Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Judge in Chicago Demands Answers; Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) is Interviewed about the Bolton Indictment; David Jamison II is Interviewed about his Viral Handshakes. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired October 17, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:45]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this morning, a federal judge in Chicago demanding answers after videos captured a flurry of violent encounters between immigration agents and residents. The judge says agents must now wear body cameras during operations after incidents like when agents chased people down in a Walgreens before tackling a teenager outside.

CNN's Whitney Wild is in Broadview, right outside Chicago.

This is where we have seen these daily demonstrations. Whitney, what's the latest?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, here, this is what we have seen for several weeks. There are about 100 protesters here. It is noisy, but it is peaceful. And we're seeing a pretty -- a pretty strong police presence here as well. They -- they were right behind me, but the majority of law enforcement now is behind these jersey (ph) barriers, behind these law enforcement vehicles.

This dynamic here, John, is different from what we've seen previously because, as you said, there are multiple lawsuits regarding how the Department of Homeland Security is interacting with the public. One of those lawsuits centered on the use of a fence here at the ICE facility. That went up after they say that protesters were compressing and posing a risk to this ICE facility here in Broadview. The Broadview city leadership here sued to take that down, and they won. So, this is the first protest where we're not seeing that fence.

So, right now there is a heavy law enforcement presence from the Broadview Police Department, the Cook County Sheriff's Office, the Illinois State Police. And then if you look beyond that, we can see some federal agents closer to the building, right behind the farthest jersey (ph) barrier.

The Broadview leadership here, the city council, the mayor has tried to balance the ability for protesters to protest peacefully while also allowing federal agents to do their job. So, they've set up this media area here. We are probably I'd say maybe, you know, 50 to 75 yards farther back from the facility than we have ever. So, again, the physicality here is much different.

But it is situations like this, John, that have the judiciary highly concerned. What we've seen are flare-ups between law enforcement and the public that have resulted in federal agents using chemical munitions, even after a federal judge said that they were not to do that against peaceful protesters. This has really become the epicenter of how the federal agents are interacting with the public.

Meanwhile, there are a flurry of immigration cases. For example, there was one police officer at a place called Hanover Park who's been arrested because DHS says he is here illegally, that he overstayed his visa, which expired about ten years ago, John. So, that is the state of play here in Chicago, which has quickly become the epicenter of this immigration crackdown and really a microcosm for how DHS is interacting with the public in blue cities, John.

BERMAN: Yes, so much activity both on the streets, but also inside the courtroom.

Whitney Wild, thank you so much for being there.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, ahead, we are watching the federal courthouse where former Trump adviser John Bolton has surrendered to authorities after being indicted on charges of possessing and sharing information from classified documents.

Also, a Memphis teacher who has figured out a great way to connect with his students from high fives to toe taps and now viral teaching sensation will join us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:38:38]

BOLDUAN: Donald Trump's former national security advisor, Ambassador John Bolton, is -- you're seeing live pictures outside of a Maryland court right now. He is now in court for his first appearance after being indicted on federal charges. The former ally and aide to President Trump termed chief critic of Donald Trump, is accused of mishandling classified information via his personal email and a messaging app. Prosecutors say that Bolton shared more than 1,000 pages of diary-like notes with two family members who did not have security clearances. Bolton was charged in the 26-page indictment with 18 criminal counts, including eight counts of transmitting national defense information, ten counts of retaining national defense information.

Joining us right now is the Democratic congressman, Steve Cohen of Tennessee. He sits on the Judiciary Committee.

Congressman, thank you for being here.

Do you see the indictment of John --

REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): Good to be with you.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

Do you see the indictment of John Bolton as different from the indictments of James Comey or Letitia James?

COHEN: Yes, there's definitely differences. This indictment, the investigation started during the Biden administration. There seems to be some articles, the items that seem to be truthful and make up an indictment that a grand jury could find, and they did find, as probable cause to bring an indictment. In the Letitia James case and the James Comey case, they had to fire two or three or have resignations of two or three prosecutors who refused to bring the cases because they were so weak before they could get Trump's handpicked Miss Colorado attorney general to go into the grand jury and get a 14 to 11 win.

[09:40:13]

She won by a field goal. Normally, they pitched shutouts. So, this was no Sandy Koufax moment. This was really a lousy, lousy offense and a bad defensive game by the Trump administration and they ruined the Eastern Division of Virginia with so many resignations.

BOLDUAN: But when it comes to kind of the narrative that we are hearing, as I'm hearing you talk about Donald Trump going for retribution and revenge against political enemies, what does it do if -- when we're looking at John Bolton, this cuts against that narrative, that this isn't a rush prosecution and it isn't, you know, a rushed indictment?

