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House to Vote Next Week on Whether to Release Epstein Files; Epstein Repeatedly Mentioned Trump in Emails Released by House Committee; Nearly 1,000 Flights Canceled Even as Government Shutdown Ends. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired November 13, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, Situation Room meetings and calls to key lawmakers. The White House scrambling after tens of thousands of emails were released from Jeffrey Epstein's estate, some mentioning the president by name.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hundreds and hundreds of flights still canceled today, even with the government shutdown over, new reporting on when the situation might improve.

And a $10 million toilet, really, questions swirling you might say about what exactly it does to you.

Kate is working the late shift. I'm John Berman with Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: The breaking news this morning after 43 days, the longest shutdown in U.S. history finally over, President Trump signing the bill to reopen the government late last night after it was passed by the House. But as Washington turns a page on that battle, new fallout is looming over the White House from the newly released trove of documents in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Among the files, multiple emails from Epstein that specifically mention Donald Trump's name.

The White House is now ramping up pressure on House Republicans after four of them, including three women, signed a discharge petition to force a vote on fully releasing the Justice Department's files on Epstein. That vote now set to happen next week. One of Epstein's survivors telling CNN she's grateful to that handful of Republicans and urged them to stand firm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIELLE BENSKY, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: I think that there's just such a broader message that for those women, particularly Marjorie Taylor Greene, Boebert, and Mace. I think they are really standing up for women everywhere and they're seeing -- they're throwing down the gauntlet of what is acceptable in society.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SIDNER: And new this morning, new CNN exclusive reporting on Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime associate and now convicted sex trafficker and her life behind bars. Sources telling CNN she now gets special privileges, including private use of the chaplain's office for visitors. The warden personally helping her send emails and, yes, even unlimited toilet paper.

CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House with the very latest on this this morning. What are you learning?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Look, Sara, yesterday was a dizzying day of a political injury and it really cast a dark cloud over Republican hopes of claiming victory over the government shut down and passing that bill to reopen the government.

Now, the president, of course, signed that bill last night, but it finished off a day that brought new urgency to this issue that he has tried repeatedly as well as his team to try and shrug off, but he just can't shake it. It's an issue that keeps coming back and bringing new information every time it does. And, of course, there was those new emails from Jeffrey Epstein's private estate over the last 15 years that mentioned the president by name.

And ever since then, ever since those were released, the White House has really been in damage control mode. And my colleagues and I broke yesterday that part of that was to bring Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, one of the people who ultimately did join that petition, bringing her to the White House, and not just coming to the White House, but bringing her to the Situation Room, the room where, you know, presidents go over war plans to try and urge her not to sign her name.

Now, the White House has argued that that was a sign of transparency. Listen to how Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Doesn't that show the level of transparency when we are willing to sit down with members of Congress and address their concerns?

That's a defining factor of transparency, having discussions with members of Congress about various issues. And I'm not going to detail conversations that took place in the Situation Room in the press briefing room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, look, despite that meeting and also the president's efforts to try and get the Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace on the phone as well, it was an unsuccessful effort, both of them including, and then in addition to Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie, all ultimately signed it. Now, this signature has 218 votes and the House speaker, Mike Johnson, said that they will get a vote on that next week.

[07:05:03]

And to be clear, I want to be clear in all of this that these new emails do not appear to pose any new legal implications for the president. The White House and the president have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and the president has not been charged with any crimes as it relates to Epstein. But all of this just continues to bring new urgency to that question of why isn't the president releasing these, particularly after he and his supporters for years had argued that the files must be made public. And, really, why isn't he willing to release these and get justice for these victims who have been trafficked and abused by Epstein?

And so the question continues is going to be how does this White House continue to deal with this, particularly as we know that this vote is going to happen next week to try and force the Justice Department to release the materials they have. And one of the questions I know that has really been something that I think this White House is struggling with, Sara, is that, you know, most seriously, it raises the question of did the president know more than what he has said publicly? All of that they're dealing with today. Sara?

SIDNER: There's a lot of questions that people when answered. Alayna Treene, thank you so much for your reporting. John?

BERMAN: All right. Let's get right to CNN political analyst, White House Bureau Chief -- excuse me, Washington bureau chief for the Boston Globe, Jackie Kucinich. Jackie, what does it tell you that the White House and the president seemed to be working so hard to keep more information from coming out?

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I mean, the assertion that it's transparent to say that Boebert was there when they're trying to get her to take her name off of something that would reveal more documents when it comes to the Epstein case, I think, tells you everything you need to know. But what we don't know, as Alayna pointed out there, is why, why they're trying to keep the rest of these files a secret.

