Trump: “We'll Be Involved” In Ensuring Security For Ukraine

27:25But you do have a number of people like Merrick Garland, the former Attorney General. You have Jim Comey, the FBI director, who is overseeing some of this early part of this investigation. Hillary and Bill Clinton are also on the list of people to be deposed. And it's not clear where this is going and what they expect to get from this. We do know, Pamela, that in the last few days, FBI agents who spent weeks going through those files in the F-C investigation, they were told to make sure everything was saved because it appears in preparation for these documents to be turned over to the House that has subpoenaed them.

28:02So is the expectation all of the documents will be turned over? The expectation at this point is that nothing is going to be withheld. There are going to be redactions, but we don't know until this is over whether they're going to turn over everything. All right, Evan Perez, thank you so much. Joining us now is James Marsh. He is an attorney representing some of Epstein's victims. Thank you for joining us. I first just want to get to what I was talking to Evan about, that DOJ is preparing to potentially hand over all of the Epstein files to the House Oversight Committee, of course, with redactions.

28:37What is your reaction to that? That's very good news. You know, I think the key to understanding the who in Epstein is to really learn about the how. And this is a process where we're going to start seeing records from the FBI. We're going to start, at least in my client's situation, her complaint goes back to the mid-90s. Her FBI file is 30 years old. And if you really want to unpack what happened here on how Epstein gained his power and influence, you really have to go back to that period of time, the mid-1990s, where he was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Southern District of New York in 1996, the Tower Financial Scam.

29:21And I'd really like to see Mary Jo White, who was not only the U.S. attorney in New York at the time, but she went on to become the SEC commissioner, which is the agency that brought that case. So I think we need to go back a little bit farther, 10 more years prior to many of these witnesses' knowledge, and really start learning about how Jeffrey Epstein became the very significant and influential person that he was. And we should note it's been more than a month since the DOJ released that memo stating no additional charges in the Epstein investigation, saying that he did, in fact, die by suicide.

30:00What are you hearing from the victims that you represent in terms of what they would like to see happen now specifically? I think from their perspective, there are still a lot of very unanswered questions. In fact, they haven't answered any questions to date. Most of the information that we've seen throughout this whole month is recycled information. It goes all the way back to the binders. All that stuff is public. My client, Maria Farmer, her file is 90 percent redacted. We've asked the FBI for that. We've submitted a FOIA. We've requested it for many, many years and come up short. So there's a little bit that we do know, but there's an awful lot that we don't know.

30:39And the victims are really looking forward to some accountability and transparency and a full accounting of how did Jeffrey Epstein get so wealthy? How did he gain so much influence? What happened in the 90s, the 2000s, the 2010s, 30 years that this individual was able to conduct these activities, traffic and victims all across the world. And yet nothing new in the files. That's really hard for them to believe and a great disappointment. Well, you heard CNN's Evan Perez walk us through the list of who Republicans have subpoenaed so far for depositions. You have former federal prosecutor and later Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, who was not on that list.

31:22Acosta negotiated Epstein's sweetheart plea deal when he was a federal prosecutor. What is the significance of hearing from him in your view? He's a key witness. He's a key witness to what happened not only in Florida, but also for his statement that he heard that Epstein was associated with intelligence. He made that statement. It's part of the public record. Nobody's asked him who told him that. How did he learn that information? What understanding did he have of Jeffrey Epstein's relationship with the federal government? And so his omission on this list, to me, is a very shocking and surprising omission, since we can only go by what his statements were.

32:04I want to ask you about Ghislaine Maxwell, because she was moved from this prison in Florida to a lower security facility in Texas. Have you learned anything about the circumstances surrounding that move? We have not learned anything about that. And technically, under the Crime Victims' Rights Act, victims are only eligible to receive notice if somebody is discharged or moved to a halfway home. You know, a camp is almost a halfway home, right? I mean, it's not a secure facility. We have very few child pornography defendants in camps. Those are image distribution and possession cases. Almost all those people are at medium security facilities.

32:43I've never known any of them to go to a camp. The only time people that are sex offenders or have committed serious crimes get released to a federal camp is within months of their discharge. So it's a very atypical situation. And since we aren't entitled to notice, we didn't get noticed. But clearly, there's a lot of unanswered questions there, too. And a great deal of frustration for the victims and survivors of these crimes that there's been really no transparency about that and really no one to address their concerns. Very quickly, have you heard from DOJ recently? I know that one of your clients had reached out to the Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

33:20She had told Caitlin Collins recently she hadn't heard back from him. Has that changed? We haven't heard anything from anyone. So we're waiting. We've been waiting for years for some answers and accountability. In the case of Maria Farmer, she's been waiting 30 years to find out why the FBI didn't follow up on her initial complaint in the mid-90s. All right, James Marsh, thank you so much. Great. Thank you for having me. Another state is now vowing to send National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. in Trump's fight against crime. How the city's mayor is reacting to all of this one week into the federal police takeover.

34:00International League, Mississippi and now Louisiana are the latest Republican-controlled states to announce it is sending National Guard troops to join President Trump's show of force to fight crime in Washington, D.C. Now, President Trump is touting the crackdown today. D.C.'s Democratic mayor is sounding more frustrated with the escalation of federal agents and National Guard troops. CNN's Brian Todd has more one week into this D.C. police takeover. This is not about D.C. crime. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser growing more frustrated over the escalation of federal agents and National Guard troops on the streets of the nation's capital.

