Trump Signals Interest In Trade Of Ukrainian Drones For U.S. Tomahawk Missiless

24:57And probably most importantly to the U.S. administration is drug smuggling. So that's one aspect of it right there. Then you've got the military aspect. There are many air bases that the Venezuelans have, but these are two of the main ones, El Liberatador and Lieutenant Vicente Landieta Gil Air Force Base. They are in this part of Venezuela, and what they have are F-16s, American-made F-16s, and Russian-made Su-30s. So there is military power in Venezuela, and part of it is, of course, supported by Russia and also by Cuba. The other thing about Venezuela is they have oil, and one of the key elements of that is what is called the Orinoco Belt.

25:39There are several different factors here. Venezuela had a lot of oil in the Maracaibo region off to the west here, but they also have a lot of oil potentially in these parts. Plus, they also have a potential dispute with Guyana in the Essequibo region. Yeah, it used to be one of the richest countries in the world, given their oil reserves. I do want to ask you and get your take on the head of the U.S. Southern Command stepping down. This is Admiral Alvin Holsey, who led operations in the Caribbean for only a year. And sources are telling CNN that he and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not see eye to eye.

26:12This is a high-profile resignation during an incredibly tense time, as you've just laid out. How unusual is that? It is very unusual. Usually when tensions ramp up in a particular theater of potential conflict, the person in charge of that combatant command, in this case Southern Command, would stay on in the job and see things through. But what is clear to me about Admiral Halsey stepping down is that there must be some policy disagreement going on here. And one of the key factors is that these attacks against the little ships that we've seen off the Venezuelan coast, they may not quite fit in with the construct of the laws of war.

26:55And that's a key factor and could have resulted in his early retirement. All right. Colonel Cedric Layton, thank you so much. Good to see you. Good to see you too, Vianna. Well, with 18 days until Election Day, next we're looking at President Trump's influence on some major races.

27:16And our politics leads 17 days until Election Day. Two states will choose new governors, New Jersey and Virginia. And while President Trump's name is not on the ballot, these races will be a test of his influence as both parties look towards next year's pivotal midterms. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more. If you get a flat tire on the way home today, she's going to blame President Trump. There's nothing she won't blame on the president. Both sides are counting on President Trump in the biggest campaigns of the fall. This is what is being attacked by Donald Trump in Washington. A year after winning back the White House, voters in New Jersey and Virginia are electing new governors.

27:57A test of strength for the president and for Democrats scrambling to rebuild their party. This is not Trump's race in New Jersey. It's Jack's race. In New Jersey, Republican Jack Cittarelli and Democrat Mikey Sherrill invoke Trump's name often, hoping to appeal to those who love him and those who don't. And in Virginia, the government shutdown is looming large in the fight between Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican Winsome Earl Sears. The Trump effect is playing out in TV ads in both races. MAGA Republican winsome Earl Sears. New Jersey's a mess, and all Mikey Sherrill wants to talk about is President Trump.

28:36Come on. And on the debate stage. I'd certainly give the president an A. I think he's right about everything that he's doing. I think that tells us all we need to know about who Jack Cittarelli is supporting. I'd give him an F. You had a Trump conversion. You once said he was unfit for office, and now you gave him an A rating. How did that happen? J.D. Vance said things a whole lot worse than me, and today he's the vice president. I think the president has done a whole lot in his 10 months in office, particularly things that have been very good for New Jersey. Cheryl is casting Trump's actions in a different light, including the decision this week to stop one of the nation's largest infrastructure projects.

29:08It's terminated. A$16 billion commuter rail tunnel between New Jersey and New York. Trying to take away jobs here in New Jersey when he says he's gonna terminate the Gateway Tunnel right now. Almost 100 ,000 good unit jobs. Trump made significant gains in both states last November, but the strongest shift came in New Jersey, which he lost by 16 points in 2020, but only sixth in 2024. Why was that? And is that instructive to your race at all? I think it was because he told people who would drive down their costs. He was pretty clear that he was going to do that. And I think a lot of people feel very let down that he's done nothing but raise their costs.

29:48As he's raising their costs, he's making billions of dollars. And so that is really, I think, speaking to people and saying, look, this is not some guy that has my interests at heart. Chittarelli is trying to thread a delicate needle of tapping into the MAGA movement, while avoiding being seen by some as too aligned with Trump. They know that this race is about New Jersey. It's not about the president. The outcome could hinge on cities like Patterson and the surrounding county. Where Trump's improved showing last year is a fresh worry for Mayor Andres Seah, a Democrat. It's not a year ago. Now he's in.

30:22Now he's in and people, quite frankly, may have voters remorse. And we're banking on that voters remorse. So we will see if there is any voters remorse in the race. But, Biana, so interesting. This race is certainly hinging on Republicans trying to fire up the Trump base. Democrats are trying to use Trump to unite their own base and motivate them. And these races will tell us a lot about the direction of the Democratic Party and the strength of President Trump. You'll be following them all for us. Jeff Seleney, thank you. Here now is the panel. Welcome both of you, TW. Let me start with you, because President Trump is backing the Republican nominee, Chiarelli, in New Jersey's governor's race, but he's been silent in Virginia.

