Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Military Family Advisory Network Restock Program Expanded to Five Installations; Jamie Dimon Warns of a Cockroach in U.S. Lending Industry; Trump Says He and Putin Agree to Meet in Budapest, Hungary; Trump Posts That if Hamas Keeps Killing People in Gaza, We Will Have No Choice but to Go in and Kill Them; Sources Say DOJ to Ask Grand Jury to Indict John Bolton Today. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired October 16, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": -- when you're worried about that. What's the long-term solution here?

MONICA BASSETT, FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, STRONGHOLD FOOD PANTRY: Well, the long term solution is always to educate them and to give them the resources. I always say that at Stronghold where they are to be that immediate tangible plug that hopefully will prevent a military family from spiraling into a larger debt or a crisis. So, I think military families truly need that immediate tangible support that will enable them to not get into a larger situation later.

KEILAR: Monica Bassett, great to have you. Thank you so much for talking with us about this very important issue.

BASSETT: Absolutely. Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: And a new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": President Donald Trump says, "Great progress was made during his call today with Russian leader, Vladimir Putin." The two leaders now planning another summit as President Trump plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tomorrow. We've got the details on that. Plus, seeking an indictment. We've learned the Justice Department is expected to ask a grand jury today to indict President Trump's former National Security Adviser, John Bolton, another high-profile Trump critic now possibly facing charges.

And a cockroach in the economy. JPMorgan CEO, Jamie Dimon, now warning about possible trouble ahead. We're going to break down what's bugging him as we follow these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

Breaking news on the Russia-Ukraine War. President Trump moments ago announcing that a second meeting with President Putin is now in the works. President Trump saying he and Putin agreed to meet in Budapest, Hungary though no date has been set. The meeting would happen after top officials from the United States and Russia meet next week. Of course, all of this happens just hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in Washington for a meeting at the White House tomorrow.

Let's go to the White House now with CNN's Kristen Holmes. Kristen, what more is President Trump saying?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, Boris, there are a number of significant updates just since I spoke to you last one hour ago. We heard from President Trump wrapping up the call with Russian President Vladimir Putin going through exactly what they talked about, or at least some of the points that they talked about. One of them, interestingly, they talked about trade between the United States and Russia when the war was over.

We, of course, know President Trump likes to leverage this idea of trade over various countries, and currently, Russia does almost no trade with the United States. So as you mentioned, he also said that next week some of his top-level advisers would be meeting with Putin's. They didn't have a specific date or time or location, but that that group of people from the United States would be led by Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

Then after that would be another meeting between Putin and Trump, this time in Budapest, Hungary. Of course, I will note that Viktor Orban, the leader of Hungary, is friends and close to both of these men. A couple things to note. Remember what we said coming out of that meeting with Putin in Alaska, the entire thing we heard from White House officials, from administration officials, was that the next step was going to be this bilateral meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin. It seems as though the White House has given up on that happening.

Now, we're going straight into yet another meeting with just Putin and Donald Trump. And I will say, President Trump did not mention all of this, the Tomahawk missiles that he had essentially threatened Russia that he would give to Ukraine because the war was ongoing in Ukraine, that did not come up in this readout of the call between he and Putin.

SANCHEZ: Kristen, President Trump also just posted a new warning for Hamas. What did the president say?

HOLMES: Yeah, Boris, I mean, this is an enormous escalation. He posted this on Truth Social just moments ago, and he says this. "If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them." There's a lot of questions here. Who is we? Is we the United States? Is (ph) that strikes? Is that U.S. troops on the ground in Gaza?

But also, one of the things we heard from President Trump just two days ago was this idea that it had been made clear to Hamas by his top advisers that were part of the negotiating team, that they would have to disarm, that President Trump was serious about this idea of disarming. And he took it a step further, saying that if they don't disarm themselves, we'll go in and disarm them. Now, you're hearing him talk about going in and killing members of Hamas. We, of course, have asked for clarity as to what exactly that would look like and what exactly is the scale and scope of this threat here.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. Significant questions on that threat. Kristen Holmes from the White House, thank you so much. Brianna?

