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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Investigators Expand Request for Video from Guthrie's Neighbors; The Race to Replace Marjorie Taylor Greene; Democrats Demand Changes at DHS as Funding Deadline Looms. A.G. Bondi Touts Markets In Effort To Redirect Epstein Conversation. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired February 12, 2026 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.
This hour investigators have recovered new possible evidence in the desperate search for Nancy Guthrie, including not one but multiple gloves found near her home. Could they be the same gloves that a man is seen wearing in video from Guthrie's doorbell camera on the morning she disappeared? We're going to dig into the new details.
Plus Epstein's survivors distraught by Pam Bondi, the attorney general's comments during her testimony on Capitol Hill yesterday, some Republicans also quite critical. Coming up, we're taking a look at the evolution of this controversial member of President Trump's cabinet.
Also, she was a lightning rod in Congress, a purveyor of crazy conspiracy theories turned Trump critic. So, who will replace once 9/11 truther Marjorie Taylor Greene now that she left office a little bit early? CNN went down to Georgia to meet the more than a dozen Republicans in that race.
The Lead tonight, a new request from investigators in Pima County, Arizona, on this 12th day of the search for Nancy Guthrie, officials today are asking all neighbors within a two-mile radius to review their security footage from the start of the year to February 2nd, the day after the disappearance of the 84-year-old mother of NBC Anchor Savannah Guthrie.
Local police have set up an online portal where people within this two-mile radius, neighbors can submit videos of anything suspicious that they see on their cameras. Sources say investigators are looking for more information about a specific white van as one of the many potential leads they're following.
The sheriff's department is also revealing today that they've recovered several items of evidence, including multiple gloves found less than two miles from Guthrie's home, although it's not clear if they are the same gloves worn by the person seen in the doorbell camera footage.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is near the Guthrie home in Pima County, Arizona. Ed?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jake. Well, this is a massive call for video, if you think about it, a month's worth of video from homes and businesses within a two-mile radius of the home of Nancy Guthrie would be a monumental amount of video to have to pore through to find a piece of evidence from sort of clue that might lead them to a potential suspect or a person of interest in this case, and that still hasn't changed.
And we are now on the 12th day in the investigation and the search for Nancy Guthrie, and the bottom line is investigators are not closer to finding where she might be, as far as we can tell. So, that search continues.
And one of the alerts, Jake, that went out today kind of a focused on a specific road here in the middle of the neighborhood where Nancy Guthrie lives. And -- these alerts is one of the primary way a suspect could potentially get in and out of this neighborhood.
So, we -- and it also happens to be an area where we saw FBI investigators walking up and down along the side of the road yesterday looking through the desert brush, going close to homes and properties, searching all of that, for anything that might have been discarded or left on the side of the road, similar to what we saw happen with the investigators who found the glove here just a few miles away from Nancy Guthrie's home as well.
So, all of that investigative work continues, as we know that investigators here in Pima County have been flooded with tips and calls since the video of the suspect approaching Nancy Guthrie's front door was released several days ago.
But still, despite that more than 48 hours after all of that key evidence and images were released, still no clear indication that investigators are closer to finding someone who might be a suspect or a person of interest in this case. Jake?
TAPPER: Ed Lavandera, thanks so much.
Let's bring in CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller and former Executive Assistant Director for the FBI Josh Skule.
John, why are investigators now asking residents to check their security footage? This is 12 days into the investigation. I would think this will be a day one or two request.
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, they did ask earlier and it was a general request. They're asking now with specific information. Because the more they get into this investigation, the more they learn things that they didn't know back on day one or day five. So, they've tailored it to around the times that they have had reports of suspicious vehicles, a particular date, you know, around the 11th. Not certain what the specific information behind that is other than they had reports of a suspicious vehicle. But the key here is they want to look at that date and then look at the date closest to the kidnapping and see, do you find the same vehicle, whether it's the specific one that they have asked about on a couple of occasions, or a completely different one on both dates, because it could indicate pre-operational surveillance and then execution of the plan.
TAPPER: Josh, initially, investigators wanted footage from January 11th and January 31st, those two days. Now they're asking for footage from the entire month of January and February 1st and February 2nd. What does this update tell you and why would law enforcement be asking for this footage from a month before the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie?
JOSHUA SKULE, FORMER FBI SENIOR EXECUTIVE: Well, I think it's much like John said, they're looking at a group that may have done pre- operational surveillance. They're broadening their search. They're looking for any additional clues that could put them on to not just the subject that we see in the videos, but potentially more people that were involved in this. So, they need to broaden that out and get data in that can help solidify whatever leads they're following at the time.
