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Gaza Negotiations Continue; Trump Meets With Canadian Prime Minister; Will White House Refuse to Pay Furloughed Employees?; FAA Staffing Shortages; Texas National Guard Near Chicago?; Pam Bondi Under Fire on Capitol Hill. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired October 07, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: What they have gotten is a performance from Pam Bondi that is theatrical in its contempt that she is showing for every Democratic senator who asks her, and in the sort of chumminess that she's showing in the questions she gets from Republican senators.

John Kennedy, a senator from Louisiana, was trying to push her on some things about the senator's investigations. And she was engaging in a hypothetical where she was actually answering the question that she said she couldn't answer.

MANU RAJU, CNN HOST: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

RAJU: I mean, these often are a tale of two hearings, but how much new was learned? That's another question altogether.

All right, thank you for joining INSIDE POLITICS.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: On the Hill, on the hot seat, and on the defensive, Attorney General Pam Bondi deflecting questions as Democrats press her on National Guard deployments, Jeffrey Epstein and the indictment of James Comey.

Plus, a crisis for the FAA, four facilities scrambling to find enough staff. The ripple effects for flights could be widespread. We will discuss the problem and whether it could be linked to the shutdown.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: And as CNN reporter finds out just how easy it is to make a deepfake, how a new scam aims to use these videos to potentially cheat companies out of millions of dollars.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: We start this hour with fiery testimony on Capitol Hill, Attorney General Pam Bondi taking tough questions today as Democrats seize the opportunity to grill the nation's top law enforcement officer on a number of controversial moves by the administration, including sending troops to Democratic-led cities.

Bondi confirming during her testimony that National Guard troops are indeed being deployed to Chicago over the objections of local leaders, that action leading to this clash with Illinois Senator Dick Durbin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL): They are going to transfer Texas National Guard units to the state of Illinois. What's the rationale for that?

PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yes, Chairman, as you shut down the government, you voted to shut down the government, and you're sitting here, our law enforcement officers aren't being paid. They're out there working to protect you. I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump.

And, currently, the National Guard are on the way to Chicago. If you're not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.

DURBIN: I have been on this committee for more than 20 years. That's the kind of testimony you expect from this administration. A simple question as to whether or not they had a legal rationale for deploying National Guard troops becomes grounds for a personal attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We have a lot to break down.

Fortunately, we have CNN legal analyst, former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams.

Elliot, great to see you, as always.

How do you think A.G. Bondi handled questions related to the weaponization of DOJ and her firing of senior officials?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I guess the question is, what was her goal here? And if her goal was punching back and representing the president in the way that any number of people, Kash Patel, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and she have behaved in the most recent hearings, then she did a spectacular job.

Now, if she was following the traditions of attorneys general of both parties to have engaged in a back-and-forth in oversight hearings, this was a huge departure from anything anyone who's watched these hearings has seen. And I say this, Boris, as someone who's been counselor both to the attorney general and the Senate Judiciary Committee. So I have seen it from both sides. This was a remarkable hearing.

SANCHEZ: I'm curious to get your thoughts on some of the exchanges related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and the fallout of it.

Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-RI): There's been public reporting that Jeffrey Epstein showed people photos of President Trump with half- naked young women. Do you know if the FBI found those photographs in their search of Jeffrey Epstein's safe or premises or otherwise? Have you seen any such thing?

BONDI: You know, Senator Whitehouse, you sit here and make salacious remarks, once again trying to slander President Trump left and right, when you're the one who was taking money from one of Epstein's closest confidants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: What do you make of her response there trying to flip the question onto an accusation toward the senator?

WILLIAMS: Oh, she flipped the accusation onto the senator. And to be clear, Boris, no one in the United States of America owns the mess over the Epstein files, if you want to call them that, than Attorney General Bondi.

She, by having -- inviting folks to the White House to talk about handing out binders of files, saying that she had the entire Epstein file on her desk and was just waiting to review it, helped create some of the hysteria that led to this moment. And to some extent, even more than the president, the attorney general needs to answer questions of, one, does this stuff exist?

[13:05:01]

And, if it doesn't, why were you out there for months talking about it in the manner in which you were? And so, look, this is a political process. It's a communications process. It's a messaging process. And they all do it. She's doing it. But that was a big deflection on an issue that she really does own.

SANCHEZ: I should let you and our viewers know that we're actually going to be speaking to Senator Whitehouse later this afternoon. So we're going to ask him specifically about that exchange.

