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ICE Crackdown in North Carolina Continues; Epstein Bill Passes; New Revelations in James Comey Case. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired November 19, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: That you're going to see of Republicans pushing back on Trump, on the White House, no -- no matter how many capital letters he uses, because they want to win their elections.

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: It's a classic monkey paw the situation. Donald Trump wished for redistricting to get changed and wished for it to change the power structure in the election. He maybe got it, just not at all in the way that he wanted it to be.

GANGEL: What he wanted.

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: We're out of time. I'm sorry. Next time you're here, you're up first.

(LAUGHTER)

BASH: Thank you for joining INSIDE POLITICS.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: More of the royal treatment. President Trump speaking at a forum aimed at strengthening economic ties with Saudi Arabia, but questions remain after the president's Oval Office meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Sealed and delivered, but just when will it be signed? Could today actually be the day the president puts pen to paper on that bill to release the Epstein files? We will take a closer look at when and also what happens once it is law.

Hundreds of drones and missiles slamming into Ukraine overnight, killing dozens of people, as the war is still raging, claiming lives, the Kremlin indicating it may now be open to a peace deal, but could Ukraine actually stomach this deal backed by Moscow?

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: President Donald Trump today heaping a new round of praise on Saudi Arabia, as the White House seeks to further strengthen U.S. financial and defense partnerships with the kingdom. The president just wrapped up a speech at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum being held at the Kennedy Center. His speech comes just a day after Trump welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Washington and to the White House in a lavish diplomatic display.

Trump announcing he is set to designate Saudi Arabia as a major non- NATO ally as he prepares to sell its government F-35 fighter jets, the crown prince in turn pledging hundreds of billions of dollars, up to a trillion, in U.S. investments.

Let's go live now to the White House with CNN's Kristen Holmes.

Kristen, what else is the president saying about these deals?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, we heard more of the same, a lot of slathering on praise of Saudi Arabia, of the Saudis in general, touting this $1 trillion investment that they say, the White House says Saudi Arabia is making in the country, but it's also President Trump.

So there was a lot of weaving. When I came up here, he was talking about his personal vendetta against windmills. But when it comes to those deals, we have heard from the White House who have kind of outlined what they say is a path forward with Saudi Arabia and the United States, both in an economic and defense partnership.

They talked about an agreement that they signed, a memorium -- excuse me -- memorandum of understanding when it comes to A.I. between Saudi Arabia and the United States. And they said that they advanced their work with critical minerals.

As we know, President Trump has tried to make deals across the world with regards to critical minerals, as the U.S. has become increasingly reliant on China for those critical minerals. They hold pretty much a monopoly over them. He is trying to get deals so that the U.S. is not dependent on China for that.

SANCHEZ: And, Kristen, the Senate officially sent that bill forcing the full release of the Epstein files to President Trump's desk. Has the White House announced any timing around when he plans to sign it?

HOLMES: No. We have talked to the White House. We have asked the White House multiple times, when do they expect to receive it? We were told it could take a couple of hours to actually get to his desk. But I am told, as soon as it arrives on his desk, President Trump is going to sign it.

Now, of course, if he'd arrived right now, he wouldn't be signing it. He's over at the Kennedy Center giving this speech on economic development and ties to Saudi Arabia. But as soon as he's back, I'm told that he will sit down and sign this bill and put it into law.

Again, lots of questions here as to what this means for the Department of Justice. Even within the White House, I have asked specifically, is there a chance the Department of Justice says that they're not going to release all these documents because of this new investigation in the Southern District of New York?

They say they don't believe so. But even though this Department of Justice works hand in hand with the White House, they are still a separate entity. So we will wait and see how this plays out.

SANCHEZ: One of many angles we will be keeping an eye on. Kristen Holmes, the White House, thank you -- Erica.

HILL: We're also following breaking news out of Virginia, where federal prosecutors making a stunning admission in court just a short time ago.

As former FBI Director James Comey is fighting to get his case dismissed, interim U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan conceding to the judge that the full grand jury never reviewed the final indictment handed up against Comey.

CNN crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polantz is outside court in Alexandria and following all these developments for us.

I mean, talk about a moment, Katelyn. Walk us through what else we learned this morning in court.

