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Ex-Assistant Says Combs Forced Her to Accompany Him to Break- In; Two of Ten Inmates Still at Large Nearly Two Weeks After Escaping; Trump Threatens to Withhold California Funding Over Trans Athlete; NPR Sues Trump Administration Over Executive Order to Cut Funding. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired May 27, 2025 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00]

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Over a dozen meetings with the prosecution, there was a lot of moments of having Diddy pass notes over to her, and this was emotional testimony. She could not get herself together oftentimes. She was crying, saying that she was begging Sean Diddy Combs for her life back, begging to get her job back.

Why? She revealed that the stakes were simply very high for her, that she had a nonverbal autistic son, and she felt like she was almost blacklisted by Sean Diddy Combs when she was released from his employment and hurt that she was only brought back because Cassie Ventura wanted her there. And in this moment, she said Diddy did what Cassie wanted, and Cassie wanted her back.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Laura, how do you see that testimony playing into the prosecution's assertion that this was part of a criminal enterprise that Combs was running and that Clark was helping him run, that this was essentially racketeering?

COATES: This was a witness, an employee. Of course, you want to have her prosecution, you want to have the inner circle, so to speak, be the person who was essentially at the direction of Sean Diddy Combs as the head and mogul of this business, directing the behavior that then they're accusing him of having engaged in sex trafficking, prostitution and the like.

This witness talked a lot about Cassie Ventura's agency, talked a lot about how she herself initiated Cassie getting a burner phone and that she wanted to remain in his employment because it was a business opportunity.

We've heard that before from George Kaplan, who seemed to be professionally in awe of Sean Diddy Combs. The prosecution is trying to undo the damage done in the cross-examination to suggest that this person was a part of a racketeering enterprise who did everything they could criminally to make sure that Sean Diddy Combs got everything he wanted, including having Cassie Ventura only belong to him.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Laura Coates, thank you so much. We know you'll continue to monitor this and bring us the latest. And still to come, the family of an escaped inmate from that jailbreak

in New Orleans makes an urgent plea. We'll have that and much more ahead.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We are following some new developments in that New Orleans jailbreak. Police in Texas have released body cam video of the moment that two escapees were finally arrested after nearly two weeks on the run. Huntsville police say Leo Tate and Jermaine Donald led them on a high-speed chase.

And in this clip, you can see the inmates' white SUV skirt around an officer's car and speed off with various law enforcement vehicles in pursuit.

SANCHEZ: A third New Orleans inmate, Lenton VanBuren Jr., was also captured yesterday in Baton Rouge. Just two remaining escapees are still on the run, Derek Groves and Antoine Massey.

Joining us now is retired NYPD detective Michael Alcazar. He's an adjunct professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Sir, thanks for being with us.

So one of the inmates still free, Massey, has experience breaking out of jail. And the other has been convicted on multiple counts of murder and attempted murder. How does that inform the search?

MICHAEL ALCAZAR, RETIRED NYPD DETECTIVE: Well, again, these are dangerous individuals. So we're relying heavily on tips and our local law enforcement as well as federal and state to capture these perpetrators. I'm sure every police officer right now is patrolling with their images on their tablets or on wanted posters.

And again, we're relying heavily on tips from civilians that might help identify the whereabouts of these perpetrators.

KEILAR: And I mean, Massey has distinctive face tattoos, right, Michael? So that's something that would be tough to hide. What does that mean for him as he is trying to and for people who may be looking for him?

ALCAZAR: Listen, there's like a $20,000 reward last I checked. I'm sure people are calling in some good tips. For him, he's going to have to lay low because, again, he's readily identifiable with his face tattoos.

So it's going to be dangerous for police officers on the hunt for this guy. So again, we got to approach it carefully and make sure that we make an arrest eventually without incidents similar to what happened with the Texas officers today.

SANCHEZ: I do want to ask you to walk us through that in part because there was some speculation initially as to how far they might be able to get. Now that you have confirmation that at least two of them were out of state, what does that do to the range that law enforcement is looking at when it comes to how far these inmates may have gone?

ALCAZAR: Well, it's a good thing that the feds are involved, right, because I think they've already expanded it. They've notified all state police departments and local police departments. So now the perimeter, I should say, has expanded because there is a possibility that Massey and the other prisoner might have, you know, stolen vehicles and are driving, you know, as far away as possible from the area.

So, yes, it's going to be expansive, the search.

[15:40:00]

KEILAR: Let's listen to some of this just released video of these inmates who were arrested in Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody move to the right side of the car. Open the door, dude. My old man, you kidding me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jumbo, good hands?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shut up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unlock the door with your right hand. Crawl -- no, Jumbo, back up. Crawl to him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in the car. We're in the car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the way out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crawl!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Michael, can you walk us through what we've seen and what we're continuing to see here?

