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Trump Threatens To "Go Further" In Other Cities After D.C. Takeover; Chinese Ships Collide In South China Sea; Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) On Upcoming Trump-Putin Summit. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired August 12, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:33:25]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning mayors in major cities worrying they might be next after President Trump took over D.C., federalizing the police force in what he says is a crackdown on rampant crime even though the numbers clearly show violent crime is dropping in the nation's capital.

New images overnight show the FBI and other federal officers on the streets of Washington. The president also mobilizing about 800 National Guard troops.

When the president announced this unprecedented takeover, he put other major cities on notice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have other cities also that are bad -- very bad. You look at Chicago, how bad it is. You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is. Other cities are hopefully watching this. They're all watching just like everyone's watching here -- they're all watching -- and maybe they'll self-clean up and maybe they'll self-do this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The president is able to do this because of something called the 1973 Home Rule Act. That gives him the power to temporarily take over D.C. police, but it is the first time a president has used it.

Joining us now CNN senior legal analyst and former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Elie Honig.

Elie, I'm glad you're here because I think this does beg a few questions that are important to sort through, chief among them is his legal?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: So, part of it definitely is and part of it I think will be contested in court. So first of all, the president absolutely does have the legal authority to activate the National Guard in Washington, D.C. Now, that's unique because in all the other states the governor controls the National Guard, except for in narrow emergency circumstances. So, yes, the president can deploy the National Guard in D.C.

[07:35:07]

But then there's a second question about the Home Rule Act that you just mentioned. Now that does give the president the authority to federalize and take over the Metro D.C. Police Force but only if there's an emergency and only for a maximum of 30 days.

And so, on that latter count, Jess, it would not surprise me as soon as today if we saw some sort of lawsuit challenging his authority arguing there's not actually an emergency and the president has overstepped his ability here.

DEAN: And emergency is an important word. I want to get back to that in one second.

But before we move on, when you talk about his ability to federalize the National Guard you think about also, too, what's going on in California and that lawsuit with California suing because he federalized the National Guard against the wishes of California officials. So that's a -- that is different.

HONIG: Yeah. So the National Guard works differently in D.C. than in all the states in two important ways.

First of all, in all the states the governor is in charge of the National Guard. The president, however, is in charge of the National Guard in D.C. And the only way the president can take over the state National Guards is if there's an emergency.

But there's a second important distinction, Jessica. It has long been the position of the Justice Department and of the federal government dating back to the 1980s that the National Guard in D.C. can actually be used to perform law enforcement functions. To make traffic stops. To make search warrants. To make arrests. But in the rest of the country the military cannot be used for law enforcement functions.

So again, D.C. is really unique here. The president has a lot of authority, and he seemingly is within his constitutional authority a) to deploy the National Guard, b) to use them for law enforcement functions inside the District of Columbia.

DEAN: Yeah. And then there's this question of the emergency, as you would say -- as you were saying. And we are increasingly seeing President Trump declaring an emergency and using these laws. Some of which, like this one, haven't been used in this way before.

What might that mean?

HONIG: Well, this is a common tactic of the Trump administration just in the seven-plus months that he's been in office. We've seen him declare emergencies in a lot of different contexts.

First of all, with immigration and deportation. The use of the Alien Enemies Act and other laws to deport people. Those require a declaration of emergency. On January 20, Trump made declarations of emergency along those lines.

The imposition of tariffs, which is now being disputed in the courts -- that's based on an emergency economic declaration by the president. And now we see the president declaring an emergency again in Washington, D.C. with respect to crime and violent crime.

And whenever we see lawsuits around these declarations of emergency, Jess, watch for two things.

One, the administration is going to argue this is not even reviewable. The law gives this determination to the president and it's not the role of courts to step and second guess it. Sometimes -- not often, but sometimes that argument wins.

And then step two is if the courts can review a declaration of an emergency, has the president properly declared an emergency in a given case? And his record in the courts so far has been mixed. He's won some of those emergency disputes and lost others.

DEAN: Yeah.

And so, again, specifically in D.C., it sounds like you think there could be a lawsuit as soon as this afternoon.