34:37You know it doesn't make sense. The numbers on the ground in the district don't support a thousand people from other states coming to Washington, D.C. Republican governors from West Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio and Mississippi have announced they are sending additional National Guard troops to Washington in response to President Trump's call to increase law enforcement on the streets. We went from the most unsafe place anywhere to a place that now people, friends are calling me up, Democrats are calling me up, and they're saying, sir, I want to thank you. And you did that in four days. But Mayor Bowser does not seem to share that sentiment.

35:12Why the military would be deployed in an American city to police Americans? That's the question. Around the Capitol today, D.C. National Guard troops could be spotted near national monuments and major transportation huts. Have they told you anything about your mission, like what you're supposed to be doing around Union Station at least? Just helping out with local law enforcement. Are you carrying any firearms? No. A Defense Department official tells CNN that so far, guardsmen on the street in D.C. are not armed and have not been requested to carry firearms. The official says they'll be prepared to arm if they get the order.

35:48When asked if they will deploy to high-crime areas of the city, the official said, quote, that's not the request. Not everybody agrees that National Guardsmen should be sent in from other states. One Republican governor, Phil Scott of Vermont, turned down a second request from President Trump to deploy its National Guard troops to D.C. to help Trump in his mission. The governor's office saying in part, while public safety is a legitimate concern in cities across the country, in the absence of an immediate disaster and unless local and regional first responders are unable to handle such an emergency, the governor is opposed to utilizing the National Guard for this purpose.

36:24Some D.C. residents have been very vocal, protesting and speaking out against the militarization of their streets. They're not doing this to anybody else in this country. They're picking on D.C. We are and would be the largest black voting plurality, 46 percent black and brown residents in D.C. They're not doing this to any white land spaces. Every additional step they make makes the people of D.C. more dangerous, and that is why the people of D.C. do not want this. Nobody asks for it. We want them out. This is our home, and we do not want them here.

36:57A Defense Department official tells CNN that West Virginia is sending about 350 of its National Guard troops to Washington. That official says some of those West Virginia troops have already arrived. Now, we did not see them on the streets of D.C. today, but that official says that those troops from West Virginia will be integrating with the other forces soon. That same official says that National Guard troops from South Carolina, Ohio and Mississippi will be here within the next few days. And we just heard from Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry that he is sending about 135 of his state's National Guard troops to Washington.

37:30So, Pamela, a large escalation of National Guard troops here within the next few days. That certainly is. Brian Todd in Washington, D.C., thanks so much. And just ahead, the breaking news in the Atlantic Ocean, Hurricane Aaron, and the potentially deadly danger it poses for the U.S. East Coast, even though no direct hit is in the forecast. The latest track up next.

37:56Breaking news in the National League. People are trying to get out of Dodge along North Carolina's Outer Banks just ahead of Hurricane Aaron. A tropical storm watch has just been issued for that area. Aaron is not expected to make a direct hit on the U.S., But the east coast will experience some dangerous effects of the storm. So let's go straight to CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Derek? Pam, this is what I like to call too close for comfort. Hurricane Aaron now just north of the Turks and Caicos. The outer bands, though, giving it quite a strong lashing with wind and rain. But the core, the strongest part of this major hurricane, remains well offshore.

38:33And it will remain that way for the foreseeable future. But the storm is expanding. This is a big problem for the east coast of the U.S. Let me explain why. There's an expanding wind field. It could double in size over the coming days, and that means it's going to agitate the surface of the ocean. We're talking about the western Atlantic, and that will send waves rippling towards the eastern seaboard, and this will cause dangerous surf, riptide conditions, and the potential for some coastal erosions, especially as we head into the day tomorrow, Wednesday, and then again on Thursday before the system finally starts to depart the northeast.

39:10This is the position tomorrow of Hurricane Aaron as it approaches this landmark between Bermuda and the east coast. So we're not going to be directly impacting land, but the indirect consequences of the storm and the expanding wind field will be quite profound, especially on those eastern and southeastern facing coastline. Let's say Cape Hatteras, for instance, or the Outer Banks, where the potential for some overwash across this area. with even the potential of some storm surge associated with this system. So the actual waves that we're expecting along the coastal regions, 15 to 20 feet. Yeah, that's not a typo for Cape Hatteras.

39:47As this storm again veers away to the north and east and away from the east coast of the U.S., it still has its impacts felt in the form of a dangerous surf. Pam? All right, Derek, thanks so much. We have breaking news at the White House. Trump pausing his meeting with the Ukrainian president and European leaders to speak with Vladimir Putin. CNN scenes are working to learn what was said. We are back with that up next.

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41:40This is CNN Breaking News. Welcome to The Lead. I'm Pamela Brown. And for Jay Tapper, we are following breaking news out of the White House, where a full day of momentous diplomacy is still underway as President Trump attempts to broker a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine. Last hour, President Trump paused a meeting with Ukrainian President Blodimir Zelensky and European leaders to speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the phone. That call just wrapped, we've learned. And it comes as Trump appeared to waffle on the idea of a ceasefire. All of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace.