TAPPER: John, residents are using their best judgment as they sift through their security camera footage. I know that law enforcement is already overworked and overwhelmed, but wouldn't it be better if everything they had was handed over to law enforcement and people who are trained to analyze video? I mean, I know I'm trying to imagine like being asked to review all of the footage in my Ring cam from January 1st until February 2nd, and I don't know that I could be relied upon for the most comprehensive look, even however much I care about this story just because I'm not a professional.
MILLER: So, yes is the answer. In an ideal circumstance, what you would want to do is have agents and deputies go together to every one of those houses and go through their footage. I know they have visited a large number of houses and asked to look at their cameras. In this case, it may be just an issue of resources or to get them started on it.
Really, what I am wondering about is, what is the technical ability of the provider to be able to say, we have that on our servers, so, with -- you know, they have an app, the neighbors app -- with the proper permission, we can bulk download it and send it over to the FBI? Why is this important?
It's important because what is suspicious to me as a trained investigator, what is suspicious to the neighbor who's looking through it may be two different things. And what is suspicious to either one of us, absent knowing what's on another camera and how those things could match up, which is why they've asked for that expanded period of time, they're going to learn new information about a different car or a different image that they never heard of, and they're going to want to be able to go back over that material and look for it.
Think of the Idaho student murders case, where a blurry image of a car in the night became the key that turned into other clues, and then ultimately an arrest and conviction.
TAPPER: Josh, let's talk about the black glove that was found about a mile and a half away from Nancy Guthrie's home. It's not yet been confirmed if it is the same, in fact, glove -- the same glove worn in fact by the person seen in the doorbell video. Tucson is not -- I was just there. It's not really glove weather. It's a pretty warm place. Even when it gets cool, you wouldn't wear gloves. How would the FBI determine if the glove that they see on their screens right now is actually relevant? And if it is, how would that help them find the suspect?
SKULE: So, first of all, the FBI lab can do amazing things. They match glove brand with pictures like we've seen in the videotape that has been published nationwide. They have a large catalog of not only samples, but relationships with vendors in order to start to match that stuff. So, that is something that the lab expertise is undoubtedly looking at. They will be able to confirm whether or not that's the brand most likely that was there, probably one (ph).
Also, hopefully, they'll get DNA out of that glove. Undoubtedly, to your point, Jake, that Tucson's not really glove weather, so that person was likely sweating. It's a high stress situation for the abductor, so probably sweating quite a bit. They're likely to get DNA out of it. So, those couple things could be great evidentiary value and lead value for investigators.
TAPPER: All right. And I know, John Miller, you have some news, some breaking news from the FBI. They have some new information. What is it?
MILLER: That's right. So, the FBI is increasing the reward for information leading to the location of Nancy Guthrie or the arrest of suspects from $50,000 to $100,000. Also, new identifying details about the suspect in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie have been confirmed after a forensic analysis of footage by the FBI's OTD, or Operational Technology Division.
So, there are measurements, and I think some of that is the forensics we were watching going on today in the tent. They describe him now as a male, based on their forensic measurements, 5'9 to 5'10 tall with an average build.
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In the video, he's wearing a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker backpack. That's the one that we were suggesting in our story yesterday as the best match.
They are hoping that the updated description, given the size and dimensions of the individual, as well as information about the backpack, will bring in additional tips. They say that those tips will go to their National Threat Center. They've had 13,000 tips from the public since February 1st. Those tips will be reviewed and investigated by agents.
They're also asking media outlets who get tips, say, TMZ or those affiliates, to make sure that they pass those tips on to the FBI.
TAPPER: Let's take a quick detour back to Tucson, or at least the Pima County area. Ed Lavandera is outside Nancy Guthrie's house with this latest information. Ed, what can you tell us?
LAVANDERA: Well, I'm just kind of going over what John's been talking about. I think one of the things that is probably pretty helpful and one of the reasons why FBI investigators are sharing this information is that, you know, in this release, it talks about how they've been flooded with 14,000 tips. You can imagine how overwhelming that might be. And, frankly, you could imagine that a lot of those tips are frankly probably worthless. So, they really need to kind of narrow this stuff down and the inflow of information to perhaps improve the quality of the information that they're getting.
So, I think offering the details about a height of being 5'9, 5'10, the very, very specific brand of backpack and, you know, obviously that helps them kind of narrow down where an item like that might be sold in the area, so they can check stores and see if there's anyone who has sold that. Of course, it could be purchased online, but, you know, they could probably, maybe, perhaps monitor if there were any kind of deliveries of that kind of backpack to this area in recent weeks or days.
