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Interview with Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX): House to Vote Next Week on Whether to Release Epstein Files; Trump Ramps Up Pressure Campaign on GOP to Prevent Epstein Vote; Hearing on Bid By Comey, James to Disqualify Prosecutor Halligan. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired November 13, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

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SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Meteorologist Allison Chinchar, did you see them or are you just seeing them like we are?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, I'm like you and John. I mean, my bedtime is just simply too early to be able to go out and enjoy these. But other folks were able to.

Take a look at this stunning photos behind me from Minnesota. Again, lots of different colors last night, too. You saw a bit more green, even some blues and purples, in addition to the pinks and the reds that we saw the night before.

Again, just stunning images. Most of these more into the northern tier of the U.S. rather than southern states. Now, some southern states did still get a chance to see a few colors, but not quite as far south as we had the night before.

And this one talk about really far south. This is actually from Australia, so they're getting to see some of the southern lights. But again, all from the same cause, all from that same CME that hit over near Earth.

So here's the two waves we talked about. This is the first one there. You can see all those dark bright colors right through there.

That's the first wave that hit late into the day on Tuesday. Then there's the second wave that came through. That's the one from yesterday, late yesterday and through the overnight.

Again, notice the density wasn't quite as high. And that's why we just didn't see it as far south in some of the U.S. states that we did the day before.

Now, the big story in Earth is actually going to be all of the rain that is headed for the West Coast. We're talking Washington, Oregon, but also California. Now, the focus is going to be northern California for the early part of the day. But once we get to the evening hours tonight, we start to see a really big push of moisture into portions of southern California, which could impact your evening commute.

SIDNER: All right, Allison, thank you so much. A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, quote, "I know how dirty Donald is." A new trove of Jeffrey Epstein e-mails now out, and he mentions President Trump's name repeatedly. New details about the extraordinary efforts the White House is taking to keep more from coming out.

Hundreds of new flight cancellations, even more delays. Could it really take months to get things fixed?

And this will get you in trouble, big trouble. A teenager attacks a police car with a shovel.

Kate is working tonight. I'm John Berman with Sara Sidner, and this is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SIDNER: The breaking news this morning. It's finally over. The government now reopened after the longest shutdown in U.S. history came to an end. President Trump signed a funding bill in the Oval Office.

Now, this is as the Jeffrey Epstein investigation is coming roaring back into the headlines. The fallout is growing after a House committee released 20,000 pages of documents, including multiple private e-mails from Epstein that specifically mentioned Donald Trump by name.

And now the White House is turning up the heat on House Republicans after four of them joined with Democrats in signing a discharge petition to force a vote on releasing all of the Justice Department's files on Epstein. That vote now set to happen next week.

And new this morning, CNN exclusive reporting on Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime associate and now convicted sex trafficker, and her life in prison. Sources telling CNN she now gets all kinds of special privilege behind bars, including mails, e-mails -- sorry, meals delivered to her cell, private use of the chaplain's office for visitors, and an unlimited amount of toilet paper -- John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now, Congressman Pete Sessions from Texas. He is on the House Oversight Committee, which released the thousands of pages of Epstein documents.

Congressman Sessions, great to see you, as always. What do you think that Donald Trump, then citizen Trump, knew about the sexual abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein?

REP. PETE SESSIONS (R-TX), OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE: John, thank you. These are all questions that why we are trying to meticulously on a bipartisan basis go through these to find the things that you wish to find is what is going on now. And that is the name of Donald J. Trump.

But the bottom line is, is that there are an incredible number of questions that we have been going through with former prosecutors, with the people who had the chain of evidence about their issues and questions about why they did not move forward, why they offered deals that were offered and the ways that this thing has unfolded. So to be able to get this huge treasure trove of information is important, and I fully expect we're going to get there.

But to suggest that we on a bipartisan basis are not handing out or getting the pages that really begin this process would not be true. We need to keep and continue what we're doing. And I'd like to see it be done to where the country has confidence that it's not being viewed politically, but rather that we will get it all and we will go through it to answer the larger questions.

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And that is, how did this happen? And why did it take so long?

BERMAN: Again, you say there are many questions. You still have a question about whether Donald Trump knew about the sexual abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein?

SESSIONS: Well, I've not gone through all of the documents. As you said, there's 20,000 pages. Our staff is going through this.

I have been back home in Waco, Texas, for the last three weeks dealing with the shutdown there. I will get back to it. We will get this done.

But what we're doing right now is taking the huge number of e-mails, of data, of pages, and going through it. And there and there will be on a bipartisan basis an agreement about how we're going to hold formal hearings, who we're going to ask these questions to, and make sure the members are up to date.