KEILAR: Let's get some analysis now. We have former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, General Wesley Clark, with us. What do you make of this meeting now on the books, President Trump and Vladimir Putin going to meet in Hungary?

[14:05:00]

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Any discussions can be good, but it depends on what happens in the meantime. So if Putin believes he's winning, then the discussion becomes a means to prolong the war. By offering trade, let's talk about strategic nuclear stuff, let's talk about space, let's talk about what we can do after the war is over, in order to hold the president from providing the assistance that Ukraine needs in order to put Putin in a disadvantageous position, so he has to stop the conflict.

So what's happening? What's happening with the Tomahawk missiles, other assistance? What's going to happen tomorrow with President Zelenskyy and President Trump? It's really hard (inaudible) the direction of the administration. It sounds like the administration is getting tough, but we know that President Trump doesn't really want to get tough with Mr. Putin because he sees some value in the U.S.- Russian relationship after the conflict.

Now, here's the truth about trade. First of all, most U.S. businesses don't want to go into Russia and operate. It's a mafia-infested environment. And the businesses that go in there are oil businesses, in which they're competing with some of the president's greatest supporters here in the United States in the production of U.S. oil. And it's -- the effect on global oil prices. So it's a little confusing at this point. In other words, if I were to come down on it, what I would say is the call with Putin was designed to forestall further military assistance to Ukraine. That's --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Yeah, I mean --

CLARK: -- why he would call, that's his dramatic (ph) strategy.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Yeah, because can -- can --

CLARK: You can have a lot of hopes about it.

KEILAR: Yeah. Can you talk about that? Because --

CLARK: It's like Gaza.

KEILAR: The discussion of having, providing Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles and the sort of permitting Ukraine or blessing Ukraine to take a more aggressive approach when it comes to going into Russia. What would that mean in the course of this war? CLARK: It clearly would put President Trump more at odds with Mr. Putin. And so he can threaten it, but he doesn't want to do it, and Putin knows this. And so, Putin is going to find a way to convince President Trump, let's hold off on this, don't give them any more assistance. I'm sure we can work out something. Or he's going to tell President Trump at some point, just get out of the way. I'm going to finish this.

But the thing is that the Russian military is not capable of following through on what Putin wants. Ukrainian military is doing quite well. They're pushing back along Donbas and the Russian military is taking huge losses. But I don't think, at this point, that Mr. Putin is prepared to say, OK, I give up. That would be a great shock.

KEILAR: Do you hope, or think that Trump may be emboldened by being seen as sort of this peacemaker in helping work out this ceasefire on the war in Gaza, especially right now as it sort of appears to be hanging a little bit on the edge, do you hope that that informs him to be tougher on Putin?

CLARK: I hope he'll be tougher on Putin. But on the other hand, it cuts both ways. If he could get some kind of a ceasefire with Russia and Ukraine, even if there's nothing behind it but a temporary cessation of hostilities, during which Russia re-arms, reinforces its forward troops and prepares for the next stage, he might feel that he was successful because the next stage wouldn't necessarily happen.

Just like in this case in Gaza, most people looked at this and they said, it's going to be very, very tough to disarm Hamas. You say they're going to leave, they've said, but once they're up and above ground and the fighting is off. And so, when you're president of the United States, you get the credit for what you've done. You got a ceasefire in. I think he'd like to get a ceasefire in, in Ukraine.

But, all of our friends in Europe, and especially the Ukrainians, will warn us that if there's just a ceasefire, no peace agreement, nothing beyond it, that ceasefire is a time where Russia is going to build up its forces to launch the next phase of its offensive. So, there's got to be more than simply what he did in Gaza. I hope he realizes that. And I hope the president would see this and understand what the game, the strategy that Mr. Putin plays, which is I'm going to dangle these great things afterwards.

[14:10:00]

Just let me have Ukraine, just back away. Don't do so much for them. That's the Russian strategy. And occasionally, it's coupled with nuclear threats and it basically worked against President Biden where we did not give them enough to succeed. And I hope that President Trump sees more clearly and is able to understand that without effective military assistance, more than we're providing right now, more than what the Europeans can do, that Mr. Putin is going to continue to wage this war. And it's going to be a very, very ugly winter for the people in Ukraine.

