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Trump Officials Met over Epstein Files; Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) is Interviewed about the Epstein Emails; Canceled Flights Even as Shutdown Ends; Search for Melodee Buzzard Continues. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired November 13, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Audi's actual Formula One race car will be unveiled in January.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, new this morning, this new, intense lobbying effort over Jeffrey Epstein. Meetings in the Situation Room. Games of phone tag with individual members of Congress. All to keep the House from voting to release more information.

Will your flight take off today? Tomorrow? Thanksgiving? Hundreds of new delays and new information on when the travel mess might or might not end.

And are you having trouble putting together your Christmas list? How A.I. might be able to help.

Kate, she'll be all over primetime tonight. I'm John Berman, with Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

All right, the breaking news this morning, the new reporting on what the White House is doing after the trove of 20,000 pages of documents released in the Jeffrey Epstein case, including multiple emails that specifically mention Donald Trump by name. And now the House is set to vote next week on a measure to release all the Justice Department's files in the case. Four Republicans crossed party lines to force the issue. One Republican on the House Oversight Committee, though, just told us they don't need this extra push.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETE SESSIONS (R-TX): 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: We have CNN exclusive reporting this morning on Ghislaine Maxwell. This is Epstein's longtime associate, now convicted sex offender, and what she's doing behind bars. Sources tell CNN she now gets special privileges. This is after she met with the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, and was moved to this very different prison that people say she normally wouldn't be. She's now getting use of -- private use of chaplains offices for visitors. The warden is personally helping her send emails. And, yes, she even gets unlimited toilet paper.

With us now, CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House, Arlette Saenz is on Capitol Hill.

Arlette, I want to start with you on really this intense and unusual effort over the last 24 hours by the White House kind of to keep more information from coming out, to keep the House from even voting on this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) I need to adjust something.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, John. And look, I mean, it was clear that once these documents that were, of course, from Jeffrey Epstein's estate released by Democrats, but really private emails over the last 15 years showing and -- naming, I should say, Donald Trump by name. I mean ever since then the White House has gone into damage control mode. And one of those strategies that they employed was calling Republican congressman to the White House. And not even just the White House, meeting with her in the Situation Room. Yes, the place where they go through war plans and everyone gathered, for example, when they were killing Osama bin Laden. That is where they had this meeting to try and pressure some of these Republicans who were committed to signing that discharge petition to force a vote to get the Justice Department to release all of the files they have relating to the Epstein case.

Now, a couple of things we need to be clear on is, one, these emails that were released do not appear to have any further legal implications for the president to deal with. And, of course, he has denied any wrongdoing. He has not been charged with any crimes as it relates to Epstein.

But this raises a very big question that not only many Americans, but several of the president's own supporters have been fixated on for years. And this question of -- as well of why aren't you releasing these and why aren't you, as being -- why aren't you being as transparent as you had previously vowed to be when it comes to this case?

Now, the White House has argued that that meeting in the Situation Room and the president's other efforts to talk to some of these Republican members and really get them to stop from forcing this vote on the House floor, it was ultimately unsuccessful. But they argue that was a sign of transparency.

Listen to the White House press secretary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: These emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong.

This administration has done more with respect to transparency when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein than any administration ever. In fact, this administration, the Department of Justice, has turned over tens of thousands of documents to the American people.

So, this administration has done more than any. And it just shows how this is truly a manufactured hoax by the Democrat Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, that's the White House line here, that this is a hoax manufactured by the Democratic Party.

[09:05:02]

Of course, you have Republicans on Capitol Hill arguing this isn't even about politics, this is about getting justice for many of the women who were abused and trafficked by Epstein.

Now, look, I think, big picture, this is just the story that will not go away for the White House. They have tried time and again. The president himself it dismiss it, to shrug it off. They cannot do that.

And one of the problems, I think, with these emails that were released yesterday, more so is this question of whether or not the president is being as transparent as he could be, particularly if he knew about a lot of what was revealed in some of these emails and didn't make that public. And so, this is, of course, a story that is not going away, and it will continue to dog them as they look forward to this vote next week.

BERMAN: Alayna Treene at the White House.