HONIG: Yeah. It wouldn't surprise me at all because there is some play in that declaration of an emergency. We saw the mayor and other leaders of D.C. come out and say essentially this is not an emergency. We don't believe it is. The crime stats, depending on how you look at them, generally are down but are still high.

And so it would not surprise me at all to see somebody go to court -- federal court and challenge the president's declaration of an emergency. And at stake will be his ability to deploy or to take over the Metro P.D. in D.C.

DEAN: Yeah. That seems to be the big question right now.

All right, Elie Honig. Thanks so much -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

HONIG: Thanks, Jess.

BERMAN: Newly released footage shows a Chinese Coast Guard vessel crashing into one its own warships. It was chasing vessels from the Philippines in the highly contested South China Sea. We'll show you that video, I think.

CNN international correspondent Marc Stewart in Beijing with the latest on this -- Marc.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Hi, John.

I will tell you this. Anyone who lives in this part of the world, we all know that the South China Sea is a very volatile part of real estate and what happened here certainly had the potential to be much worse.

Let's watch this video together and you will see this Chinese warship colliding with a Chinese Coast Guard ship. As you mentioned, they were chasing some boats from the Philippines. The Coast Guard ship -- the Chinese Coast Guard ship was so damaged it took off part of its bow. And as you can see there the water is very choppy.

At the time of this -- of this whole incident three Chinese Coast Guard members were actually on the bow of the boat when the impact happened. I think you can see that in the video.

[07:40:05]

This video, I should point, was all captured by the Philippine Coast Guard. And according to an official from the Philippine Coast Guard they were being chased at a high rate of speed when this happened.

There were some pictures. You saw a water cannon. The Philippines boat was also being targeted with a water cannon. It avoided being hit. You see those images there.

At the time this all happened, according to an official -- a high- ranking officer from the Philippine Coast Guard -- they claim that they were trying to get some aid to some fishermen.

Now here is the important context here. This happened in an area known as the Scarborough Shoal. It's something we've talked about before. It falls within the Philippines economic zone, but China has had a constant presence there for years. That's according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Issue (sic).

It is important to stress that things could have been worse because both of these nations claim rights to this waterway. China is blaming the Philippines saying that it's trying to disguise this as some kind of aid mission. The Coast Guard says it was operating within the law.

I think another final point to mention John is that China is not calling this a collision. In fact, its military officials are not even using that word to describe what transpired.

BERMAN: But, I mean, it doesn't change what happened -- what they're calling it. Those ships certainly ran into one another right there on the high seas and that footage proves it.

Marc Stewart, thanks so much for being with us -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Texas takes the top spot in college football's preseason rankings for the first time ever. Yet, the Longhorns still considered the underdog in their week one game against Ohio State.

Let's get to Andy Scholes. Andy, how is that even possible?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: It's pretty wild, Kate. You know, Texas number one in both the AP and Coaches Poll, yet they aren't favored in their first game. That's because they got just a monster of an opener. The Longhorns will open at Ohio State August 30. They're 2 1/2-point underdogs in that game.

So the Buckeyes coming in at third in the AP preseason poll. Penn State opens at number two. Clemson and Georgia rounding out the top five.

And Ohio State head coach Ryan Day -- well, he was asked yesterday if he's sleeping any better now coming into the season as the reigning champs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN DAY, HEAD COACH, OHIO STATE BUCKEYES: No. No. If we didn't open up with Texas, maybe. But you want to take a deep breath. I mean, the first game is a monster right out of the gate. And I'll just say this. We're excited about playing in that game. I know Buckeye Nation is fired up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: It's going to be a good one and August 30 can't get here soon enough.

In baseball, meanwhile, Milwaukee -- they continue to deal with historic flooding in the area. Some areas around the city getting more than a foot of rain over the past few days. Now, the Brewers -- luckily, they do play indoors and were still able to play last night against the Pirates.

And they just continue their incredible run beating Pittsburgh 7-1 for their 10th-straight win. It's their second 10-game winning streak of the season. The Brewers have the best record in baseball by five games.

Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman, meanwhile, making his return to Houston last night for the first time. He played there for the first nine years of his career, winning two World Series. He got a big old standing ovation before his first at-bat and then he hit a two-run home run into the Crawford box.

Well, the fans -- they were like OK, that was nice. But now were going to boo you the rest of the night and that's what they did in his next three at-bats. And the Astros, in what was also Carlos Correa's return home, won the game 7-6.

And Kate, Bregman -- he laughed after the game. He said he loved the fans booing him and he hoped that they would. And I guess, hey, that home run in the first inning certainly helped the fans turn their emotions around.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. I mean, like, how quickly they -- he goes from, like, a standing ovation -- welcome back -- to we hate your guts --

SCHOLES: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: -- is remarkable. And so classic sports fan, which I love.

SCHOLES: Sports -- there you go, yeah.

BOLDUAN: Sports -- we love them -- Jessica.

DEAN: Well, still ahead, the shocking moment a lightning strike was caught on camera.

And from 45 minutes to just 10. How AI is helping police write reports faster and why some prosecutors would like it banned.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:48:55]

BERMAN: This morning preparations still being made for the summit between President Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. President Trump trying to set expectations and says look, I may leave and say good luck, and that will be the end.

Now, we spoke to a Ukrainian member of Parliament who said even having the meeting at all is a win for Vladimir Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRA RUDIK, MEMBER, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: We are concerned that President Trump, who promised peace through strength, didn't get anything from Vladimir Putin.

And right now, after refusing the ceasefire, refusing the meeting with President Zelenskyy in Istanbul, after refusing anything that President Trump proposed, Putin is actually rewarded for all of that. China, Iran, North Korea -- they are all saying that if you deny whatever the American president is asking you, maybe you will get rewarded at the end. And you should just simple stand your ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:50:00]

BERMAN: With us now is Congressman Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee who is on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman, great to see you this morning.

Before we jump into policy and politics, how you doing? I know you had a run-in with a horse a couple of weeks ago.

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): Yeah, I broke a rib. I got kicked. And if it was an inch and a half higher all of you all would be here in Knoxville at my funeral. All the people that hate me telling everybody what a great person I was. And then they name a bridge after me and five years later everybody would say "Who's that guy they named that bridge after?" And they'd say "Oh, that's that guy that got kicked by a horse."

But no, I'm great. The UT Medical Center -- the trauma center -- they took quick care of me. And I just broke one rib, so I got really lucky, brother. Thank you.

BERMAN: Well --

BURCHETT: I missed one meeting. I missed a kid's Eagle Scout ceremony, so I'll probably have to take him out for a pizza later. But that's all I missed. I've had drivers and everybody's been great.

BERMAN: Well, good. Look, a cracked rib is serious business. I will try not to make you laugh during this interview.

I do want to start with Ukraine though. You heard the president setting expectations saying look, he could walk away. If President -- if Vladimir Putin comes and doesn't come with an acceptable deal, President Trump says he would just walk away.

What would you walk away from? What's your minimum from Vladimir Putin?

BURCHETT: I think any talkback or blowback. I think what Trump realizes is that the economic power of this country is the great -- is the great equalizer. I think he -- with this push towards more energy or exporting energy, I think he can deflate the price, and he can cause -- or inflate the price, as the case may be, of oil and things like that. I think Putin realizes that.

And I think we should realize that their GDP is somewhere between France and Canada's. They're not the world's superpower they once were.

But it is -- it is Trump's deal. This is what he likes to do. He likes to negotiate, and he does a good job of it. People hate him but the big, beautiful bill -- they said he'd never have it on his desk by the Fourth of July, and you know what he did -- and he did it.

And the cryptocurrency bill -- Senator Haggerty's bill out of Tennessee. It wasn't going to be on his desk by Friday. Well, dadgum it was.

And I think there's a lot going on here and, of course, the diplomats -- that lady -- she'll say that stuff. She's reading off a speech that was prepared for her. I get it. I get it. But I think everybody's tired of war and we're tired of death. And the only people that are profiting right now is Wall Street, the K Street lobbyists, and the war pimps -- and that's who's pushing this thing.

So we need to get peace to the table, and we need to quit killing young people.

