Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Interview with Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA): Epstein Survivors Join GOP, Democratic Lawmakers in Files Release Effort; China Displays Military Might as Xi Stands with Putin and Kim; Appeals Court Blocks Trump's Use of Alien Enemies Act for Deportations. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired September 03, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARDI B, RAPPER: With that being said, this time around, I'm going to be nice. The next person to try to do a frivolous lawsuit against me, I'm going to counter sue. And I'm going to make you pay.

Because this is not OK. I think people have, like, these misinterpretations of celebrities. Like, it's like, oh, well, we can ask for this, and they're going to settle.

You don't work at home, and you don't work all day, and you don't work for your money to give out your money. So don't ever think that I'm just going to give you my money that I work hard for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, she has a point. And I do think that that authenticity and her just being so real really resonated with the jury.

And look, the tables have turned. There used to be a school of thought that celebrities settle because they don't want their dirty laundry airing out in open court. But Cardi is proof that when you can be yourself, that it can work, not just for the case in the court of law, but certainly in the court of public opinion.

And I do want to note the most important point here. She has an album coming out in a few weeks. So this is the best publicity that Cardi could have asked for -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: She proved to be quite a witness. All right, Elizabeth, thank you very much for that.

Brand new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

All right, this morning, the victims speak. We are standing by to hear from some of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers. We're going to hear from some of them for the first time. It could be a dramatic morning on Capitol Hill. Will members of Congress be swayed to make more information public? And then breaking overnight, a major legal setback for the president

and his deportation efforts. A conservative appeals panel rules that illegal immigration does not constitute an invasion.

And a five-year-old runs away to get some Chick-fil-A, the child's biggest fear after being caught, that he might go to jail.

Sara is out. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, some of the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse are turning up the pressure on Capitol Hill, now demanding more transparency and the release of all of his case files. Victims and their families, they are set to speak at an event outside the Capitol in just hours. The family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's most vocal accusers, is set to join in that rally. Giuffre died by suicide in April.

And speaking to CNN yesterday, one of her brothers talked about what it's been like meeting other victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY WILSON, BROTHER OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: She talked about this moment for a long time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She wanted this moment.

WILSON: She wanted it. And her not being there, it hurts. But to be around the people that are picking up the fight and to see the poise and the fierceness and the fact that more and more survivors are coming forward, it really does give me some glimmer of hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Some of Epstein's survivors are also set to join with Republican Congressman Thomas Masseie and Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna. As in their push to force the release of all of Epstein's case files.

Yesterday, the House Oversight Committee released more than 33,000 pages. Remember, there are about 100,000 pages that DOJ has. 33,000 pages, it includes files, what was released on Epstein's flight logs, jail surveillance footage, depositions, and other memos.

Joining us right now is Democratic Congressman Stephen Lynch from Massachusetts. He sits on that House Oversight Committee we're talking about that just-released information. And also, Congressman, you attended the meeting with these women, these victims, six of Epstein's victims yesterday.

I've seen images, and we've showed it earlier in the show, of Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace leaving that meeting in tears. Mace has spoken out publicly about being raped herself as a 16-year- old. Can you describe what these victims told you?

I mean, what was the impression they left on you?

REP. STEPHEN LYNCH (D-MA), OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE: Well, it was very powerful and emotional testimony. Six women came forward yesterday and met with us, a bipartisan group. I think a couple of the most powerful moments were, they all invoked the memory of Virginia Giuffre and said that they were there not only representing themselves, but also the over 1,000 other victims who, perhaps for one reason or another, you know, couldn't come forward.

[08:05:00]

So that was very, very powerful. They were speaking not only for themselves, but for others. And it was palpable, the disappointment and the crushing effect that Donald Trump's lawyer had met with, you know --

BOLDUAN: This the Attorney General Tom Blanche.

LYNCH: -- with Ghislaine Maxwell. Yes, that he had met with Ghislaine Maxwell and that her life improved immediately after that. She was moved from a secure facility to one that was much more accommodating to her.

And they felt that they were being let down one more time because all along the way, you know, beginning with Alexander Acosta, the U.S. attorney down in Florida, the sweetheart deal that was given to Epstein and his co-conspirators, they feel like they've been let down by the government over and over and over again. And there's the palpable sense that that's happening again because Donald Trump doesn't want to deal with this anymore. He wants to know why are we still talking about Epstein.

And then also when his attorney, you know, relocates Ghislaine Maxwell and her life gets better, but these women, these victims and others are still looking for answers.

BOLDUAN: And, you know, these victims have been let down by multiple administrations. I mean, this is 20 years, Democratic and Republican president's --

LYNCH: Right.

BOLDUAN: -- administrations, Republican and Democratic majorities in Congress. Where everyone has fallen short for these women who are speaking out today.

With that in mind, do you think them speaking out today, Congressman, is going to change the course that this has been on, which I will describe as DOJ dragging its feet and releasing documentation. We know that the Speaker of the House is trying to stop an effort to force the release of all of the documents. Are they going to change the course of this?