This -- it's hard to believe, this actually started in February when attorney General Pam Bondi distributed those -- that binder to conservative influencers that turned out to be a lot of things that were already released and were heavily redacted and this has just been a self-inflicted wound over and over and over again. And now here we are in November still talking about something that new president promised during his last campaign, but also that started to unspool at the very beginning of his second term.

BERMAN: And one other thing on this, Jackie, as you well know, I mean, what happens if and when the House does vote next week to release more of the files? Does that mean automatically they become public the next day?

KUCINICH: No, it doesn't. It needs to go to the Senate. And the president has to actually sign this at the end of the day. And it's hard to believe that this House in particular, and this Congress would have the necessary votes to override a presidential veto. So, all of the -- perhaps this is so they don't have -- House Republicans don't have to be on the record voting to release these files. That's -- it's an excellent question, but the vote is going to happen. I mean, that is going to happen as Mike Johnson said, potentially next week. But, yes, then, for all intents and purposes, it really -- it kind of ends there unless you know, a lot of factors change.

BERMAN: Again, some of the big questions are why the insistence on not releasing more and how hard they're working, a situation room meeting very, very unusual.

Jackie Kucinich, great to see you this morning, thank you very much.

This morning, new delays, new cancelations, new chaos at airports, and it could be months before it all recovers.

A nine-year-old girl disappears on a bizarre cross-country road trip with the disguises and fake license plate. Now, the mother has been released from police custody.

And overnight, the skies were alive with the northern lights. We will show you all the dramatic highlights in case you miss them because you had a morning show or something.

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[07:10:00]

SIDNER: The shutdown is over, but at air airports across the country, things are not back to normal. This morning, more than 900 flights have been canceled. Many are part of the FAA's mandated cuts to flight volume at 40 U.S. airports. Those cuts were set to increase to 8 percent today, but the FAA says they will hold the cuts to 6 percent for now, because more air traffic controllers are back at work.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International, the busiest airport in the world. How are things looking this morning?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sara, good morning. It's looking pretty smooth, pretty good out here at the world's busiest airport. In fact, take a look right here as, the crowds are starting to pick up this morning. If we look up at the board, not a lot of red going on. That is great news to see. And, in fact, we have a graphic of the cancelations, flight cancelations, and you can see it that it's going down, about a third of the cancelations today than what we saw over on Sunday. So, that is certainly excellent news.

But still, this is not something that you can just flip on a switch and suddenly all these air travel woes go away. Insiders are warning that it's going to take time for these airlines to bounce back. And let's not forget that the flight capacity is still cut at 40 major airports after the FAA put out an emergency order because of the staffing shortages fueled by the government shutdown, during which we know air traffic controllers were required to pay to work, excuse me, without pay.

Now, since the government shutdown began, 650 air traffic controller staffing shortages were reported. On Saturday, we saw a record of 81. Today, that number is four. So, these are all really good signs, but, again, 50 air traffic controller staffing shortages were reported.

[07:15:02]

On Saturday, we saw a record of 81. Today that number is four. So, these are all really good signs, but, again, this is going to take time.

I caught up with a couple traveling to Florida for a vacation who told me that they were anxious about their plans being canceled. They had a car rental as a backup. And when they saw that the government shutdown had ended, this was a big sigh of relief for them. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

METREIA WHITE, TRAVELING TO FLORIDA: I am happy that it'll get back to some kind of normalcy or just a little bit better before the holidays. I know it's important for people to see their families, especially right now because things are a little bit crazy. You know, you might need that comfort of your family.

JUSTIN BATTLE, TRAVELING TO FLORIDA: Family time is so important and during the holidays and travel, so getting everybody back to work with flights and airplanes is very important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Yes. And here's the other thing you should know. Last night, the Department of Transportation froze those mandated flight cuts to 6 percent, saying that more air traffic controllers are showing up to work. That number should have been eight today, but again, frozen at six. So, all of this is great news.

And bottom line here, the government shutdown is over, but that doesn't mean that the air industry will suddenly snap back instantly. At least it'll take another couple of days for everything to catch back up. Sara?

SIDNER: All right, Isabella Rosales live for us there in Atlanta at the airport there.

And ahead, President Trump now says he is willing to work with Democrats on healthcare. What this could mean for millions of Americans whose premiums are now skyrocketing.

