Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Alicia Arden and Gloria Allred are Interviewed about the Epstein Files; Nvidia Set to Report Earnings; Polls on Trump and Foreign Policy; New Investigation into Sean Combs. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired November 19, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Reversal for the president and just a turn of events. I mean how long this effort had been stonewalled and then how fast it moved -- then moved through Congress yesterday.

It also marks a huge moment for survivors of Epstein's abuse who celebrated -- we're showing you some video -- holding a vigil and also celebrating the passage of this last night. And just hours before that, survivors gathered on the steps of the Capitol to make a powerful plea to lawmakers and the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wish I could go back and give my former self a hug and say, this matters and it's going to change.

HALEY ROBSON, JEFFREY EPSTEIN ABUSE SURVIVOR: I do not feel free today. I don't know if the women behind me feel free today. So, I am begging every member of Congress, every representative to step up and choose the chaos. Choose the survivors. Choose the children. Protect the children.

SKY ROBERTS, BROTHER OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: My sister is not a political tool for you to use. These survivors are not political tools for you to use. These are real stories, real trauma. And it's time for you to stop just talking about it and act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And joining us right now is another survivor of Jeffrey Epstein, Alicia Arden, and her attorney, Gloria Allred.

Thank you both for being here.

Alicia, how are you feeling after all of what happened yesterday?

ALICIA ARDEN, JEFFREY EPSTEIN ABUSE SURVIVOR: I feel a little vindicated and very, very happy to see that that passed 427 to one. And I hope that he's going to sign it. And it will be finalized today. I feel 110 percent relieved to see that. And I hope the victims will feel better, as I do, because I think it's just a huge weight. I wasn't even -- I wasn't even thinking it was going to go that far.

So, it did. And then he's expected to sign it today. And it will be fully gone through. So, it's 100 percent like a weight lifted for me.

BOLDUAN: Alicia, you were --

ARDEN: So far.

BOLDUAN: So far. So far.

You were the first survivor of Jeffrey Epstein to file a police report against him. And this was back in 1997. Some survivors say that they would now like to be there for the signing ceremony in Washington. I mean, what do you think of that? If given the opportunity, you know, whenever the signing is, would you want to be there for it?

ARDEN: I would very much like to be there. I was very, very much voted against. And I was having trouble filing the police report. So, I would really love to be there at the signing. I'd be happy to be there, because it feels just like everything has been weight lifted off of me. And we're nearing maybe the finish line if everything goes through. But yes, I would like to. That'll just be like another, another notch in my belt that I -- that I can be there for the signing.

BOLDUAN: Gloria, nearly unanimous was the vote. There are some Democrats, though, today raising concern that this still isn't a sure thing. Senator Richard Blumenthal was on with John earlier this morning, and he said that he just does not trust that the Trump's -- that the Justice Department will actually follow through.

Let me play this for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): I have no trust. No confidence whatsoever, John, that this Justice Department will be evenhanded or fair in the disclosure of these files. It will be on us in Congress and hopefully a bipartisan effort to scrutinize and oversee this process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Gloria, you've represented many survivors of Jeffrey Epstein. What does success or victory at this point look like for all of the victims of Epstein that you've represented? Is this it?

GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY FOR JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Definitely not it, but a very good step forward. And I share Senator Blumenthal's concern. You know, all of the survivors, I think, have suffered injustice along the way to this day. So, this Department of Justice, many view as a department of injustice and that it is no longer a neutral branch of the government in terms of this department. That it's more like the arm of the president, a private law firm for the president, to retaliate, to punish. And that is their concern.

So, I would like always, as a lawyer, to try to help my clients, victims, have trust, have confidence in the system of justice.

[09:35:01]

Can they have confidence after the president signs this bill, if he does what he said he would do, that they will release all unclassified files except those that are related to ongoing investigations and with some other exceptions, protecting privacy of victims and so forth, and not child pornography videos and so forth.

Do I have confidence so that I can tell my clients to have confidence? I'm very cautious about this, but I'm glad that we've gotten to this point. Restoring trust is extremely important. They were denied -- they were denied the justice they deserved in 2008. They were denied the justice they deserved after Epstein died and therefore -- or was killed and therefore could not stand trial and they couldn't confront him at trial as many wanted to.

So, are they going to receive any form of accountability and full disclosure? I don't know. But I'm glad that the Oversight Committee is going to be on top of this, watching the Justice Department and reporting to all of us about what is not being released, if there is something held back that shouldn't be held back.

BOLDUAN: Alicia, just a final, final word, thought and message from you. If somehow the documents were not released, if the Justice Department did withhold them, find some way to continue to hold this up, what would your message be and what would you think?

ARDEN: I would be -- I would feel that would be a slap in the face to myself and the other victims that, that we've been watching. And I hope that doesn't happen because that would -- that would be a complete turnaround. And I would feel like I would be -- I would be slapped in the face if that happened.

