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Larry Levine is Interviewed about Maxwell's Prison Privileges; Trump Says Venezuela Would Like to Talk; Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) is Interviewed Epstein and Venezuela; Numbers on Trump, Immigration and Latinos; Manuel "Manolo" Betancur is Interviewed about CBP in Charlotte. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired November 17, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:30:53]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking overnight, President Trump in a major reversal is now urging House Republicans to vote to release all of the Jeffrey Epstein files when the matter comes to the floor, expected to be tomorrow. It comes after sources have told CNN about the special treatment that Epstein's accomplice and now convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell is receiving in prison, including private use of the chaplain's office for visitors, the warden personally helping her send emails, unlimited toilet paper.

With us now is Larry Levine, a former federal inmate who serves as something of a prison consultant.

Larry, great to see you.

Let me just read to people what some of these privileges are. This is part of a CNN report. MJ Lee was the lead reporter on this. Unlimited toilet paper access, private meals and mail delivery, cell mates reassigned for privacy, special visits in the chapel and the warden helps her send documents and emails. What jumps out to you on this list?

LARRY LEVINE, FORMER FEDERAL INMATE: Well, you know what, when she was in her last prison, I sent her a copy of my book, "Prison Politics 101." It tells you how to manipulate the staff. She's like an A student. She's playing them. They've since banned the book in the federal prison system. I sent one to Diddy too.

Now, what's going on in there? I mean, there is no cell, first of all. They're in little cubicles and housing units. And you can use, you know, if you're -- I don't want to say a special inmate, but in certain legal circumstances you're allowed to use the warden's phone or the chaplain's phone, the captain's phone to make legal phone calls.

As far as the special food, hell, when I -- I was at 11 different federal prisons, I used to have omelets, chicken, all kinds of things delivered to either my cell or housing unit for doing legal work. Toilet paper is always at a premium in the prisons, especially since the budget problems where they weren't -- I mean, I was talking to inmates all over the country that were tearing up bed sheets in order to have toilet paper. Everybody always had some stash somewhere. So, I mean, she -- she's getting some type of preferential treatment, but I wouldn't call it special treatment in any way, shape or form. Not really. And let's say she had a medical condition. I'm not privy to her conditions and she needed a special diet, they could justify that.

The real story here is, she's a foreigner. She's a sex offender. She has public safety factors. She shouldn't even be in a minimum security institution anywhere. So, that is the biggest special privilege right there. She's considered a flight risk and she's considered a danger to the community. And that's what people should be narrowing in on.

BERMAN: What do you think the other inmates view -- if you were in that prison, you know, what would you think of Ghislaine Maxwell?

LEVINE: I already -- hold on. I already know. I've got inmates -- I have clients that are there. There's more cell phones floating around in that place than you can possibly imagine.

The other inmates are pissed off because she kind of thinks -- she's trying to get along. And that's something you need to do in any prison. And my book, "Prison Politics 101," teaches you that, how to interact with inmates. But she's kind of letting it go to her head and they're pissed off because they're not getting the extra toilet paper. You know, they may have some stashed.

It's really hard to see a counselor or a case manager. The BOP, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, they're short, I don't know, several thousand staff members. They've killed programs. Sometimes you've got to wait a week, two weeks, hell maybe a month to see a counselor or a case manager. My understanding is she could just walk right in and just talk to him. And that's another special privilege right there, that if she has an issue, they'll deal with it immediately.

[08:35:05]

And that's ticking a lot of people off.

And the staff has a million things. Remember, shorthanded staff, they're doing jobs they're really not supposed to be doing. Now all of a sudden they got to cater to this lady and take time out that they could be helping other people. So, lots of animosity among the inmates.

BERMAN: Sounds like there might be some resentment there based on what you say you're hearing.

LEVINE: Oh, lots of resentment.

BERMAN: Larry Levine, thanks so much for being with us. Thanks so much for being with us.