ALCAZAR: Yes, it's like excellent police work, good communication. This is a professional law enforcement agency. You see they're giving great commands. They're working together. Luckily, the two prisoners, you know, did not have any weapons. There was good weapons control.

And again, I'm really impressed with the professionalism and how the arrest, the apprehension was made without incident.

SANCHEZ: So I also want to ask you about the folks that have been caught allegedly helping these inmates. Louisiana State Police so far have arrested 13 people on allegations like this. Two of them in aiding the escape. 11 charged for helping after the escape. Some of them allegedly providing food or transport.

Is it common for people that commit a breakout of being incarcerated to have that much help from the outside?

ALCAZAR: Well, because it was 10 individuals, there's a lot of people involved, right? There could be family members, friends. And then we saw that there was correctional facility staff that helped.

So it's unusual for sure. It's greater because there's 10 perpetrators, just 10 prisoners. So, you know, there's more people, I guess, willing to help these people evade capture.

So it's definitely an unusual incident. And they're facing a lot of time. The people that help aid these prisoners are facing a lot of serious charges and a lot of serious prison time themselves.

SANCHEZ: Michael Alcazar, thanks so much for the analysis. Appreciate it.

Still to come, National Public Radio fighting to keep federal funding. Details on this new lawsuit that NPR is filing in the name of free speech.

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: New today, an ultimatum for California. President Trump says that if the state doesn't ban a trans athlete from participating in an upcoming sporting event, he would pull the state's federal funding.

CNN's Stephanie Elam is standing by with more on the threat. So Stephanie, Trump also said that he was going to be speaking with California Governor Gavin Newsom today. What are you hearing about this?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, so this all has to do with a trans athlete who's a high school junior who had wins in the long jump and the triple jump, taking that student on to the state championships, which are going to be held this weekend.

What Trump posted on social media, in part, is saying that California is illegally allowing men to play in women's sports. He goes on to say this is not fair and totally demeaning to women and girls.

Now, in February, Trump did sign an executive order that banned transgender women from competing in women's sports. And this is something he has spoken about. This was one of his pillars that he stood on while he was running for office.

And he even spoke about it this weekend at West Point's commencement ceremony. In fact, take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will not have men playing in women's sports, if that's OK. How crazy is it? Men playing in women's sports, how crazy is it? So ridiculous, so demeaning, so demeaning to women. And it's over. That's over. We've ended it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: All right. So you heard him speak about it this weekend. And in his post on social media, Trump also pointed out that Governor Gavin Newsom had spoken about this, calling it unfair and said that he would speak with him about this to see which way he wants to go.

Well, that's true. Governor Gavin Newsom has upset some liberals with his stance on this on his podcast, where he was sitting down with conservative Charlie Kirk. Take a listen to what he said in this podcast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): I think it's an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness. So it's deeply unfair.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you speak out?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: Now, you heard him say that they're not clear on how this is going to play out. Trump does say in his post that in the meantime, I'm ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the state final. So not sure if that means also along with federal funds being withheld.

But it is worth noting that at this point that the California Interscholastic Federation, which puts on these state track and field championships, has just come out with a statement that they put on their website.

[15:50:00]

Saying that any biological female student athlete who would have earned that next qualifying mark for the state championships would now be able to participate -- out invitation to those people who may not have made it because of this change. And they're saying this is more inclusive. In fact, they say that this pilot entry process achieves the participation opportunities we seek to afford our student athletes.

So now whether or not widening the field will be enough to satisfy President Trump -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Stephanie Elam, thank you so much for the update on that story -- Brianna.

KEILAR: National Public Radio is suing the Trump administration, calling the president's attempt to cut its funding a clear violation of the Constitution. Several NPR member stations in Colorado joined the lawsuit, which says the administration's actions violate, quote, the expressed will of Congress and the First Amendment's bedrock guarantees of freedom of speech. Today's litigation follows an executive order the president signed earlier this month, instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to defund NPR and PBS for alleged bias in their reporting.

CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter is with us now. Brian, what can you tell us?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, NPR did not ask for this fight, but now that they're being attacked by the White House, they are hitting back. And this lawsuit is going to have ramifications possibly for PBS as well, because Trump is trying to strip funding both from NPR as well as its TV counterpart at PBS.

The White House's argument here, as has been expressed, outlets are biased, they are favoring the left. Here's today's statement from White House spokesman Harrison Fields.