So, I think these qualifiers and some more specific identifying traits to the person that we saw in this video, I think they're hoping, will help them get better quality tips and perhaps even exclude the kind of tips that are coming in that are really not helpful and perhaps, you know, clogging up what they're trying to do. So, you know, the number of tips is really staggering, 14,000 tips in 48 hours is quite something.
TAPPER: So, I just want -- I want to go back to our panel. Thanks so much, Ed Lavandera. We'll stay there and we'll come back to you when news events warrant.
Just to reiterate for people just tuning in, the FBI has increased its reward up to $100,000 for information that would lead to the location of Nancy Guthrie or the arrest and conviction, anyone involved in her disappearance.
And here are, again, new identifying characteristics details about the suspect. He's described as a male. He's approximately 5'9 or 5'10, average build. And in the video, he's wearing a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack, a 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack. This is the FBI Phoenix office, put this out on Twitter, the account is FBI Phoenix.
Josh, your reaction to this news.
SKULE: So, again, I think this is great lead value. I mean, some of your viewers may be wondering how accurate is the description of 5'9 to 5'10. Having used these services myself in an investigation a while ago, so I can only imagine how much is technology advances capability, it is extremely accurate. They spend a lot of time and there was some footage today of what they were doing, of how they were doing it, and what they're doing, and it becomes very, very accurate when they're looking for a subject. Probably a medium build is probably because they can't really tell how many jackets he has on or what other clothing he has on, but the height and the backpack are very good clues.
And what the FBI will do is they'll start with a realm of the possible. How many of these backpacks were sold when they were sold. This is good tips for those that are looking for somebody, an associate that may have had that backpack. They'll look at that volume and they'll start to work backwards and narrowing it down to include the sales in the immediate area of Tucson and then broadening it.
TAPPER: So, John Miller, as you alluded to a minute ago, there was a tent put up in front of Nancy Guthrie's front porch, which people are seeing on the right side of their screen right now. And I assume what you were suggesting is that they were either usually using -- well, probably using each other, figuring out how tall that guy is based on where he was standing. The floor is actually literally a grid. Figuring out how the person was standing, where they were standing and calculating his height. He is somewhere between 5'9 and 5'10. Is that what you assume was happening behind that tent earlier today?
MILLER: Well, there's a little more technology behind it and some techniques called photogrammetry, where you take this picture of the suspect standing in that spot.
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Then you bring in a scale and you set it to a height. But the guesswork that the technology does, which as Josh says, will come within an inch of the accurate height based on most experience, works against things that you know for certain. So, they will measure the height of that arch and they will say that arch is exactly this tall at its midpoint height. And then they will, you know, measure the other things. And then that technology, you can use things like the Nikon total station, which will give you a 360 degree set of measurements of everything around it down to the quarter of a millimeter.
But you put all that technology together and then they will take this subject in the picture and tell you exactly how tall he is, estimate the weight, and so on. It's quite accurate, as we learned in the Brown University manhunt where they came within an inch of his actual height based on the same techniques.
TAPPER: And, Josh, what other details are you able to see in the images that were released a couple days ago by the FBI, the six still images, the three videos? Some people think they see a mustache underneath the mask. I've heard people say that there's possibility that tattoos are visible. What else have you been able to see?
SKULE: Jake, it's really hard to determine what else you can see and that the pictures are grainy, at least the ones that were released. What I think will be evidentiary value or any other brand names that they can pull off, whether it's the jacket, we already have the backpack. We might have the gloves. Certainly, the lab is working hard on that. And my guess is as evidence and they're able to identify other pieces of clothing that have a brand name, they will publish that out to the public just for more clues and more leads for investigators to follow up.
TAPPER: So, he's wearing a -- he's carrying a 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack. So, with that --
MILLER: That's what that looks like. We've got a picture of it from the FBI, which is that backpack. And you can see this on fbi.gov, their official site, or on their X site. But what this is is this is the Ozark Trail Hike backpack, and that's a local -- it's the Walmart private brand. So, as Josh points out, they're going to be looking at Walmart. Where's the Walmart nearby? Where's the other Walmarts in concentric, you know, sets of miles? But also who might have ordered this from Walmart within, you know, the Tucson area?