[13:05:07]

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes, this revelation that the judge pinned down with the prosecutors today, it landed like a thud in the courtroom. The entire tone of this hearing changed.

There had been arguments, legal arguments, about wanting this case to be tossed by the defense. But what was revealed was how James Comey was indicted and what the grand jury did on that day. So the way that this day took shape, in September, when Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, just four days into the job, came to this courthouse to get that indictment against Comey, the grand jury initially voted no.

That's because they were asked to approve three different charges against Comey related to his congressional testimony from five years before, and they didn't want to approve one of those. They didn't reach an agreement.

So then instead of recollecting their documents and going back to the grand jury to approve an indictment document that only had two of those criminal counts against Comey listed, the prosecutors drew up a different document and had a grand jury foreperson sign them.

The judge in the courtroom today, as he was asking questions about this, he really dug in to make sure he understood exactly what happened and asked: "The operative indictment in this case, the document was never shown to the entire grand jury?"

And prosecutor Tyler Lemons, who is representing the government here, he said: "Standing in front of Your Honor, no, that didn't happen." And that elicited silence in the courtroom. That is at the time then that the judge asked Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. attorney who had been with the grand jury, to stand up and confirm this. She did. She said that the final indictment against Comey that he now faces was only shown to the foreperson, signed by that foreperson, and there was another grand jury in the proceeding at that time.

Now, I'm already hearing reaction to this across the legal industry and even with from people connected to the Eastern District of Virginia's U.S. attorney's office. Is this a clerical error or is this potentially a fatal flaw in this case? That's going to be for the judge to determine.

It is not exactly clear yet, but it very much does appear that it will hasten the proceedings where James Comey's team is trying to get access to more records about what happened with the prosecutors in the grand jury in this case -- Boris and Erica.

HILL: Wow, yes, quite the revelation. Katelyn, appreciate it. Thank you.

Still ahead here: new details on just which city could be the next target for ICE and Border Patrol in the president's immigration crackdown.

Plus, sources telling CNN the Trump administration has been quietly hammering out a new peace plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine. Will President Zelenskyy, though, sign on?

And later: Could Diddy be facing new charges? What we know about a new investigation into the disgraced music mogul -- that and much more ahead here on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:12:13]

SANCHEZ: So the Epstein files bill is now on its way to President Trump's desk, meaning that theoretically it could become law as soon as he gets back to the White House from the Kennedy Center.

Before the Senate sent it over, a senior White House official said -- quote -- "The bill will be signed whenever it gets to the White House." Still unclear if that meant right away, if we'd be able to watch the president sign it, if perhaps he would invite some Epstein survivors to the White House to be there when he does.

Once he does, Attorney General Pam Bondi then has 30 days to publicly release all of the Justice Department's related and unclassified files. There is, though, growing concern about a possible holdup, that new investigations that Trump has asked Bondi to open may block the immediate release of some of those documents.

Here's what the attorney general just said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: We will continue to follow the law with maximum transparency while protecting victims.

QUESTION: What changed since then that you launched this investigation?

BONDI: Information that has come -- information. There's information that -- new information, additional information, and, again, we will continue to follow the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN's Manu Raju is live for us on Capitol Hill.

Manu, this is a concern that some lawmakers brought up.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Democrats and even some of the Republican sponsors of this legislation are uncertain about whether or not the Justice Department will fully comply with what is required under this law.

Now, once it is signed into law by President Trump, then the Justice Department will have 30 days to comply and release these files to the public. Now, if there is a reason for not releasing it, they have to specify why.

And as part of the legislation, it does say, if things are part of the investigation, that that can be withheld. And that is why some are concerned, because Donald Trump called for an investigation into Democrats and his own political foes just a few days ago related to Jeffrey Epstein.

And the attorney general agreed and decided to move ahead with that investigation. Now, in talking to senators this morning, there is a widespread belief among both sides of the aisle saying that the Justice Department should fully comply and that these documents should finally be released.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Just release the damn files, period. I don't care about how the sausage is made. I just want it out in the open for everybody to consume.

RAJU: Now that this Epstein bill is going to become law, should the DOJ fully comply within 30 days, as it stipulates under the bill?

