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Trump Briefed on Military Options for Venezuela; Jennifer Freeman is Interviewed About the Epstein Files; Georgia Election Case to Resume; Morgan Freeman and Ruben Fleischer are Interviewed About Their New Movie. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired November 14, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:32:27]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, President Trump receiving a briefing on the options he has for possible military operations inside Venezuela. Now that comes as the administration has been targeting what they say are drug trafficking vessels tied to the country. At least 80 people have been killed in the U.S. strikes and 21 boats hit. Over the past few months, the U.S. has sent roughly 15,000 personnel to the Caribbean, as well as more than a dozen warships, including a massive aircraft carrier.

I want to bring in CNN's Zach Cohen, who joins us now.

Zach, what are you learning here?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Omar, we're told that President Donald Trump was presented with a range of military options up to and including strikes against targets on land inside Venezuela, potentially connected to the Venezuelan state. Now, any strikes inside of Venezuela itself would be a significant escalation of the ongoing military campaign that, to date, has been limited to striking alleged drug boats in international waters. This is something that Donald Trump is considering, though. The fact that he was presented with these options means that he does -- is aware of the tools that he has at his disposal if he chooses to escalate in this way.

Now, our sense is, and our understanding from our sources is that Donald Trump has not yet decided whether or not he wants to take that step and, frankly, has expressed reservations in private about conducting military strikes with the goal of trying to oust Venezuelan Leader Nicolas Maduro.

Now, we're also cautioned by sources that things can change on a day- to-day basis. But, of course, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also announcing the beginning of Operation Southern Spear. Now, this is vaguely described by Hegseth as a mission to defend our homeland from drugs that are killing our people and to eliminate narco terrorists from the western hemisphere. Of course, it remains unclear whether or not that is connected to any potential strikes inside Venezuela or any planning that's going on around that. But at the same time, as you mentioned, over 21 strikes that we know of have been conducted so far, 80 people killed. Those individuals have been referred to by the Pentagon as KIA, enemy killed in action. So, that speaks to how the administration is viewing the ongoing mission, but also potential escalation.

JIMENEZ: Zach Cohen, appreciate the reporting.

All right, meanwhile, Hollywood legend Morgan Freeman is back in theaters with a new movie, "Now You See Me, Now You Don't." Sara spoke with Freeman about what keeps him going.

Plus, an actor -- and actor, I should say, James Van Der Beek is auctioning off some memorabilia from his career as he battles an aggressive cancer.

[09:35:01]

All that and more coming up.

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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, new questions as the House prepares to vote on releasing the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files. Exactly what evidence do they have? How long have they had it?

With us now is Jennifer Freeman. She's an attorney representing several Epstein survivors, including Maria Farmer, the first survivor to report Epstein's crime all the way back in 1996. Maria Farmer also sued the federal government this year, alleging that it failed to protect her and other victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Counselor, thank you so much for being with us.

I want to talk first about the emails that have come to light in the last couple of days. What questions do they answer to you and what questions do they raise?

[09:40:04]

JENNIFER FREEMAN, ATTORNEY FOR EPSTEIN SURVIVORS: One of the biggest questions they raise is, why didn't the government, with 300 gigabytes of data have the documents from the Epstein estate? That seems like a fundamental source of documents. But if they didn't have those, what else is missing?

BERMAN: Why do you think -- what possible explanation could there be? Would there be any explanation that would satisfy you?

FREEMAN: I don't understand it. And I certainly don't understand it because if I was Todd Blanche, I would want to be as prepared as possible in order to go talk to Ghislaine Maxwell, as I did, and he didn't even have all the relevant documents, many relevant documents, which is -- doesn't make any sense to me at all. BERMAN: On the subject of timely investigation, in 2023, you wrote a

letter, this is 2023. This is back in the previous administration, just so people understand that there is necessarily no partizan politics here. You wrote a letter calling for the FBI, the DOJ and the attorney general to investigate why, after Maria Farmer reported Jeffrey Epstein's crimes to the FBI decades ago, they failed, in your words, to timely investigate. And the Department of Justice responded to you saying, "they cannot comment due to the confidentiality, yet deem the matter addressed." So, what does that say to you about accountability in this case?