They'll do the same when they get the manufacturers and the details on the gloves. They'll do the same if they ever recover that ski mask or identify what the make is without recovering it, and try to put together not only where are they sold, who has ordered them, who has ordered them in and around the area of the crime, since there is some belief that the person may be local to Arizona. And then they will look for the magic combinations of who ordered all of them from the same place, if they're carried there, or who ordered them from multiple places separately, which is something they've had success with before, particularly in bombing cases.
TAPPER: So, I would assume, Josh, that right now, the FBI and Pima County Sheriff and others in law enforcement, maybe even private investigators, whatever, are finding out from Walmart who bought this backpack in the last month, two months, three months, a year, and trying to figure out if any of those were purchased near Tucson.
SKULE: That's right, Jake. They're going to start in Tucson and then broaden it out. And then they'll look at the other clues. There may be some clues that we're not aware of. But, for example, who bought a backpack? What household bought a backpack? What was the purchase? And then they'll match that.
The height is a very big deal. Was there somebody in that house that is a male of certain height? And they'll start looking at all of that data to determine do we have a potential lead on a suspect? If they have the brand name for the gloves, it just starts to add more value to that. Of course, having a DNA sample from the glove would certainly add value to a lead and looking at a suspect in that area. Do they have a tie to the family? All of that starts to be the building blocks of trying to find out who did this.
TAPPER: Well, let's hope that we're getting closer here to recovering Nancy Guthrie safely and finding out who did this.
John Miller, Josh Skule, thanks so much.
Much more on the search for Nancy Guthrie ahead, as investigators have just released new details about a suspect in the case on day 12 in the search for this 84-year-old missing woman. Plus, voting starts in just a few days in the special election to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene. There are 20, that's right, 20 candidates vying for the job, from a horse trainer to a pastor, to an engineer. CNN's Jeff Zeleny was the devil who traveled down to Georgia to learn more about them.
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Stay with us.
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TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, we're now less than one month out from that very special election to replace George's Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The staunch Trump supporter, turned Trump critic, turned whatever she is right now, stunned Washington last year when she announced she was leaving Congress in the middle of her term, just three days after she met the five-year threshold required for Congressional pension eligibility. Just a coincidence, I'm sure.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny traveled to the Peach State to take stock of the candidates vying for her seat.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It is hard to find a stage big enough for this Georgia blockbuster. The men and women sitting here shoulder to shoulder are only half of the 20 candidates fighting to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose resignation has sparked a free-for-all special election.
CLAY FULLER (R), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: We cannot let Georgia 14 turn blue. We have to keep it red. Now is the time to unite behind the candidate that President Trump has chosen.
ZELENY: Clay Fuller, a former prosecutor and Air Force veteran, candidly admits being surprised when Trump called with his endorsement last week.
FULLER: On the phone call, at one point, he just said, Clay -- okay, I'm going to do it.
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Clay, I want you to talk to your next boss, and it was Speaker Johnson.
ZELENY: It's an open question whether Trump's blessing paves the way for Fuller. His Republican rivals aren't standing down.
JIM TULLY (R), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I love President Trump, but we've never talked about this being President Trump's district.
TOM GRAY (R), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: We, you know, love and support him and his agenda, you know, strongly, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we don't want to choose our own representative.
ZELENY: Star Black, a Republican who planned to challenge Greene anyway, assumed Trump would stay out of the race. Still, she isn't sure it changes much.
You need Trump voters to win.
STAR BLACK (R), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Absolutely. The Republican voters, they're smart voters. They know if someone is going to represent them or are they going to rubber stamp someone.
ZELENY: Campaign signs are popping up everywhere for a slate of candidates that includes a pastor, former state senator, retired FEMA worker, trash company owner, horse trainer, risk engineer, small businessman, former congressional staffer, retired brigadier general, and prosecutor.
Among the Republicans we met, there's hardly a mention of Greene's fallout with Trump.
When Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene resigned, what did you all think about that at the time?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it was a big sigh of relief.
LYDIA ROLLINS, GEORGIA REPUBLICAN VOTER: Yes. We did not like her. You know, we thought she was a disruptor.
ZELENY: The sprawling 14th Congressional District covers ten counties across Georgia's northwest corner, stretching from the Atlanta suburbs over to Alabama and up to the Tennessee state line. It's deep red Trump country, but with enough Democrats and independents to cause heartburn for Republicans in a primary that sends the top two vote getters regardless of party into a runoff if no one wins over 50 percent.
Is there a true risk, do you think, for a district this red to be won by a Democrat?
FULLER: Absolutely, and we've got to operate that way. If Georgia 14 turns blue, it would be a tragedy for the president's agenda. And we as a party need to start having an honest conversation about that.