Bondi also would not discuss the indictment against the former FBI Director James Comey. Let's play some of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Is it true that the career prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia found that there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against former Director Comey?

BONDI: I am not going to discuss pending cases, because Comey was indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia by, I may point out, one of the most liberal grand juries in the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Not unusual for someone in her position to not want to get into the details of a pending case, right?

WILLIAMS: Right.

SANCHEZ: I'm curious what you thought about the grand jury remark.

WILLIAMS: A couple things here. Great. She should not get into the details of the case, but there are very serious questions, including concerns being raised by career prosecutors in the office that, frankly, Congress and members of both parties really ought to be asking questions about.

Now, to the point that it's one of the most liberal grand juries in the country, the former seat of the Confederacy is in that district. Let's be clear. There's a reason why the Eastern District of Virginia is called the rocket docket across the country, because of how quickly they push prosecutions through.

So the idea that it's some left-wing grand jury, it's just not accurate. It's just not accurate, based on anybody who knows anything about prosecutions.

SANCHEZ: It's important to get that context.

She also notably would not talk about the dismissal of Erik Siebert. He's that U.S. attorney who resigned under pressure for not inditing New York Attorney General Letitia James, who President Trump clearly wants some legal action taken on. What did you make of her not getting close to that?

WILLIAMS: Again, having done this 1,000 times, it's the right answer technically, which is that she should not be talking about the specifics of personnel matters. Again, there are major questions about the governing of the department that Congress ought to be able to talk about, whether it's in a closed session or something else.

Now, again, attorneys general typically don't talk about personnel matters, but this is probably a problem with the management of the department that I think Democrats and Republicans really ought to be asking questions about.

SANCHEZ: Lastly, she was also asked about some of the strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea. The administration has accused these folks of being linked to drug trafficking. They have essentially argued that these are terrorist organizations, these drug cartels. What did you make of her reasoning?

WILLIAMS: It's the same answer I have given a couple of times, Boris, because it's so important to our notion of separation of powers. We have a Congress and we have an executive branch and it's Congress' job to oversee when the executive branch is or isn't carrying out its authorities well.

We lived this all through the war on terror in the 2000s, and it's the kind of question that this committee ought to be asking. Democrats and Republicans really need to get to the bottom, was the law followed here? And she didn't give a great answer on it. SANCHEZ: Elliot Williams, always appreciate the time. Thanks for

joining us -- Erica.

HILL: Let's turn our attention back to Chicago for a moment now, where a law enforcement source tells CNN National Guard troops from Texas have actually arrived near the city on orders from President Trump.

So, state and local officials are suing the Trump administration in hopes of stopping that deployment. Governor Pritzker says that Trump's surge of federal law enforcement officials has only made the city of Chicago less safe.

CNN law enforcement correspondent Whitney Wild is in Chicago.

So, Whitney, is it clear at this moment how these National Guard troops will be utilized if in fact they're sent in?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: It is not clear yet, Erica.

What we have learned is that the expectation is that they're going to be there to protect DHS assets. And so that could be the facility at Broadview, which is where many of these clashes between protesters and federal agents have occurred. Broadview is an ICE facility that is about 30 minutes West of Chicago. It is not within the city limits. It is outside of the city.

Further, it is possible that they would also protect the agents themselves as they're operating, and that is the major question here. There is a concern certainly within Chicago that these National Guard troops may overextend. But the reality, Erica, is that there's very little information sharing between the Trump administration and local officials here.

Much of the information we're receiving is from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. It's from Mayor Brandon Johnson. It is information that officials here used to put forth their complaint yesterday when they filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration.

But they're -- they admit they're just getting information from their own sources, for example, from the Illinois National Guard. They don't have a direct line of communication with the White House. It is not clear even to them exactly what's going to happen with the National Guard.

[13:10:00]

Mayor Brandon Johnson took questions from reporters today. He was asked several times what details he might know about this National Guard deployment. Here is the answer he gave, which he repeated, Erica, his information is limited. Here's more from the mayor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON JOHNSON (D), MAYOR OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: What's really disturbing about all of this is that the National Guard, they have no policing authority or any policing powers. It's not what they're trained to do.

And so the intel that we have received, obviously, is that this president is determined to federalize the National Guard and to occupy our cities with the military.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: There are major questions here, Erica, about what it is going to look like if the National Guard comes to the city, if there's a protest response, if that protest accelerates and ends up in a clash with federal law enforcement, how that's going to pit the Chicago Police Department in the middle of all of this.