FREEMAN: This has been a tremendous frustration. We have been trying for several years to get information from the government. Some of those 300 gigabytes of data. Try to figure out why when Maria Farmer, in 1996, came forward and reported Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes to the United States, to the FBI, what did they do? Absolutely nothing. This has been a very frustrating process. We wrote a letter. We have written several letters. We made a FOIA request. Several FOIA requests. And in response they told us that they would get back to us in November 2027. So, we had to sue them. We had -- we felt we had --

BERMAN: November 2027?

FREEMAN: November 2027.

BERMAN: When these emails --

FREEMAN: It's crazy. I don't understand.

BERMAN: When these emails were released, Donald Trump's name was in them. And this is -- these are Jeffrey Epstein's words. Obviously, they weren't addressed to President Trump, but they -- Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein were talking about Donald Trump. How surprised were you to see his name in there?

FREEMAN: I am not surprised. Having talked to many different survivors, I am not surprised. It seems certainly Maria Farmer met him. One of the first times she met Jeffrey Epstein, she was -- she met Donald Trump. And it -- it is certainly well reported that they were very close friends for many, many years.

BERMAN: All right, so there is this vote in the House of Representatives next week. This is just one step. I mean just because the House will vote to release the files doesn't mean they'll be released. But how important is it to you, and how important is it to the survivors to have this vote?

FREEMAN: It is very, very important. The survivors have been repeatedly, you know, hope -- hopeful and then had their hopes dashed. Hopeful and had their hopes dashed. Hopeful when President Trump, for example, said, I will release the files, and had their hopes dashed.

So, we are very hopeful again. And the survivors are really, really looking carefully at this. And we urge all of the lawmakers to look at this really seriously and really check their consciences and talk to their constituents and release the files. It's a simple process, release the files.

BERMAN: All right, Jennifer Freeman, great to speak with you this morning. Thank you so much for your time.

We do have some breaking news. New information about the Georgia case involving Donald Trump. Details just ahead.

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[09:48:37]

JIMENEZ: Breaking news, everyone, the Georgia election interference case against President Trump and others will continue with a new prosecutor. And it comes after Fulton County Attorney Fani Willis was previously removed from the case.

I want to bring in CNN's Katelyn Polantz.

So, Katelyn, can you just explain why this moment is so significant?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, this case, it's back. The case against Donald Trump and many others in Georgia. It is a state case. One of two state cases that Donald Trump has been a criminal defendant in, in the past. The other two, the two federal cases, they are now dismissed essentially because he is the president of the United States. But state charges can proceed.

Omar, though, this is a very unusual situation in Georgia, and there could be a long road ahead for this Georgia state prosecution. This -- remember, this is about the 2020 election and the use of fake electors in Georgia coming together and submitting votes to Congress to try and overturn the presidency of Joe Biden in that state.

One of the things that's happening here, though, is that after the previous prosecutor, Fani Willis, a very high-profile figure who had brought the case against Trump and others, prompted him to go to Georgia and go to jail to have his mug shot taken. Everyone posting bail in that case. It was quite a scene outside of the jail in Georgia.

[09:50:01]

Now, though, with Fani Willis removed, this is Peter Skandalakis. He is going to be the prosecutor. And I'm going to read a little bit of the statement. It explains just why this is so unusual after Fani Willis had been removed by the courts.

He says, "this morning, an administrative order appointing me to the case of state of Georgia v. Donald J. Trump was filed with the clerk of the Superior Court of Fulton County. The filing of this appointment reflects my inability to secure another conflict prosecutor to assume responsibility for this case. Several prosecutors were contacted, and, while all were respectful and professional, each declined the appointment. Out of respect for their privacy and professional discretion, I will not identify those prosecutors or disclose their reasons for declining." So, that means they couldn't find anyone to prosecute Donald Trump.

And so now the prosecutor is the only one left, the one that was overseeing the selection process, Peter Skandalakis.

But this case against Donald Trump and others related to the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia, it is alive. It is a criminal case. And Donald Trump is still a criminal defendant.

JIMENEZ: A lot of people doing catch up on exactly what came through in that Fani Willis saga prior to this.

Katelyn Polantz, appreciate you catching us up.

John.

