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Special Counsel's Office Investigating Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith; Texas Man Indicted in Murder of Afghan Refugee Who Helped U.S. Troops; Far-Right Influencer Loomer Hunting for Disloyalty in Trump Administration. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 04, 2025 - 14:30   ET

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

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JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: ... this and yet still tragedy.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes such a shame. John Miller, thank you so much for the update.

Still to come, the watchdog agency created to patrol government ethics is now investigating former special counsel Jack Smith. We'll have the allegations against him next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The office of the special counsel is now launching a probe into the former special counsel, Jack Smith, who investigated President Trump before he returned to office. Smith is being investigated for potential violations of the Hatch Act, which limits certain political activities of government workers.

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It's supposed to stop the federal government from affecting elections or going about its activities in a partisan manner. At this point, no evidence has been shown that Smith violated that law.

Dave Aronberg joins us now. He served as state attorney in Palm Beach County, Florida. And we should note, he's known U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi for many years. He also worked as her drug czar in the Florida AG's office.

Dave, thanks as always for being with us. Do you see this investigation as simply retribution for Smith's role in the cases against Trump?

DAVE ARONBERG, FORMER STATE ATTORNEY: Absolutely, Boris. The timing is peculiar. If you really thought that Jack Smith was violating the Hatch Act, well, no one filed these accusations while he was a prosecutor in the case against Trump.

And they waited until seven months after Trump took office. The timing is very interesting, perhaps a distraction away from other issues like Epstein. Plus, Tom Cotton, the guy in the U.S. Senate who's been a MAGA loyalist, he's a smart guy, though, and he knows better. And so he knows what he's doing here. There's no evidence that Jack Smith violated the Hatch Act.

Jack Smith is everything a prosecutor should be. He is known for being nonpartisan. He's a registered independent. He barely made any public comments about this case.

And he's known for walking down the street stone-faced without talking to reporters, carrying a Subway sandwich in one hand and a thermos in the other. This thing is nothing but political.

SANCHEZ: I wonder, given that you dismissed the idea that he violated the Hatch Act, walk us through the accusation and what it would take to actually violate it.

ARONBERG: If he violated the Hatch Act, then every prosecutor who investigates or charges a politician would be violating the Hatch Act, because that's essentially what they're saying. They're saying he amounted to election interference. But remember, he never even mentioned the election in his legal pleadings.

In fact, that got him into trouble. He and Merrick Garland were so concerned about looking apolitical that they never mentioned the approaching election when they, for example, asked the Supreme Court to intervene and to get involved earlier on the D.C. election interference case. That's one reason, I believe, why the Supreme Court said, no, we're not going to get involved while the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to rule, because Jack Smith refused to break the code. He refused to say, we need you to get involved because there's an election and we need this to be decided before the election.

So to accuse him of being political is like the bizarro world, especially when you have an administration that never cared about the Hatch Act previously. I mean, 13 senior administration officials, including Trump's own son-in-law, violated the Hatch Act, and yet nothing happened to them.

SANCHEZ: Do you have any concern that this investigation will remain independent?

ARONBERG: Well, it's hard because the Office of Special Counsel is being hit up by a temporary person. We don't know who's going to take over that office. Trump wanted a 30-year-old far right-wing MAGA diehard to be in charge of that office, but it looks like he's not going to be confirmed.

So we don't know who's going to be doing the review. It is odd to go after someone for violations of the Hatch Act who's no longer in government. And really nothing will happen to him anyways. Even if they find a violation, they could at worst fine him. And then he can go to court, Jack Smith, and get the whole thing removed because this is all bogus.

There is no evidence he violated the Hatch Act. He was doing what a prosecutor should do. He followed the evidence and the law. This is just the weaponization of government. SANCHEZ: Dave Aronberg, great to get your perspective. Thanks for being with us.

ARONBERG: Thank you, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, an Afghan refugee shot to death in Texas. Now the Green Berets that he helped protect during the war in Afghanistan are demanding justice as his alleged killer walks free.

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KEILAR: A Texas man is set to appear in court tomorrow after a grand jury indicted him in the murder of an Afghan refugee who had helped U.S. troops for years defuse bombs. 31-year-old Abdul Rahman Waziri was shot while he was getting his mail during an apparent parking dispute in April in Houston. And for months, former Green Berets who knew Waziri had been demanding justice for his killing.

Before immigrating to the U.S., Waziri helped protect special operations soldiers from explosives while they served in Afghanistan.

Ben Hoffman is one of them. He's a retired Army green beret master sergeant who met Waziri while serving with the special forces there in Afghanistan.

Ben, thank you so much for being with us. And can you just talk to us a little bit about this? I'm so sorry that you've lost your brother in arms. And just talk to us a little bit about learning that he'd been killed, but that the person who admitted that he had shot him was allowed to walk free.

MASTER SGT. BEN HOFFMAN, ARMY SPECIAL FORCES (RET.) MET WAZIRI IN AFGHANISTAN: Yes, to be honest -- and thank you for having me on. And thank you for sharing this story first of all. When I learned that Abdul Rahman had been shot, I was definitely flabbergasted to think about the fact that, you know, somebody who had put his life on the line and done such a risky job in war in Afghanistan would come to the United States and, you know, and be shot down in cold blood -- so it seems. So I was just taken aback, heartbroken, especially for his wife and his two little girls. So it -- that's just left me speechless.

