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Tensions Erupt At GOP Rep. Flood's Town Hall In Nebraska; Firefighters Struggle To Contain Massive Gifford Fire In California; Netanyahu To Urge Cabinet To Back "Full Conquest" Of Gaza. Aired 7:30- 8a ET

Aired August 05, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:31:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: New CNN reporting this morning on the growing influence of a key member of President Trump's inner circle.

Corey Lewandowski originally slated to be a temporary special government employee for the administration has now found himself in a position of significant influence as the chief adviser to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and sources say he often calls the shots. But his hard-charging style has escalated tension with one official noting he's the hammer and you're the nail.

CNN's Alayna Treene has brand new reporting from the White House on this. That's quite a statement about somebody, Alayna. What more are you learning?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. A lot of the quotes we have in this Jessica from people who are working with him or really under him at the Department of Homeland Security have some biting quotes for us in this story.

But look, I mean, Corey Lewandowski, for anyone who knows -- you know, has covered President Donald Trump, particularly from the beginning, he has long been someone who has been close to the president and in that world. However, he's also someone who has long been very close to Kristi Noem, particularly when she was still governor of South Dakota and then now, of course, in her role as the secretary of homeland security.

And as you mentioned, he was brought on to work inside the homeland security department as a special government employee. If that sounds familiar, it was the same type of role that Elon Musk took on. You know, you're not paid, you're not on the federal benefits package, but you can still wield a lot of influence. And we're actually seeing people who hold that status in the Trump administration really taking it much further than we've seen in previous White Houses.

Now, I want to get into how we're hearing some of the influence that he has in DHS because it's very striking. So one person who is familiar with the dynamic between Lewandowski and Noem and really his role inside the agency said "He's the de facto chief of staff in the department. Everyone is terrified of him because he has almost singular authority to fire people."

I mean, we have heard of him being the one calling the shots on firings. Calling the shots on many different important decision-making aspects at DHS. He's sitting in on high-level meetings next to Noem, often seen by her side. He was just in Argentina with her, for example. Again, not typical of someone who is a special government employee.

And just -- I do want to bring you into kind of where we've seen Lewandowski over the last couple of years because he hasn't long -- hasn't always been, I should say, one of the closet members of Trump's inner circle. I'd actually argue now a lot of people who are in Trump's inner circle do not believe that he is part of it.

They view him with a heavy dose of skepticism and part of that is because the president -- then-candidate Trump brought Corey Lewandowski onto the 2024 campaign just months before the election and almost immediately he was clashing with the then-campaign managers, like Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita. And that's led many people inside this White House to view him with a heavy dose of skepticism.

So even though he has a lot of influence at DHS he's not very viewed in the best light here inside the West Wing -- Jessica.

DEAN: Yeah, a fascinating dynamic there.

Alayna Treene from the White House. Thank you so much -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. New this morning tensions erupting at a lawmaker's town hall. With the House in summer recess many members are back home meeting with constituents.

And for Nebraska Republican Mike Flood things got a little bit testy last night. Early and often as he defended President Trump's policies and was confronted on issues from the economy to Jeffrey Epstein -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why are you covering up the Epstein files?

(Applause)

REP. MIKE FLOOD (R-NE): At the next pro forma session of the Congress you'll find my name as a sponsor on a resolution from the House Rules Committee to release the Epstein files to protect the victims and not revictimize them again. I am for the release of those records.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:35:00] BERMAN: With us now CNN political commentator Paul Begala, and Bryan Lanza, the former deputy communications director for the Trump 2016 campaign.

Paul, what do you see in that town hall?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST (via Webex by Cisco): Man, I see -- remember last week there was a terrible earthquake off the coast of Russia and it took a long, long time before tsunami waves hit. And fortunately, I don't think anybody was hurt.

This is an earthquake. This is coming. The Republicans are looking at wave election against them. This is what happened the last time. In 2018 -- well, 2017, they cut taxes for the rich and tried -- just tried to cut Obamacare -- to end Obamacare, and they failed. They lost 41 House seats in the next election.

This combination -- this bill where they cut taxes for the rich, exploded the debt, and cut health care for working people -- that's not going to fly, man -- that's just not. It's -- we're 454 days away. It's a long time. But I'm telling you, these people who think oh, it's four-five seats here -- it's going to be a 40-seat landslide and the Republicans in the Congress I think know it.