BERMAN: All right, new this morning, actor James Van Der Beek is auctioning off memorabilia from his career to help pay for cancer treatment. He's selling a total of five items, including his flannel shirt from "Dawson's Creek" and the necklace his character, Dawson, gave Joey for prom. He says 100 percent of the proceeds will pay for his treatment as he battles stage three colorectal cancer. We certainly wish him the best.

A bizarre bus ride for some Canadians. A driver left his bus at a terminal in Ontario, taking a break. Police say then another man boarded the bus and just drove off. The bus carried passengers for about 15 minutes. Police say the guy actually sort of did the job as he was driving, even insisting that a passenger with an expired pass pay the fare. Ultimately, police did take the driver into custody.

So, some new versions of Doritos and Cheetos. Parent company PepsiCo is launching new versions that they say are without artificial flavors or dyes. The new versions are called "Simply Naked." I don't know which ones are the real or the ones with the dyes there. The company says they will still taste the same, just without the bright orange dust. I mean, what's the point then if you can't get it on your fingers? The original versions will still be available.

Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yes, what is the point? That's -- all right, that's a conversation for a different time.

But new this morning, the third movie in the "Now You See Me" franchise -- now you three me -- hits theaters today.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the world of magic, everything that disappears reappears. Whoo, it is very good to be back.

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JIMENEZ: Our very own Sara Sidner sat down with star Morgan Freeman and director Ruben Fleischer to talk about this magical movie.

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SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: I like this series because I like magic. I love magic. I'm totally into it. I know how to do it. But I can never figure out how a trick is done.

What is it that drew you to this role?

MORGAN FREEMAN, ACTOR: A couple of things.

We got to go all the way back to "Now You See Me." It was a very interesting character to play because, you know, you're dealing with all these magicians, and here comes this guy who knows everything.

Want to see a magic trick?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

FREEMAN: Who is he? Is he just some curmudgeon who likes breaking up other people's stuff? Well, you learn in the second one that, no, that's not who he is at all. He's way up in the echelon of magicians himself.

Bring down two generations of criminals with a single sleight of hand.

SIDNER: What's magical about this, Ruben, for you? This one is different. There are more characters. A lot more characters in this one.

RUBEN FLEISCHER, DIRECTOR: The magic of this movie for me is the chemistry of the cast. When you have such incredible actors like Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco and, you know, least but not last, Morgan Freeman, you have this ensemble of just terrific actors who I think, as audience members, we just love to watch on screen. And there was definitely a challenge in casting these three new magicians to join the fray, because the bar was set really high.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoo, it is very good to be back.

SIDNER: Last question to you, Morgan. What is your favorite thing about what you do? What gets you going? What gets you up in the morning?

FREEMAN: Favorite thing about what I do, I think, is getting to do it, you know?

[09:55:05]

There's a possibility always of, whatever happened to so and so, you know? And that hasn't happened with me.

FLEISCHER: Yet.

FREEMAN: Yet.

SIDNER: Not at all. FREEMAN: Right.

SIDNER: I don't think it will.

FREEMAN: Ah, yes, it will. Yes, it will. And you. I bet you I woke up this morning watching you interview somebody.

SIDNER: You did.

FREEMAN: Uh-huh.

SIDNER: And one day they'll be like, whatever happened to that crazy girl that was on CNN? We know -- we know it's coming, right?

FREEMAN: Yes.

SIDNER: But you've done such an incredible job in your life. You have any regrets?

FREEMAN: Regrets?

SIDNER: Yes.

FREEMAN: No. Not yet. Not yet. I mean there were some movies maybe I shouldn't have done. But I did it. So, I can't say I regret it.

SIDNER: And there is the magic in life, no regrets.

FREEMAN: Right.

SIDNER: Thank you both so much. Appreciate it. It's great.

FREEMAN: Thank you.

FLEISCHER: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: No regrets. Not yet. "Now You See Me: Now You Don't" in theaters now.

BERMAN: I mean, first of all, the headline there is, Morgan Freeman watches CNN NEWS CENTRAL, which is awesome.

JIMENEZ: Yes, of course. Who doesn't?

BERMAN: The second one is, you are magic, Omar, I have to say.

JIMENEZ: Look, I do what I can. I follow the master here.

BERMAN: Great to see you. Thanks for joining us. This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM," up next.

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