against Ghislaine Maxwell, who's in prison, and Jeffrey Epstein, who's dead, and very likely to not name any of the other people who may have been part of this horrific, disgusting, sexual trafficking, pedophile empire or whatever happened, this conspiracy. What people seem to really want to know is who are these people who got away with it? And those names are probably in other pages and other files and other documents. But they also are people who haven't been prosecuted. Right. And like the prosecutors make a decision to prosecute or to not prosecute based on any number of factor.

1:05:20But I think what the public really wants to know is these names of people who haven't been prosecuted, do you think that ever will be released? Well, you make a very good point initially, too, about these transcripts. If any are released, they're going to be heavily redacted. That's the first thing. And the other good point you've made is that what if names are in there of people who engaged in this conduct, which is criminal conduct, having sex with minors, for example, some as young as 14 years old, who have not been prosecuted or named in a prosecution yet. And so what about that? Well, the whole purpose of the grand jury is secrecy, so that if people's names, if names of people come up and they are disclosed in the grand jury proceedings, they're not, and no prosecution of them is made, then their reputations are not smeared.

1:06:09That's That's the protection offered by the grand jury. So if these transcripts are out, it's likely that a judge would also redact the names of any individuals that came up that might be prosecuted later on. So you're really not going to get what people, I think, really want, which is what you mentioned, is the names. Who else was in there doing these kinds of things? So I will tell you that the grand jury testimony is important. But at the same time, I think this is a delaying tactic. I think this is what when the heat gets too hot for Donald Trump, then he resorts to delay. And what's the best place to find delay?

1:06:50In the courts. Yeah. So if the judge has to read them, redact, and then end up not really getting where they want to go, what's happened? It's just more time has gone by and people maybe start to lose interest. This is a delay tactic and it's a ploy often used by President Trump. Retired Judge LaDoris Hazard Cordell, thanks so much. There is no denying it is a fraught time for the economics of late night comedy TV. But CBS's announcement in July that it is canceling Stephen Colbert's show next May comes at a very curious moment. We'll dive into that next.

1:07:40As many of you know, of course, Governor Bush was the governor of Florida for eight years, and you would think that that much exposure to oranges and crazy people would have prepared him for Donald Trump. Evidently not. That was Stephen Colbert's very first late show on CBS in September 2015, and his very first late-night Donald Trump joke. The announcement from CBS last night that the popular show will end next May comes at a fraught time. Now, CBS is claiming that this was purely a, quote, financial decision, and it is true and indisputable that the economics of late-night TV are difficult these days, as evidenced by NBC trimming The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to four days a week instead of five.

1:08:27NBC getting rid of the late night with Seth Meyers band. And CBS no longer having a late, late show anymore after Colbert. But what are we to make of the timing of this announcement? Obviously, President Trump has made no secret of his hatred of being mocked, specifically the jokes that people like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel make at his expense. in this era where corporations such as Paramount don't just ignore a president complaining, don't just dismiss any thin-skinned leader because we live in a country with a First Amendment right to mock the president. That would be one thing. But no, Paramount is in a bend the knee phase, Paramount, which owns CBS.

1:09:16Paramount is attempting to please President Trump as Paramount's Sherry Redstone, waits for the Trump administration's blessing for a lucrative merger with a company called Skydance. A merger previously hung up by a substantively very weak lawsuit from Trump against CBS, per legal experts, alleging there was something untoward about a rather rote edit that 60 Minutes did of a Kamala Harris interview last fall. This resulted in the exits of CBS News President Wendy McMahon and 60 Minutes Executive Producer Bill Owens because Paramount was determined to settle with the president. And it's that timing that CBS Communications was no doubt attempting to head off in their announcement of the termination of The Colbert Show, which is doing very well in ratings, by the way.

1:10:09CBS Communications insisted rather defensively that this news, quote, is not related in any way to the show's performance content or other matters happening at Paramount, unquote. Other matters such as Paramount agreeing to pay Donald Trump$16 million to settle that trifling lawsuit and move on with this merger. Now, I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles. It's big fat bribe. Because this all comes as Paramount's owners are trying to get the Trump administration to approve the sale of our network to a new owner, Skydance.

1:10:54That was Stephen Colbert just four days ago. Now, the roadmap of what to do to please President Trump, it's not complicated. It's not like finding the lost city of Atlantis. Trump in September went on Truth Social and called Colbert, who often mocks President Trump, he called him a, quote, complete and total loser, and then suggested, quote, CBS should terminate his contract, unquote. Trump, before that Truth Social post, was reacting to comments Colbert had made on PBS, on PBS's NewsHour, when asked if he would have Trump as a guest. I've had him before and it's kind of boring, so no. No. Yeah, no.

