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Trump Makes Major Reversal on Epstein Files Ahead of House Vote; Trump Floats Diplomacy with Venezuela Amid Growing Tensions; Jury Selection to Begin Tuesday in Brian Walshe Murder Trial; Dominion Voting's New Owner Speaks Out in First Interview. Aired 8-8:30a ET
Aired November 17, 2025 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, a stunning reversal from President Trump. He's now telling Republicans to vote for releasing the Epstein file, saying he has nothing to hide after trying unsuccessfully to cajole Republicans to vote against it.
Also this morning, escalating tensions with Venezuela. America's most lethal aircraft carrier is being positioned now in the Caribbean. Is President Trump on the brink of starting a new military conflict?
And YouTube icon, MrBeast, just opened his first ever theme park, bringing his over-the-top challenges and stunts into real life. This ain't Kansas, where he's from. It's open in Saudi Arabia.
I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking overnight, President Trump making a major U-turn in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. After months of opposing the release of all the Justice Department's Epstein files, he is now urging House Republicans to vote in favor of it, saying he has got, quote, nothing to hide, and, quote, it's time to move on from this Democratic hoax.
Now Politico's take on this this morning is, "That sound you could hear was the president's extraordinary authority over his party slipping away."
The House vote is expected to happen tomorrow, and the president's reversal comes as maybe dozens of Republicans were going to break with him, though the president is trying to blame the Democrats.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're using Jeffrey Epstein as a deflection from the tremendous success that we're having as a party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Several survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse have banded together for a powerful PSA. They are urging lawmakers to back fully releasing all the files in the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was 14 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was 16 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was 16.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 17.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 14 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I met Jeffrey Epstein.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is me when I met Jeffrey Epstein.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's time to bring the secrets out of the shadows. It's time to shine a light into the darkness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Now if the vote passes the House, it would still have to clear the Senate. There's no guarantee the Senate will take it up. It is crucial to remember that if the president wanted the files released today, he could ask the attorney general to do it immediately.
There's no need to wait for Congress here, Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: That is exactly right, John.
Also this morning, it's unclear what President Trump's planning to do now about Venezuela. Friday, he said he had sort of made up his mind after being presented with military options by the Pentagon.
Now, he says he's open to negotiations with that country's leader, Nicolas Maduro, who by all accounts, he wants out of power.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we'll see how that turns out. They would like -- they would like to talk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: As the president says that, America's biggest, most lethal aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, has officially arrived in the Caribbean. This brings the number of U.S. troops in the region to around 12,000. President Trump is making no secret that he's ramping up military presence there, even with joint military drills with Trinidad and Tobago.
But what remains quite unclear is exactly what the president's goals are for and with this buildup of force. Yesterday, the State Department announced that it's designating the Venezuelan gang Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization. The Trump administration also claims that that organization is actually run by President Maduro himself.
So what is the next move? Joining us right now is John Bolton, former national security advisor to Donald Trump and his first term former ambassador to the United Nations. We should also point out he's currently fighting federal criminal charges brought by the Trump administration over alleged mishandling of classified documents to which you have pleaded not guilty and are fighting in court.
Ambassador, thanks for being here. You say very clearly regime change is the right policy for the U.S. to pursue in Venezuela. Why?
JOHN BOLTON, FORMER TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, I think there are enormous U.S. national security interests at stake, and it's obviously beneficial for the people of Venezuela as well to get rid of this dictatorship. But the presence of Russian, Chinese, Cuban, Iranian forces and business enterprises in Venezuela shows the vulnerability of that country under the Maduro regime to this external influence. So this was something that was attempted in Trump's first term in 2018, 2019, supporting the Venezuelan opposition.
It was unsuccessful because I don't think we did all that we could do to help the opposition. So I support the idea of returning the government of Venezuela to its own people. What I'm troubled about here is I don't see what the plan is.
[08:05:00]
And I think the erratic shifts in Trump's public statements underline that we're not entirely clear. Either what the objective is or how we intend to carry it out.
BOLDUAN: But one of the things that we know he's doing, right, are these boat strikes. I mean, do you think these boat strikes are stopping the flow of drugs to the United States for one? And do you think they are doing anything to stop Maduro or go to the ends that you're talking about?
BOLTON: Well, I think the drug smugglers can obviously see what's happening. It'd be stunning as they do that they don't shift their routes and find other ways to get drugs into the United States. Let's face it, it's our demand for the drugs that's giving them the incentive to try this. They'll find other ways.
But it also shows the confusion in the White House's objectives. If it's simply about illegal narcotics, that's one thing. But it seems to be about overthrowing Maduro. Why else bring the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group from the European theater to the Caribbean?
Trump has now put the gun on the table. The question is, is he going to use it or not?