31:10Is the president giving up on that specific race? Why isn't he working to make it more competitive? Well, I'm not so sure he is. Just last week, he was going after Abigail Spanberger for her refusal to ask Jay Jones to drop out of the race and calling into question her fitness for office. Look, gubernatorial races are their own animal when it comes to national politics versus local politics, and each one has its own flavor. The Virginia race has tightened dramatically, and if you were taking a pick a few weeks ago between the two races, You would easily say the New Jersey race is more winnable.

31:47But now, given the self-inflicted wounds by the Democrats, there's a real chance at Virginia. And we'll see what happens these next few weeks. Well, sticking with New Jersey, Mo, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin, told Politico, quote, New Jersey is the best place probably for Donald Trump to actually stop the Democratic momentum, but still believes the Democrats in New Jersey and Virginia would, quote, win handedly. Why is this race in New Jersey so close? Well, I think there are a number of reasons, not the least of which is New Jersey has a history of electing Republican governors on occasion.

32:25It tends to be much more competitive at the state level. But I do think that some of the Republican self-inflicted wounds are going to end up hurting the Republican candidates in both places. Jeff mentioned in his report the president's sort of retribution against Democrats by shutting down important projects is probably not going to be very popular in New Jersey. And if the Republican candidate is embracing the president, that's a problem. And in Virginia, Jeff referenced the shutdown. The problems there started long before the shutdown. It started with Doge and with the White House rhetoric about federal workers when the two most populous regions of that state, Northern Virginia and Norfolk, are so dependent on the federal economy.

33:19They have so many government workers and contractors. I don't see why the Republican candidate would even want the president's endorsement. She apparently does. But there's a reason why Donald Trump's numbers continue to continue to struggle in states like Virginia. T.W., how do you want to respond? I mean, do you think that the shutdown is negatively hurting the Republican candidates here? Well, that remains to be seen. I think Moe rightfully pointed out that there's a lot of government jobs here in Virginia. But look, Winsome, Earl Sears, this is going to be a Virginia centric race. There's a number of issues beyond just the government shutdown and Doge that are going on there.

34:04You've seen Jack Cittarelli embrace Doge and give Donald Trump an A. That's also reflective of how Donald Trump performed in both those states, going way above expectations. And you've also seen increases in GOP registration in those states, especially New Jersey. Look, if you look at the polling, let's take New Jersey, for example. Jack Cittarelli only lost four years ago by about three points. He's already four points stronger this go-around than he was then and gaining. And you can always tell how a candidate feels that they are doing down the stretch when you hear their attacks. Abigail, sorry, Mikey Sherrill, in their last debate, launched a very, very false attack against Cittarelli, blaming him for opioid deaths that the New York Times just this week said was completely bunk.

34:53That shows the Democrats are very worried. Ken Martin also said as such, I think you're going to see two races down to the wire. in a Republican victory in New Jersey and very, very close in Virginia. Well, President Obama is weighing in now, and he's formally endorsed Mikey Sherrill in a campaign ad. Here's just part of it. Now I want to talk to you about my friend Mikey Sherrill. Mikey is a mom who will drive down costs for New Jersey families. As a federal prosecutor and former Navy helicopter pilot, she worked to keep our communities safe. So, Mo, this coming just a day after the former president endorsed Spanberger in Virginia.

35:32In a similar video, we should note, what do these two races say about your party ahead of next year's midterms? Well, I think two things, right? Democrats need strong turnout amongst the base. President Obama is a great motivator for the Democratic base. So clearly that's part of it. But if you listen to the message there, right, he's going right at two perceived weaknesses for Democrats in the last election, cost of living and public safety. And Democrats are starting to flip the script on those two issues against Republicans. You know, this notion that Donald Trump promised to bring down costs has not done it.

36:11And the Democratic candidates for governor will is a way to sort of try to flip that script. So it's a smart ad. It's a smart message here in the final weeks. But the proof is going to be in the pudding, and we'll know in a couple of weeks. TW, I mean, there's a lot of question about the direction the Democratic Party is headed in. But if they're focusing on the cost of living in the economy, does that even matter for Republicans? Well, I think Republicans also need to be focused on affordability. I think it's always the economy stupid. Look, many in the Democratic establishment are hoisting up these two candidates as a projection of what they want future candidates to be, namely not Zoran Mamdani and the socialist left of their party.

36:53The problem with that is the true energy of the Democratic Party is on the far left, is on the socialist fringes. And that's something they're going to have to contend with in lots of elections going into the midterms. Yeah, we didn't get to the mayoral race here in New York. Hopefully we can talk about that in the next hour. Thank you both. Don't go far. We'll talk soon. What's next? The political uprising led by Gen Z protesters that just pushed out one country's president.

37:39for all cases. Yes, and she also answers questions. 24-7 and without a German. That's just the app that understands us. Steuern completed? Safe! With Viso Steuer. Now try it out for free.

38:09Exonerated means he's been on trial enough times. He's been exonerated a number of times. To me, it's the 1980s ran for president and won. Right. Why isn't the music more interesting? YMCA. Mm-hmm. Gloria. Mm-hmm. I'm going to say that Gloria blew his mind. Michael Crawford receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That means it. Have I Got News for Your Ears releases new episodes every Wednesday. Don't miss an episode. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts.