BERMAN: All right. Let me play a little bit more, Bryan, of this town hall for you from Mike Flood in Nebraska's first congressional district.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLOOD: The --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't say it.

FLOOD: The Republican Party, now more than ever, represents the heart and soul of the working class.

(Booing)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So Bryan, this is a Trump-plus-13 district, I think. What is that energy there? And granted, this may have been a more liberal audience that showed up, but what does that energy tell you?

BRYAN LANZA, FORMER DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, TRUMP 2016 CAMPAIGN, PARTNER, MERCURY PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Yeah. Listen, that energy tells you that Republicans need to be prepared for the election in November of next year, and they have a messaging war that they need to win. What they need to say about Trump's one big, beautiful bill was that had that not passed that would have been a tax increase on millions of Americans.

Listen, there's a lot of good things in one -- in the one big, beautiful bill and there's a lot of bad things that the Democrats can use. The bottom line is our message needs to be louder, our message needs to be clearer, and our message needs to point to the pocketbooks to say we didn't do this. This is how much taxes would have been raised. And the fact is that President Trump did not want taxes raised on the average worker and that's why they passed the one big, beautiful bill.

BERMAN: Bryan, how badly do Republicans need the redistricting in Texas to hang on to the House in '26?

LANZA: I agree with Paul. These things tend to be waves, right? You've seen it during Obama's first term. You saw it during Trump's first term. You saw it during Biden's first term.

Usually, you have these wave elections. I mean, we'll take any seats we can get. I do think we sort of declared this civil war in redistricting across the country. Republicans ultimately win that fight because we have more governorships and we have more state legislatures. But I think at the end of the day the better thing in how we win in November is not going to be picking at -- not going to be redistricting a couple of seats in Texas or losing some seats in California. It's definitely winning the messaging war.

BERMAN: Do you have concerns -- before -- I'll come to you in one second, Paul. I know you're itching to get into this as a Texan yourself.

But Bryan, do you think this is a bit of a -- of a redistricting civil war the Republicans are declaring here, and what reservations do you have on beginning a battle like this?

LANZA: Listen, I -- gerrymandering is a term that goes back 200 years, so it is a long-term that's been in our history. It used to perpetrate itself in the South. It's moved along. This is -- I was involved in redistricting California. This has been a long, simmering -- this has been a long, simmering civil war that pops up every 10 years. Now it's starting to pop up every five --

BERMAN: Yeah.

LANZA: -- and I think that's a problem.

BERMAN: Yeah. I mean, the difference here is it's mid-decade -- and it has been going on for more than 200 years. And on behalf of the people from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts I say you're welcome for gerrymandering since we invented it.

Paul, listen, there's sort of fights on three different levels here going on in Texas. There is the fights for the congressional districts inside Texas. There's the fight for what this means for control of Congress. And I think there's this fight over maybe looking like Democrats are fighting here.

What's the most important battle here that you see likely a losing battle on the first two fronts?

BEGALA: Well, yeah. They -- people want fair districts. And by the way, I think Bryan is exactly right. Both of us should probably disclose a conflict of interest.

When we ran campaigns, we wanted more competitive districts because it was more work for guys like Bryan and me.

LANZA: Absolutely.

BEGALA: That said, I don't do that anymore. But I'm still a citizen and I do want fair districts, and people in Texas want fair districts.

You know, Donald Trump got 56 percent of the vote in Texas, OK? He did great. This map would give him 79 percent of the congressmen in Texas -- the congressmen and women. That's just not a fair map.

So I like that the Democrats are standing up on their hind legs. They have very, very few levers of power. Leading the state and avoiding a quorum is one of them that will call attention to it. They ultimately, I think will lose this battle in Texas.

[07:40:00]

But as Bryan notes in California, there are maps where the Democrats can redo the maps harder where they gain seven. So they may lose five in Texas, gain seven in California, and then we go to New York where Kathy Hochul, the governor there, has said game on.

It's terrible for the country. It really is. Democrats have kind of led the way -- Eric Holder, President Obama's attorney general -- in trying to get these independent commissions and fair maps. I love that. But Gen. Holder in the newspaper this morning is saying look, we have to set that cause aside to just try to fight fire with fire.

BERMAN: Do --

BEGALA: And that's a shame but that's the reality.