BOLDUAN: Is the Trump administration, in your view -- I mean, you were involved in these discussions in the first in the first term. Is the Trump administration this time going to need to escalate to using military force on land in Venezuela in order to get Maduro to leave, if that's the angle?
BOLTON: Well, they have not indicated one way or the other. The president says, I don't know, I don't think so. As you pointed out, he's now saying he wants to talk to Maduro.
There are a couple of key indicators that they're not really ready to make the decision one way or the other. First, there's no real indication that they're aligned with the Venezuelan opposition itself. And this is important because if something goes wrong, whatever the consequences are of the use of American force, they'll be felt by the Venezuelan opposition.
And they're not in a position where they can say no to Trump. But it's not at all clear that they think this is the right thing to do.
Number two, unlike the situation in 2018 and '19, the countries of the hemisphere are not speaking out together with us and with the opposition in favor of overthrowing Maduro.
Back then, we had a thing called the Lima Group after the capital of Peru, really put together by the Latin American nations themselves. There's no Lima Group 2.0, which shows the risks, I think, for the U.S. to proceed without more support in the hemisphere.
BOLDUAN: One of the things -- one of the ways you have described it in a recent opinion piece is the boat strikes and moving the aircraft carrier without a clear direction, as you described as serial acts of performance art. Something to consider here.
I do know, Ambassador, that you're not talking understandably about the active case that the Justice Department has brought against you as you're fighting it right now in court. The president, though, was asked specifically about you and the investigation into you and James Comey and Letitia James during his recent 60 Minutes interview. Here's a piece.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you instruct the Department of Justice to go after --
TRUMP: No, I'm not in any way, shape or form? No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this retribution on your part?
TRUMP: No, it's the opposite. I think I've been very mild mannered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Did you instruct the Justice Department to go after them? No, not in any way, shape or form. Do you believe that, Ambassador?
BOLTON: No, I don't. Look, I'd love to talk about this case. Unfortunately, it's just not the appropriate time to do it.
But let's recall that back in 2020, the Trump administration, the White House pressured the Justice Department to try and stop publication of the book. So this goes back over six years. And I think it's also some indication of the retribution nature of the Trump presidency to remember that on Inauguration Day this year, normally a pretty, pretty busy day for a new president, that Trump cut off the Secret Service protection that I'd been afforded by the Biden administration against Iranian assassination efforts.
So that tells you a little bit about Trump's view.
BOLDUAN: One of his first acts after inauguration. Ambassador John Bolton, thank you for your time -- Sara.
SIDNER: All right, ahead. A man accused of murdering and dismembering his wife's body gets underway this week with jury selection. Prosecutors say Brian Walshe searched online for ways to hide his crimes after his wife vanished.
The latest on the evidence that could take center stage at his trial. That's ahead.
Plus, Charlotte becomes the latest target in the federal immigration crackdown. We'll speak to a business owner about why he chose to close his doors to try to protect his customers.
And the pandas are back. The National Zoo reopening over the weekend after the government shutdown. And you're going to see some cute things this morning.
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SIDNER: Jury selection is set to begin tomorrow in the murder trial of Brian Walshe. Walshe was accused of killing his wife and dismembering her body because she wanted a divorce. Friday, the Massachusetts judge said she accepted a doctor's report stating that Walshe is competent to stand trial following a 40-day mental health evaluation.
His wife Anna's body has not been found.
[08:15:00]
But prosecutors say investigators recovered trash bags that contained a hacksaw, a hatchet, and several items with the couple's DNA.
Joining me now is CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson.
Look, prosecutors are saying in this case that they have this damaging evidence against him in the form of internet searches as well as that evidence you just heard from. I guess it was on his son's iPad. He said, according to investigators, he looked up 10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really want to.
And detectives say they found blood, as you heard there, and DNA evidence. I mean, how difficult is this going to be to fight? This is a big piece of evidence for prosecution.
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So it is. Good morning, Sara. So that's what's called circumstantial evidence.
Now, the distinction is direct evidence is I saw it. I saw Sara do ABCD. Circumstantial evidence is I didn't see it.
But boy, is there compelling evidence to suggest that it happened? Like what? We attorneys like to use a basic example of the rain.
I came in here and it wasn't raining. And when I left, it wasn't raining. But there was one difference.
And that was that the floor was wet. There were puddles. And I saw little sprinklings of water on cars. Didn't see it raining. But boy, you can conclude logically that it did.
And so here, when it relates to these internet searches, why are you doing internet searches relating to the disposal of a body, relating to how long it takes for a body to smell, relating to a number of other things?
And it's not only that, prosecutors will say. That is circumstantial evidence. It's about what you alluded to.