38:42Back to our world lead, a Gen Z resistance movement in Madagascar toppling the president after weeks of protests. He's now in hiding. The military has taken power. This youth-led uprising is a mirror image of a number of others this year against rulers in other foreign nations, as CNN's Larry Madowo explains.

39:05Cheers and celebrations in the capital of Madagascar after weeks of protests against the government. The military announcing it had taken charge of the island following the impeachment of embattled President Andriy Radjelina after he fled the country. His current whereabouts unknown. We made the decision because, as I have explained several times, nothing is working in Madagascar. There is no president, no president of the Senate, no government. Nothing is working. So we have to take responsibility. That's it. The protests, which have largely been led by Gen Z, first erupted weeks ago over water and power shortages and quickly evolved into an uprising over broader issues in the government like corruption and lack of basic services.

39:54In 12 years, no one has ever listened to us, Which is why we are now insisting on the president's departure and not on dialogue. We don't want to wait any longer. We don't want propaganda and all that. We want him to resign. The anger and frustration that boiled over in Madagascar mirrors other recent Gen Z protests around the world. In countries like Peru, Morocco, Nepal and Kenya. The demonstrators in Madagascar have also adopted the symbols of other youth-led movements with many sporting t-shirts and flags bearing a cartoon skull and straw hat from the Japanese manga series One Piece, an emblem of Gen Z resistance.

40:37But even as they celebrate their apparent victory, Madagascar's young protesters say the fight is far from over. It is only the struggle on the ground that is over, not the struggle at the negotiating table. And that is where the change of system, the desire to change the system, takes on its meaning. From Madagascar to Indonesia, Gen Zs are redefining political action and forcing all the leaders to pay attention or get removed. Larry Medovo, CNN. Welcome to The Lead. I'm Bianca Rodrigo in for Jake Tapper. This hour, President Trump's former national security advisor, John Bolton, making his first court appearance today after being indicted by a federal grand jury.

41:21Bolton pleading not guilty to 18 charges in his classified documents case. A former attorney for Trump joins me live in moments to react. Plus, breaking in the nation's capital. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky merging from a two-hour-long meeting at the White House and declaring, we trust the United States. This as he asks for more weapons and more security guarantees in his war against Russia. And more than 2 ,500 demonstrations are planned across the 50 states tomorrow for no-Kings protests against the Trump administration. What we're learning about the events and why Republicans are calling the protests anti-American.

42:04The lead tonight, President Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, pleading not guilty to all 18 charges against him in his first court appearance today. Prosecutors say Bolton shared more than a thousand diary-like pages containing classified information with family members who had no security clearance throughout his tenure using personal email accounts, while Bolton claims he's just the latest target in Trump's weaponization of the Justice Department. So let's bring in CNN's senior justice correspondent, Evan Perez, to explain more. So talk us through what happened in the courtroom today, Evan.

42:39Yeah, Bianna, this was a very brief hearing, about 20 minutes. And, you know, a lot of it was very perfunctory. It was John Bolton being read his rights, essentially, and that he understood these very serious charges that he's facing. The judge advised him that he faces up to 10 years in prison if he is convicted. They also restricted his travel. He's not allowed to travel internationally during the time that this case is going forward. We don't yet have a trial date. And given the fact that this involves classified information, what we saw in court is, you know, it appears that there's going to be some lengthy proceedings over how that information is shared with the defense.

43:20And look, the defense, as you pointed out, is already going to the obvious part of this, which is the criticism of the administration and the Justice Department in this era, given the prosecutions of James Comey, the former FBI director, the case that was just brought up against Letitia James, the New York attorney general. And as you saw from Bolton's own statement yesterday, Yesterday, he pointed out that the president is trying to intimidate his critics. And one of the things that I think is very interesting about this indictment, it's 26 pages, and in there, there is a reference by prosecutors to the Signalgate controversy.

44:02You remember Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, and other top officials were sharing details of a military operation in Yemen in real time on Signal, the messaging app, which is not a government app. It's not secure. And he was sharing it, allegedly, with his spouse and with other people, including a reporter. And so the fact that that is in there, in this case, it kind of gives you a sense of where this case is going. Because we know the defense is going to make an issue of the fact that the government never tried to investigate Pete Hegseth for that breach. But yet they're going after John Boltzmann.

44:42And expect to hear a lot more about that in the coming months. All right. Evan Paris, thank you so much. I want to bring in former Justice Department prosecutor Jim Trustee. He's also a former attorney for President Trump. Jim, it is good to see you. So as Evan noted, this indictment is quite lengthy and delves into details of what Bolton is alleged to have shared. It reads, frequently Bolton hand wrote these notes on yellow notepads throughout his day at the White House complex or in other secure locations, and then later rewrote his notes in a word processing document on an electronic device.

45:17Often Bolton's notes describe the secure setting or environment in which he learned the national defense and classified information that he was memorializing in his notes. So at first glance, what do you make of these allegations? I make them out as very devastating. I mean, look, this is a speaking indictment. It gives a lot of information on kind of two fronts. The first is that John Bolton is the national security adviser as someone who regularly commented on TV criticizing others for not handling classified material or national defense information the right way. He had a particularly easy to establish knowledge of the rules when you deal with NDI with this type of information, very sensitive information.