Sara. SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And by the way, the Epstein scandal is one of

the issues driving the escalating feud between President Trump and his one-time staunch MAGA ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene was one of only four Republicans to sign the discharge petition to force the vote in the House on releasing the Epstein files. The president has announced he is withdrawing his endorsement of Greene and branded her a traitor. The congresswoman tells CNN, she's received threats now after the president's attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): He said, which is absolutely untrue, is, 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 and put my life in danger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Dana Bash pressed her because she has also been a person who's put out things that have made people get threats online, and she said she was sorry for that.

Now the president dismissed Greene's concerns while talking to reporters last night. Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Marjorie traitor Greene, I don't think her life is in danger. I don't think -- frankly, I don't think anybody cares about her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And another notable moment in Greene's interview with CNN, she apologized, as I mentioned, for the role she's played in, quote, "toxic politics."

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: It was a notable interview throughout.

SIDNER: It was.

BOLDUAN: Also this morning, the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, is in the Caribbean. It's part of the U.S. military presence in the region that continues to escalate and ramp up as the president mulls potential military action inside Venezuela.

Now, one of President Trump's former national security advisors, John Bolton, was just on the show. And he says now he supports regime change, but says that Trump's confusing public statements aren't helping anyone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, FORMER TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I support the idea of returning the government of Venezuela to its own people. What I'm -- what I'm troubled about here is, I don't see what the plan is. 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And overnight, the president says that he is now open to negotiating with the Venezuelan leader himself, Nicolas Maduro.

CNN's Stefano Pozzobon is in Venezuela's capital right now for us.

Stefano, what are you hearing from Caracas?

STEFANO POZZOBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think that Caracas, Kate, is waking up to the same sense of confusion as former Ambassador Bolton. The remarks yesterday, late on Sunday night by President Trump on the tarmac, on his way back from Mar-a-Lago to D.C., were nothing short of a stunning reversal after weeks of war -- warism and bellicose rhetoric coming out of the White House.

We understand now that the president, Donald Trump, would be open to negotiations. And he said discussions with the Maduro's government, and Nicolas Maduro himself personally. Now, I think that inside Miraflores, which is the presidential palace here in Caracas, they would be very much looking forward to that. They will be celebrating this as a reversal and perhaps a small victory for them after for -- for weeks we've been seeing the tides rising in terms of, like I was saying, bellicose rhetoric and even the possibility, the concrete possibilities, Kate, of a strike from the U.S. military forces onto Venezuelan soil.

We haven't heard from government officials or the president himself yesterday. It was a Sunday. So, most of the people were staying indoors and spending time with their families. What we expect is to hear those reactions today, as both the interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, who's a very powerful figure here in Venezuela, and Maduro himself, the president, will be having live appearances on television, press conferences. And Maduro does a weekly TV show on Monday night when he addresses the latest developments on when it comes to Venezuela. So, I think that we will be hearing them. And I also think that they will be -- they will have already made calls and trying to use their contacts, especially in the world of oil, and the crude oil exporters, to try and make their point to the White House. That may be discussing business deals is a much better way to secure an intent with Venezuela than the bellicose rhetoric that we've seen in the past.

[08:40:04]

Let's remember that this country sits on top of the world's largest oil reserves. And despite all of these confrontations between Washington and Caracas, Venezuela still exports a lot of oil to the U.S.

Kate. BOLDUAN: Yes, you're laying out the very complicated nature of this

massive military buildup in the Caribbean right now.

Stefano, thank you so much for that.

John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now is Congressman Adam Smith, a Democrat from the state of Washington and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Congressman, I'll get to Venezuela in a second. But first, the breaking news overnight was all of a sudden President Trump reversed himself on this vote on the House floor on releasing the Epstein files. What do you think is going on here?

REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): Well, I mean, Trump started this whole thing when he and his MAGA movement really led the effort to politicize the Epstein files. If you remember back during the campaign, there was supposed to be all of this information about a secret cabal of Democrats who were involved, all completely made up, which became obvious when Pam Bondi became attorney general and didn't turn anything over.

What I hope we can do is sift through all of that, but let's release the documents. Let's see what's actually going on.

Now, obviously, what's happened since then is the prominent figure who has been most closely linked to Epstein since then has been Donald Trump himself. So, I think suddenly, you know, spreading those rumors has come back to bite him.