42:19And maybe something like that could happen. As of this moment, it's not happening. To be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire, the latest from the next meeting on. I can't imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire. So let's work on that and let's try to put pressure on Russia. Your idea to ask for a truce or a ceasefire, at least to stop the killings, as we discussed, is a necessity. And we all support this idea. Remember now, in mid-July, Trump gave Russian leader Vladimir Putin a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face severe consequences. Friday's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska came and went with no obvious consequences.

43:05Trump and Zelensky's meeting earlier today was a far cry from that Oval Office blow-up in February. And Trump did offer Zelensky some relief besides the security guarantee, saying definitively this is not the end of the road for U.S. support to Ukraine. In contrast to what some Republicans, including his own Vice President J.D. Vance, have said. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is at the White House. Jeff, what more do we know about this Trump-Putin call today? Well, Pamela, we do know at this hour President Trump and the European leaders, including Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, are now meeting in the Oval Office.

43:39So we know that that phone call with the Russian President Vladimir Putin is over. We do not know the duration of that call or exactly who else might have been on it. We are told that the meeting paused for a while while the American president reached out to his Russian counterpart. Of course, that is extraordinary in and of itself. really on a day of really an extraordinary setting here. But it was that meeting in the Oval Office with Zelensky and Trump that really set the tone for a new moment of cooperation, or at least that is the hope. But you heard the questions there about the ceasefire.

44:15That is one of the few divisions we have seen here. Of course, on Friday when the president flew to Alaska, he said he's going to call for a ceasefire or there would be severe consequences. Of course, after that meeting, the idea of a ceasefire fell by the wayside. But it was the German chancellor and the French president who were really urging the American president to really rethink the idea of a ceasefire. And Trump said he was not against it, but he thought a ceasefire would ultimately delay a path to a peace. Now, the reality here is all of these leaders here meeting in Washington at the White House.

44:50The meeting has gone on longer than expected. Unclear exactly what that means. They may be spending some more time here in the evening as well. Some White House aides are planning for them to spend a bit longer here before the president sends them on their way. Even a discussion potentially of a meal this evening that is unconfirmed. We will see if that develops. But there's no doubt that at least some progress was reached, at least in that relationship with Trump and Zelensky. Pamela, so different than six months ago when he was thrown out of the Oval Office. Very different tone. And also Zelensky had his backup today with these European leaders.

45:26Of course, that changed the dynamic as well. Jeff, there was also a bit of a hot mic moment at the White House today. What happened? There was when all the leaders were walking into the East Room. A bit of a revealing moment between the American president and French president Emmanuel Macron. Let's listen. I think he wants to make a deal for me. You understand that? As crazy as it sounds. So Trump said, I believe he, meaning Putin, wants to make a deal with me, for me, as crazy as it sounds. Now, it actually does not sound that crazy when you have heard Donald Trump talk for the better part of a year.

46:05He has long, in fact, he campaigned on the idea that he could end the war on day one, all because of what he says and believes is a relationship with American presidents that stand apart from other relationships. Well, that clearly has not been the case. Putin has not been swayed. We are eight months into this administration. But President Trump saying there that he believes Vladimir Putin wants to make a deal certainly gives you a sense of Trump's mindset. So, Pamela, even though it was on a hot mic, it's actually something that we've heard Trump say similar in public. Yeah, that is true. The for me is interesting.

46:40He wants to make a deal for me. Jeff Seleney, thanks so much. And ahead of today's big White House meetings, President Trump posted on social media saying Zelensky can end the war, quote, if he wants to. But in order to do so, Zelensky needs to give up Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, and abandon his bid for NATO membership. CNN's Tom Foreman is here to walk us through the maps. So, Tom, that's what Trump wants. But remind us, what do Ukraine and Russia want from a potential peace deal? Let's start with Russia, if we can, Pam. When he said he wants to make a deal, what he wants to make a deal for quite clearly is to normalize and make permanent not just Crimea, which they took back in 2014, but also the area up here, the Donbass.

47:22It's a coal region, a grain region, a very important area up there. And not only that, but there are indications from Russia. They don't want to just take the striped part there, which they are occupying, but the rest of it and maybe more. Maybe a land bridge from there down through these other areas all the way down to Crimea, maybe all the way up to the Dnieper River over there. So that's what Russia wants out of the deal. What does Ukraine want? Absolutely the opposite. They would like Russia to go back to the Russian side, to all these areas that Russia surged into, violating international norms by attacking a sovereign neighbor.

47:56They want to say, get out of this, back up in every way, shape and form. You simply do not belong here. That's what Europe would like. And Donald Trump, as he said so many times, he seems to really just most of all want some kind of deal so he can deliver on that long-delayed promise that he could end this immediately, which, of course, he has not done, Pam. All right. So what about the European leaders? What do they want from this deal? The Europeans have something very much in common with Ukraine here. They want a security guarantee. They do not want for the Russians to push even deeper into the Donbass there and then have an open, strong staging platform to hit the rest of Ukraine when they want.