46:01And the policy here is we don't want to have people using Gmail or AOL accounts to set up their Kiss and Tell book because somebody might hack it. And that's exactly what happened here. Of all things, the National Security Advisor doing thousands of pages of contemporaneous notes gives that up effectively to Iran. That was the hack that happened with Iran. And then even then, when he was talking to the FBI, he didn't say anything about, by the way, I have thousands of pages of sensitive materials that they were able to access. So he had warning shots in terms of the skiff being removed from his residence.

46:37They said, give us anything you have. He didn't do it. And he had a terrible moment when he started to write this book where Judge Lamberth from D.C. said, you know, and the government was seeking a temporary restraining order, which they got against him. And he said, the judge said to Bolton, you're endangering the security of the United States and you're risking indictment. But he just plowed ahead. So it's an amazing moment and a powerful indictment. Again, not the trial yet, but very powerful evidence summarized in this indictment. Yeah. And with regards to the hack, he says that he was forthcoming and shared all that information with the FBI.

47:09But as we've noted, this case centers on the mishandling of classified documents. documents, if that sounds familiar, because it is quite well versed in that you resigned from President Trump's legal team around his classified documents case in Florida in 2023. So from what we've seen so far, how do you think this case compares to the president's? Well, it doesn't. I mean, look, the president actually had the lawful authority to possess the documents that he had when he took him to Mar-a-Lago. He was still president. The materials that were actually recovered from Mar-a-Lago, it was part of what we see with every modern-day president is that they have some materials that are still marked classified.

47:48Many of those documents are almost meaningless. And he had the Presidential Records Act protecting him from any sort of prosecution at the same time. So Bolton doing a kiss-and-tell book where he decides to essentially launder information off of sensitive documents into a personal account is just a radically different component. Look, it's a lot more like a Petraeus moment or a Comey moment or a Joe Biden moment where people decide they want to make a million dollars, as he did on a signing bonus, off a book by essentially betraying secrets. So, you know, this is good for the goose, good for the gander.

48:23You can't be the national security advisor criticizing everyone for their handling of these types of documents while you're trying to cash in by using those documents. So there may indeed be something substantive here. And the prosecutors, we should note, did not leave this case as they did with others. But my colleague, Ellie Honig, noted that in an article this morning for New York Magazine that this case is different from those who were also former critics of the president, like James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, for several reasons, and he explains here's why. The Bolton case appears to differ in kind from the recent prosecutions of Comey and James.

49:01This one relates to far more serious conduct, and it arose under less dubious circumstances. Ultimately, this is a problem Trump has created with his payback spree. It's increasingly hard to tell the bogus cases against his political antagonists from the valid ones. Is this a valid argument just from an optic standpoint? Well, he's making a political point more than a legal one. And I like Ellie and I get the point. But look, the reality is, you know, whether you're Abby Lowell or Atticus Finch, you're not going to be able to point to Letitia James or point to James Comey and say those cases are wrong.

49:35So therefore, this case is wrong. against me. You know, he's in a professional environment in the Greenbelt courthouse. I worked there for 10 years. You have a U.S. attorney, Kelly Hayes, who is a career prosecutor who knows what she's doing. Look, I mean, all of the kind of histrionics about this is all politics, as John Bolton himself said the other day, it's just not going to fly. It's extremely hard to establish some sort of vindictive or selective prosecution because you have to start with a comparison that's apple to apple, not apple to orange. Where has there been a national security advisor who hoarded materials like this for a personal book?

50:10They're just not out there. So he's not going to get any traction on a constitutional-based dismissal, but he might get some fireworks, some political hay out of making the types of comments like basically Ellie just did. Jim, if I can get you to respond to some breaking news that we are just getting now, we're learning that President Trump is commuting the sentence of former Republican Congressman George Santos. Santos is currently in prison for aggravated identity theft and wire fraud charges. You'll recall his colorful past. A lot of his resume was embellished as he was a congressman and was elected to that.

50:44What is your immediate reaction to this? Do you agree? I guess the president has the liberty to commute people, but was this the right decision? Yeah, I don't know. I mean, look, the whole pardon process got kind of different from what we've seen over the years when you had Biden commute everybody on federal death row except for three and where he started giving out pardons to, quote, nonviolent people that included a woman I prosecuted for three murders called the Black Widow. So I don't know. I'd have to actually see the details. I'm happy to think that the president is comfortable with pardon power in certain cases.

51:20But, you know, George Santos is not the top of my list in terms of sympathy. You know, I've got some other folks out there that are probably a little more deserving, But maybe maybe there's more to the story that I don't know yet. So let me just ask you legally, because he's just been commuted. How soon could we see him out of prison? That's a great question, because the Bureau of Prisons and probably during a shutdown doesn't help, can be a little bit sluggish. Sometimes it takes some aggressive lawyering to say, hey, the president just issued this commutation. I would tell you, I don't think it'll be much past Monday, but there's no guarantee that he'll be walking out tonight.