But let's think of the victims here. Let's just get the information out and stop all the politics back and forth. What's in there? Who should be held accountable? Instead of having Trump, like, say, well, the Justice Department should investigate Democrats. It's not the point. Democrat, Republican -- let's investigate the people who are culpable.

BERMAN: Do you think that now that he's saying that Republicans should vote for it, do you think we'll actually see the files?

SMITH: I have no idea. It's hard to say. Trump has been anything but truthful and honest and straightforward on this issue. And, obviously, the only reason he changed his position is because he knew he was going to lose. I mean he was dragging Republicans over to the White House, fairly well begging them to not release these documents, what, two days ago. He knew he was going to lose, so he decided to go ahead and accept it. But what he actually does at this point, anybody's guess.

BERMAN: As I said, you are the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. There are now 15,000 U.S. military personnel around the Caribbean and surrounding South America. The USS Gerald Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, there. Do you know what the plan is? What's the plan here? SMITH: I don't think anyone knows what the plan is, but I'm deeply

disturbed by what John Bolton had to say and what's been coming out of President Trump's mouth. This -- this idea that regime change is some sort of simple fix, that we can look at another country and say, gosh, we don't like their leader, they're doing all manner of bad things, let's just replace them is something that I would hope that the United States of America would have learned over the last 25 years is incredibly dangerous. Nowhere near as easy as it looks. And just about every time we try, it turns out worse. And that's not to say that there aren't bad governments in the world. You know, maduro is doing a horrible job in Venezuela. He's not the legitimately elected president of Venezuela. But the idea that the U.S. can somehow come in from, what, 3,000 miles away and just magically fix that problem is something that we should bury as a cornerstone of our foreign policy.

And now Trump, who, by the way, again, ran on saying he wasn't going to drag us into these types of conflicts, is dragging us into this type of conflict. And Bolton is right, there's no clear plan on this. There's no idea around what he's going to do. I mean most of the time what they've said is this is about stopping drugs. And now we're talking about this being about wanting us to change the government in Venezuela. And that's a lot of assets, that's a lot of risk to not have a clear idea of what the president is trying to accomplish.

BERMAN: We mentioned that President Trump reversed himself on the Epstein file vote. He also reversed himself on some agricultural tariffs, over the weekend announcing that some tariffs will be reduced on products that include, you know, bananas and coffee. I understand coffee's a big deal in Washington state. How do you feel? How do you feel about the reversal on these tariffs?

SMITH: Look, I mean, this comes back whether its Epstein, Venezuela, you know, foreign wars, Trump campaigned, it seems at this point, basically lying to the American people, because you remember, one of the cornerstones of his campaign was, inflation's too high. I'm going to get it day one, day two, whatever. He was going to come in. He was going to magically fix it. Inflation was going to go away. Everything was going to come down in cost. And then he comes in. He puts tariffs on everything. And you can make an argument about the long-term economic impact of the U.S. manufacturing and all of that, which I think is highly debatable. But no one will debate the fact that if you put a tax on imports, that's going to increase costs, which is, of course, exactly what happened.

Now, belatedly, Trump is figuring out that he set the house on fire. So, maybe he ought to try to put it out. But it's really a major problem in terms of getting after the number one issue in America, and that's the high cost of living.

[08:45:04]

You know, whether it's food, housing, insurance, health care, President Trump has done literally nothing to help. And in most of those areas, he's actually gone the other way. He's getting rid of the subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. He's canceling energy projects all across the country, usually as an act of political revenge against Democrats.

So, all of the policies that he's actually implementing are driving up costs. And now, belatedly, he's like thinking about, maybe -- maybe I shouldn't do part of one of those. So, OK, that helps, but I hope he understands the bigger picture of what really needs to be done if you're going to get the cost of living under control in this country.

BERMAN: Congressman Adam Smith, thanks for being with us this morning.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, ahead, his wild stunts are coming to life off screen. YouTube star Mr. Beast has just opened a theme park in a place most Americans have never been.

And intense immigration raids now happening in Charlotte, North Carolina. The effect it's having on a bustling shopping area. Well talk with a business owner taking drastic measures, next.