Alayna mentioned what's happening up on Capitol Hill. Let's check in with Capitol Hill. Arlette Saenz is up there.

Arlette, what's the latest?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, House Speaker Mike Johnson is basically fast tracking a vote to release the full Epstein files, saying that he will bring it up on the House floor next week. Now, this was an effort that both Johnson and the White House had resisted for quite some time. But Johnson's hand was really forced here when a bipartisan group of lawmakers used an arcane tool known as a discharge petition to compel a vote on this matter. In order for a discharge petition to be successful, they needed to have 218 signatures onto that procedural tool. This was an effort led by Congressman Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, and Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky.

And it really had stalled out for quite some time until yesterday, when Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva was officially sworn in 50 days after she was elected to Congress. Grijalva was the 218th signature needed on that discharge petition, which then would force a House vote. There were also four Republicans who signed on to that, including Massie, who was leading this discharge petition, and Congresswoman Nancy Mace, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert. Despite some calls from the president and the White House at the last minute, all remained on that discharge petition.

Initially, it was thought they would need to go through the full seven legislative days for this measure to ripen, setting a date for this vote in early December. But Johnson, last night, told reporters that it's basically a moot point now and he will bring it up for a vote on the House floor. Massie has predicted that there could be a cascade of Republican lawmakers who vote on this once it comes up in the chamber.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): The deal for Republicans on this vote is that Trump will protect you if you vote the wrong way. In other words, if you vote to cover up for pedophiles, you've got cover in a Republican primary. But I would remind my colleagues, that -- this vote is going to be on your record for longer than Trump is going to be president. And what are you going to do in 2028 and 2030 when you're in a debate, either with a Republican or a Democrat, and they say, how can we trust you, you covered up for a pedophile back in, you know, 2025?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, even if this passes the House, it's still unclear whether Senate Majority Leader John Thune would bring the bill up for a vote in the Senate. And over there they would need 60 senators to sign on.

But really this whole episode just highlights some of the growing agitation within the Republican Party relating to these files. And Johnson just wants to get it over with and bring it up for a House -- a vote on the House floor next week.

BERMAN: Yes, he wants to get over with now. I mean, he could have done this months ago, but now that the discharge petition is signed, he does seem to be trying to get it done a little more quickly.

Arlette Saenz, thank you very much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, joining me now is Democratic congressman from Virginia, James Walkinshaw. He is a member of the House Oversight Committee.

President Trump is responding to the release of those emails, the huge tranche of emails from the Jeffrey Epstein estate, saying this, "the Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein hoax again because they'll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they've done on the shutdown and so many other subjects. Only a very bad or stupid Republican would fall into that trap."

I'm just curious how you're responding to that this morning.

REP. JAMES WALKINSHAW (D-VA): Well, yesterday was an extraordinary day. I remember the pictures of President Obama in the White House Situation Room watching the operation that led to the death of Osama bin Laden and all of the other history and history making decisions made in that room. For President Trump and the White House yesterday to use that room to browbeat Republican members of Congress, to aid and abet their coverup for the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein is really an astounding development in American history.

[09:10:00]

And look, the emails released yesterday were a bombshell, in my view, clearly demonstrating much closer ties between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein's crimes than we previously knew. But there's a lot more investigative work to be done to get to the bottom of it.

There's a simple answer for Donald Trump, release the files. And then, if he's innocent, did nothing wrong, he can put all this behind him and move on with the rest of his agenda. Why isn't he willing to do that.

SIDNER: The speaker of the House says he is going to finally put forward a vote on releasing those files, the Epstein files, on the investigation, but has not committed to a vote on expanding the Obamacare subsidies. How does it sit with you that the thing that is going to cost Americans their health care is on the back burner, and the Epstein files will be voted on first?

WALKINSHAW: Well, look, we have had all year to address the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Democrats have begged and pleaded and yelled and screamed for our Republican colleagues to address this health care crisis facing the American people. I have a constituent, Jack, he's 25 years old. He and his wife are expecting a baby at the end of this month. Their premiums are going to go from $800 a month to $1,600 a month. They can't afford it. And those stories abound across the country.