51:57Wait, so you think because of the government shutdown that could delay him leaving prison now? I saw delays on that long before there was a shutdown. There's just kind of a bureaucratic inertia sometimes where they can't believe somebody's been pardoned or commuted. And it just takes a while for all the right people to talk to each other. So if you're the lawyer, you're getting on the phone right now. You're pestering the heck out of everybody you can to try to make it happen tonight rather than like Saturday or Sunday or Monday. All right, Jim Trustee, thank you so much. All right. Good to see you.

52:26You too. Much more on the president's action in the Santos case coming up. Plus, Presidents Trump and Zelensky both making statements tonight after meeting at the White House for hours today. So is the United States about to give Ukraine even more weapons? And what about that Trump-Putin meeting? We'll talk about it all up next.

52:48Back with our world lead optimism at the White House today during a working lunch between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. As Trump says, he thinks he can convince Russian leader Vladimir Putin to end the fighting and offered new insight into the next Trump-Putin summit in Budapest in the next few weeks. It will be a double meeting, but we will have the president Zelensky in touch. There's a lot of bad blood with the two presidents, and I'm not speaking out of turn when I say it. CNN's Matthew Chance is live in Moscow for us. So, Matthew, you were in Alaska for the last Trump-Putin summit.

53:29What's changed since then that might make this one different? Yeah, I mean, Budapest is certainly, from my point of view, a lot closer. But in terms of what else is going to have changed, well, it's unclear at the moment. There's a few things I suppose you could point to. The idea that Putin and his military have not made the kind of military advances that they anticipated they would make. on the ground inside Ukraine during their summer offensive. There's been increased economic pressure in Russia with the success of Ukrainian drone strikes on oil facilities and things like that. There have been fuel shortages.

54:08And so that's that's adding a pressure onto it. I think to some extent, Trump, President Trump is reinvigorated as well after the success diplomatically that is enjoyed sort of in the Middle East with the Israeli ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages. But in terms of, you know, what Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is prepared to accept, I'm not sure anything's changed at all. Certainly publicly, the Kremlin hasn't indicated it's prepared to compromise on any of its core military objectives. You know, President Trump in a true social post, which we'd have all seen by now, saying that he thinks that the conflict should freeze along the lines where the front lines currently are, at least sort of hinting at that.

54:55That may well be acceptable to the Ukrainian side if there are security guarantees and if there's the backing of Ukraine's European supporters. But it's not clear at all whether that's going to be acceptable to the Russian side. Vladimir Putin has made it clear he wants all of the territory he's annexed and to say over the future foreign policy decisions of Ukraine, Diana? Yeah, both Zelensky and Putin congratulating President Trump for that ceasefire in Gaza. Matthew Chance in Moscow for us. Thank you so much. Joining us now is Gadi Kaspatov. He is the chairman of the Renew Democracy Initiative and publisher of TheNextMove.org.

55:33Gadi, you have a new piece in The Next Move in which you say that even though today's meeting between Zelensky and Trump happened, Putin was ultimately still on top of mind. And here's what you wrote. You said there's no way around it. Putin takes precedence over Zelensky. In Trump's mind, no gridding photo ops are going to change that. But this handicap doesn't mean Ukraine has to lose. Kiev and its allies still have options. So lay out those options for us. Look, Zelensky has no other choice but to please Trump by giving all sorts of compliments. I'm not sure whether he believes or not, but that's a harsh reality.

56:15So we saw that Marie Curie Machado, the Nobel Peace Laureate, she had to dedicate her prize to Trump, again, hoping that Trump would help Venezuela and opposition. Again, that's more of an American problem, that the president is more like an authoritarian leader of the banana republic. But America is still the most powerful country in the world, and Zelensky needs this support. But unfortunately, again, this is the Trump has something else in mind. Everything Trump does is about Trump. And it's two two criterias, money and glory, both personal. And I think the whole idea about Tomahawks was Trump's, you know, message to Putin that unless you come up, come back with a better deal.

56:54And when I say deal, it's not about Ukraine. It's not about Russia. It's not about America. It's about Vitkov. And in this case, Vitkov, sometimes Vitkov and Jared Kushner as as in Middle East, they're making a deal. Trump is making deals and he's not even secretive about it. So the whole idea of the meeting in Budapest, I think it's an insult to Europeans. I recommend my article that they grow some spine and will make sure that Putin doesn't land in Budapest. He cannot. There are European regulations, rules, and Putin as a war criminal cannot travel to European countries. I would be shocked if they actually prevented that.

57:30We shall see. But the president conceded today that perhaps Putin is, in fact, playing him to buy more time, but that he ultimately thinks he wants to make a deal to end this war. But here's what stood out to me in an article from the Financial Times. It writes, the Russian president appears to have calculated that as long as he has the upper hand on the battlefield, there is no need for him to make any concessions, even as his war economy is sputtering. This isn't about money for Putin. It's his legacy. He wants to go down as the best Russian ruler since Peter the Great. This quote was from a senior European official.

58:02So which assessment do you think is closer to reality, in your view? No, it's not about, you know, comparing Putin to Peter the Great or other Russian czars or leaders. Putin made war the main algorithm of his power. So he cannot end the war. So even if we have a temporary end of hostilities called a ceasefire, I still doubt about it. That doesn't mean the end of the war, because Putin's war not just against Ukraine. It's not about Ukrainian territory. It's about destroying Ukrainian statehood. That's he has been saying it. His propaganda emphasized it 24 seven. And also it's a war against European Union and NATO as an organization.