LYNCH: They could, they could. It depends on how members respond, both Democratic and Republican. There does seem to be some wellspring of support for these women among the Republican caucus. And there's full- throated support on the Democratic side, obviously. So it remains to be seen whether or not we respond.

It is disappointing that Speaker Johnson is opposing the effort to bring the files public. And he's using the excuse that we're having these discussions and these women are having an opportunity to have their say. But we need the evidence, we need the files. And there needs to be a full, you know, stem to stern review of this case going back to the Florida cases as well as what happened in Manhattan.

BOLDUAN: And Congressman, on that, I mean, the Speaker had said that this discharge position, trying to force this to all be released, this force this vote to all have the documents released, he calls it moot because of the work of the committee. But at the same time, you have -- the vote might even be today. But it is coming up, I think, this week on a measure that would direct the, this is going to get a vote in the House, direct the House Oversight Committee to continue the investigation. It has already been conducting for weeks into Epstein and Maxwell.

I cover Congress -- I've covered Congress for a long time. The committee doesn't need approval of the House to continue a probe that it's already conducting. What is this about?

LYNCH: It's a signal, you know, it's a messaging measure so that Republicans can vote in favor of having the House Committee continue its investigation. But we need the evidence, right? We want these files. You can't -- we want our decisions to be informed. So this should be complete transparency.

That measure is just, that's window dressing. That's not real. If Speaker Johnson wanted transparency and wanted to make progress here, you know, he would allow that discharge petition to succeed and we would get the documents that we've been asking for. It is unbelievable --

BOLDUAN: So all of these moves --

LYNCH: -- that 10 minutes, 10 minutes after he assured those victims that we would leave no stone unturned to get them justice, 10 minutes later, he was in front of the press saying, we're not going to allow the records to be revealed.

BOLDUAN: Do you think he -- do you think the Speaker lied to the victims behind closed doors?

LYNCH: It amounts to that, right. He's saying he wants transparency, he's going to leave no stone unturned, and yet he's saying, oh, the measure, the discharge petition that would make those documents.

[08:10:00]

Some of these women are looking for their own files on what the government had on them. So he's telling them that they're going to get transparency and then steps outside, you know, several minutes later and says, you know, that's moot, we don't need to get at that. We don't need to have that information.

There is a direct contradiction in both those statements.

BOLDUAN: And then there remains a very big question of what your committee will eventually gain access to and will release. Congressman, thank you very much for coming in. I really appreciate your time.

Let's see what happens today -- John.

BERMAN: All right, breaking this morning, a stark show of force from China. Three authoritarian world leaders making a defiant display of unity. In Beijing, China's military unveiled hundreds of advanced weapons in this huge military parade.

And publicly for the first time, China's Xi Jinping stood alongside Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-un. Afterward, Putin and Kim held their own private talks that lasted more than two hours.

This whole spectacle led President Trump to accuse all three of them of conspiring against the United States.

CNN's Marc Stewart has been witnessing this spectacle from Beijing. Good morning to you, sir. What's going on here? Is it symbolism or more?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, I think you could say it's all of the above. You know, for weeks we've been watching dress rehearsals for this big event here in Beijing. And this parade that we saw today very much will be a historical marker in the years to come as China really does try to establish itself as this leader of what's often described as a new world order, an alternative to these traditional alliances that we see from the West.

There was nothing subtle about this. This was ripe with symbolism. Right away, we saw soldiers marching in the streets. And then as you alluded to, this very big display of China's military force and its potential military force really showing off its prowess when it comes to technology and nuclear capability.

One set of weaponry that's been getting a lot of attention are laser- inspired weapons that can be used from the air or even mounted on a warship. Lasers that would send a microwave signal to disable a potential target. That's the way it's being described by Chinese state media.

Obviously, this spectacle is getting reaction from around the world. That includes President Trump from the White House, who did put a post on Truth Social. Let me read to you part of that posting.

It says, in part, Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un as you conspire against the United States of America.

Obviously, the picture of Putin, Kim, and Xi together is very notable. We did hear from the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, and who said, quote, No one is plotting any conspiracies and that he hoped that President Trump's statement was meant figuratively and not literally. Perhaps we will hear more from the White House as the day moves forward.

As you mentioned, John, there was a meeting between Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin. These two men now have a stronger relationship in the sense that North Korea has been providing troops for Russia in its war in Ukraine. We know Putin invited Kim to Ukraine.

The one meeting that we have not seen happen that those of us who cover China are very curious to see, will there be a meeting between Kim and Xi Jinping? At this point, to our knowledge, that has still not happened, but it's something we're going to be watching in the hours ahead, in particular because the fact that Kim Jong-un made such a determined effort to get here. He rarely makes out-of-country visits and he took this armored train all the way from North Korea here to China.

John, there are other events planned. There's a big banquet, a big gala taking place tonight. We'll be anxious to see if we hear any more insight from that as the night moves forward. Back to you.

BERMAN: Great to have you there watching pageantry very much with a purpose -- Marc Stewart.

All right, a major setback for the president's deportation efforts. An appeals court rules immigrants are not invaders. So what happens when and if this gets to the Supreme Court?

The friends of Donna Adelson describe her as hysterical after the murder of her son-in-law, the one prosecutors say she ordered to be killed. Will she end up taking the stand in her own defense?