So, we should have addressed it. We should have addressed it last night. I hope the Senate will make progress in December. If not, we're going to continue to fight to address the health care affordability crisis next year.

But the Jeffrey Epstein coverup is also a significant issue that millions of Americans are deeply concerned about. And again, simple answer, we can put it behind us, release the files. Let the American people see what they think.

SIDNER: All right, I do want to ask you a little bit more about insurance coverage, because we just talked to a family who said they are going to have to go without insurance because there's nearly tripled. The president revealed an idea that he has to deal with insurance coverage. Instead of going to insurance companies, he's saying these subsidies, and he wants the money to go into an account for people where people buy their own health insurance. Do you think that is a good idea, something worth talking to the president about and negotiating over?

WALKINSHAW: Well, that already exists. We have health savings accounts. And they tend to work for higher income families, upper middle class income families. But what you just described wouldn't work for my constituent Jack and his wife. They wouldn't be able to afford to put money into that account. What's working for them now is the Affordable Care Act and the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

And look, we can extend those tax credits, and Democrats put forward a bill this week to extend them for three years, and engage in an ongoing dialogue and debate about how best to bring down health care costs for the American people.

SIDNER: I think you voted against passing a budget to reopen the government, which will only fund the government until the end of January. Will you vote to shut down the government again if these ACA subsidies are not brought up for a vote?

WALKINSHAW: Well, the agreement that passed last night runs through January 30th. And it is my sincere and strong hope that before then, before the end of this year, we will extend the ACA tax credits. Of course, by January 30th, if Congress doesn't act, folks will already be paying those higher prices.

For me, when I looked at the agreement that was on the floor last night, the Republican plan, it didn't address the health care crisis. It also didn't give federal agencies and federal workers the long term protections that I felt they need. I represent 55,000 federal workers, thousands of whom have been fired by the Trump administration over the last 11 months. And, unfortunately, with this deal, after January 30th, those firings can continue.

SIDNER: Are you mad at senators who voted to let this come to the House, and then a few of the Democrats who voted on the House to put this bill through and refund the government -- and fund the government?

WALKINSHAW: I disagree with the eight Senate Democrats who negotiated this deal, but that's a disagreement. To answer your question, I'm mad, I'm angry at Republicans here in Congress who, rather than address the health care affordability crisis they helped create with the largest cut to health care in American history, shut down the House of Representatives for 55 days, refused to even sit down and negotiate with House Democrats, like myself, and seem perfectly content to let the health care premiums of constituents, like Jack, double or sometimes triple over the course of next year. That's what I'm mad about.

SIDNER: Congressman James Walkinshaw, I do appreciate your time this morning. Thank you so much.

All right, ahead this morning, travelers across the country are still facing delays and disruptions at airports, even though the shutdown is officially over. Why the mess may not end soon. [09:15:06]

And the mother of missing girl Melodee Buzzard released from custody. What wigs and boxcutters have to do with this case?

Plus, two teenage girls hopped behind the wheel of their parent's car and, as you might imagine, things did not go well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, developing this morning, nearly 1,000 flights canceled already.

[09:20:01]

This even as the FAA says more air traffic controllers are coming back to work. The shutdown is over.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is at the happiest place on earth, Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. How's it going so far there this morning?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, John.

Certainly the world's busiest airport, but not feeling it like that right now. It's pretty smooth sailing, or should I say smooth flying? If you take a look right over here at the board for Delta, which is headquartered here, you can see it's looking great. All white pretty much across the board. Not a lot of red. Meaning, very low cancellations altogether. According to FlightAware, 3 percent of all flights coming out of this airport have been canceled. So, not a tremendous amount of impact there.

Having said that, it does take quite some time, even after a government shutdown, and -- for the airlines to bounce back. Transportation insiders, airlines saying that it could take a week or more for airlines to recover. We heard Sean Duffy, the Transportation secretary, say that flights could normalize by Thanksgiving.

And let's not forget that the flight capacities have been capped. They are cutting the schedule. The FAA requiring the schedule to be cut by 6 percent to help address all the staffing shortages, especially when it comes to air traffic controllers that have become a concern due to the government shutdown.