BERMAN: She was a Ukrainian member of Parliament. This is her country.

BURCHETT: Yeah.

BERMAN: You can understand --

BURCHETT: Yes.

BERMAN: You could understand why Ukrainians --

BURCHETT: I know that. I know that. But she's --

BERMAN: Do you -- what interest do you think Ukrainians have in --

BURCHETT: I agree. Yeah, I don't want war.

BERMAN: -- preserving their own country?

BURCHETT: Well, Putin's a thug. Let's just get to the point. I mean, he is just a thug, but he's a third world thug and we should treat him as such. And I think it's no --

BERMAN: Yeah.

BURCHETT: -- it's no accident that we're in Alaska because we got Alaska at a very good price. And oil -- we have some of the largest oil reserves in the world in Alaska, and I think Putin realizes that.

And again, I don't -- I don't hold anything against her for saying what she said but, you know, she's got to -- she's got to act tough for her people --

BERMAN: Yeah.

BURCHETT: -- back home. But the reality is negotiations -- and we've got to get Zelenskyy to the table. That's the key.

BERMAN: Do you think Zelenskyy should be invited to Alaska because right now it's not clear he is?

BURCHETT: I think eventually he will. I think he will. I think they're going to --

BERMAN: Yeah.

BURCHETT: This is precursor to that. I think Trump's laying down the law with Putin and I think in a -- and he's got his own strategy again. And he -- but dadgum he always wins and it's a -- it's a -- it's kind of baffling to folks -- me as well and folks on the left as well. But he -- dadgummit he always -- he always seems to come out on top in these things. He's done it in the past and --

BERMAN: What's a win? What's a win in Ukraine?

BURCHETT: Well, Ukraine is going to want back all their original territory, and I don't think Putin is going to allow for that. I think there's got to be some give-and-take so they can both go home and declare victory.

We used to say in the state legislature, you go a little slower, let's get there a little faster. And I think that's exactly what we've got to do here. I think he's laying the groundwork --

BERMAN: Uh-huh.

BURCHETT: -- and I think he's -- I think he's going to have some heart-to-hearts with Putin because he realizes what's up. Trump's tired of this nonsense. He wants it over. The American people want it over except, of course, the ones that are profiting from it.

BERMAN: Again, yeah. Ukraine is --

BURCHETT: And that happens to be members -- and that happens to be members of Congress.

BERMAN: I have heard you say that before.

BURCHETT: Yeah.

BERMAN: Congressman, I do want to ask you about what's happening in Washington. I don't know if you were able to hear our segment before -- what the president is doing in Washington, D.C.

BURCHETT: Yeah.

BERMAN: There is absolutely a different legal authority for him to do in Washington than maybe doing in other cities.

But I want to put up on the screen here USA Today just published a list of violent crime rates among major U.S. cities -- the top 10. Washington, D.C. is at 10. There are actually a couple of cities in Tennessee, where you're from, in the top 10. Memphis at number one. Nashville, I believe --

[07:55:00]

BURCHETT: Sure.

BERMAN: -- at number eight.

BURCHETT: Yeah.

BERMAN: My question to you, and I understand the authority is different, but where else, if anywhere else, would you like to see maybe the National Guard used to fight crime?

BURCHETT: I wouldn't. I think this is an exception to the rule right here because it is the bright, shining city on the hill. When you come off the interstate --

BERMAN: Um-hum.

BURCHETT: -- in Washington, D.C. -- I hadn't been there probably since I was a young man, and I was just shocked at the -- at the filth. The people going to the bathroom on the streets. The needles. The crime. And the people that are the victims are the people that live there.

Case in point -- BERMAN: Yeah.

BURCHETT: -- I wish you all would go back and watch the video we had in oversight, and they were telling how -- six white guys were telling us how safe it was in Washington. And all the Black folks were behind them -- the activists -- the people that lived in the neighborhoods that were suffering. And I made the statement -- I said, "Why are there no Black folks on this thing?"

Look, this town is out of touch. Its leadership is out of touch. I like the mayor. She's a nice lady. I just think it's way past that. You don't want to go out on the streets at night in Washington, D.C. That's one of -- I come from a family of public educators.