58:45Putin wants to push NATO back to 1997 borders. That's a strategic goal. And it has not changed. So no matter what Trump does, you know, it's not going to change Putin's strategic objectives. I think now we are talking and I believe we'll find out quite soon that there's another deal behind closed doors. And that deal has nothing to do with geopolitical realities. It's more about, you know, Trump's personal interest, as I believe, you know, you can find in any so-called peace deal that Trump has concluded. Right. Well, we know that before a meeting between Trump and Putin, his secretary of state is expected to meet with Russian counterparts as well.

59:25Gari Kasparev, thank you so much. Good to see you. Thank you. Well, new fallout today from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal as Prince Andrew gives up his royal titles, saying the continued accusations against him, which he denies, are distracting from the work of the royal family. We'll get more from our team on the ground in London after the break.

59:49We're back with the world lead. Prince Andrew announcing today that he'll no longer use his royal titles or honors, including the Duke of York, saying after discussing with the king and family, they've concluded the accusations against him distract from the work of his majesty and the royal family. Andrew vigorously denies allegations against him, including those tied to his relationships with Jeffrey Epstein and a reported Chinese spy. CNN's Max Foster is at Buckingham Palace with more on this. So Max, Andrew has been out of public life since 2019. So what exactly does this announcement mean?

1:00:26He's even more out of public life, basically. So he did retain titles like the Duke of York. He was a member of Garta, which is the highest order of chivalry. He still keeps those titles under this agreement. To strip him of them would have been a long process going through Parliament. and he's basically conceded in this big discussion that's been had with the royal family recently and he's made it easy for them effectively by saying he just won't use those titles anymore. He's still Prince Andrew, that's a birthright, but there are various titles he can't use anymore. He's also not being invited to family Christmas and the messaging there is that you're not going to see him at all at any royal events.

1:01:05He was being seen at family events where you had cameras, not state events, but now he's not even allowed to go to them. So as I understand it, this comes from discussions, particularly with the king and Prince William. And it was clear what the king wanted going into them because out of them, he said he's glad with the outcome. So Prince Andrew has no public role or any privileges anymore. And Max, remind us of some of the details surrounding these allegations. Well, they go back a decade when Virginia Dufresne claimed that she was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and forced to have sex with various people, including Prince Andrew.

1:01:46There were other allegations she made of abuse as well against Prince Andrew, which she always denied. And it just has haunted him. And the story keeps coming back. And the family just felt they couldn't keep this scandal going on any longer because it was reflecting on their work. All right. Max Foster with the latest from Buckingham Palace. Thank you so much. And more now on the breaking news. Just out of the White House, President Trump is commuting the prison sentence of disgraced former Congressman George Santos. We'll be right back with more on this breaking story.

1:02:27our return to that breaking news in our politics lead president trump just this hour commuting the sentence of former republican congressman george santos who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for aggravated identity theft and wire fraud charges let's get straight to cnn's kristin holmes in the white house kristin a bit of a friday night news dump i guess we could describe it from President Trump. Did he say why he chose to do this? Well, it seems pretty unexpected, actually, because President Trump has been lobbied on this by both Santos as well as other members of Congress like Marjorie Taylor Greene for some time.

1:03:02And he has always evaded answering the question of whether or not he would pardon or commute a sentence for George Santos. It does appear looking at George Santos Twitter that he wrote an open letter from prison recently, as recently as this week. But if you're asking President Trump why he did it, he is linking this to Senator Blumenthal of Connecticut and saying that Blumenthal lied but never had to go to jail. And of course, Santos lied but did have to go to jail. And then really essentially saying that because Santos is a Republican, that maybe he should have his sentence commuted. This is also not the first of these former Republican politicians that he has pardoned or commuted their sentence.

1:03:43He did so for Representative Michael Grimm. He did so for a Connecticut governor, among others, all Republican, failed Republican politicians who had been convicted of crimes. When it comes to Santos himself, as we know, he had been convicted of seven years to a seven-year sentence. This says, according to Donald Trump, that as soon as he signs this pen, he is no longer going to be in any, it says, releasing George Santos from prison immediately. That's what happens as soon as he signs this commutation, of course. I'm sure there's a lot that has to happen in between then. But this is a lengthy screed here about Blumenthal.

1:04:26I will note, it was just earlier this month, maybe two weeks ago, that President Trump said he was going to look into Blumenthal. He was going to do some kind of investigation into him because he had clashed with Attorney General Pam Bondi. It's something he has brought up a lot. Unclear whether or not this actually has anything to do with Blumenthal, But this is how President Trump is translating this. We'll wait to see reaction from Santos and other lawmakers who, of course, expelled him from the House of Representatives because he was found guilty of fraud, as well as stealing other identities, posing as donors to make donations, among other things.

1:05:02So we'll wait and see what the reaction is to this. Yeah, he didn't have many fans, we should note, in the Republican Party. So this is quite interesting. Kristen Holmes of the White House for us. Thank you so much. Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu of California. So, Congressman, breaking news Friday evening. Your reaction to President Trump commuting George Santos' sentence? Thank you, Bianna, for your question. My first reaction is, wow, the president really wants to distract from the Republican shutdown and the Epstein files. Let me remind the American people what disgraced former Congressman George Santos was convicted of among crimes, including identity theft.