BERMAN: Do you agree with that? Do you think that basically at this point Democrats need to -- if Republicans are going to go through with this, which they are, that Democrats need to try to squeeze out every seat they can across the country, Paul?

BEGALA: Oh, yes. I'm sorry. I thought you were asking Bryan.

Yes. But Bryan is right that this is not going to be outcome determinative. Right now it feels like it is but -- and maybe I'm wrong. God knows I often am. If there's a 40-foot wave coming, putting your house up on five-foot stilts is not going to save you.

They need to do what Bryan is talking about and try to defend their policies. They are -- they are -- I went and looked it up. They are 19.6 points below water -- 20 points underwater on inflation. That's the most important issue in America. They're even six or seven points underwater on immigration, their strongest issue. So the issue terrain is terrible for the Republicans.

And on top of that you saw in that Mike Flood town hall meeting in Lincoln people in the MAGA base are going to be depressed by this Epstein scandal. The people in the Democratic base are going to be excited by this -- these budget cuts to Medicaid and exploding the debt to raise -- cut taxes for the rich. So it's a -- it's a perfect storm for the Democrats against the Republicans.

Paul Begala, Bryan Lanza, thank you for shining a light on the need for people to pay attention to the little guy. And by that, I mean political consultant. Thank you very much -- Jessica.

DEAN: Breaking overnight the Justice Department says it wants to make public five days of grand jury testimony against Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. This after two of the victims of Epstein voiced deep concern over the Trump administration's request to unseal that testimony.

Joining us now, former federal prosecutor Alyse Adamson. Alyse, thanks so much for being here with us.

Start first with this. How likely is the judge to do what the DOJ is asking? And in the grand scheme of things how rare is it for a judge to do what the DOJ is asking?

ALYSE ADAMSON, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR (via Webex by Cisco): Yes, Jessica, it's hard to predict just for the very reason that this request is very rare. This is an unusual, and I may even say extraordinary request to unseal these grand jury transcripts. And the reason I say this is because this is still an active case.

We should not forget that Maxwell still has an active appeal, which she's now bringing all the way up to the Supreme Court, to have her conviction reversed. So that means ultimately her case could even go back to trial. Judges would be hesitant under those circumstances to release grand jury transcripts.

I mean, look, as it is there are limited circumstances in which grand jury transcripts are unsealed. In extraordinary circumstances judges are inclined to deny the request where they're prejudice to the defendant, they're prejudice to the victims in this case. Just the prejudice to the integrity of the court proceedings if they are still active.

So while it is hard to predict ultimately, the judge may decide to release redacted, smaller excerpts of this grand jury transcripts. It's also very possible they'll flat -- he'll flat out deny the request given all of the reasons that I just articulated.

DEAN: And as they're evaluating this, we have already gotten some statements from some of the victims asking the judge to take special care in making sure their identities remained sealed. Talking about how they feel like they are political pawns in all of this.

How might those statements factor into the judge's decision here?

ADAMSON: Look, Jessica, it's interesting because while the victims -- and I think it's also significant that we heard from the victims because for a case that is about victims we have kind of lost their narrative in this entire Epstein file, really, debacle for the Trump administration. And it's to their point that this has been politicized. It has become transparency rather than a case about victims.

But the victims are not opposing the release of the transcripts. To the contrary. They're actually -- one was calling for the release and full transparency in an effort to make this story come to an end. This has been in the news cycle for weeks and so you can understand how victims in this case can feel revictimized by this continuing conversation.

So what the victims were saying in the letter to the judge wasn't don't release the transcripts. It was please let our lawyer comb through these transcripts and make sure that they remove any potentially identifying information so they can remain anonymous.

[07:45:00]

So I think a judge is going to balance those concerns. And again, because they are not opposing it like Maxwell did, I think the judge is going to take that into account when rendering a decision.

DEAN: All right, Alyse Adamson. Great to have you with us this morning. Thanks so much for that -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Happening now, evacuation orders underway in Southern California as a wildfire has exploded in size burning more than 72,000 acres so far across two counties. At least three people have been hurt. Today, crews plan to employ helicopters and drones to fight the blazes.

Let's get right to CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam for a sense of how things look today, Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. You know, John, unfortunately, the fire weather is going to get worse before it gets better. And we talk about how this fire exploded in size. At one point this weekend it was actually advancing at the rate of one football field every two seconds. It has surpassed two counties -- parts of two counties -- San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.