BERMAN: You have been working a long time to get this information released. The White House yesterday held a meeting at the Situation Room with some of the highest officials in the country, with members of your own party, to try to get them to vote against the discharge petition, which you're against, too, I want to say. But why do you think the White House is working so hard as you're working to get stuff released?

Why is the White House working so hard to keep information from being released?

SESSIONS: John, in fairness to the circumstance, I would say probably for the same reason that President Obama's administration, President Biden's administration, did not release this data. The information that we get where it's factually based and comes from official law enforcement about the conclusions that they drew about who was involved is one matter. To simply take things that are e-mails and accusations that people make is not a legitimate way for us to approach this.

So I assume that just like President Biden and President Obama and their administrative team at the Department of Justice probably concluded that it needed to be done in a different way.

BERMAN: I will say -- Now, they did not ever really approach it. They did not approach it, and we're trying to do that now.

BERMAN: As far as I know, I will say neither President Obama nor President Biden is mentioned in these trove of documents that have been released so far. Donald Trump is, repeatedly. I do want to ask you while I have you, Congressman -- Ghislaine Maxwell, our MJ Lee, has done some terrific reporting on the situation she's now in, in this prison that she was moved to after she met with the Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

She is now given privileges that other prisoners apparently are not. Unlimited toilet paper access, private meals and mail delivery, cellmates reassigned for privacy, special visits in the chapel, and the warden helping send documents and e-mails. How do you feel about Ghislaine Maxwell, this convicted sex offender, being given these privileges?

SESSIONS: Well, it is an important question, and I do not know the answer, but I would presume she is in Texas. I would presume it is because she is faced with a hostile environment there in where she is. The confinement is different.

People walk around the campus openly, and just like anyone else who receives a lot of feedback of people who are unhappy, I'm sure that's where it is. And she had a reason to meet with officials and to say, I have a problem, and I think that they're trying to be aware of that. It would really not be well received if she, in the incarceration, had problems of threats against her life.

So, while I do not know, it would not surprise me, and that's something that the committee, Chairman of Government Oversight, as I am, will ask those questions and should receive an answer, and I will be prepared to come and provide what I can.

BERMAN: We'll speak with you then, Congressman Pete Sessions. Nice to speak with you -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Ahead this morning, a critical test for criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. They're pushing to get the president's handpicked prosecutor thrown off their cases.

Plus, the U.S. planning to boycott the G20 Summit in South Africa. Why? President Trump claims white farmers are being killed and persecuted there. CNN goes there to investigate what's actually happening.

And a bear on the runway shutdown an airport in Japan. The country's bear probably becoming so bad, the U.S. State Department now warning Americans to watch out.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SIDNER: This morning, a critical test for the criminal cases against

two of the people President Trump demanded the DOJ go after. Attorneys for former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James will argue in court that the president's handpicked prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, be thrown off the case because she is unlawfully serving in her post.

CNN crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polantz outside the courthouse. What are you expecting? The arguments that you're expecting to hear and what are you expecting to happen potentially?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, this stands to be some lengthy arguments today in court before a judge and a major test for both the Justice Department's cases against the former FBI Director James Comey and the New York Attorney General Letitia James.

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The big questions here, Sara, can Donald Trump do this? Can the attorney general do this? In this case, it's a question of whether they are able to send in this handpicked prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, to the Eastern District of Virginia to get these cases charged and shepherd them through the court system to a trial.

On that, it's also a question of, can Lindsey Halligan be the person who is the prosecutor overseeing these cases? What we know about her is that she is serving as an interim U.S. attorney, not Senate- confirmed. And she is sent into this district in Alexandria, Virginia, to bring these cases after a former prosecutor here was ousted by Donald Trump after there was resistance to these two cases being brought through a grand jury.

That's very crucial because the person before her, that person wasn't Senate-confirmed either, also picked by Trump, sent to this district. And so what these arguments are largely going to be about today is the length of time the president can be sending people into a district without getting congressional blessing for the person to be running the show as the top prosecutor.

They're saying, on the defense side, that Lindsey Halligan, she should not be allowed to be here. She should also not be allowed to be the person whose name is on these indictments. And their argument looks very closely as what the indictments actually says, what was said to the grand jury. Because as far as we know, Lindsey Halligan is the only person to have signed these charges, to have take these cases through the grand jury.

That means that if James Comey is successful, if Letitia James is successful in arguing this today, they could make the case to the judge that Lindsey Halligan should be removed and the whole cases should be tossed not to be brought again. Because they say, if Lindsey Halligan had not been here, sent by Donald Trump, these cases never would have been brought to begin with.