He says, Outlets like NPR are, quote, creating media to support a particular political party on the taxpayer's dime. Therefore, the president is exercising his lawful authority to limit funding for NPR and PBS.

There is already litigation underway about whether Trump actually has this lawful authority, because the way that public broadcasting was set up by Congress in the 1960s, it was set up to make sure that no president could interfere in this way. So there are already legal battles underway on that side.

Now, here you have NPR saying it's a First Amendment violation. You might be wondering why, how is it a First Amendment violation? Well, it has to do with something called viewpoint discrimination.

I spoke with one of NPR's lawyers earlier today. They say that because the White House is alleging bias, which NPR denies, but because the White House is alleging bias, it's a form of viewpoint discrimination. And we've heard advocacy groups today take that position as well.

Here's the Knight Institute, for example, saying, quote, it's a bedrock principle of the First Amendment that the government may not censor speech or skew public debate by imposing punitive financial measures based on a speaker's viewpoint or editorial decisions.

So the Knight Institute, other advocacy groups, they say NPR should prevail, but we'll find out what a judge thinks.

KEILAR: So what's with the timing here? Because Congress has funded public radio and TV for decades. Trump recently signed legislation continuing that support.

STELTER: Isn't that so interesting? Earlier this year in the big budget bill that the House and Senate passed, Republicans in the House and Senate pushed this bill through. Trump signed it into law in March. It included the latest round of funding for NPR and PBS. It's to the tune of $535 million each year. Now, the argument from Republicans who don't want to fund these public broadcasters is that this was part of a giant must-pass budget bill, and now they're going around, they're fixing what went wrong back in March. But it is notable that every year now for decades, lawmakers have supported public media. They've passed this funding.

Trump is now trying to cut it by himself going around Congress, and that's the other part of the argument the NPR is making here. They're saying that Trump is usurping the power of Congress. And this is a story we have seen time and time again in the past few months as Trump tries to wield power unilaterally.

So we know NPR has sued. We know the organization that gives out this money, CPB, has sued. And PBS also considering legal action trying to protect itself, not because it says, hey, we should be just getting all this money to ourselves every year no matter what.

What NPR is saying is, if you want to take away our money, do it the normal way. Go through Congress, write a bill, sign a law the way it would normally work, rather than having Trump trying to do this unilaterally.

KEILAR: And I do want to ask you about a big headline, which is that a longtime 60 Minutes correspondent and CBS News correspondent Scott Pelly gave the commencement address at Wake Forest over the weekend and warned that freedom of speech is under attack, urged graduates to seek the truth. This was a really big moment.

STELTER: And it's gone viral in the past couple of days. What it shows me is that partisan political players have suddenly switched sides. You know, some MAGA Republicans have been taking Pelly on, taking offense to his address, saying he's raging against President Trump for saying free speech is under attack.

Well, between the years of 2020 and 2024, who were the loudest voices in America talking about threats to free speech? They were MAGA Republicans. You know now, in the last few months, Trump's infringements on free speech have been intense.

[15:55:03]

Look at Harvard, for example. And that's what Pelly was pointing out. I thought the most important part of his speech was the following.

He said, Ignorance works for people in power. Once truth-seekers are living in fear, he said power can rewrite history. People in power, he said, can even change the definition of the words we use to shape our reality.

So that was Pelly's argument. He was saying we're seeing a version of George Orwell's 1984. This is really an argument to back to what I was saying earlier about checks and balances, about not having absolute power in one person. Pelly was describing the importance of having power spread out, which is exactly what MAGA Republicans valued back when Democrats held the Oval Office.

KEILAR: All right, Brian, thank you so much for being with us, Brian Stelter.

And still to come, why getting a few extra Zs in the morning could end up costing you. We'll have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: When you snooze, you lose. We've all heard that saying before. Well, it turns out what you might be losing is sleep.

A new study says the average snoozer spends an extra 11 minutes in bed after their first alarm goes off. But researchers say that additional shut-eye probably isn't quality.

[16:00:00]

And then those extra minutes add up to about a night's worth of sleep every month.

SANCHEZ: Sleep experts say that if you want to stop hitting the snooze button, set your alarm as late as possible and change your bedtime by no more than 30 minutes each night, even on weekends. They always suggest, you know, getting that recommended seven to nine hours of sleep per night for good health. You can also just do what CNN's Randi Kaye does, which is just get hammered.

KEILAR: The martini, the nightcap.

SANCHEZ: I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

KEILAR: That was purely research. That was just, it was a professional assignment.

SANCHEZ: A reward for viewers that watch the show.

KEILAR: That's right.

SANCHEZ: Thank you so much for tuning in.

KEILAR: "THE ARENA" --

SANCHEZ: "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

END