You can see on this satellite image -- you can actually see the fire erupt in size this weekend just growing into that 72,000 acres that has burned so far and is now currently approaching the largest wildfire in California so far this year. It hasn't quite done so yet. We, of course, had the Madre fire, which burned over 80,000 acres. But look, it's getting there and only three percent containment. That does not bode well for the efforts to really extinguish the flames.

Now here's a look at the various evacuation zones across Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. They had some progress on the northern and eastern flank of the fire, but they're concerned about the southern progress of this fire due to the intensifying winds, the drying trend, and the increase in the temperatures that they are forecasting going forward.

Look, this thing has already burned over the size of the San Francisco peninsula. That is just incredible to show you how large this fire actually is. There's a lot of poor air quality surrounding the wildfire smoke that continues to billow out of this wildfire. It's just getting pushed eastward. In fact, Las Vegas saw some of that smoke.

And speaking of wildfire smoke, far removed from the actual wildfire, look at what New York City looks like right now. This is all thanks to wildfires that are burning out of control across northern sections of Canada. Some of the worst air quality in the world found across the Great Lakes and into portions of the northeast.

And unfortunately it doesn't look like it's going to improve today. We have wildfire smoke and hazy conditions, and poor air quality from Detroit, Chicago, all the way to New York for the afternoon -- John.

BERMAN: Yeah. We're seeing it and we're feeling it. Derek Van Dam, thank you very much.

VAN DAM: Yeah, John.

BERMAN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly considering a full conquest of Gaza. How would the world respond?

And the NTSB investigating a fire that forced New Jersey commuters to evacuate a smoke-filled train car.

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[07:52:00]

DEAN: This morning with ceasefire talks in Gaza stalled, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to urge his security cabinet to back a full military takeover of the Gaza Strip. That is according to Israeli media.

There is growing outrage in Israel after Hamas released propaganda videos of emaciated hostages. And in Gaza, scenes of desperation as crowds race for aid and the humanitarian crisis there deepens.

What will it take to end the war? That is the big question.

Joining us now, CNN global affairs analyst Brett McGurk. He has a new CNN analysis out this morning titled "Gaza seems hopeless. Here's a potential pathway for a 90-day solution." Brett, thanks for being with us this morning.

You are someone who helped negotiate the only two ceasefires in this war and even you say in your piece today that this situation does, as it stands right now, feel hopeless.

Is it possible to end this war?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, FORMER MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA COORDINATOR, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Jessica, you know, a year ago this week I was in Cairo dealing with these talks. I know how difficult this is. This situation right now is barreling to an even worse spot than it is now if you can believe that. Sometimes in a crisis you have to step back and reassess.

I think my understanding of what is about to happen is an ultimatum will be given to Hamas -- all or nothing deal. Release all the hostages, disarm, leaders leave Gaza, or else this major new military operation launches.

I would really -- I do not think that's going to work. I think that's going to result in not all, but nothing -- no hostages. And that military operation if it launches too soon could jeopardize the life of the hostages because Hamas, we know will kill the hostages if the Israeli forces get close. So this is extremely serious.

I think a better path here -- focus on the most acute emergency need. That is the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the plight of those hostages. There's video of this emaciated, starving hostage. I would recommend a 30-day pause in major operations. Alleviate the humanitarian situation. The ICRC needs access to those hostages. Allow them to get aid and food. Do that for 30 days.

The ultimatum is at the end of those 30 days Hamas has to release half of the living hostages and sets of remains, which was the deal, Jessica, that almost got done two weeks ago. That's what's so tragic about this situation. The outside leadership of Hamas, as I understand it, was ready to say yes. The inside leaders said no. They are the ones that hold the keys to the hostages.

And then you have another 60-day window to negotiate the final comprehensive deal to end the war, which the White House and President Trump can back.

Look, it's not a perfect solution. I think it's the best of bad options and that's what I published this morning on CNN.

DEAN: And recently while we're watching all of these layers unfold the leaders of France and the U.K. said they intend to recognize a Palestinian state. And then following that news we saw Hamas release that horrific video that we were just showing of this emaciated hostage digging his own grave -- indicating again, you say in your piece, that Hamas has no intent of agreeing to a deal right now. [07:55:12]

What is that -- what's happening in Europe -- what we're hearing from some of these leaders -- how does that affect any of these negotiations that might be ongoing?