1:05:42obtaining unemployment benefits through fraud, charging credit cards without authorization, who was sentenced to 87 months in prison. And now Donald Trump's action is thrusting him into the limelight and making him again the face of the Republican Party. And I am more than happy to talk about this commutation and what this action means, because it's really the embodiment now of what the Republican Party stands for. How are you expecting some of your Republican colleagues to respond to this? Because as we noted there wasn't much love lost within his own party as well. Well, as you had mentioned early on, some of the members of the Republican Party pushed for George Santos to get a commutation.

1:06:22I imagine many of them will be silent because they are very afraid of saying anything that might possibly offend the president. And so we're going to see a whole bunch of silence. That would be my guess. Well, you mentioned this as possibly a distraction, the government shutdown. Let's talk about that because today the Senate staffers were told that they won't be getting a paycheck on Monday and they won't be paid now until the shutdown ends. We don't know when that could be. Do you think this could motivate some senators to find a shutdown solution more quickly? I sure hope so. Democrats in the House were in D.C.

1:06:57this week working on behalf of the American people. House Republicans were again on vacation for a third straight week. That's completely unacceptable. And I note again that Republicans control the White House, the Senate, and the House. If Donald Trump simply gave the order to his Republican House and Senate leaders and said, end this shutdown, they would do it. Okay. We could stay on this topic, but there's so much news to get to. I do want to get your response to President Trump's former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, pleading not guilty to all 18 charges against him. Now, Now, the DOJ is accusing him of mishandling classified documents, unlike the cases against Trump's other political adversaries.

1:07:38Many legal experts think there may be some validity to this case. You yourself are a lawyer. What do you think? When I served an active duty in the United States Air Force, I had a security clearance, and through training and other briefings, it was very crystal clear that mishandling classified information is a very serious crime. Donald Trump did that, and that's why he was indicted. All right, Congressman, I'm going to interrupt you. The president just landed in Florida, and I believe he's about to speak with reporters. Let's listen in. OK, we don't have his audio there. You see the president, Congressman Ted Lieu.

1:08:18Appreciate the time. A lot of news to get through. Thank you so much. Well, coming up, why the governor of Texas is now deploying his state's National Guard to Austin. We'll give you more details there after the break.

1:08:36All right, welcome back to discuss the breaking news and our politics lead. President Trump this hour commuting the sentence of former Republican Congressman George Santos, who is currently in prison serving a seven-year sentence for aggravated identity theft and wire fraud charges. Back now to the panel. Mo, your reaction.

1:08:57look this is a guy who um as you said identity theft wire fraud a professional grifter um if you voted for donald trump because you thought he was going to drain the swamp because you believed him when he said he wanted to level the playing field for everyday americans Like today is another example of why you should be disappointed. He just seems to go out of his way time and time again to show that he will do whatever it takes to support those who support him and punish those who oppose him. I wish I could say I'm surprised by this. I'm not. But it's yet another example of him going against exactly what he said he was going to be as president.

1:09:45So, T.W., do you think George Santos was deserving of this commutation? He wasn't exactly the most beloved figure in America, much less Congress. Maybe not beloved, depending on what circle you ran in. I think I thought his cameos were very funny. Look, look, I don't know the exact petition put forward to the president. Obviously, George Santos was convicted of a number of crimes. And if the president thought the DOJ thought that it was an overreach or it was targeted at him, it's within the president's right to commute a sentence. The president, that authority lies with the president alone and his judgment alone.

1:10:26OK, so let's now turn to what we're expecting to see in cities across the country. Millions turning out for this weekend's No Kings event protesting the Trump administration. You have the Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott deploying his state's National Guard to the capital of Austin and even posting on social media saying anyone destroying property or committing acts of violence will be swiftly arrested. in response to this, a top Democrat in the House state, in the Texas State House, Gene Wu, responded by saying, quote, sending armed soldiers to suppress peaceful protests is what kings and dictators do.

1:11:04And Greg Abbott just proved he's one of them. T.W., your reaction to what we're seeing from the governor and how the Democrat there responded. My question to Mr. Wu is, was Tim Walls, a dictator when he sent it in response to the protests in 2021, or Tony Evers, a dictator when he did the same. Look, Greg Abbott is trying to avoid the issues of the past, the destruction of the past with these protests. It is absolutely within his rights to protect property. We are all for free speech, but what about the rights of the business owner who gets their store torched, or the homeowner who gets their windows broken?

1:11:44When do we start saying we've got to protect them too? I think Greg Abbott is getting ahead of this in making sure we don't have those problems. We've seen in protests recently on the left that they have turned destructive or violent. I think it is wise to protect the citizens and protect the people in that protest. I think it's the right idea. So as opposed to exercising their constitutional right and perhaps responding if things do get violent, Mo, It appears that Republicans, as we just heard from TW, are getting ahead of this and already calling this Antifa-driven, that these ralliers hate America.