COHEN: Well, that one isn't, but it puts -- it questions -- makes people maybe think, well, is there something to the Comey one and something to the Letitia James one? And there isn't. It just happens that they had one that they could bring a case on. And the fact is, just yesterday he had a press conference with all of his bobbleheads behind him, the attorney general, the FBI director and the vice president all going -- nodding their heads, saying they need to go after Jack Smith, they need to go after Lisa Monaco, and they need to go after Andrew Weissmann.

You know, you'd think the man would be smart enough not to make those statements in public with all of the prosecutorial officials behind him because he broadcasts that these are political vendettas, these are political arrests, and these are the directions of an authoritarian, a guy who runs the Justice Department. Our Justice Department has always, as Jack Smith said in the interview with Andrew Weissmann, that beyond reproach and would never have gone after anybody because the boss wanted them to go after somebody. This is really a scary, scary moment. And when he goes forward and says in public and announces what those people are hiding, it shows he's impervious to public opinion and/or -- and/or unaware of his actions. I mean, it's -- it's like a man who's out there and needs to have some counseling. He needs some time out.

BOLDUAN: Let me ask you something else. President Trump authorized sending federal law enforcement into Memphis, Tennessee, about -- about a month ago at this point, and as part of his -- what he calls a crackdown on crime targeting Democratic-led cities. Memphis had the highest rate of crime of any big city in '24, according to the FBI, though Memphis police have reported a significant drop in the first eight months of this year.

Still, President Trump just said this. Let me play this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The make D.C. safe task force has been incredible. And the make Memphis safe task force is having very similar results. It's much earlier, but we've been there for a week and a half. But I'm hearing the results are pretty incredible. And you'll hear about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Are you seeing that?

COHEN: No, not really. The police department has done a good job in bringing crime down. The police department is working with the federal troops. I have no problem with the federal law enforcement officers coming in here, as they did in the summer with Project Viper, and have FBI officials and DEA officials and Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms here to help us and clean up some of the (INAUDIBLE) backlog and some other problems. But they've done a lot of meaningless arrests as traffic stops. Good to do them and the highway patrol has come and help with that, too. And that's part of their charge. But, no, they've only, I think, said that they've arrested seven people who committed homicide. And they say they've rescued 45 children, and most of them were runaways. I don't know what the situation was there. But, no, they haven't done that much here.

And they have taken a lot of immigrants in. And I think that might have been one of the real reasons they wanted to come into our city and other cities. Immigrants who contribute to our economy, that work in our restaurants and hotels and our nursing homes and child care centers and working construction and do a good job and are -- are needed in Memphis. And they're needed in America. We need more workers. And these are good workers. If people committed heinous crimes, murder, rape, sexual offenses with children is (INAUDIBLE) they would go after, go after the worst of the worst. Get them out of here. But don't take our workers and don't take our people who are good parents and good people.

BOLDUAN: So, Congressman, there's also, as you're up for re-election. The Tennessee state rep, Justin Pearson, who gained national attention when he was expelled from his legislative seat as part of the Tennessee three, he's launched a primary -- launching a primary challenge against you. And one of the reasons that he cites is age. He's 30 years old. You're 76. And he told "Axios" this, "Steve Cohen has served his district for 20 years in Congress. I'm grateful for his service." He also says, "I'm running for Congress because politics and government have changed a lot in 20 years. We need a new voice, a new vision, a new perspective." How tough a challenge is this going to be? Does it make you question

your run?

COHEN: Not at all. You know, I went last night to the National Civil Rights Museum award program, which was very inspiring and I've been many, many years. But it was very inspiring last night.

[09:45:02]

And the fact is, you know, age is not an issue. I learned something last night when I went out after -- after the program and I went to a restaurant and a young African American lady came up to me, a college student, and we talked. And I asked her a question, which in retrospect maybe a difficult question, but I learned from that. You learn something every day. And if you don't, you're not really living your life well. The older you get, the more you've learned. And I'm not going to hold his age against him one bit in this campaign.

BOLDUAN: But you don't think there is a point at which one is too old to hold public office?

COHEN: No, I'm not too old. I know I get up every day and I work hard and I get more results for my district than any congressman in history has ever gotten. Last year we got a $400 million grant, which I worked with Secretary Buttigieg to get to build a new bridge across the Mississippi River. It's the largest infrastructure grant in the history of the state of Tennessee. The largest by far. And I've gotten infrastructure grants that we just had a ribbon cutting ceremony on for South City, which is over $100 million housing program that's just fabulous. And I get to do that all the time. And it's a legislative group that rated the legislators, rated me the fifth -- among the top five Democratic effective legislators. Among the top five.

BOLDUAN: So, what's very clear is this is not stopping --

COHEN: So, yes, my game is good. My game is as good as it's ever been.

BOLDUAN: This is not stopping Congressman Steve Cohen, that's for sure.

Congressman, it's good to see you. Thanks for coming in.

COHEN: No, it's not, and you know, nobody asked Nancy Pelosi to step down or Jim Clyburn or Steny Hoyer. They are six, seven, eight, ten years older than me, and they're sharp as a tack. And so am I.