ZELENY: Fuller is talking about Shawn Harris.
SHAWN HARRIS (D), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Courage is contagious.
ZELENY: Harris is a Democrat who lost to green in 2024, but received nearly 135,000 votes, a fraction of which would likely vault him into a runoff now.
After 40 years in the Marines, Harris returned home to a Georgia cattle farm. He's trying to tap into a Trump exhaustion that he believes gives him an edge to voters searching for a change.
HARRIS: The 17, 18 of Republicans that I'm currently running against right now, every last one of those guys are trying to do their best to get Donald Trump. Even though he's actually endorsed somebody, they're still fighting, trying to get his attention.
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ZELENY (on camera): So, even though Marjorie Taylor Greene has been out of Congress for more than a month now, Jake, she still is a thorn in the side to Republican leaders because her seat is empty and they need every single vote that they can get. We've seen that play out this week.
That is why President Trump is putting his hand on the scales. He wants this to end on March 10th. That's the special election. But it's called a jungle primary. So the top two winners are likely to advance to an April runoff unless one person happens to get 50 percent. That's very unlikely in such a wide field.
But everyone is trying to out-Trump themselves, if you will. The ads say, I'm the Trump-favored candidate. There's one Trump-endorsed candidate. But, again, there's some voter confusion. And in a small special election, who knows what could happen. But Marjorie Taylor Greene, she's not endorsing, she's staying silent, at least in this matter.
TAPPER: On this issue?
ZELENY: On this issue.
TAPPER: Not on anything else?
All right, Jeff Zeleny, thanks so much.
The federal government is now on track for the third government shutdown of President Trump's second term. We're breaking down exactly what that will likely be affected when the clock runs out tomorrow.
Stay with us.
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TAPPER: Turning to our Politics Lead, it is looking more likely that the Department of Homeland Security will run out of money tomorrow night. Senate Democrats today rejected a Trump administration offer saying that it falls short of what's needed to rein in what Democrats are calling the violent and excessive behavior of immigration and border patrol agents.
The Homeland Security Department is a huge agency. It includes ICE, Customs and Border Protection, the TSA, FEMA, as well as CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, also the Coast Guard, the Secret Service. Even if funding runs out, more than 90 percent of DHS's 272,000 workers will have to stay on the job just without pay. With us now is Democratic Congressman Adam Smith of Washington State, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. Congressman, thanks for joining us.
So, the Democrats' list of demands includes that the -- saying that these agents can't wear masks, they have to stop racially profiling, there need to be new use of force standards, they require state and local oversight, they require the use of body cams. We had a Republican, one of your Republican colleagues on the show earlier, Congressman Flood, he said he doesn't think that Republicans are ever going to agree to this.
REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): Yes. Well, they could make us a counteroffer. I mean that's an opening -- sort of opening offer. And the point is, unquestionably, ICE is abusing their power and abusing the rights of people in this country. They need oversight. So, make us an offer. How would you exercise oversight so that they stop violating the constitutional rights of Americans and stop killing people and assaulting them and arresting and detaining citizens without probable cause?
So, make us a counteroffer on how to properly regulate ICE. I mean, you don't like that, but if the Republican position is ICE is just fine, we don't need to regulate them, that's something I certainly don't agree with, and I don't think the American people agree with it either.
TAPPER: Well, the other thing that Flood said that was interesting is ICE is already funded through 2029, so you're not actually holding up any funding of the agency that you're taking issue with.
SMITH: Yes, he's referring to the -- sorry, the reconciliation funds. There is funding for ICE in this bill, so we are contributing further to their funding, and, yes, we're trying to leverage that funding in order to get those reforms I just mentioned.
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But the other thing that Congress ought to do and that House Republicans and the Senate ought to do is fund the rest of DHS fund all that list, Coast Guard, TSA, all of the non-controversial stuff. We could go ahead and fund that, and then we can continue to debate how to fund ICE. And that's something Congress should do immediately.
TAPPER: On another matter, President Trump told Axios this week that he is thinking about sending another aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East if the talks with Iran fail, the denuclearization talks. Listen to what he said today about U.S. negotiations with Iran.
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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I talk to them as long as I like, and we'll see if we can get a deal with them. And if we can't, we'll have to go to phase two. Phase two will be very tough for them. I'm not looking for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: How likely do you think another U.S. strike on Iran is?