And place your bids. It's not the golden ticket. What about a golden toilet dubbed America? That's up for auction. I can't even speak because that thing is so blingy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: A rough night at the Garden. One of the biggest stars goes down. With us now, CNN's Andy Scholes. Good morning, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, it certainly was a rough night at Madison Square Garden. John, the concern for Knick's fans right now is that right ankle of Jalen Brunson. With under two minutes to go in this one, Brunson, he steps on a defender and he's going to roll his ankle. Brunson would then walk off exiting the game. That's the same ankle he sprained last season that forced him to miss 15 games.

Now according to multiple reports, Brunson was in a boot using crutches to leave MSG. The Knicks, they lost to the Magic in that one, 124-107. They had been seven and oh at home.

But don't worry, New York fans, Jameis Winston's going to make it all better. The veteran quarterback, he will be under center for the Giants Sunday against the Packers with Jaxson Dart out with a concussion. And Jameis, well, he could not be more excited about getting the chance to start for the G-Man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMEIS WINSTON, NEW YORK GIANTS Q.B.: I am going to do my best. You know, obviously, I'm going to have fun, but I'm going to execute have a surgical execution and just play ball, man. Like this is something I've been doing since I've been four years old. Now, I just get to do it in the greatest city in the world. I'm going to be saying it with my son. It's the greatest city in the world. Yes, that's a Hamilton reference, if y'all don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: I just love him.

Meanwhile, on TNT last night, we had a great game between the Devils and Black Hawks. Chicago was up 3-2 late in the third when Simon Nemec scores for the Devils, ties it up, so we go to overtime. And then in O.T., Goalie Jacob Markstrom, a great pass up the ice and Nemec, he blasted in for the game winner. Career night for the 21-year-old Nemec, a hat trick. Devils get to win 4-3.

All right, Caitlin Clark, meanwhile showing off her long range during the Annika Sorenstam Pro-Am event, Clark nailing this putt from about 30 feet away, impressive there.

Now, Clark's Fever teammate, Sophie Cunningham, was one of her caddies. They let her take a shot off the tenth tee, Cunningham right into the fans. And look at this, multiple dudes are going to go down to the ground acting like they got hit so Cunningham would come over to them. She did though, find the fan that actually got hit, gave him a hug and signed a ball for him.

But, John, I have some advice. If you're going to go watch golf at a Pro-Am event, don't stand near the tees. You're putting your life at risk standing near the tees when it's not professional golfers hitting those balls. Don't do that. It's very dangerous.

BERMAN: Is there like a concussion protocol for fans at a Pro-Am golf tournament there?

SCHOLES: I remember at the match, John, when it was just like Travis Kelce, you know, and Clay Thompson hitting it. It was dangerous then. And those are professional athletes. Just don't do it, the balls come in there all the time.

BERMAN: Be very careful. I will say also, Caitlin Clark -- how about Caitlin Clark hitting like that? You know, she can't miss from anywhere. Like the bottom line is she can hit from anywhere.

SCHOLES: Yes. Long range shot, she's got it, right?

BERMAN: All right. Andy Scholes, thank you very much.

SCHOLES: All right.

BERMAN: So, what did President Trump know about the sexual abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein? What did Jeffrey Epstein say about that? Inside the new questions raised in the surprising release of thousands of pages of Epstein emails.

And attention, coffee lovers, if tariffs do not increase prices, as the White House likes to claim, why are they suggesting cutting coffee tariffs to lower prices? That and the bad news about whether it will actually work.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

SIDNER: This morning, the growing fallout from that massive batch of newly released emails from the Jeffrey Epstein estate. Among them private messages from sexual predator Epstein to his now convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell that mentioned Donald Trump by name multiple times. The White House insists they prove the President did nothing wrong, but they are only adding to the unanswered questions about the relationship between Epstein and President Trump and how much the president knew or not about Epstein's behavior.

Joining us now is CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig. All right, I want to talk about this one email that you and a lot of us looked at. It seems like the most significant one. It's from 2011, where Epstein is writing to Ghislaine Maxwell saying, and here's what he says, I want you to realize that that dog that hasn't barked is Trump. The victim's name there is redacted. But he says she spent hours at my house with him. He has never once been mentioned, police chief, et cetera. I'm 75 percent there.

What stands out to you though? What are the things that this particular email tells you?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: So, lots of questions raised by these emails. Not a lot of answers, but really important questions. The two fundamental questions I think that are raised is, what exactly was the nature of Donald Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein back then, and what exactly did Donald Trump know about Jeffrey Epstein's criminality back then?

[07:30:00]

Now, this email, I think, is the most important one. Let's start with the simplest part. Name of victim spent hours at my house with him, with Trump. Okay, that is contradict.