48:35And then maybe go to Moldova and Belarus and Latvia and Lithuania. They are worried about future ambitions by Russia. They want security there. Ukraine wants security there. And they have reason to want security. Because remember, after Crimea, Russia tried to say basically, hey, we're done. We're not going to do any more. and yet here they are back. So those are the interests involved. Most of all, most of all, what the Europeans want and the Ukrainians want is to say, international community, you must say to Russia, you will be punished for invading a neighbor. You don't get rewarded with any of the land you took.

49:14Whether they can make that deal, we don't know. All right, Tom Foreman, thanks so much. Let's bring in CNN senior military analyst and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Admiral James Stavridis. Thanks for being here. I first want to go with this news that came out during this show, this phone call between President Trump and Russian President Putin during this meeting with Zelensky, these European leaders that was put on pause for the phone call. What do you make of that? I think it's a good thing. And my view is the more contact President Trump can have both with Zelensky and the European leaders and also with Putin, the higher the chances are that we can negotiate an ending to this.

50:00Quick point to be made here, Pamela, you know this, life is compared to what? And compared to how Zelensky was received in the White House some months ago, essentially thrown out without lunch. Well, now he's there with half a dozen of his best friends, the leaders of Europe, they're talking about having an evening meal together. If that requires a pause to check in with Putin, I'm all for it. Yeah, it is striking how different today was. Hold on. I want to stand right there. I want to go back to Jeff Zolini at the White House. We've got some breaking news, Jeff. Pamela, we are getting our first read of what happened at these meetings this afternoon from the president himself, just posting just a few moments ago on his Truth social account.

50:45I'll read it with you together here. He's largely giving an optimistic view. He said, during the meeting, we discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, which of course we saw out in public. He also says everyone is very happy about the possibility of peace for Russia and Ukraine. At the conclusion of the meeting, the president writes, I called President Putin and began the arrangements for a meeting at a location to be determined between President Putin and President Zelensky. After that meeting takes place, Trump writes, we will have a trilat, which would be the two presidents plus myself. So that is very interesting here, Pamela.

51:21President Trump is saying the first meeting, as we're reading this, would be between Putin and Zelensky by themselves. And then they would have a trilateral meeting between Putin, Zelensky and Trump. He goes on to say this is a good early step for a war that's been going on for almost four years. And he said that the vice president, secretary of state, and his special envoy, Steve Whitcoff, are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine. So Pamela, summarizing this here, President Trump, again, putting a very positive, forward-looking spin on this. He said there were good developments today, and we do not know the central question, though, is on timing, when the timing of a meeting would be between Putin and Zelensky.

52:02The reason that's important, if it's a setup very quickly, that is a sign that President Putin is seriously engaged in this, not like some of his critics fear that he's simply trying to buy more time and will not schedule this, but then a separate trilateral meeting as well. So a bit of a difference there. Trump earlier was suggesting a trilateral meeting, a meeting of all three of them would be the first step, but it appears at least by this Truth Social after Trump talk to Putin, it looks like a Zelensky-Putin meeting is coming up first. All right. Now we know a little bit more about that call.

52:34Thanks so much, Jeff Zeleny. So let's get the reaction from the Admiral. What do you think about this? A potential meeting first between Putin and Zelensky and then a trilateral meeting. I'll take it. And I think what's really important, actually, Pamela, is the meeting after those two, a quad a quad meeting yeah of course hello oh did we lose you admiral yeah admiral sabridis we're still live in the air can you hear me i thought somebody in my other ear saying something um a quadrilateral meeting is what's really important so let's have the one-on-one then Then let's have the trilat. The quad is when you bring in someone like Ursula von der Leyen from Europe.

53:23Extremely important to get that European voice in there. And as this unfolds, Pamela, I think what is going to be important is the degree to which Zelensky is going to be willing to give up some amount of territory. Crimea, what part of Donbass? And I'll close with this. if you look at it pragmatically, the 20 percent of Ukraine that Russia currently occupies, it's been a war zone for three years now. It's unexploded ordinance, destroyed infrastructure, demoralized population. Reconstructing that is going to be an enormous bill that accrues to the Russian Federation. So as I look at it, if I were advising President Zelensky, I'd say keep an open mind about what this deal could look like.

54:19It was interesting, too, because today, unlike what we have heard previously from him, he didn't completely rule it out. He didn't say we are not going to cede any territory. You know, he didn't go there. And so that was something that I was looking at for sure. But when it comes to the Donbass region, some are looking at that and saying, well, if Ukraine gives that up, they're giving up a really strategic part of their land for national security, for economic reasons to protect them from Russia. What do you say to that argument? I would say, listen to the president of Finland, who in the meeting during the Oval office talked about an event almost 100 years ago when Russia invaded Finland.

55:06Ultimately, Finland gave up 10 % of their territory. They maintained independence. They maintained neutrality for many years. Ultimately, they came into NATO. That's an interesting historical analog here. Again, these are decisions for Ukrainians, not for Americans. But I would say to President Zelensky keep an open mind to the deal that's kind of unfolding in real time in front of us. Admiral James Stavridis, thank you so much. You bet. Much more of our breaking news in moments as President Trump announces arrangements are underway for a meeting between Putin and Zelensky. That's next. Plus, the two-week standoff is now over as Texas Republicans return to the statehouse greeted by supporters as the redistricting fight enters a new chapter.