SMITH: I think it's more probable than not. I mean, the one question about it is exactly what does President Trump want from Iran, because there's multiple issues on the table here. The most important one obviously is stopping them from developing a nuclear weapon. But there's also their ballistic missile program, which threatens Israel, threatens the region. And then there's the issue that President Trump himself has raised, and that is Iran's repression of their people and the killing of protesters. And also the president has mused about regime change from time to time.
So, upfront we have to know what is President Trump's goal, what is he negotiating with Iran about? Is it just the nuclear deal or are those other issues part of it as well?
TAPPER: Democratic Congressman Adam Smith, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, thank you for your time, sir. I appreciate it.
SMITH: Thanks.
TAPPER: Ahead, the evolution of Attorney General Pam Bondi, from the cases she's taken on for President Trump to the tone towards her critics. Old friends are now asking what happened to the Attorney General Bondi, the attorney general of Florida that they once knew.
Stay with us.
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TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, it is not just Democrats who are today hammering U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi over her combative testimony in yesterday's hearing on Capitol Hill. The attorney general's testimony largely devolved into screaming matches and personal attacks she leveled against House Democrats. Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's child rape trafficking ring who were there for the hearing told us that they left disgusted with the attorney general. There have been some Republican critics as well.
Here's a sample from the hearing. It starts with Bondi's response when asked if she would turn and apologize to the survivors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I'm not going to get in the gutter for her theatrics.
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): The time belongs to the --
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): You can let her filibuster all day long but not on our watch, not on our time, no way. And I told you about that, Attorney General, before you started. BONDI: You don't tell me anything now.
RASKIN: Yes. Oh, I did tell you because we saw what you did in the Senate.
BONDI: You're not even a lawyer.
You know, with this anti-Semitic culture right now, she voted against a resolution condemning --
REP. BECCA BALINT (D-VT): Oh, do you want to go there, Attorney general? Do you want to go there? Are you serious, talking about anti- Semitism to a woman who lost her grandfather in the Holocaust?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: The attorney general threw out a lot of irrelevant attacks. She repeatedly refused to engage on a number of pressing issues, including the Justice Department's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and her accidental release of information identifying victims.
In her opening remarks, Bondi acknowledged Epstein survivors who were present at the hearing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BONDI: I am a career prosecutor. And despite what the ranking member said, I have spent my entire career fighting for victims and I will continue to do so. I am deeply sorry for what any victim, any victim has been through, especially as a result of that monster.
I want you to know that any accusations of criminal wrongdoing will be taken seriously and investigated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: This is simply not true. There's millions of files and all sorts of accusations of criminal activity that are not being investigated. During her questioning of Bondi Democratic, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington State addressed the Epstein survivors in the room.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Please raise your hands if you have still not been able to meet with this Department of Justice. Please know for the record that every single survivor has raised their hand.
Will you turn to them now and apologize for what your Department of Justice has put them through with the un -- absolutely unacceptable release of the Epstein files and their information?
BONDI: Congresswoman, you sat before -- Merrick Garland sat in this chair twice.
JAYAPAL: Attorney General Bondi -- BONDI: No. Can I finish my answer?
JAYAPAL: No, I'm going to reclaim my time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Reacting to this exchange that I just showed you, rormer Republican Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, who worked in the Department of Justice in the George W. Bush administration, said, quote, instead of simply saying the Department of Justice will meet with the survivors, Attorney General Bondi is doing her usual audience of one, screaming attacks on the Democrats and going back to Trump, the victim, grievances, another bad hearing for Republicans. No one thinks Trump is a victim in the Epstein case, unquote.
Bondi's tone when it came to the survivors, changing the subject, defending many of them for seeming heartless for refusing to meet with them. It was surprising not only because Bondi had said at the beginning of the hearing that she spent her entire career fighting for victims, but because she has been claiming that for more than a decade.
Here's a 2014 campaign ad when Bondi ran for a second term as Florida attorney general.
[18:45:07]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Florida ranks third nationally in calls for help for human trafficking where young women and children are enslaved and abused. And I'll fight to put human trafficking monsters where they belong behind bars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Where's that fight? Where is it? Where was it yesterday when Democrats pressed the attorney general on why the Justice Department hadn't prosecuted anyone else in the Epstein case?
This is what Bondi said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BONDI: The Dow, the Dow right now is over -- the Dow is over 50,000 -- I don't know why you're laughing. You're a great stock trader. As I hear Raskin, the Dow is over 50,000 right now. The S&P had almost 7,000 and the Nasdaq smashing records. Americans 401(k)s and retirement savings are booming. That's what we should be talking about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: You were asked about a child rape sex ring. Why would we talk about the Dow? Conservative commentator Erick Erickson replied about that exchange, quote, "When the attorney general of the United States is asked why she has prosecuted no one related to Jeffrey Epstein, and this is her answer, she should be fired or resigned. But neither will happen, which is another reason the Democrats are going to have a good election year," unquote.