The Justice Department is going to push back on this very hard. They're going to be arguing very much about the role of the president, the attorney general, to choose the prosecutors they want. There is not a decision expected today out of this courthouse. That's usually how these arguments go.

But it is before Judge Cameron Currie. She's going to be on the bench asking a lot of questions. We're going to be listening very closely to what she learned from reviewing the records so far in this case and what she says that may tip a hand.

There's not that many chances of appeal before a trial -- Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, her rulings will be closely watched. Thank you so much, Katelyn Polantz. I know you will get all the details for us.

All right, ahead. The shutdown is over. Now what? All eyes in the sky, says workers and travelers anxiously await air traffic to return to normal.

Plus, whooping cough cases are surging in Texas. Numbers hitting an 11-year high. What is driving this increase? We will speak to a physician.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, new this morning. The Trump administration has restricted the number of refugees to the United States, with a notable exception when it comes to white South Africans. The White House has made accusations of persecution against this group. In a new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY," CNN's senior correspondent, Donie O'Sullivan, traveled there to South Africa to investigate these claims.

And here he is, back from South Africa. Donie O'Sullivan, great to see you.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

BERMAN: So what'd you find? How real is this?

O'SULLIVAN: Yes, well, we didn't find the white genocide, so I'll just ruin the ending for you right there. But look, I mean, this has been something that we've been hearing about for months, of course. Obviously, going back to May, when there was that infamous Oval Office meeting where Trump had the South African president, President Ramaphosa, in the Oval, and he was bringing up all these claims of, you know, allegations of white persecution in South Africa.

Really, I mean, what's playing out here in the U.S. and why people are talking about this is because in the next 20 years, if you sort of go on the MAGA-verse online any afternoon, John, you'll find that, you know, one of the massive motivating factors in U.S. politics at the moment, of course, is demographic change. And that in the next 20 years, the U.S. is due to become a white minority country for the first time in its history. Not that big a deal for most people, I think a natural part of how

this country has evolved and changed. But for some folks on the far right, especially, this is, you know, it's what they're worried about. And if they're looking at South Africa, a country which where a white minority formerly ran an apartheid system, and now they're saying, well, look, South Africa isn't faring so well now that the whites have lost control.

As part of this journey, we went to interview the father of a very influential South African in this country. We spoke to Errol Musk. He's Elon Musk's dad. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN: America, in the next 20 years, will become, for the first time in its history, a minority white country.

ERROL MUSK, ELON MUSK'S FATHER: Well, that will be a very, very bad thing to happen. You want to see the U.S. go down? Why?

Oh, you don't like cars and electric cars, and you don't like technology? Or what is it? Do you want to go back to the jungle or?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): Yes.

BERMAN: Wow.

O'SULLIVAN: Yes, yes.

Yes, so, you know, I've spent a long time doing this, speaking to folks who do a lot of the sort of coded language when it comes to race and things like that. It was quite clarifying speaking to somebody like Errol Musk who lives in South Africa still. But look, I mean, that's the sort of rhetoric you will hear if you go online in these spaces every day.

And obviously, look, you know, there's been allegations about Errol Musk recently about his personal life, all of which he denies.

[08:25:00]

He and Elon have had a very much a rocky relationship. And Elon has said that he wasn't a great dad at certain points.

But, you know, we spoke to him to try to get some insight into just the sort of, I guess, atmosphere and space that Elon, who of course was really pushing this idea of white persecution in South Africa where he grew up.

BERMAN: I got to say, not coded at all there. We got about 20 seconds left, Donie. Who else did you speak with?

O'SULLIVAN: Yes, we met the minister for -- one of the ministers who was in, the South African minister who was in the Oval Office for that meeting with Trump. And then of course we spoke to a lot of black South Africans and also a lot of other white South Africans who told us, you know, despite all this political rhetoric, right? There's a lot of people there in the country who are just trying to get on with their lives, black and whites living together in harmony.

But really you see a lot of the extremes there.

BERMAN: Well, I got to say, I'm intrigued, Donie. That took my breath away. As always, your reporting is so provocative and fascinating. Great to see you here.

Don't forget to tune in to a new episode of the whole story, "MISINFORMATION, WHITE GENOCIDE." It airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on CNN and the next day on the CNN app.

So a big drop in people getting vaccinated for whooping cough and guess what? A surge in new cases.

And you've heard about dog biting, man. What about dog shooting, man? This actually happened. I'm not -- I shouldn't be laughing. It happened. It's bad. Dogs shouldn't shoot people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or to save the dog.

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