1:12:22Here's how one of the No Kings organizers is responding to these Republican attacks. Why are they coming at us now? And it's because they are worried that they are losing their grip on power. They are worried that other people in blue states, red states and purple states, in rural communities in Trump country are going to see the public doesn't support this. And that makes them scared. Mo, your reaction? Is this how you think it's making Republicans feel? Are Democrats having an effective narrative here? I'm old enough to remember that Republicans criticizing Hillary Clinton for calling Trump supporters deplorable.

1:13:07and when they blamed Democrats' use of the word fascist on other recent violent acts. And maybe right to do so. But to now call what are overwhelmingly peaceful protesters Antifa-driven. Speaker today said they hate America. That's, you know, that's a way to turn off a lot of people. And it's using the same tactics that they just a short time ago denounced. And I'm also old enough to remember on January 6th when protests at the Capitol turned violent and destructive. And the president refused to send in the National Guard and ended up pardoning those very same violent protesters. So I'm a little skeptical of their rhetoric and their reasoning here.

1:14:07I remember driving around in the D.C. suburbs during the last No Kings rally. Those were peaceful protesters, little old ladies, suburban parents and their kids out waving signs, exercising their disapproval and dissatisfaction with this president and his approach to governing. But if this president and his supporters want to continue to try to intimidate and silence people's right to do that, I think there's going to be a reckoning come Election Day. T.W., what do you think? Are Republicans scared? No. I think the people who make up the No Kings rally are made up of people on the fringe of the left.

1:14:47Yes, I am sure there are old ladies and children, and I denounce political violence of any kind on the right or the left. But I think what the speaker was getting at is that the Democratic Party is being held hostage by a radical element that does harbor ill will toward many of the institutions of the United States. Zoran Mamdani has had to walk back 15 different crazy things he said speaking out against America or talking to a guy who said 9-11 was a good thing. peace is always great, you have the right, political violence is never an answer. Well, let's hope for a peaceful weekend ahead. Thanks to you both.

1:15:26Well, breaking news from the Middle East. Israel says Hamas has just handed over the body of another deceased hostage, but more than a dozen still remain in Gaza. The brother of one of those hostages joins me next as his family is still awaiting foreclosure.

1:15:47Breaking in our world lead, Israel says that it received another body of a deceased hostage. If the identity is one of the 19 deceased hostages still in Gaza, it would mark the 10th return to Israel. Hamas says it needs special equipment to find others. Israel accuses Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement. As this dispute continues, so does the relentless cycle of grief for families. For the Adar family, Hamas killed Tamir Adar, a son, brother, husband and father. Tamir's brother Nir joins us now. Nir, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. I can only imagine how harrowing this week has been for you.

1:16:29I saw reports of your mother saying how your family can only deal with the loss of your brother once his body is found. I've heard similar statements from other parents like Ronan and Orna Nutra, who are waiting to properly bury their son, Omer, who was an American-Israeli killed on October 7th. Just seeing all of the emotions this week, in particular the return of the live hostages, some of the burials and memorials for those deceased hostages whose bodies have been returned, Can you talk to us a bit about the emotional rollercoaster this has been for you this week? That's exactly what I wanted to say, that it has been a rollercoaster.

1:17:17First of all, we are extremely happy to see the families reuniting with their loved ones. but on the same time we're still waiting for our loved one we are full of fear and anxiety and stress

1:17:45we don't know where it's going to

1:17:50as you said it has been a roller coaster the days are really long

1:17:58each and every minute anything can change and we don't know anything and we must stay strong but it's really hard it's really really hard because for now we feel like we have left behind the dealers signed and I want to thank the American government and President Trump and the mediators and the state of Israel. But for us, the deal hasn't happened because there was a deal, but my brother is not here and another 18 people. When Hamas kidnapped these people, they kidnapped also our families. So I'm not fighting only for my brother. I'm fighting for bringing back my family from Hamas tunnels. Actually, the terror we experienced on October 7th didn't end there.

1:18:58We are experiencing this terror until these days. Yeah. I've heard that from so many Israelis, that October 7th has continued for the past two years, even though for, thankfully, many of those hostage families, they had their loved ones come back, 20 of them alive so far. Not all of the 28 bodies of the deceased have been returned. And you mentioned that anything could change any minute. We're hearing that Hamas has said that they will release the remains of one of the hostages sometime tonight. This is coming after pressure from both Israel and the United States. Israel is saying that according to their own intelligence, they believe Hamas has access to several other bodies.

1:19:46Has your family been updated at all about whether or not that could include your brother?

1:19:56I didn't got any news for the NAM about the next release. But the thing is that the deal said that all 48 hostages were supposed to be released within 72 hours. We are many, many hours and days after. So Hamas broke the deal. So actually, for us, there was no deal. My brother is not here. And I was so moved when I read that your nephew, Asaf, who was just seven years old on October 7, 2023, still asks you, when is his dad coming home after his dad promised him, after putting them in a safe room, that he would be back in two minutes? I hope that happens. I hope that that happens very soon so that you and your family can finally have a proper burial for his father, for your brother.

1:20:55May his memory be a blessing. Nir Adar, thank you so much for the time today. Thank you.

1:21:30Cycle making your head spin? The Have I Got News For You crew is here to help with a comic take on the week's headlines. New episodes, Saturdays at 9 on CNN and next day on the CNN app.