There's just a lot to be seen. We do not yet have any information to suggest that National Guard troops have actually stepped foot in the city, Erica.

HILL: Also very important to know. Whitney, appreciate it. Thank you.

Still to come here: A California airport is left without a single air traffic controller on duty for hours. Now the FAA has new concerns it's focusing on today.

Plus, as some government workers are forced to show up for their jobs without pay, President Trump is now questioning whether furloughed employees should ever get their back pay.

And a bit later, a CNN reporter goes inside the world of deepfakes and learns just how easy it is to scam companies out of millions.

These important stories and more all coming up this hour on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:05]

SANCHEZ: This just in the CNN.

The FAA is expecting staffing shortages at least four facilities today, according to their just-published operations plan. This is likely one of the ripple effects of the government shutdown. And just last night, the control tower at the Hollywood Burbank Airport was completely shut down for hours.

Nationwide, a growing number of FAA facilities are reporting staffing shortages, with more air traffic controllers calling out sick, instead of continuing to work without pay.

CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean joins us now.

Pete, some of these airports are facing what the FAA calls staffing triggers. This sounds like a recipe for disaster. PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And the FAA just

updated its outlook of where we could see flight delays because of short air traffic controller staffing today.

And the agency is now warning of low staffing in parts of Indianapolis Center -- that's responsible for a large swathe of airspace in the Midwest -- Albuquerque Center, where controllers oversee airspace over New Mexico and parts of Arizona and Texas, also parts of Boston Center, which is responsible for high-altitude flights over New England, including a lot of transatlantic flights and Newark Approach Control.

That may sound familiar to you because that's the same facility plagued by systems outages and staffing shortages earlier this year. The low staffing alerts mean that the FAA could delay flights today in the name of safety. Bottom line, seven days into the shutdown, this is likely only the start, even though the union representing air traffic controllers underscores there is no evidence of a coordinated sick-out by air traffic controllers right now.

Last night's FAA-implemented flight delays are now over for Newark Liberty International Airport, Denver International Airport and Hollywood Burbank International Airport. And Burbank is interesting because the staffing shortage there was so deep that the tower there went into what's called ATC-0, meaning no controllers working.

I want you to listen now to what controllers were telling pilots right as the tower was about to close around 4:15 local time Monday evening.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

PILOT: Just getting a heads-up. You said everything's closed for, like, our clearances?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clearance is closed. Ground is closed. Local is closed. The tower is closed due to staffing. Please contact SoCal on the 800 number in the green book for your clearance.

PILOT: All right.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: Green Book a reference to the chart supplement that pilots all have, although it's digital now.

Remember, all 11,000 air traffic controllers still required to work without pay during this shutdown. You have to layer that against the fact that so many have been working mandatory over time for years because of the nationwide air traffic controller shortage.

So it just makes sense that only a week into the shutdown, some controllers have simply had enough. The National Air Traffic Controllers association, NATCA, says it is normal for controllers to call out sick and this is just evidence that air traffic control, the entire system is way too fragile. By the way, controllers have not gotten their last paycheck yet. They

got one last Tuesday. That was their last full paycheck. They get one more paycheck, a partial paycheck, next Tuesday. That only amps up the pressure on them and this government shutdown.

SANCHEZ: So, for months, if not more than a year, you have been reporting on the challenges that air traffic controllers face, from difficult working conditions, training shortages.

MUNTEAN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: And now they're on top of all of it not getting paid. What is Sean Duffy, the transportation secretary, saying about this?

MUNTEAN: Well, he just said on FOX this morning that he does not support controllers calling out sick and that the FAA will simply have to do what it has to do, delay flights in the name of safety to make sure that these air traffic control facilities don't get overwhelmed.

It's a really tough balance that they're in. We will see how it all plays out.

SANCHEZ: Pete Muntean, thank you so much for that reporting -- Erica.

HILL: So there is a new concern for federal workers today, a Trump administration official telling CNN a draft White House memo suggests furloughed employees may not be entitled to back pay for the time they were told not to work during the shutdown.

[13:20:07]

CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House, along with Paula Newton.

So, Alayna, I do want to start with you on this, because the president was just asked about this memo and this idea of those furloughed workers not getting back pay. What did he have to say?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, he didn't rule it out. He said essentially that it will depend on who the federal employee is when it comes to this decision of whether or not they're going to get back-paid while they are furloughed during the shutdown.