BOLDUAN: Good to see you. Thank you for coming in.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this one is wild. The U.S. governor who won more than $1 million gambling. So, what game was he playing? How much was he betting? And what's he going to do with the haul?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:51:14]

SIDNER: New this morning, a Tennessee teacher is on his way to viral status again after returning to the classroom from a four-year hiatus. It's all about the way he greets each and every student.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: That's right. I know that's right. I know that's right. I know that's right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Teacher David Jamison II went viral for his special handshakes. Each one different. He has become known as the dope educator. Jamison decided to return to the classroom, offering a new twist to students. There's a lot of dance going on in there. It's not just the handshakes anymore.

David Jamison II joining us now.

I'm going to call you what your students must call you, which is Mr. Jamison.

Give me a sense of how in the heck you remember each one, because they're all different. And now there's a lot more involved.

DAVID JAMISON II, "THE DOPE EDUCATOR": Yes, first of all, I would like to take this time to thank you for having me. All praises go to God for this opportunity. My heart is gratified. I'm only a vessel.

I've always had a great memory. And like I always tell people that I remember what's important to me. And all of my students are very important to me.

BOLDUAN: I love that. Like love, love, love.

What -- where -- what -- where did the idea come from and what has it meant for the kids?

JAMISON: The idea comes from just building relationships. I think the most important thing that we can do is build the relationships. The relationships are the foundation to anything. Any time you let a person know that they're -- they're seen, they're heard and they're valued, they will go above and beyond for you. So, that just came from just building relationships because we never know what students go through before they enter into class every single day.

We all go through things in life, and it's very important to understand that we have to be able to catch that fish before we can clean the fish. And I think that the handshake is just a simple way to just catch the fish. If I can catch you first and I can let you know that I see you, that you're seen, heard and valued, you will go above and beyond.

BERMAN: It's all about making that connection, right? And you've been at this a while. You took a break, and now you're back

at it. I am wondering what you've seen in terms of the impact over the years. Do you hear back from some of those students years later, either when they see you and try to do the handshake again --

JAMISON: Yes.

BERMAN: Or just what they're doing now to sort of pay it forward?

JAMISON: Yes, I hear from students all the time. Often students are -- often follow me on social media platforms. So, I have many students that often reach out to me just to let me know.

As a matter of fact, I had one student that's actually graduating this year, and she -- she reached out to me and invited me personally to her -- her graduation. So, it's just things like that to let me know that the things that I've done, you know, it matters. It means something.

And one of the very important rewards that we get as educators is that one student that would say, you're the best teacher that I ever had. So, I think that validation means the world. And I'm able to just continue to build those relationships, even after school. So, I think it's -- it's very, very heartfelt and heartwarming.

SIDNER: It's such a beautiful thing to hear that from -- from a young person, the impact that you've had on their life.

JAMISON: Yes.

SIDNER: Lastly, I do want to ask you, you left for a while. What brought you back to the classroom?

JAMISON: Yes. So, I think that, just being honest, and full, full, transparent, you know, I was in HR, I went through a restructure with the school district, and I bumped into a principal. And the principal actually knew who I was. And she was like, hey, you're the dope educator. I know who you are. And I want you at my school. So, just that simple conversation from Principal Krystal Earley at Power Center Academy Southeast in Memphis, Tennessee, led me back into the classroom, led me back into my purpose.

And also, full transparency, I prayed about it. And I told God that I wanted to be back into my purpose.

[09:55:01]

I know that my purpose is in the classroom. My purpose is in to inspire the lives of the next generation of leaders. I know that the kids need me. And when I say dope educator, dope is the acronym that I created that means discover, overlook, potential in everyone. So, every kid that I see, I see the untapped potential that I once had growing up because I failed at the third grade growing up. So now God has brought me back to the third grade, and I'm teaching the third grade. So, now I've moved from the kid -- it's ironic, right? I moved from

the kid that was once counted out, to being counted on. So, I say this to all the parents who are watching today, you know, never, never, never give up on your children because you never know what your child can one day grow up to be. And I'm happy that I moved from being counted out to now being counted on.

SIDNER: That's beautiful.

BOLDUAN: I mean I like want to work -- I want to do better even just speaking with you. Like, I -- how can you, as a student, not want to work hard for a teacher who cares this much? You're fantastic.

SIDNER: Let's try to do some of the handshakes later. Maybe we should try those

BOLDUAN: We're going to work on that later.

BERMAN: We'll take it offline.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SIDNER: We're going to have to call you and practice some -- some shakes.

JAMISON: Let's do it. Let's do it.

BERMAN: And Kate's going to start working harder now, which is the best news of all.

Thank you, Mr. Jamison.

SIDNER: Thank you.

JAMISON: (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: Thank you all for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: I'm going to cough (ph) on you.

BERMAN: Have a great weekend. "THE SITUATION ROOM" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)