Again, that was conservative commentator Erick Erickson.
"Miami Herald" investigative reporter Julie K. Brown, who helped expose Epstein's crimes with her journalism, noted on her Substack that as Florida attorney general, Bondi had the chance to help Epstein's survivors get justice, long before she became U.S. attorney general, where she could also help them if she wanted. Remember, Palm Beach County, Florida police first investigated Epstein in 2005, and that led to solicitation of prostitution charges and one of them being for solicitation of a minor.
Now, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in 2008 involving -- including one involving a minor, but the sweetheart deal, the plea deal negotiated by then Florida U.S. attorney Alex Acosta kept Epstein from facing any federal prosecution or serious time. Now, Bondi was an attorney general there. Then she served as Florida's attorney general from 2011 to 2019.
But Julie K. Brown writes, quote, "During that time, there was an ongoing federal lawsuit on the case brought by Epstein victims. There were also some 22 other civil lawsuits filed by victims, all of whom were abused as teenagers by Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in Palm Beach. No, she was not attorney general when the deal was signed, but she was attorney general, as more stories were written over the years about Epstein's crimes, including horrifying details from his victims," unquote. And what did she do about it? Nothing.
Fast forward to now. Some of Bondi's old friends and acquaintances are struggling to recognize who this person is or what she stands for. Staff writer for "The Atlantic", Stephanie McCrummen, interviewed some of her former friends and colleagues for an article published recently called, quote, "What happened to Pam Bondi? How the attorney general became a person who loves telling Trump yes".
McCrummen writes, quote, people who knew Bondi during her eight years as Florida's attorney general tend to make two observations about her. One -- on the on the one hand, she seemed to have no burning political passions other than saving dogs. On the other hand, Bondi was willing to make herself useful to the party, unquote. An old friend of Bondi's told "The Atlantic", quote, "She went cheap for power. Was it worth it?"
To her critics here in Washington, it appears Bondi has been focused laser like, not on justice, but on protecting President Trump and prosecuting his critics, sometimes with quite questionable bases, most recently seeking to indict and imprison six Democratic lawmakers who made that video reminding service members they have the right to refuse illegal orders. Bondi's Department of Justice actually took that case, seeking to jail
six Democratic members of Congress took it to a grand jury, which earlier this week rebuffed Bondi's prosecutors and declined to indict the lawmakers. Now normally, it's rather unusual for a federal grand jury to rebuff prosecutors, but not under Bondi. She's breaking records in that area.
The Department of Justice indicted other Trump political foes or tried to. FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James. But each of those indictments was dismissed and speaking of going after, lawmakers, just want to point out this photo showing Bondi's prepared papers during yesterday's hearing, she's holding a document listing Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal search history from when she went to the Justice Department building to visit the unredacted Epstein files. They were keeping a record on what Jayapal looked at.
Some lawmakers had already said they thought the DOJ was surveilling them as they were reviewing the unredacted documents. And well, sure looks like it.
[18:50:00]
Earlier today, House Speaker Mike Johnson condemned the Department of Justice for monitoring lawmakers search history. He called it inappropriate, but none of that matters to the only person who matters to Pam Bondi, President Trump, who posted on truth social today in part, quote, "AG Pam Bondi under intense fire from the Trump deranged radical left lunatics, was fantastic at yesterday's hearing on the never ending saga of Jeffrey Epstein".
We reached out to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi for comment. We're waiting to hear back. All that really matters, though, is that the survivors were absolutely disgusted.
So, what should we make of Pam Bondi's evolution? The panel is going to weigh in next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: We are back with our politics lead as we dig into Attorney General Pam Bondi's tenure with this administration.
My panel joins me now.
Maura, let me start with you. What do you make of the transformation we've seen of Pam Bondi? And in fact, just indeed of the attorney general role. Like usually, attorneys general are kind of, you know, favorites -- I mean not favorites, but are predisposed to be kind to the president. But there's generally an independence.
MAURA GILLESPIE, FORMER PRESS ADVISER TO SPEAKER BOEHNER: I mean, I think it's pretty clear anyone who's watching that she embarrassed herself yesterday.
[18:55:01] And you mentioned -- yes, she's playing to a party of one. We saw that, but more so she embarrassed herself and any semblance of this career. You talked about how she put out that ad that she stands up for survivors. She didn't even have the good grace to turn around and look at them.