MCGURK: Again, I just -- I know from my experience Hamas reacts to international opinion and what these leaders say. And I thought that Macron initiative -- it might be well intended. It made stopping the war much harder because Hamas now has no incentive to stop the war. They want to see that recognition of a Palestinian state. Again, that's not their endgame. They see a Palestinian state as a stepping stone to eliminating Israel.

But Hamas has come out and said this Macron initiative -- this French initiative is the fruits of October 7. That's what their leaders are saying. This is very damaging to any effort to actually get the hostages out.

So again, this new kind of idea that I've put on the table here would actually parlay this. Let's put the pressure back on Hamas, let's get a pause to alleviate the humanitarian situation, and let's kind of think through how to deal with this U.N. General Assembly coming in September.

I would say one other thing. This requires a lot of American high- level diplomacy. I used to talk to my French, U.K., Brit counterparts -- European counterparts all the time to bring them inside the negotiation to understand exactly what was happening. And to see this huge division between our European allies and the United States on this issue at such a critical time just is really not helpful.

Again, not helpful for the goal we all want to see -- the war to stop. The hostages to come home, the humanitarian crisis to be eased, and to ultimately have Hamas relinquish its power in Gaza so that Gaza can recover and you can ultimately have a political horizon for peace here. That's what we all want to see. We are not on that path now and I think we have to get -- try to get on a better path than the current course.

DEAN: Yeah, as we get ever closer to that two-year mark.

All right, Brett McGurk. Good to see you. Thanks so much -- John.

BERMAN: All right. This morning the NTSB is investigating the cause of a train fire in New Jersey that caused some chaos in the morning commute. The fire reportedly started underneath a commuter train, which then quickly filled with smoke -- the train did. Thirteen people were treated for smoke inhalation and nine were taken to the hospital.

A federal judge has denied a request from Sean Combs to be released on bail again. His team had asked for Combs to be let go on a $50 million bond, but the judge says they were not able to prove that Combs is not a flight risk. He is set to be sentenced in October for his conviction on charges of transportation to engage in prostitution.

So a zoo in Denmark is looking for pet donations so they can feed their hungry animals. I don't think any story has raised more eyebrows this morning, and you heard that headline right. This zoo is asking for small and large pets, including guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens -- even small horses. They say the pet must be healthy. I think they also said they want pets that are at the end of their natural lives.

The zoo promises they would be gently euthanized before they are fed to the predators. And they say this actually help mimic the natural food chain -- like the circle of life -- a dark, dark circle of life.

All right. New this morning a man suspected of killing four people in Tennessee caught on a home security camera carrying a rifle and jiggling door handles seeming to look for a way in. The Jackson Police Department just released surveillance video of 28-year-old suspect Austin Drummond. This was taken Sunday night.

Police are warning residents to remain vigilant and be cautious because Drummond is armed, dangerous, and may still be in the area.

CNN's Rafael Romo is with us now. What's the latest on this, Rafael?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning.

Authorities in Tennessee have released new evidence that may indicate the suspect is still in the area after allegedly killing four people exactly a week ago today.

The new evidence comes in the form of security camera videos showing the suspect in the city of Jackson.

One video shows 28-year-old Austin Drummond walking through a covered hallway outside a building. He's wearing a camouflage jacket and carrying a rifle.

Another video, John, also released by the Jackson Police Department, shows the quadruple murder suspect, this time carrying a backpack and a rifle approaching a door at someone's home and jiggling the handle before stepping out of the camera's view. The footage also shows him carrying a backpack and a rifle, as I mentioned.

Now, authorities say Drummond is wanted in connection with the deaths of four people but have not said why despite issuing warrants for four counts of first-degree murder. Their bodies were found last Tuesday in Lake County, Tennessee just hours after a 7-month-old baby was found alive and abandoned in a car parked in a front yard in nearby Dyer County. Officials say it was chosen at random.

The baby's parents, 21-year-old James Wilson and 20-year-old Adrianna Williams, were among the four victims, as well as her 38-year-old grandmother and 15-year-old uncle on the mother's side of the family.

Authorities were scouring a wooded area near Union University in Jackson on Monday afternoon as part of the investigation.