Now, another piece of good news is that since the government shutdown began, there were 650 reported callouts. On Saturday there was a record of 81. Well, yesterday, that number was four. So, more people are showing up to work.

Now, I spoke with a mother and a daughter who were here traveling, and they said that overall they approve of what was done to cut down on the schedule, thinking that that's a good idea, even despite all the hassle to customers.

Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKIE KEMPINSKA, IMPACTED BY FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS: I think people are willing to put up with a little inconvenience. But we don't want to jeopardize the lives of people. And I think -- I think the nation was starting to be worried about that. We -- you know, when you have less staff or less pilots or less air traffic controllers, you know, there's a chance for something to happen. So, knock on wood, I'm glad that that hasn't happened. And hopefully things can resume.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Yes, so hopefully things should be getting better here. So, bottom line, even with the government reopening, the nation's air travel system won't instantly recover. It will take some time.

Guys.

BERMAN: Isabel Rosales, in Atlanta, with the coolest live shot of the day by far. Make sure you don't get a crick in your neck. Isabel, thank you very much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, new details this morning. The mother of missing nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard has been released from custody and is back home after just a few days in jail. A judge ordered Ashlee Buzzard be released with supervision after she pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of false imprisonment. Not because of the disappearance of her child, but because prosecutors say she used a box cutter to hold a man against his will.

In the meantime, her little girl remains missing after a multi-day road trip with her mom last month.

CNN's Jean Casarez has been following all the details of this story.

What did you learn happened in court? There was a lot of details that came out.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And this is because of a felony false imprisonment charge of a man that went to her house, that she knew, a friend of a friend, trying to help her with her daughters missing. And it culminated, according to a statement he gave, and he spoke with CNN also, it culminated in a box cutter being taken out, for locks on a door being locked, and he didn't feel that he could get out of the house. That's what this was yesterday. There were no charges about her missing daughter at all.

But the defense really wanted her out. And he said she should be released on her own recognizance because there is a risk assessment score from pretrial services of zero. Zero risk to her.

And we need to think of this in relation to her daughter, too. There's no criminal history, he said, of her at all. She's local. She has a house. She is in this community. There's no risk of flight. Prosecutors said, yes, there is a risk of flight because her daughter is missing. And the fact her daughter is missing, she has not helped at all, law enforcement or child protective services and child welfare services at all. And they said, furthermore, there is a risk of flight because on the road trip she put on wigs and she changed license plates on the vehicle that she and her daughter took to Nebraska and back. But the daughter didn't return with her.

Right here, this map right here is the last day that Melodee, because that's the whole point here, it's Melodee Buzzard. That's the last day she was seen was that trip right there, and it's through Utah. Northwestern part of Arizona.

[09:25:02]

But that's where authorities have to be honing in on right now.

But we want to show you also the Ashlee Buzzard, who is the mother, her picture yesterday in court, side by side with her in the wig. Look at that. When she took that road trip with her daughter, she was wearing wigs. Yesterday in court, that's what she really looks like. What a difference, Sara.

SIDNER: Yes.

CASAREZ: And ,you know, as an attorney, law enforcement says that is a consciousness of guilt that you don't want people to know what you're doing. But the question is, why? If there's no criminal history here, an assessment was there's no risk at all of her being a part of the community, is she alive like authorities believe? Law enforcement believes this little girl could be alive.

SIDNER: Wow. I mean, there are so many questions. I know that Melodee's grandmother has been asking them, but the schools as well. Everyone wants to know where this little girl is. And there's' a lot of people concerned that the mom is not talking to authorities about it.

I know you're going to be following every detail of this case, Jean.

CASAREZ: And she has pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment.

SIDNER: That's right. And on a -- on a different charge, not involving her missing daughter, but involving the man that was in her house that couldn't get out.

Jean Casarez, do appreciate you. Thank you.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

SIDNER: Coming up, the fallout from the 20,000 documents newly released from Jeffrey Epstein's estate. The questions they're raising about what the president did and did not know.

And Starbucks facing a red cup rebellion. Why workers are striking at dozens of stores nationwide.

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