56:02And we are back with our breaking news on the White House meeting between President Trump, the Ukrainian president, and European leaders. President Trump just posting an update on True Social saying, quote, At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin and began the arrangements for a meeting at a location to be determined between President Putin and President Zelensky. After that meeting takes place, we will have a trilat, which would be with the two presidents plus myself. Join us now to discuss former Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh and founding partner and Washington correspondent for PUC, Julia Yaffe.

56:35All right, Julia, what's your reaction to this news? First, wow. Second of all, you know, I'll believe it when I see it. And I think that's probably a lot of people's reactions, given how Putin has been able to string this out. And, you know, from what I hear from Moscow, yes, Putin wants this war to end. He wants to wrap it up and secure his gains. But he also sees no reason to stop now. He sees the momentum as being at his back, the wind at his back. And so he's also expert at dragging things out, at saying, well, let's look at the details. And I really do think the details, I mean, the details matter obviously everywhere.

57:19But what is a security guarantee for Ukraine that would be enough for Ukraine, but not too much for Russia? And we saw the Russian foreign ministry, for example, today lashing out already, saying that posting any troops from any of these countries on Ukrainian soil as part of a security guarantee for Ukraine would unleash, they said, unlimited escalation of the war. So, yeah, like what is the security guarantee here? And this isn't really, is it really a territory swap? Or is it Russia agreeing to release some Ukrainian land that it's holding? Again, we'll see. We don't know yet. So much, it could go off the rails at any point.

58:07And it would be telling how quickly this bilateral meeting comes together, right? It could be a sign if it comes together very quickly that maybe Putin is taking this seriously. But if it doesn't, then could it be a sign that Putin is once again just dragging everyone along to try to take more land? Yeah, I think the timeline is really what I would be paying attention to here. Because it's fine that the president announced this on Truth Social. But at the end of the day, we've seen Putin continue to drag out this war. And he's really being able to run down the clock. I mean, what he wanted to do, I mean, this administration had proposed an initial trilateral summit.

58:41which President Putin balked at and said, no, we'll do just a one-on-one meeting with President Trump in Alaska. And so he's really being able to run out the clock. But I think an important point to make, too, is what does it look like when these two leaders meet? Is there going to be some type of temporary ceasefire that goes into effect while they meet? For how long? I think also the security guarantees, you know, it said that the U.S. would, the Truth Social Post said that the U.S. would coordinate with European allies on that. But what does that mean? Does that mean boots on the ground or does that mean continued military, you know, intelligence sharing, things that we've been doing already?

59:14Yeah. And what do you make of the fact that there would be a bilateral and then a trilateral, as Trump said? The order of that. Yeah, I think, I think because, I mean, it's telling because until now Putin has really, I mean, the entire Russian elite, because they're taking their signals from Putin, just hates Zelensky. They They hate him so much. They joke that he's a psychopath, that he's addicted to drugs. I mean, they really, really hate him. And the fact that Putin is at least in theory even agreeing to sit down at a table with him is in theory big. But again, we'll see when it happens. I still don't fully believe it until it really happens.

59:57What did you make of Zelensky's performance, if you want to call it that, today? It was very different from what we saw in February. And he did not openly defy Trump in front of the cameras. You know, we had heard him previously say Ukraine will not give up any territory. He didn't do that today. Now, that was in front of the cameras. We don't know what happened behind closed doors, Sabrina. Yeah, and I think he took a tone that was so different from what we saw earlier this year. You know, when he had that first initial Oval Office meeting and J.D. Vance and him went back and forth. And, of course, the president, you know, really went at him pretty hard.

1:00:28I think this was definitely not only a different tone, but I think it was the right one that he needed to take, frankly, in front of the cameras and in front of those European leaders, like, let's get through the meeting. I'm not going to openly, you know, disagree with you in public. But he's been very clear in his posts as well. And in fact, he sort of responded to Trump's truth social post earlier this morning saying that we're not going to give up territory that, frankly, the Russians don't occupy, which is what the Russians want. They want that Donbass area. And so, you know, I think he struck the right tone.

1:00:58He's fighting for his life. He's fighting for his country. And he knows that President Trump is going to be part of whatever diplomatic relations happen between President Putin and himself? So I think what's important to remember is ever since February, we've seen all sides here trying to play this game with Donald Trump of who can say yes to him the longest while getting the other side to be the first to say no, right, to be the other side, to show that it's the other guy who's the problem. It's not us, it's Putin. It's not us, It's Zelensky. And it's clear that the that the Europeans and Zelensky went in here with a plan to say, let's give Trump the show he wants.

1:01:37Let's be nice. Let's all flatter him. Everybody took turns saying this wouldn't have been possible without you. You're incredible, Donald Trump. You're just such an amazing peacemaker. And then let's let Putin be the bad guy. We know Putin will eventually spoil it. And so I think everybody's trying to out guess each other, hopefully the hope, hoping that the other guy, is going to spoil it and that Donald Trump will be mad at the other guy and not at them. I still think that dynamic is still at play here. And the fact that Trump walked out of the meeting with European leaders and President Zelensky to take a call from President Putin, I think does speak volumes to Putin's power here.