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KEILAR: And tell me a little bit about -- we're seeing some of the photos of him from his time serving in Afghanistan. Can you tell me what it was like working with him?

HOFFMAN: Yes, he was -- I mean, all the NMRG guys were highly trained, fearless. He was definitely one of the most fearless guys that I've ever met. And one of the bigger Afghans that I've ever met. But I would say that he was more of a gentle giant than, you know, anybody that would ever do something, you know, be violent other than, you know, during battle that is.

So he was an inspiring figure to me. And I really felt a kinship with him. Just in the way that he always approached situations, trying to do the right thing and keep people safe. He was he was one of the most fearless guys that constantly put his life on the line.

KEILAR: What did it mean, Ben, for him to be in America? What was he looking for for his family?

HOFFMAN: I think, you know, just like all the guys that were able to get out, just wanted to live a simple life in a free land and not have to worry about thinking about war anymore. I know that, you know, Abdul Rahman and many of these other guys spent years upon year, years, you know, in the in the fight, basically, whereas we would come home every six months or something -- or if you're depending on what unit you're in, but they never got a break.

And I think that that was what he wanted most for him and his family was just to be in peace.

KEILAR: And the person who admitted to shooting him has been not in custody now for months, but finally has been summoned to appear tomorrow at 9 a.m. What does justice look like to you and what is your message to the authorities as they're looking at this case?

HOFFMAN: I think that our combined message -- I've been working pretty closely with another former Green Beret, Tom Kasza. He runs the 1208 Foundation, which has been very instrumental in organizing the effort to try to get a message to the authorities that, you know, with this -- we can't stand for this. This is absolutely wrong that a man would come to this, you know, to the United States after fighting so hard to keep us alive and then to be gunned down.

So I would ask that the authorities do the right thing. I can't believe that he hasn't been arrested. But I would just ask the authorities -- you know that the authorities do the right thing. Make sure that this guy gets, you know, the trial that he deserves.

But I want to see justice for Abdul Rahman's, you know, his wife and his girls and his brothers as well. I just want them to have to feel like the American justice system actually can function.

KEILAR: Master Sergeant Ben Hoffman, we're so sorry for you. We're so sorry for Abdul Rahman's family as they are trying to understand his loss still at this point. Thank you so much for speaking to us about him. We really appreciate it.

HOFFMAN: Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: And still to come, some new CNN reporting taking you inside far right activist Laura Loomer's mission to root out government officials that she believes are working against President Trump.

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SANCHEZ: We have some new CNN reporting about Laura Loomer, the controversial far right activist with a direct line to President Trump. In a new interview with CNN, Loomer touts her role in ousting officials inside the administration that she views as disloyal operatives. And despite some White House aides best efforts to limit her influence, the president is standing by her.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know she's known as a radical right, but I think Laura Loomer is a very nice person. I've known her for a long time. And, you know, personally, I think she's a patriot.

And she gets excited because of the fact that she's a patriot. And she doesn't like things going on that she thinks are bad for the country. I like her.

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SANCHEZ: CNN senior reporter Steve Contorno joins us now with his new reporting on Loomer's influence and her strategy. Steve, why is she so influential with Trump? And how do some of his advisers feel about it?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Boris, there are certainly frustrations within the White House over Loomer's tactics, if not her overall mission. But look, it is undeniable that Donald Trump listens to her.

She has his cell phone number. She has had an Oval Office meeting with him. She tells me that she knows for a fact that he reads many of her social media posts. So she declined to say how she knows that.

And it's also quite clear that she is having an impact. Look at the number of people that have been dismissed in the last week alone that were former Loomer targets. It includes the country's top vaccine regulator, who was just recently installed by RFK Jr., as well as a top national security lawyer and a decorated cybersecurity expert who was given a West Point post.

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Now, to her detractors in the White House, Loomer tells me, look, you could do a better job yourselves of ensuring that there are loyalists only in this administration if you don't want me doing this dirty work from the outside. Or you could give me a job inside the White House and let me do this vetting for you.

But in the meantime, she remains incredibly influential and she has a large following online, including potentially the president. So she doesn't intend to stop with the firings that she has already amassed.

SANCHEZ: Steve, who is on her radar?

CONTORNO: Well, she remains increasingly concerned that Donald Trump actually isn't firing enough people, including some of his Cabinet members. She's been very, very critical of Attorney General Pam Bondi related to her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. But she also has some issues with Secretary Brooke Rollins, who oversees the Agriculture Department, because she believes that Rollins is part of the reason why we've seen this softer turn by Trump when it comes to undocumented workers on farms. She also remains very skeptical of anyone put in power by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., given that he was a former Democrat. When I asked her about some of her concerns, she told me, quote, I'm not blaming Trump, but people will probably start to blame Trump if he doesn't use these opportunities to fire some Cabinet members.

I will say there is one Cabinet member who does listen to her, and it's Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon confirming that the two recently spoke about Loomer's concerns with some of the hirings inside the Department of Defense -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Steve Contorno, thank you so much for that reporting.

Still more news to come this afternoon. Filling up grocery carts is now filling Americans with dread. The growing stress over rising prices ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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