BERMAN: Congressman --

BURCHETT: That's one of the reasons I live in my office at night. But the other reason is it's too dadgum dangerous, brother. It is dangerous --

BERMAN: I was just --

BURCHETT: -- and everybody knows it. And the people are being victimized.

BERMAN: Congressman, all I was asking though is -- again, I was putting those cities up on the screen. Nashville and Memphis both listed higher -- and asking you if you'd like to see, you know, a move --

BURCHETT: They're --

BERMAN: -- to use the Guard there. And you said you wouldn't. You don't want to see federal authorities involved in policing in the rest of the country?

BURCHETT: No, unless there's a riot situation where they can come in.

Nashville and Memphis are two Democrat-controlled towns and it's just the old school thing, you know. It's just absolute control and they've had it for years. And they keep telling the people how bad the others are.

Look, let's be honest in this country. All the race-baiters on both sides. It's just like overseas in these wars and everything else. If we have peace, they are out of power. They are in business to stir it up -- both sides -- left and right. And that's on me and that's on you all at CNN as well because --

I mean, look what's happening in Cincinnati right now. These people got the heck kicked out of them and could have died right there, and now they're -- the -- some folks are hollering that these folks that got beat up that it was their own fault.

It's their business to stay in power. If we have peace, if we start listening to the Bible and going to church on Sunday, and holding our brothers' hand and talking to them about it, this stuff is over. But they don't want it over. They want to stay in power. And they continue preaching this hate on both sides.

We got to -- we got to -- we got to cut that stuff out, man. We got too many big fish to fry. And in this world, look at the Middle East, look at Ukraine, and all that. If peace breaks out, Putin and Zelenskyy are out of power.

Look what happened to Winston Churchill. Carried England --

BERMAN: Yeah.

BURCHETT: He saved the world, literally, and then right after they kicked him out.

It's just a game with these folks and it's a moneymaker and it keeps them in power. And it's a shame because the poor people get used and abused and it's -- and it's wrong.

BERMAN: I don't think anyone thinks that Winston Churchill worked for money, but I understand what you're saying there.

Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee. Thank you for your time this morning.

BURCHETT: No, no, no. He didn't, no.

BERMAN: Oh --

BURCHETT: Winston Churchill was kicked out -- no. Winston Churchill was kicked out after the war --

BERMAN: I hear you.

BURCHETT: -- because they didn't need him anymore.

BERMAN: I hear you. And Zelenskyy's --

BURCHETT: Yeah.

BERMAN: -- working, you know --

BURCHETT: No. Winston was my guy.

BERMAN: -- to preserve his country also.

Congressman, thanks for being with us this morning. Take care of your rib, sir -- Jessica.

DEAN: Terrifying moments on a Montana runway as a small plane attempting to land crashed into a parked aircraft.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Small plane crashing into parked aircraft.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It, like bounced up. It hit the ground and bounced up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Ooh. You can see plumes of dark smoke filling the air. Officials say the small plane carrying four people tried to land. The pilot lost control. The crash caused several surrounding planes to also catch fire. But remarkably, even with all that smoke and all that fire, officials say no one was seriously hurt.

A dramatic lightning strike in South Carolina caught on police officer's dashcam. It happened outside of Charleston. The lightning hitting a power line and sending flames into the air. That caused power outages in the area and also a -- it also shut down the highway for a couple of hours. Police say nobody was hurt -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So AI on the police force. Police departments are now testing new ways that they can utilize the technology to make their jobs easier, but with that it is bringing new warnings and new legal concerns.

CNN's Clare Duffy has this reporting and she's here with me now. What's going on here?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yeah. So this is a new technology where this is software that uses the transcript of audio from police- worn body cameras --

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

DUFFY: -- and AI uses that to create a first draft of the police report. This is something that is being sold as a tool for police officers to spend less time writing reports and more time out in the field, especially as departments across the country are facing real hiring challenges.

I went to Fort Collins, Colorado and we got a demo. This is one of the first cities that is using this technology since it launched last year. And in this demo, we saw some of the safeguards that are built into this technology.