So, I hope it doesn't. And I pray it doesn't. And I hope that they do the right thing. And like they're continuing to do. And I hope that that it does pass in full today. We need that.

ALLRED: I just want too, Excuse me. I just want to say, this is going to be a very interesting process to watch, because in July, the FBI issued a memo and a report that there was nothing more there in terms of anyone else to essentially be prosecuted. So, let's see if we have, as members of the public, a different opinion once we see the information that is disclosed.

BOLDUAN: That's a -- that's a great question that will remain and be asked if and when these documents do begin to be released.

Alicia Arden, thank you very much for coming on and sharing your story. Gloria, thank you very much for your advocacy, as always.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, up ahead, we're monitoring the markets after we saw quite a dip yesterday, down almost 500 points. Things have changed a bit here. There is some worry that the A.I. boom is becoming an A.I. bubble. But we're waiting for a big test today. The earnings report from a company that dominates in providing the infrastructure for A.I.

And a crew on a crab boat suddenly launching a heroic mission when they saw a sinking vessel and four people clinging for their lives in the Pacific Ocean.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:47]

SIDNER: This morning, anybody in the market is watching Nvidia, the world's most valuable company, ahead of its earnings report when markets close later today. It has been a bit of a rough week for investors thanks to growing concern about a possible artificial intelligence bubble. Investigators -- investors, excuse me, will be paying close attention -- I guess investigators will be too -- on demand for Nvidia chips and looking for any signs of A.I. fatigue.

CNN's Matt Egan is joining me now.

It is -- we were just talking about how sort of when this all happened with Nvidia, but it is a juggernaut of a company. And their earnings report is going to mean something to this market.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, absolutely, Sara. Look, this is a big test for the A.I. boom and really for the entire stock market. Even though Nvidia is not necessarily a household name, it is the MVP of the A.I. revolution. It is the most valuable company on the planet. Look at this, it's worth $4.4 trillion. That's more than the entire economy of Canada or Mexico combined. And more valuable than any of these companies up here. And that's because its chips really are at the heart of the A.I. boom.

Now, investors are hoping that Nvidia's results, and perhaps more importantly its guidance about the future, are going to confirm that this A.I. revolution is intact, that there's still a lot of demand for its chips.

We're looking at a live quote of the stock right now. It's up 2 percent. Now, the risk here is that, as you mentioned, there's these growing fears of an A.I. bubble. And so, if these results or the guidance disappoint, that's only going to reinforce those concerns.

I talked to veteran investor Bob Elliott. And he said the market for the first time is questioning whether the A.I. hype will turn into reality. And he said if the results miss expectations, watch out below.

Just one other point here, Sara. We also have the jobs report coming out tomorrow morning. That's the delayed September jobs report. Normally in November we don't really care about that. But because of the shutdown, this is delayed. And so that's going to be another major catalyst. And combined, that could really help set the stage for where the market goes next. Taking a look at kind of a flat day for the Dow. But the S&P and the Nasdaq moving modestly higher after four days of losses.

[09:45:03]

SIDNER: We've been waiting for the jobs report. We did see some inkling of what was going to happen from private companies who puts things out every time.

Matt Egan, we will all be watching to see what happens with this particular stock.

EGAN: We will. Thank you, Sara.

SIDNER: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking news. Sources tell CNN that the Trump administration has been working to try to hammer out a new peace plan with Russia to end its war on Ukraine. The Army's secretary, the secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, and a top level Pentagon delegation is in Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian officials at this moment. The negotiations -- these negotiations really boosted in intensity this week as the Kremlin signaled renewed openness to some kind of a deal.

I want to bring in CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

Look, it's no secret that President Trump wants a Nobel Prize for his foreign policy.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes. Yes.

BERMAN: He talks about it. He wants it.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: He has what happened in Gaza to point at. He thinks that if he hammers out a deal with Ukraine and Russia that could burnish his credentials. What do voters think about what he's doing on foreign policy?

ENTEN: You know, this is one of the areas in which Donald Trump is performing significantly better than he was in term one. One of his best issues relative to term one. What are we talking about? Approve of Trump on foreign policy at this point in term one? Look, Donald Trump was just at a 35 percent approval rating. Up like a rocket. We're talking about 43 percent now. That's an eight-point rise. On the net approval rating, we're talking about a double digit rise. The American people like much more of what they're seeing from Donald Trump and foreign policy in term two than they did in term number one.

BERMAN: So, often presidents in their second term, usually later in their second term, frankly, will turn to foreign policy.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: So how does President Trump compare to past presidents in their second term? ENTEN: You know, this, to me, is one of the most interesting data

points, because normally when we look at these data points, we see that Trump is doing worse than other presidents. But on this one, he is doing significantly better. Because take a look here. All right, 21st century foreign policy approval rating at this point in term two. George W. Bush was down at 36 percent. Barack Obama was at 37 percent.