The forensic evidence. What are you doing throwing away trash bags and the trash bags that you threw away? By the way, sir, why do they have these cloths and these rags?
And it has your blood and her blood on it. What do you know? And we found a hacksaw that we saw you dispose of.
And it had bone fragments. And there's no body here. So what am I saying?
I'm saying that there is no body and you can be prosecuted, right, without a body. And they will suggest that as prosecutors that she's dead and that he did it.
SIDNER: Right. She remains missing. And people are convicted all the time with circumstantial evidence.
I do want to ask you about another wild twist in this case. The same former Massachusetts state trooper who was the lead investigator in the Karen Read case was also involved in this case. He was fired for his handling of the Karen Read case.
He is somehow involved in this case.
JACKSON: Yes, so not only involved, Sara, but he's the lead investigator in the case. He collected the evidence, the information.
And they, of course, will use that as defense attorneys will say, hey, he's biased. He rushed to judgment. He can't be trusted.
He was fired before. Why? He was sending out these inflammatory text messages about the defendant there.
He was disparaging her. He's engaged in other bad behavior. And this is the investigator that you think you should convict?
Well, prosecutors say they're not going to call that investigator Mr. Michael Proctor. And however, Sara, the defense certainly will. And they will go to show that you can't trust anything he says.
The big problem for the defense, however, is the prosecution will focus it on the evidence, the trash bags, the cleaning supplies, the blood fragments, all of that, and the other circumstantial evidence we talked about, computer searches, a lot of information in this case. What happens? The jury will decide.
SIDNER: It's all up to the jury. You're innocent until proven guilty.
JACKSON: Always.
SIDNER: Joey Jackson, it is always a pleasure. Thank you.
JACKSON: Thank you, Sara. The pleasure's mine.
SIDNER: Kate.
BOLDUAN: A flag on the play. What happened to a Texas State Trooper after a run-in with a South Carolina football player? You shall see.
And in a CNN exclusive, Dominion's new owner breaking his silence. The election vendor was, you'll recall, at the center of false 2020 election conspiracy theories. Why the company's new leader tells CNN now he's not on anybody's side.
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BERMAN: This morning, the new owner of Dominion Voting Systems, now rebranded as Liberty Vote, is speaking up for the first time in an exclusive CNN interview. Scott Leiendecker, a former Republican elected official, says plainly that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and insists the company's machines will not be used to benefit either party.
CNN senior reporter Marshall Cohen, who broke this story, is joining us now. This is a Marshall Cohen special. What have you learned here?
MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: John, good morning. I'll start with the good news. What I've learned is that election officials across the country are relieved by what they're hearing from this new owner.
So remember, five years ago, Donald Trump and his allies falsely accused this company, Dominion, of rigging the 2020 election. And a few weeks ago, out of the blue, it was announced that the company was sold and had a new owner to this relatively unknown figure from St. Louis, a former election official named Scott Leiendecker. And the rollout and the rebrand of that sale really spooked a lot of election officials because they noticed that the announcement contained a bunch of Trump MAGA buzzwords.
It seemed to embrace the president's very controversial efforts to overhaul and dramatically change election procedures in this country. So to clear all of that up, I sat down with the new owner a few days ago, and I want to read for you a little bit about what he said about his vision for the company.
This was the new owner, Scott Leiendecker, quote, "I'm not on anybody's side or anybody's team. I'm on the American people's side. I'm on democracy's side. And I want to make sure everybody knows I'm not siding with the left or the right."
John, I also challenged him on the 2020 election. I asked him what happened in 2020. And here's what he said to that, quote, "I am not an election denier. I worked in Georgia. I witnessed all the recounts. They all came back the same. We saw a winner and we saw a loser."
Now, look, I get it. These are just words, right? Words are just words. Actions matter.
[08:25:00]
And one of the first actions that the new owner took after buying the company was to go on a goodwill tour of sorts across the country, meeting with his customers, election officials, Democrats and Republicans. And I'm told that he promised to keep the Dominion staff intact.
He praised their work. He praised their professionalism. The election officials were very relieved. They like their products. They don't want to have a ton of upheaval one year before the midterms.
But John, the people that were upset about this were the election deniers. They were hoping they had a new ally who was going to clean house because they still blame Dominion for what happened in 2020.
BERMAN: Marshall Cohen, you are on the side of the American people. Great reporting. Thanks for sharing it with us this morning -- Sara.
SIDNER: All right, thank you, John.
Ahead. Why some members of the prison staff were fired after a whistleblower revealed special treatment given to convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
And this morning, President Trump responding after Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green admits their big public falling out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREEN (R-GA): He called me a traitor. And that is -- that is so extremely wrong. And those are the types of words used that can radicalize people against me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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