Listen to how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would say it depends on who we're talking about. I can tell you this. The Democrats have put a lot of people in great risk and jeopardy, but it really depends on who you're talking about. But for the most part, we're going to take care of our people. There are some people that really don't deserve to be taken care of and we will take care of them in a different way.

(END VIDEO CLIP) TREENE: So, it's very unclear what he means by people who don't deserve to be taken care of. And, of course, we will be pressing the White House further on that.

But, look, this is a very different interpretation of the law. Typically, during shutdowns, federal employees who are furloughed, essentially temporary laid off while the government is not operating as the way it should be, they aren't paid, but then they are paid or they get back pay at the end and conclusion of a shutdown.

And this is a different, again, interpretation of one of the laws. We saw an updated version of this memo which came from the White House Budget Office essentially saying that they believe the law -- it's called the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act. They are arguing that it's being misinterpreted.

So, all of this to say stay tuned for that and whether or not this is actually going to be something the Trump administration moves forward with.

HILL: Yes, we will continue to watch for that.

Alayna, thank you.

So, Paula, you are also there at the White House. The prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney, is there. That question was asked of him in an exchange that both leaders had a short time ago at the White House. In terms of Prime Minister Carney being here today, what is at stake here for these discussions?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The entire Canadian economy, for one, I think the prime minister, Mark Carney, knows exactly what's at stake, given that they have had a very successful, Canada has, free trade agreement with the United States.

I mean, look, Mark Carney walking into the Oval Office, any world leader, the golden rule is, first, do no harm. He passed that, didn't get to say much, mind you, but the president made it very clear that, look, the free trade deal that both Canada and Mexico had, that will be over. They're negotiating a new deal next year.

But for Americans looking in on this, this will mean higher prices in any feature, because the president does believe in tariffs, even with Canada that has been a reliable partner for decades and has really helped to keep prices low on things like steel and aluminum, for which at this hour there is still no substitute.

I will also say, though, that the Middle East really looms large, both for the prime minister of Canada and obviously for President Trump. Look, Mark Carney, the Canadian government decided to recognize Palestine. That did not go over well at the White House.

Having said that, Prime Minister Carney has been effusive in his praise for the president. And officials, government officials very close to the prime minister tell me that, look, they believe that. They believe that President Trump is really the only one who can bring Middle East peace. And for that reason, the rapport between these two men is actually quite good.

They're having a working lunch right now, and we will check in on them on the way out.

HILL: All right, Paula, I appreciate it. Nice to have you here in D.C.

Well, just ahead here: Hamas laying out its demands, as we talk about the Middle East, cease-fire talks continuing in Egypt, of course. We'll bring you the very latest on those efforts to end the fighting in Gaza.

Plus, bystanders jumping into action when a medical chopper crashes on a busy highway, those heroic actions managing to save the people on board. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:28:12]

SANCHEZ: Mediation talks on a cease-fire deal for Gaza are under way, as Israelis somberly mark the second anniversary of Hamas' October 7 attack.

Leaders on both sides are figuring out how to implement the Trump administration's 20-point plan to end the devastating war. Mourners have been flocking to the site of the Nova Music Festival, where the deadly massacre unfolded. People also gathered in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, remembering the victims and dozens of hostages still being held.

Many Israelis say they are weary, but hopeful about this week's negotiations in Egypt.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is there for us now live.

Jeremy, sources tell CNN that the goal is to hopefully have a deal this week, and Hamas has outlined its demands for a cease-fire. What more are you learning?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right.

These negotiations that just began this week in the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh are very much under way, but no clear sense yet of whether or not these two sides will actually be able to reach a deal in order to end this war and bring all of the 48 hostages home.

I can tell you that today, here in Israel, it is a somber day, as Israelis, as you can see behind me here in Hostage Square, are commemorating the two-year anniversary since Hamas militants stormed across the border into Israel and killed nearly 1,200 people, the majority of whom were civilians.

But that somber mood, Boris, is indeed mixed today with a sense of optimism, a sense of hope that is everywhere in the air tonight as you speak with people, as I have been speaking with the families of hostages as well, who are hopeful that this moment is different, that these negotiations will finally lead to that much-awaited end of the war, to the much-awaited return of all of those hostages.

But we still don't know whether those gaps -- and there are significant gaps between Israel and Hamas -- whether those gaps can indeed be bridged over the course of these negotiations this week.

As we expect the -- President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to soon travel to Egypt, we are also learning that Ron Dermer, the head of the Israeli delegation, is likely to travel to Egypt soon as well, perhaps as early as tomorrow.