Look at this, Donald Trump actually leads the pack at 43 percent. Donald Trump has a higher foreign policy approval rating at this point in a second term than any other president who served their second -- entire second term in the 21st century. This is something I think Donald Trump really likes to look at because the bottom line is this, president's like to build their legacies off of foreign policy. And at this particular point, the American people like much more of what Donald Trump's doing on foreign policy than either of the two other 21st century presidents who served at least or served two terms.

BERMAN: Good, good chances of being screen-grabbed and framed and taken to the Oval Office very shortly here.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: How about specifically how voters feel about what the president did in Israel and Gaza?

ENTEN: Yes, I think part of the reason why Donald Trump is significantly higher than either Obama or Bush is what happened with Donald Trump able to help formulate a peace deal between the Israelis and Hamas. What are we talking about? Net approval rating, Israel- Hamas conflict. Look at this. Joe Biden was 37 points below water by the end of his presidency. Way, way, way, way down there. Look at Donald Trump. Actually in the positive area. Look at this, a plus three net approval rating. The American people liked what Trump was able to do between the Israelis and Hamas. And that, I think, is a large part of the reason why his foreign policy is at the apex compared to other two term presidents this century.

BERMAN: That is a huge swing. Maybe backwards looking. Forwards looking, we're talking about Ukraine and Russia. There's also the possibility of Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel. So, as people look ahead, what are they thinking there?

ENTEN: Yes. Yes. So, you see this 40-point rise, right, from minus 37 points to plus three points, Donald Trump doing considerably better. If he was actually able to ensure that the Saudis and the Israelis were actually able to normalize ties, that would make his legacy even greater.

And take a look here, chance Israelis and Saudis normalize ties. This according to the prediction markets. This is where people put their money, right? Look at this, 56 percent chance during Trump's term. So, if he was able to accomplish this, and at this point the prediction markets say there's actually a majority chance, though close to 50/50, this, I think, would bring his legacy even higher.

BERMAN: So, this is -- shows some confidence, I think, with people looking ahead at what they think Trump does on foreign policy.

ENTEN: You've got that exactly right, Mr. Berman.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, great to see you. Thank you very much.

ENTEN: Nice to see you, my friend.

BERMAN: Got a lot going on. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:53:48]

SIDNER: We're learning some new details this morning about a new investigation into convicted music mogul Sean Combs. Authorities in Los Angeles are now looking into sexual battery allegations against Combs.

Here now to join us, Kara Scannell.

You've been following this case. You were at the whole trial. And now you have this new allegation out there, and there are folks wondering if there are going to be charges brought. What are you learning?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, this is a new allegation that was brought by a music producer who self-identified himself as Jonathan Hay. He filed a police report and launching now this investigation, which is being led by the Special Victims Bureau of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

What he's alleged is that there were two encounters he had with Combs. One in 2020 and one in 2021. He was working on a project. He said, at the first encounter, Combs had exposed himself and masturbated in front of him. At the second encounter, he alleges that Combs had forced him to perform oral sex on him.

So, these are new allegations. This producer initially filed a lawsuit against Combs, a civil lawsuit, that's ongoing. He filed that in July. Then he made this police report in September. We have just obtained a copy of it this week.

But from here, you know, the authorities will look into these allegations. We'll see -- he identified there were several people, he said, who witnessed this alleged assault.

[09:55:02]

So, they will begin to follow those steps and see if it leads anywhere.

Combs' lawyers have denied any wrongdoing. His lawyer said in a statement, "as Mr. Combs' legal team has repeatedly stated for over a year now, he cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a media circus. Let me make it absolutely clear, Mr. Combs categorically denies as false and defamatory all claims that he sexually abused anyone." And as you know, Combs is serving a prison sentence for being

convicted of transportation to engage in prostitution. This is an entirely different set of allegations here. But he is also appealing that conviction.

SIDNER: There are also a lot of other cases, right, that are still out there when it comes to the civil side of things, correct?

SCANNELL: Yes. I mean there are still dozens of cases. The number might even be up to 70 at this point of lawsuits that he is fighting in court. You know, some of them are still working their way through the legal system. The judges are hearing various motions to dismiss. But it's certainly a big, legal issue that is not going away for him.

SIDNER: Kara Scannell, it is always a pleasure. Thank you.

BERMAN: Kara Scannell, to close the show.

SIDNER: I mean --

BERMAN: Mic drop from Kara Scannell at the end here. Great to have you.

BOLDUAN: Oh, thanks.

Thank you so much for --

SIDNER: Speaking of dropping mics.

BOLDUAN: I -- dropping mics.

Thank you so much for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM" --

BERMAN: Up next.

BOLDUAN: Is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)