In a real-life wedding crasher with pretty awful consequences, this one parties for hours and then takes off with thousands of dollars in gifts.

[08:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Breaking overnight, a blow to President Trump's immigration crackdown. A federal appeals court now says that he illegally used the Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members from the United States. The court rejects his claim that the migrants were part of a quote-unquote invasion.

[08:20:00]

It was in March, you'll remember, that the president invoked this 18th century law to send hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to a notorious prison in El Salvador. But even with this ruling, the legal battle is not over.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz is tracking this one. Joining us right now. Tell us more about this ruling, what it means, what they said.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Kate, this is a lengthy ruling from a very important appeals court. And the question they're answering here is, are we in a war? And they say no, not in this context.

The reason that this case is before this court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overseeing Texas and other southern states, is that the administration, the Trump administration, was trying to send Venezuelan migrants that they identified as being linked to the gang Tren de Aragua to El Salvador, to a prison, very swiftly.

Those people went to court and said, wait a minute, they're using a law called the Alien Enemies Act that was passed many years ago and has only been used during the War of 1812 and the great world wars, World War I and World War II, to remove people without a lot of due process. That is not what this is, and Donald Trump is using that term improperly.

The court ultimately agreed with much of that argument, saying that the Alien Enemies Act, Donald Trump is invoking it here to try and remove immigrants from American soil, but it can only be used when there's a declared war, an invasion, or a predatory incursion by a foreign nation. There's not a war here, and as far as the words invasion and predatory incursion go, that means there has to be some sort of military force. And what Tren de Aragua does on U.S. soil, even if there is alleged drug trafficking that they're participating in as a weapon of war, as the administration says it is, that is not going to amount to a wartime where the president can use this particular act.

What Judge Leslie Southwick of the Fifth Circuit writes, We conclude that the findings do not support that an invasion or a predatory incursion has occurred. We therefore conclude that petitioners are likely to prove that the AEA -- the Alien Enemies Act -- was improperly invoked.

This is a lot of legal, technical language looking at individual words in an act from many years ago, Kate, but it's really important because this is about the president's power to enforce his immigration policies.

This was something that the Trump administration tried in the spring to remove immigrants, and now the question remains, how far can the administration go? This is going to likely ultimately be looked at by the U.S. Supreme Court, but this court, the Fifth Circuit, is not buying this argument from the Trump administration -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: It is fascinating. As you describe it, you know, even when they get into technical details of various wars, this is what it looks like when you push the bounds of something or the bounds of something hasn't been tested, and that's what we're seeing play out. It's really fascinating. Katelyn, thank you so much.

Coming up for us, a big escalation in the U.S. government's already amped up war against drug cartels, the declassified video that the president released of a military strike in a boat in the Caribbean.

And is the American dream out of reach? There's new data today showing how Americans are losing faith in the idea that with hard work it'll all pay off. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, a simple whiteboard is bringing a neighborhood in Nebraska together for a laugh. Diane Allred started posting a joke of the day on the board on her lawn. She thought it would fill it for a couple months. Five years later, the joke house is still going strong. Neighbors leave joke books and decorations to keep the sign filled and pitch in to write the jokes when Diane is away. The sign even inspired a children's book.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANE ALLRED, POSTS DAILY JOKES FOR HER NEIGHBORS: It just, it warmed my heart. It wasn't really about writing jokes. It was about how the neighbors all pitched in and about kindness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: What do you call an alligator in a vest?

BOLDUAN: A gator.

BERMAN: An investigator.

BOLDUAN: I love jokes like this.

BERMAN: All right, keep on trying guys. Get those jokes out there. They say they're going to keep it going for as long as they can.

BOLDUAN: I'm a few and per usual.

BERMAN: It's not a whiteboard. That's yes -- not whiteboard material.

BOLDUAN: Darn, I got to work on my material. You ready?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: I'm ready.

BOLDUAN: Perfect. Does the American dream still exist? Or maybe more pointedly, is it still achievable?

As the Wall Street Journal puts it, America is becoming a nation of economic pessimists. Harry Enten, crunching the numbers on this one. I would ask you for some uplifting news, but it sounds like there's none to be found.

ENTEN: No, I would say America, we have a problem. And it's not just the Wall Street Journal poll that came out. I was looking at an ABC News poll that came out last year as well.

If you work hard, you'll get ahead. That is the American dream. Never not true now.

In 2010 to 2011, 15 years ago, it was 51 percent who said it wasn't true. Now look at this number. Through the roof, 70 percent. Still true. Look at this. Still true percentage. Falling through the floor. It was 47 percent 15 years ago. Now it is just 29 percent. So we basically had a 50-50 nation on whether the American dream was still true 15 years ago. But now it's over two-thirds of Americans who say it's never or no longer true.

BOLDUAN: How does this break down? What group is seeing the most pessimism or the most loss in faith of the American dream?

ENTEN: OK, so why has this percentage dropped from 47 percent to 29 percent? It's being driven by younger Americans. Look at this. The American dream still holds true. In 2010, age 18 to 29, it was 56 percent.

[08:30:00]