KEILAR: General Wesley Clark, always great to speak with you. Thank you.

CLARK: Thank you.

KEILAR: Still to come, we have learned the Justice Department is expected to ask a grand jury to indict another one of President Trump's perceived enemies today. This time his former National Security Adviser, John Bolton. Plus, one of the largest airlifts in Alaska history. The National Guard rescuing hundreds of people after high winds and storm surge destroyed their home. And then chaos in Kenya. Why police fired warning shots and released tear gas on thousands of people? We'll have that and much more, coming up on "CNN News Central."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:15:56]

KEILAR: We have breaking developments in the investigation of former Trump official, John Bolton. Multiple sources say at some point this afternoon, the Justice Department is expected to ask a grand jury to indict Trump's former national security adviser. Moments ago, the lead prosecutor on the case was seen arriving at the federal courthouse in Maryland. Bolton has been under investigation for the alleged mishandling of classified documents. FBI agents gathered several records when they searched his Maryland home and D.C. office this summer, that included travel memos, international documents, iPhones, and hard drives.

SANCHEZ: An affidavit for the search also referred to his AOL account. Sources say investigators are probing the diary-like entries in that account, which were written during his time in the first Trump administration. Joining us now, CNN Legal Analyst and former Federal Prosecutor Elliot Williams. Elliot, great to have you as always.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST AND FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Is there any chance that the grand jury comes back and says, none of this is worthy of an indictment?

WILLIAMS: Of course. But again, there's a reason why they say that a grand jury can indict a ham sandwich because the standard for indicting someone is relatively low. It is probable cause which is, it's more likely than not that an offense was committed. So if they have evidence, they can certainly indict. That doesn't mean this person ends up getting convicted of a crime at trial, but it could certainly get indicted.

KEILAR: Do you see this as different than James Comey, for instance? Because sources tell CNN that prosecutors do.

WILLIAMS: Yes. It's a million-dollar question, Brianna, which is that maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But however, the president and the administration's conduct and the way they've spoken about these cases casts doubt on all of them. Maybe it's the case that John Bolton is guilty as sin and committed crimes. But the problem is that in light of the last few major indictments that have come out of the administration, it just appears that they're sort of going after targets.

Now again, if in fact -- even if he's guilty, if in fact the government is found to have selectively prosecuted him, the whole thing gets thrown out. So, it's just getting lumped into all the other cases and I think it's just harder to take this one seriously, even if it is serious.

SANCHEZ: Notably, this is not the Eastern District of Virginia, which has indicted some of President Trump's critics. What can you tell us about the district of Maryland and the U.S. attorney in Maryland?

WILLIAMS: Well, it's hard to say, there's 93, 94 U.S. attorney's offices around the country. For the most part, they are career officials doing the work of the American people in prosecuting cases. And there's even a concept called the presumption of regularity in government, that everybody -- that courts believe that prosecutors are always acting in good faith and following the law. And we have no reason to believe that's not the case here.

Now, if it comes out that there is evidence or suggestions that there's fishiness or foul play there, of course, we can address it. But we have no reason to believe that any prosecutor in the office is not acting fairly.

KEILAR: So what comes next here?

WILLIAMS: Well, possibly an indictment. Again, the reporting seems to suggest that one is coming. I assume there would be an initial appearance tomorrow. They'd advise him of the charges against him and they'd proceed with the case. Now again, if in fact there's something untoward about the indictment, John Bolton, like any other defendant, has a right to try to strike it down and get it thrown out. But again, we presume that all indictments are valid.

SANCHEZ: And depending on what charges he faces, what exactly would prosecutors need to prove to get a conviction, say on mishandling classified items?

WILLIAMS: Yeah, there's a few different things. One might be mishandling documents, sort of transmitting them to somebody else who shouldn't have them. Another might be being in possession of information that could harm the defense interests of the United States. Another could be just simply having documents and knowing that you have them in your house, right? Look, all kinds of people, as we learned all through 2023, many former government officials have documents in their home. Not all can be charged with crimes because sometimes they don't know they're there or when they knew they were there, they got rid of them.