1:02:15Yeah, I guess, do we know? I don't know if we know if it was Putin that called him or Trump. Trump said he called him. He called, right, he called him. But I mean, it is still notable that it was in the middle of the meeting. Sabrina, Julia, thank you so much. Thank you. At much more in our breaking news and moments, President Trump says he's arranging a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. We're going live to Moscow and Kiev next.

1:02:41When you're 7-Eleven's hottest fire chicken sandwich, people think you're intense. Well, yeah, I'm hot! Oh, yeah, intense. Want to see if you can handle the heat? Then try me. With pickles or spicy mayo and jalapenos. Oh, and it's all just$4.99. That's a deal almost as hot as I am. Almost? Sweets? No. Spicy? See for yourself. $4.99 and only at 7-Eleven. Follow up through 825-26. Participating stores only while supplies last. Visit store for full terms. All right, we're back with our breaking news. As President Trump just announced, he has started plans for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, followed by a trilateral meeting that will include Trump himself.

1:03:24health. CNN's Fred Pleikin is in Moscow and CNN's Ben Wiedemann is in Kiev. Fred, how is Russia reacting to this news? Hi, Pamela. Yeah, just a couple of minutes ago, we actually got the readout from the Russian side. There was also a phone conference call that happened with Yuri Ushakov, a senior Kremlin aide who's also been in all of the phone calls and negotiations with the Trump administration as well and was also in the room in Alaska when President Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke there. And he gave a readout of the call between Trump and Putin tonight. He said Trump informed Putin about the recently, I'm reading the bullet points here, by the way, Trump informed Putin about the recently concluded negotiations with Zelensky and the leaders of European countries.

1:04:06The president's expressed support for the continuation of direct talks between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine. So the Russians not necessarily talking about a Putin-Zelensky meeting in the near future. Of course, the delegations have actually been meeting for a while. Putin and Trump discussed the idea of raising the level of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. So they are saying that they could possibly be raised to the level of the presidents. The presidents of Russia and the U.S. agreed to continue close contacts with each other on the Ukrainian crisis and other issues. Putin noted in the conversation with Trump the importance of the efforts made by the U.S.

1:04:43president and the Ukrainian settlement. So the Russians obviously confirming that this talk took place. confirming also that there was talk about a high-level meeting between the Russians and the Ukrainians, possibly, of course, also involving the presidents of both countries, but not going so far as President Trump to speak about a bilateral and then possibly even a trilateral meeting, Pamela. All right, so let's go over to Ukraine. Ben, how is it going over there? Well, we haven't gotten any reaction yet, Pam, from the Ukrainian presidency or any Ukrainian officials to this surprise announcement from President Trump that he's working to first arrange a bilateral meeting between Presidents Zelensky and Putin.

1:05:26It seems highly unusual that they would meet without somebody as a mediator in the middle. The assumption has been for the last few days, since certainly the Alaska summit, that President Trump would continue to serve as a mediator in such a meeting. Because what we know is in the past, when meetings have between these two bitter foes have been discussed, there's always been talk of somebody in the middle to try to bridge the gaps, the many gaps that exist between the two. So I think we're just going to have to wait for the Ukrainian delegation currently in Washington to comment on this surprise, yet another surprise announcement from President Trump.

1:06:14Lots of twists and turns. Brett Pleiken in Moscow, Ben Wiedemann and Keeve, thanks you both. Well, Texas Democrats returned to the state today, ending the standoff over the proposed redistricting maps. Wait until you hear how Republican officials are trying to make sure those Democrats can't leave the state again. That's next.

1:06:37All right, turning now to our politics lead. Cheers for Democrats in Texas returning to the Statehouse. This ends a 15-day standoff with state Republicans over a controversial plan backed by President Trump to redraw congressional districts ahead of next year's midterm elections. As that GOP plan plays out in Texas, Democrats in California are moving forward with their own plan to try to even the score, create their own five seats. Let's go to CNN's Arlette Signs in Austin, Texas. So tell us more about Democrats returning, because now there is a quorum for this redistricting to move forward. Yeah, Pamela, and Republicans here in Texas are just one step closer to getting those new congressional maps passed.

1:07:19These Texas House Democrats returned after that 15 day stay away, in part because there's not much more that they can do to try to block this piece of legislation from moving forward. Now, instead, their attention is going to turn to the upcoming lawsuits that will be pursued. Now, GOP lawmakers have not set a timeline for when these new congressional maps could be passed, but it could be as soon as this week. And that is when these Texas House Democrats plan to make their arguments that can be used in those legal cases. Here is how the state Representative Gene Wu, who leads House Democrats here in Texas, explained it.

1:07:59So we are coming back to fight on our own terms, not on their terms. We are coming back to pursue the legal option now that we have an extra bit of safety with California coming on board and with other states potentially coming on board soon. Now, while these House and Texas House Democrats ultimately won't be able to stop this map from moving forward, they are claiming that this quorum break was a success because they sparked that national conversation about redistricting. And this week, you will see underway in California their effort to try to counteract the maps that had been put forth by Texas.