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[08:50:30]

BOLDUAN: A decidedly more adorable sign that the government shutdown is over. Celebrate, all! Panda cams are back. The National Zoo in Washington reopened over the weekend after the month plus long shutdown to a huge crowd. And, I mean, seriously, breathing is hard when you're a panda. CNN was there to see all the cuteness. Zookeepers also turned back on America's cutest reality show, the zoo cameras that allow anybody to watch these adorable guys do their thing. The zoo's reopening also comes with an announcement, the arrival of four cheetah cubs who have their own camera as they hang with their mom, prove that napping is beyond adorable. The new mom was actually one of the first cubs to be shown on the cheetah cam back in 2020. So, a seasoned reality star already.

The biggest YouTuber in the world is now bringing his next project to Saudi Arabia. MrBeast just opened his first theme park there called Beast Land. The goal, he says, is to bring his over-the-top challenge videos, big giveaways and outrageous stunts to life. It also marks the latest push by Saudi Arabia to reshape itself as a global destination despite the real and continued international backlash over its human rights record.

And civil rights leader reverend Jesse Jackson remains in a Chicago hospital this morning. Jackson is 84 years old and has been receiving care to manage his blood pressure we are told. His family says that he is breathing on his own, that he is not on life support. In a statement, his Rainbow PUSH Coalition said that he was hospitalized Wednesday and placed under observation for a rare neurodegenerative condition that he has had for more than a decade. Jackson's family says that he has shown brief but meaningful responsiveness. Reverend Jackson has been a towering figure in the civil rights movement for more than half a century, and his family now says they remain hopeful as he continues to recover.

John.

BERMAN: So, this morning, we're still sifting through the results from those 2025 elections in New Jersey and Virginia. And one of the big questions that has been asked is, where are Latino voters? The Latino voting shift toward Donald Trump in 2024 helped propel him to victory. So, what do the results in New Jersey and Virginia show us now, and what might it tell us about what U.S. opinions are on the president's immigration policy?

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

Harry, a lot going on constantly on the issue of immigration and immigration crackdowns. The Latino vote, what are we seeing among the polls there?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, what are we seeing? You know, one of the big shifts in 2024 from 2020 was that shift towards Donald Trump, right? Immigration played a key role in that.

I want to start off with Latinos on Trump and immigration. You know, back a year ago, what did we see on the issue of immigration? Latino voters trusted Kamala Harris more than Donald Trump, but by just two points, one, two. Look now at Donald Trump's net approval rating on immigration among Latinos. He is 38 points underwater. That is a 36- point shift essentially from where we were a year ago on immigration. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are basically tied on the issue of immigration. And now on the issue of immigration, Latinos despise, hate Donald Trump, 38 points underwater. In their mind, he is doing something absolutely wrong when it comes to immigration.

BERMAN: What about the Latino vote overall?

ENTEN: What about the Latino vote overall? All right, how do Latinos feel about Donald Trump overall? Let's take a look here. This, I think, sort of gives the game away.

BERMAN: Oh, my goodness.

ENTEN: Yes, oh, my goodness. I mean that is the phrase of the day. Trump's net approval rating among Latinos. In early February, again, he was just two points underwater. Look at where he is now. Late October, minus 34 points, 34 points underwater, a shift of 32 points over the course of this year. I should point out, this is the CBS News/YouGov poll. But I was looking at the average of polls. I was looking at our own poll. Very similar shift, 20, 25, 30 point shifts on the net approval rating away from Donald Trump among Latinos overall. Again, whatever Donald Trump is doing in office in the minds of Latinos, it is not working. They have turned against him in massive, massive numbers.

BERMAN: I was in New Jersey a couple of weeks ago on election night there. People were watching certain counties with high Latino populations very closely. What did we learn?

ENTEN: Yes, what did we learn from the 2025 elections? I took the highest Latino percentage area in both New Jersey and Virginia. New Jersey, it was Union City. Look at this, 2024 president, 2025 governorship. There was a 52 -- I'm laughing because you never see any numbers like this. A 52-point shift towards Mikie Sherrill from how Kamala Harris did on the margin. Mikie Sherrill ran away with this.