So, it just depends on what exactly the government is alleging John Bolton had in his possession and what he did when he realized it was in his possession.

[14:20:00] And one final note, Boris, note that we're talking about an AOL account here. Notes can be classified as well, like if you learn about a missile strike and write down a note about it, that's a classified document potentially, and that -- even mishandling that could be something problematic.

KEILAR: How might this compare to other documents cases?'

WILLIAMS: It all depends on knowledge. Everything depends on not just was the document something a no-no that he shouldn't have had. But did he know it was there and when he found out it was there, did he still continue to possess it? Or did he know it was a bad document or a sensitive document and still transmit it to someone else anyway? Hey everybody, I have this launch code or whatever else, and I'm going to email it to you via my AOL account. That itself could be a crime.

So really, prosecutors are going to have to prove what did this guy know? What was in his head? What did he say to other people? How reckless was he? And all of those things could be factors to decide.

SANCHEZ: We'll see when this potential indictment comes down and hopefully, you'll be here to help us read through it. Elliot Williams, thank you so much.

WILLIAMS: Of course.

SANCHEZ: I had the most influential banker in the world warning about cockroaches lurking in the U.S. economy. What's keeping JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon up at night?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:25:52]

KEILAR: JPMorgan CEO, Jamie Dimon, warning of a possible cockroach, his word, in the U.S. economy. That's his way of hinting about possible trouble lurking again in the lending industry despite the red-hot stock market. And his concern is coming after two high-profile bankruptcies. A Dallas subprime auto lender that was partially backed by Dimon's Bank and an auto parts supplier.

CNN's Matt Egan is here to explain it all for us. So Matt, when Jamie Dimon speaks, the financial sector certainly listens. So what can you tell us about this warning?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Brianna, this colorful warning from Jamie Dimon really speaks to this ongoing debate on Wall Street. Are these recent bankruptcies just isolated incidents or are they part of a broader problem of excessive lending? A problem that by the way, may not be priced into record-high stock prices. Take a listen to how Jamie Dimon described this issue during a conference call with Wall Street analysts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE DIMON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, JPMORGAN CHASE: My antenna goes up when things like that happen, and I probably shouldn't say this, but when you see one cockroach, there's probably more. And so, we should -- everyone should be forewarned in this one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EGAN: Now, many on Wall Street were caught off guard by that bankruptcy last month by Tricolor, which is a subprime auto lender. This company was built on complex web of lending of risky loans to people who often have lower credit scores. And one lawyer in bankruptcy court described a pervasive fraud of extraordinary proportion. Now just yesterday, we were talking about how it's never been more expensive to buy a car in the United States. Many Americans are falling behind on their car loans.

And so, that bankruptcy really does get at those issues on Main Street. But it wasn't just that bankruptcy, right? Because then just a few weeks later, there was another one. The auto parts supply company, First Brands. Now, that company filed for bankruptcy and one creditor has alleged that as much as $2.3 billion simply vanished. This company was built on opaque off-balance sheet financing and the Justice Department is reportedly investigating.

Now, one of the banks that's been caught up in that bankruptcy is Jefferies. That's an investment bank based here in New York. That company's share price is down by about 10 percent today, as we speak, leading this broader market decline that we're seeing. And look, history shows that at times, trouble on Main Street can start in some of the corners on Wall Street. I mean, just look back at what happened during the summer of 2007. Back then, there were a pair of Bear Stearns hedge funds that went bankrupt and a lot of people just kind of shrugged it off.

But in hindsight, that was the first of many shoes to drop in what would become known as the Great Recession. Now, I'm not saying that it's going to happen again, right? This could very well just be a one- off, right? These could be very company-specific issues, not widespread ones. But, if nothing else, this has clearly been a wake-up call, one that has certainly gotten the attention of America's most powerful banker. Brianna?

KEILAR: Yeah, if it's a deja vu, for sure. Matt Egan, thank you so much for that.

Still ahead, another Trump critic facing legal action. CNN has learned that the Justice Department is planning to seek an indictment of President Trump's former National Security Adviser, John Bolton. We'll bring you the latest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)