1:08:39The California legislature is set to consider their own bills, potentially passing it as soon as Thursday. But the big difference between Texas and California is that California voters will still have a say on these maps come November. And it's unclear whether they will be able to muster up enough support to get us across the finish line. The answer is still months away. Yeah. So what are the Republicans doing to make sure they have a quorum for Wednesday? Well, that's a really interesting dynamic that is playing out here in the Austin state capitol. When these Democrats returned today, the House Speaker said that they were only allowed to leave the chamber.

1:09:15if they signed a permission slip that authorized being followed by law enforcement for the next about 36 hours at this point, when the House is set to reconvene at 10 a.m. There is actually one Democratic state representative who has refused to sign that slip. That is Nicole Collier of the Fort Worth area. And she is currently camped out, confined on the Texas House floor in a sign of protest against signing that permission slip, but the rest are expected to come back on Wednesday. All right, Arlette Zines, thanks so much. And now let's go to what's playing out in California. Here now is Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley.

1:09:54He represents California's third district, a sprawling district along the California-Nevada border that includes parts of Lake Tahoe and Death Valley. It would change significantly if voters passed Governor Newsom's plan. Thanks for joining us. So now that both Texas and California appear to be moving full steam ahead, where does this end? Well, it's a great question. I mean, you could well see this domino effect continue to ripple across the country where one state after another offends their district lines. I think it is a very unhealthy thing for democracy. I think it's bad for representative government.

1:10:28I don't think it's particularly good for either party. In fact, members of Congress in both parties hate it. The voters certainly don't like it. So that's why I've actually introduced a bill in the House to bring this whole thing to an end, saying that you don't redistrict, you can't gerrymander in the middle of the decade. And so that would hold effect in California, my state, in Texas, and in all 50 states. In addition to that, I've called on the Speaker of the House to establish a bipartisan commission to end gerrymandering nationwide in time for the next census, which is what we're actually supposed to be doing redistricting.

1:11:02And where do you think stand with your bill? Well, when Congress gets back in two weeks, I'm going to be using every possible measure that I can to get the bill to the floor for a vote. I mean, looking at my state of California, I'm extremely concerned for what I consider to be a threat to democracy. Our voters spoke very clearly when they set up an independent citizens commission to do redistricting, saying that politicians should not be in charge of drawing their own district lines. That's an inherent conflict of interest. And so we've had that commission in place for 15 years to draw district lines in a neutral, nonpartisan way.

1:11:38And so the idea that we're going to overturn the will of voters and return this power to politicians, I think it's very undemocratic. And indeed, a poll from Politico just two days ago showed that voters stand by their decision. Two thirds of Californians, overwhelmingly Democrats, Republicans, independents, say they want to keep our independent citizens commission. They do not want to return to this era of partisan gerrymandering. And Governor Newsom, for his part, says that he's putting the Independent Commission on hold because this is an emergency and you have to fight fire with fire, that this all started with Republicans and Texas.

1:12:14What do you say to that? Well, I'd say when you fight fire with fire, the whole world burns. I mean, this fails the test of kindergarten logic. You know, two wrongs don't make a right. And so just because some other state is doing something that we don't like doesn't mean that California voters should be deprived of fair elections and fair districts and having the representation that they choose. And so I think that's why you see reflected in this poll that just came out two days ago. People aren't concerned in our state as much with what's going on in other states. They're concerned about our own election system, our own state, our own representation.

1:12:49And you saw over 60 % of Democrats, over 60 % of Republicans, and over 70 % of independents believe that we should have independent redistricting in California. So I think that it is absolutely unacceptable that there's now this effort to have a$250 million special election to try to confuse voters into overturning the decision that they've already made. So what is your message to those in your own party who support what Republicans are doing in Texas, but opposed Democrats and what they're doing in your state of California? You know, there actually aren't a lot of people in my party, at least in the House, who support any of this.

1:13:27The Republican members of the House from Texas, they don't like what's going on. President Trump supports it, supports what's happening in Texas. Well, the president's had a lot on his plate. I do think that the Speaker of the House in particular needs to step forward and show some leadership here. And I'd like to see the president take a different perspective as well, now that he has a forward picture of everything that's going on. So I think that gerrymandering is bad wherever it occurs. I think it's particularly bad in California as there's an attempt to overthrow this independent commission and completely ignore the will of voters.

1:13:59But we need to move past this as a country. I mean, we have so much division in this country. I think maybe that's the one thing people can agree on is that political division has become a big problem. And when we can't even agree on the rules of the game, you know, that makes the problem even worse. We should have vigorous debates when it comes to policy, when it comes to our different visions for the country. That's what democracy is all about. But we need to have some basic understanding about the rules of the game and the basic parameters for our politics. And I think that what you're seeing right now with Governor Newsom, for example, basically blowing up our state constitution, saying nothing in the constitution matters.

1:14:35That's what this special election would establish, except that gerrymandering is paramount. I think it's a very unhealthy thing for the country. This is not a road that we want to go down. And so I hope that when we get back to the House, my bill saying, all right, let's take a deep breath. Let's put this on hold. Let's not continue to allow this to spiral out of control. I hope we can get bipartisan support for that and move on to the issues that really matter to the American people. All right. Let's talk about another issue on that note. You serve on the Judiciary Committee today. Republican Oversight Chairman James Comer said the DOJ will start sharing Jeffrey Epstein files with his committee starting Friday.