1:11:37No. I don't like to have people on the show who I don't think are going to be honest agents of their own ideas. And here we are, 10 months later. Colbert has been canceled and PBS is losing its federal funding. Interesting. And in case you wondered how the president took the news about Colbert, he posted on Truth Social, quote, I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. He's still not satisfied, though. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. That's what President Trump said. One former CBS executive told me of this news, quote, The timing seems so obvious and keeping with Paramount's quid pro quo theme. If it were just financial, why announce this now?

1:12:20Why not let Redbird announce it post-transaction and FCC blessing? Seems like a further tribute to me. Shameful. It is stunning what is being done by men and women who should know better, who do know better in boardrooms and on Capitol Hill, because the most powerful man in the world, a man who has achieved way beyond his wildest life's dreams, seems shockingly pervious to criticism. Now, we may never know if CBS ending the Colbert show was part of some secret deal cut between Paramount and Trump, or if it was just a freebie Paramount threw in, or if it was entirely unrelated and actually because of financial reasons, but Paramount is happy to let Trump think it is in the name of pleasing him.

1:13:06The fact that so much of corporate America is dedicated to fearing these presidential whims that could result in actual retribution should concern all of us because trends like this don't stop with one president. They start with them. And a First Amendment protecting the free speech rights of comedians and journalists when they joke or cover powerful people. an amendment that our corporate masters will not fight for, that's ultimately just words on parchment. Joining us now to discuss Bill Carter. He's a writer at Late Nighter and the former media reporter for The New York Times. Bill, so good to have you.

1:13:44Presidents have hated late night comedians for decades. Presidents have hated the jokes told about them for decades. Why is this different? Well, it's different because presidents before haven't said, I want this guy fired. Presidents have never said that in our history. Abraham Lincoln didn't say, let's fire the editorial cartoonists, because they understood that was part of the job. You were held up to ridicule. You were held up to mock because that's your position. And he doesn't take those things. He doesn't accept that that's part of the job. And he resents anybody who points to his foibles.

1:14:21And, you know, he has every right to criticize any of these late night guys. call them dumb or unfunny, whatever his usual insult is. But he doesn't have the right to go and say, terminate the guy, get rid of him. Let's get rid of him and let's make threats. Let's maybe take their broadcast license away. That's what's different here. And that's what's dangerous here. Yeah. The best case scenario here is that CBS did this purely for financial reasons, but they dropped it now hoping that Donald Trump thought that they did it to please him. That's the best case scenario. And it's probably, I think, more likely after talking to a lot of people, and I want to know what you think, that obviously the financial reasons are, they're built into late night TV, but it probably is part of this merger.

1:15:11Of course. I mean, look at the timing of it, Jake. They're continuing the show through next year. There's no reason to do it right away, except it's before the merger is going to be finalized. I mean, there's no rational explanation for that. You can wait until this is all over and then say it's too expensive and we're going to fold it up. By the way, they had a 1230 show that they were going to renew. They were going to renew the Taylor Tomlinson show. She decided not to do it. But their plan last few months ago was to have a 1230 show. So all of a sudden they're now wiping out the 1130 show and the 1230 show, that it's just very suspicious timing, extremely suspicious.

1:15:50All right, Bill Carter, thanks so much. Always good to have your wise insights. Appreciate it, sir. Thanks, Jake. Video shows hikers stopping a man suspected of starting a fire in Los Angeles, and in moments, those hikers are going to join me live to explain exactly what happened when they confronted the suspect. Yo. What the f***? This dude just started the f***ing fire. You just started that fire. Because they don't think it's that. Hey, this guy just set that fire. It's up. You started that fire? You just came from over there. We just saw you. You're right. A couple's peaceful hike in Runyon Canyon, California, earlier this week turned into our national lead when the couple stopped a suspected arsonist from escaping a possible wildfire.

1:16:42And Scott Mitchell and Devon DeMarco are joining us now. Devon, you first spotted this man coming out of the bushes. You broke out your phone, caught the encounter on video. How did you realize so quickly that he had allegedly set fire to that tree? I mean, he was the only one that was coming out of those bushes. And it doesn't take a fire Marshall to realize that, hey, this dude is the one that set the fire. And Scott, you actually chased him down and you stopped him from leaving until officials arrived to the scene to take him into custody. We should note one of the reasons this story has gotten so much attention is because you were previously a wide receiver at the University of Kentucky.