[08:55:02]

Kamala Harris did win that vote, but by a small margin. Mikie Sherrill did 52 points better.

How about in Virginia, Manassas Park? Look at that, a 22-point shift towards Abigail Spanberger from how Kamala Harris did back in 2024. We saw a huge Latino shifts in both New Jersey and Virginia. The idea of what happens to Donald Trump won't impact down ballot. If you're a Republican, you believe that, that is fantasyland. What is happening to Donald Trump absolutely impacted what happened down ballot. Part of it is turnout, but part of it is persuasion. Latinos running away from Republicans, running to the Democrats. A big reversion to the mean. Latinos back in the Democratic camp in 2025, in a way they, simply put, were not in 2024. And it's because of Donald John Trump.

BERMAN: Look, and a lot can change between now and next November, the 2026. But if you start sort of extrapolating this and overlaying it on places like Texas --

ENTEN: Yes, we're going to be having lots of discussion about Texas. That redistricting may not work out the way that a lot of Texas Republicans and Donald Trump hope it would.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, great to see you.

ENTEN: Nice to see you, my friend.

BERMAN: Sara.

SIDNER: All right, North Carolina's governor is responding to the immigration raids you heard them talking about. Governor Josh Stein is urging people to document encounters with Border Patrol agents. He warns that agents are targeting people of color and arresting them in churches and stores.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN STEIN (D-NC): We've seen masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars targeting American citizens based on their skin color, racially profiling and picking up random people in parking lots. This is not making us safer. It's stoking fear and dividing our community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Joining me now is Manuel "Manolo" Betancourt. He owns the popular Manolo's Bakery there in Charlotte.

First, let me ask you, what happened, Manuel, at your bakery, or outside your bakery? MANUEL "MANOLO," BETANCUR, OWNER, MANOLO'S BAKERY: This past Saturday

I was working here on this avenue and then this unmarked cars just approached. The -- just four guys jumped out from the car and threw pedestrians down to the floor. And all of these people are -- could be customers from my bakery. And then it started. This car started coming here to my parking lot as well.

SIDNER: We saw -- we're seeing some of the video taken by a bystander who is showing, you know, the agents running, people falling on the ground, them trying to nab and pick up people. What have you done with Manolo's Bakery? What have you decided to do with your business because of this?

BETANCUR: It's the first time in 28 years that we closed the bakery. The only time that we had closed was a few hours where the founder passed away in 2014. So, I decided not to risk my customers, not to risk my employees and not risk myself and my family. That could be myself, my wife, or my kids who were working on the streets. And they just turned down to the floor like what I saw. So, it's too risky, and I don't want to carry my shoulders the heaviness of maybe a kid to lose their father or their mother because they were on their way to the bakery to get a cake.

SIDNER: You're an American citizen. And you've been in this country for many years as an entrepreneur. Are you yourself doing something different because of these ICE raids? Are you afraid?

BETANCUR: Yes, I've been carrying my passport all this year. Nowhere in the Constitution says that as an American citizen I have to carry my passport to show that I'm an American citizen. But because my -- the color of my skin, my race, my accent, and I feel now that they're profiling me. And I don't want to go through all this process like we have seen, and like what I saw getting hit on the floor and ten, 20 minutes later, you know, threw me to a street when they realized that they found out that I'm an American citizen.

SIDNER: I want you to respond to what we've been hearing from the Trump administration and the Border Patrol folks, saying that this is all about following the rule of law and getting criminals off the streets. How do you see it?

BETANCUR: If they are renewed and if they are renewed and there is like some criminals, why they didn't send the information to the CMPD and to the cops here. You know, Saturday they picked 81 people from the street and just like seven of them had like some criminal issues, but they didn't send the information to our local police enforcement. It just -- I think and I feel this is more just like intimidation and trying to scare us. And family separation is the biggest thing here. Our children losing their parents and their mothers.

[09:00:02]

SIDNER: Manuel "Manolo" Betancur, I know you're closing your business you said for the first time in 28 years. Thank you for taking the time this morning