1:15:11Many members of your party have called for more transparency. Do you support those files being shared with the American public? Absolutely. I want as much transparency as possible, of course, consistent with privacy concerns and confidentiality concerns for victims. I'm not on the oversight committee, but I am certainly in favor of as much transparency here as possible. All right, Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley of California, thank you so much. You bet. Thanks for having me. Our small business series takes us to Virginia next, where a tea shop sells more than 100 products from around the world with a big focus on community events.

1:15:48How have tariffs impacted their business? Are they raising prices on consumers? That's next.

1:15:58All right, it's time for our business leader series where we hear from small business owners from coast to coast about President Trump's tariffs. Eldon Street Tea Shop is located in Ruston, Virginia. It sells more than 100 different types of loose leaf tea from around the world. And they also organize a variety of community events, a tea festival, afternoon tea parties, and much more. Jake Tapper recently spoke with the owner, Rachel Rosner. You source most of your tea internationally. How have tariffs been impacting your business? Thank you, Jake, for having me on the show. Currently, our tea is impacted 100%.

1:16:38As you said, we get tea from all around the world, as well as working with small batch tea blenders who also get tea from all around the world to make their custom blends. It has a very huge impact on us. Did you have to pay tariffs before all of this started in April on your imported products? We did not. We actually, there hasn't ever been a tariff on tea. This is the first time this has happened. And we currently have to pay a 27.25 % tariff out of China and any other tariffs that are going to be implemented in the next coming days. I seem to remember reading something in a history book about a tax on tea, an unfair tax on tea.

1:17:26Have you had to raise your prices? Yes. We have not had to raise our prices yet, but we will be raising them this fall depending on the amount of tariff that is going to be implemented will determine how much we will have to raise them. In addition to selling your teas, your business also coordinates events for your community. Have your customers been affected by tariffs? Yes, we have seen a huge drop in our in-person business. As you know, we are located right outside of D.C. And with all of the federal layoffs, as well as these looming tariffs, people are becoming very changing how they're spending their finances.

1:18:14And so we have definitely seen an impact on our business. If you could get a message to President Trump about the tariffs, what would you say to him? I would ask him to reduce the tariff, current tariffs, to zero, as this is something that impacts the American daily life, whether it's coffee or tea. We need to be able to have our daily morning rituals, as well as being able to be able to have a small business impact on the tea and coffee industry. Well, I'll tell you something, Rachel. My dad is a, I don't know what the term is for it, a tea head, a tea lunatic. He loves tea. So I'm about to pop on your website and get some for him.

1:19:03Is there Eldon, do I just Google Eldon Street Tea Shop in Reston, Virginia? It will come up and people can order if they want. Yes. So you can find us on social media as well as at EldonStreetTea.com. And we have, like you said, over 100 different kinds of tea. I will say that our tea stocks have been dwindling because of these tariffs. And so we are actually not able to get in our teas as quickly as we usually do because of two reasons. One is because of fear buying. A lot of my customers are fearing that we're going to be increasing our prices. And two, because our suppliers are waiting to find out what's happening with the tariffs before they actually replenish their supplies around the world.

1:19:54So this has a huge impact on our industry. These tariffs are just so disruptive to so many people. Thank you, Rachel. And Eldon Street Tea Shop is in Reston, Virginia. Thank you so much. Thank you. A woman known as the Ketamine Queen who was charged with selling Matthew Perry the drug that killed him has agreed to a plea deal. Those details next. Our last leads start with our Law Justice lead. A woman known as the Ketamine Queen who was charged with selling Matthew Perry the drug that killed him has agreed to plead guilty. She is the fifth and final defendant charged in the overdose death of the Friendstar.

1:20:31The medical examiner ruled ketamine, which is typically used as a surgical anesthetic, was the primary cause of Perry's death. And in our health lead, Texas health officials announced today the measles outbreak centered in West Texas is over after 42 days of no new cases reported. This period accounts for two incubation periods without transmissions. Since January, Texas has confirmed more than 760 cases and two child deaths from measles. And in our pop lead, the Cambridge Dictionary is adding new words often used on TikTok talk or by your chronically online kids. Those words, skibbity, have you heard of that one?

1:21:09Trad wife and delulu. The dictionary added 6 ,000 words that reflect how the English language is changing, not just the ones that will make Gen Z cringe. Well, you can follow me on X at Pamela Brown CNN. You can follow the show on X at the lead CNN. If you ever miss an episode of the lead, you can listen to the show wherever you get your podcasts. Erin Burnett out front starts now.

1:21:36Hey, I'm Anderson Cooper. On my podcast, All There Is, we explore grief and loss in all its complexities. My guests are David Frum and Danielle Crittenden. They're both journalists and writers who've been married for 38 years. They've had three children together, Miranda, Nathaniel, and Beatrice. Miranda, their eldest, worked as a journalist and model before she died unexpectedly. Parental death feels in the natural order of things. You lose a child, it not only upends the universe and your universe, but it was a grief with a capital G. There are those who are in grief, and the rest of humanity I now call pre-grief, because it's coming.

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