1:17:18What was it like for you when you caught him? And was it as thrilling as catching a football on the gridiron? I think this one might have taken the cake as far as that goes. catching the ball and sometimes dropping the ball in front of 100 ,000 people can be a wave of emotions. Kind of like this one, though. As soon as I heard Devon say that's the guy that set the fire, she had already ID'd him. So by the time I heard her, I just reacted and was looking to hold him accountable to what he had just done. Nice. And Devon, what was the response like from other hikers and from law enforcement when they arrived and they saw what happened and what you and Scott had done?

1:17:56um the response that day at that moment yeah um some people were trying to rush off the hill like there was children women group of women um but there's a lot of people that were kind of in shock and angry at the same time because we had just gone through this in january yeah no a lot of a lot of wildfires and scott i wonder how it feels to know that you and devon were able to stop the fire from spreading, especially after everything that the poor citizens of the Los Angeles area have gone through with the devastating wildfires in recent months. I can tell you that's a very humbling feeling because online and via text and I've reconnected with old teammates, just the outpouring positivity is something that we really needed.

1:18:46It's kind of, to be honest with you, it's beyond us. We don't necessarily fully understand the scope of it, But, I mean, we're here with you, and we weren't here last Friday. So... Well, let me tell you. Let me tell you. I think one of the things that's so remarkable about it, in addition to the fact that it was caught on video, so Devon, thanks for that, is we seem to live in an era where a lot of people see bad things happening, and they just don't want to have anything to do with it. And you guys stepped up. And I wonder, Devon, where does that come from? Like, why would you get involved? You know, there's a saying called, mind your business.

1:19:22That was not that moment. It's just like we see a lot of things going on right now, and people aren't being held accountable. So luckily I had my phone in my hand, and usually it's in the bottom of my purse, but luckily I had it that day in my hand. I'm like, this guy's not going to get away with this because there's people living up the hill, animals around, people around. So I just wanted to make him accountable. And Scott, what about you? What caused you to run and chase and stop this bad guy as opposed to just, you know, I think most people would probably just like not want to get involved, even if it means another horrible fire.

1:19:57The first thing I felt was anger, because like we've talked about, January was not that long ago. And just the sight of an entire tree, 50 foot tree on fire is just somebody had to be held accountable for it. And in this case, we found the guy. So it makes me feel good to know that I went to Kentucky because they were a Nike school. and the Nikes I wore that day still work. Little free ad there for Nike. All right. Well, you know what? American heroes, Devon DeMarco, Scott Mitchell, thank you guys for being you, and thanks for joining us today. It's an honor and a lovely way to end a week in which we've covered a lot of stuff that isn't so great.

1:20:33So thank you so much. Thanks, Jake. Thank you, Jake. An investigation is now underway after a tech CEO was seen embracing an employee, decidedly not his wife, at a Coldplay concert. The company's reaction to the viral video. That's next.

1:20:54Breaking news just in. President Trump has officially just filed the lawsuit against Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch and others over that Wall Street Journal article that dropped last night about the Jeffrey Epstein birthday book. Trump is seeking, and I'm going to say this twice so you understand that I'm quoting the actual number here, $10 billion in this case,$10 billion with a B. Trump accuses the defendants of defamation, saying they acted with malicious intent and have caused him overwhelming financial and reputational harm. The Wall Street Journal reported, as I said, that a 50th birthday book for Epstein in 2003, Three, before Epstein became notorious, included a letter bearing Trump's name and a drawing, a cartoon of sorts of a naked woman.

1:21:40President Trump says he had nothing to do with the writing or the drawing. Our last leads now. Start International lead in an explosion today killed three members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The blast happened in a training facility near downtown Los Angeles. Sources call the explosion an accident, but do not know, they say, if it happened in a training session or while handling explosive evidence. And our world lead, the United Kingdom, is looking at lowering its voting age to 16. If the UK Parliament passes the proposal, it would bring national votes in line with elections in Scotland, Wales, and the Channel Islands, where younger voters already cast ballots.

1:22:19The UK government calls this a landmark effort to future-proof its democracy. And our pop culture lead, the tech company Astronomer, is trying to set the record straight on their two employees, spotted, shall we say, canoodling on a Coldplay concert Jumbotron, one of whom was the CEO and the woman was not his wife. Decidedly so. The company says they're launching a formal investigation after CEO Andy Byron was caught embracing and then hiring with the company's HR chief, Kristen Cabot. I guess they can't report it to HR. Coming up Sunday on State of the Union, I'm going to talk with Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, Republican Congressman Tim Burchett, and former Democratic Congressman Beto O 'Rourke.

1:23:02That's Sunday morning at 9 Eastern and again at noon here on CNN. I will see you Sunday morning. Erin Burnett out front starts right now.

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