And so, I think, looking back, you know, hindsight is 2020. She will look back and I hope she feels some sort of shame for how she behaved because it diminished the position but also any legacy she hoped to have, as somebody who stands up for people who are victims.
TAPPER: So multiple times yesterday's hearing, Bondi was quick to redirect the focus to what she wanted to talk about, 50,000 Dow -- I mean, but you saw that like, again, it wasn't just Democrats. It wasn't just reporters. It wasn't just the survivors. You have Erick Erickson saying like, that's not an acceptable answer.
KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Correct, and it's -- I mean, I feel for Democrats because I'm sure it was hard to keep their composure. But there were moments where I wish they had to actually be able to point out on the record that the witness is unresponsive, that the witness is refusing to answer something to just bring the temperature down on one side. But yes, she absolutely embarrassed herself.
And, you know, I'm so glad you mentioned that also when she was A.G. in Florida, she didn't do what she could have done to protect these women. And there's reporting that suggests they actually were trying to get help, and she was unresponsive. And so, for her to try to sit there and say, I'm not going to even turn around, I'm not going to, you know, give them the benefit of a serious answer, even was just disgusting.
TAPPER: Let's turn to another Epstein related issue. Commerce Secretary Howard Llutnick. He's been under fire because he lied about his interactions with Jeffrey Epstein.
Last October, he said was never in the room with Epstein socially for business, even philanthropy. After the year 2005. But then he had to admit this week, after the release of Epstein files, that he visited Epstein's private island with his wife and kids in 2012.
President Trump was asked about this today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wasn't aware of it, no I didn't. I actually haven't spoken to him about it. I wasn't, but from what I hear, he was there with his wife and children and I guess in some cases, some people were. I wasn't. I was never there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: I mean, first of all, raise your hand out there if you've ever been to Epstein island and had lunch with Jeffrey Epstein. Okay. None of you are raising your hands. Second of all like, if this were a Democrat, commerce secretary what?
How would Republicans be responding? You said you never had any interaction with him. You had lunch on Epstein island with him?
TAPPER: With your children.
GILLESPIE: With your children. And I think that's also what I would point out is, aside from the fact that you just blatantly lied, but calls into question your judgment, right? Howard Lutnick, your judgment, you chose to say? And you said that you knew about him in 2005, years later, you took your children to a place that you knew that was happening.
So, I think that calls into question this judgment call about the commerce secretary and Trump who appoints them.
TAPPER: Can I just make one quick point on this? You know last year we talked about will this have any oxygen this year? And I think actually we're seeing absolutely. And one of the most important reasons is the women themselves.
They're not going away. They're not going to let -- you can say yes, Massie and Ro Khanna, they've done a great job on this. But these women, as you saw I mean, to sit there yesterday and have to take that. And time and time again they show up, they do the interviews, they tell their stories every single time. I'm telling you, because I've worked with these women, it is traumatizing that they have to retell their stories.
They're not going away and they're not going to be silenced.
TAPPER: No. They're great. We have him on the show as often as we can. Trump seems to be brushing off the Epstein drama, and I don't know how much it's affecting him with Republican lawmakers and his cabinet, although with voters, that's another matter.
It is wreaking havoc overseas. In the U.K., their top civil servant resigned today as the U.K. cabinet office continues to get rocked by the Epstein scandal. The big scandal there is that there were close relationships between the former U.K. ambassador to the U.S., Mr. Mandelson, who we've Ambassador Mandelson we had on the show back then, we didn't know. But why is it having an effect in the U.K. but not here?
FINNEY: Well, because they actually care to hold people accountable. And here when you've got the president on your side and he wants to cover it up, you don't have to be worried about accountability.
TAPPER: This week, six Republicans crossed party lines and voted with Democrats to object to Trump's tariffs. This is a big blow to the administration and its economic agenda. What do you make of the fact it's only six, but still they didn't stay, you know, they didn't remain in line.
GILLESPIE: Well, the first vote earlier this week was three, and then it grew to six. And I think it's giving Republicans a little bit of cover and a little bit of courage to stand up for conservative principles, which is against taxes on Americans. And so -- and having the right of the Constitution, their constitutional right to impose those tariffs and impose taxes. And so, they're taking back their power.
And I think that's what you saw a little more confidence there in some Republicans.
TAPPER: And we'll see if the U.S. Supreme Court rules accordingly as well.
Thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.
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Our good friend Erin Burnett picks it up right now.