SEN. ERIC SCHMITT (R-MO): Yes. Yes, I think -- I mean, I have been seeing for a long time that I think that all the credible information that can be released should be released, and so that's where we're at.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): There are ways to track and trace what's in those files, and we should have bipartisan commitment that every part of those files will be disclosed unless there is a real criminal investigation that justifies withholding it, and then an explanation for when those files will be disclosed. (END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:15:22]

RAJU: Now, the Republican sponsor of this legislation, Thomas Massie, told me that, if they are not released, he plans to take some extraordinary steps. He said he could go to the House floor and read aloud the names of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged clients.

But he said he would only do that if they hit a wall. And he said that so far they have been running through each wall and that would be a last resort. But that's something that some lawmakers are considering if they don't get the files that this legislation calls for, Boris.

SANCHEZ: That would be wild to see.

Manu, I wonder what is in these files that may be redacted, that the public may not be able to see?

RAJU: Yes, that is one of the big questions here, because it does allow for these redactions to take place. And if the Justice Department believes that some of this information is sensitive or some of the things may actually under -- reveal the identity of some of the victims, the Justice Department could absolutely redact those.

But if it's overly redacted, expect some significant pushback here on Capitol Hill, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Manu Raju live on Capitol Hill for us.

Thank you so much, Manu.

As the Trump administration expands its immigration crackdown in North Carolina, we're learning about the next city that could see a surge in federal agents. We will have that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:21:11]

HILL: The next stop for President Trump's immigration crackdown, New Orleans. That's what sources tell CNN will be happening next month.

This week, Border Patrol agents have expanded raids beyond Charlotte, where they arrived this week, with reports of people being detained in Cary, Raleigh and other areas. And the operation is leading to concerns about wrongful arrests and also racial profiling.

Parents in Durham reportedly escorting students home after school. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools say more than 30,000 students were absent from class on Monday. That's three times, nearly three times the average for a Monday. One teacher saying that he immediately noticed just how few kids were showing up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID GILLESPIE, TEACHER: I'm not sure which of my students I'm going to see again, whether that be because their parents were involved in detainments, or whether that be because their parents have to perform a really unfortunate safety calculus of, is it worth it to send my student to school to put myself at risk?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: CNN's Dianne Gallagher has been tracking all of this. She joins us now from Charlotte.

So, Dianne, just bring us up to speed in terms of where things stand today on this operation.

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Erica, we actually just got some new information from the Department of Homeland Security, which says that, as of last night, they have arrested more than 250 undocumented immigrants in this operation that they have dubbed Charlotte's Web.

Now, they have not specified just how many of those people actually had some kind of violent criminal record, which is what they say that they are here targeting. Previously, they said over the weekend there were about 130 arrests and 44 of those people had a criminal record, ranging from larceny to aggravated assault to DWI.

And that's kind of what people here in the community have been frustrated by. There have been a lot of accusations of profiling. They say that they feel like they're just sort of on a fishing expedition. And you mentioned what they're doing in Durham at schools.

To let just how spooked people are in Charlotte, we drive a black SUV with CNN, my photojournalist, Andy Buck, and I, and we have been asked to move away from a school that we were going to do a story with some of those people escorting because they say they were getting calls from parents who were afraid to come pick up children or who were trying to report that perhaps there was CBP in the area.

And we have seen a lot of that kind of eying us down as we're driving around. The people in the community at a county commission meeting last night where they passed a resolution supporting the immigrant community of Charlotte, well, the community said their piece. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today, the Charlotte I know and love is being terrorized by masked men operating under the authority of the federal government.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are getting phone calls in our ICE hot line of individuals who do not know where their loved ones are who have been picked up three days ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is happening in the streets of Mecklenburg County is not public safety. It's not security. It's meant to instill fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: There have been multiple protests that we have seen throughout the week. All of them have remained very peaceful, as well as different companies like the grocery store behind me that have offered to do free delivery for their customers just in case they are afraid to go out.

HILL: Dianne, there's also talk about -- and CNN learning from sources about the next stop essentially being New Orleans. What do you know about that?

GALLAGHER: Yes, our colleague Priscilla Alvarez reports that those familiar with the plan say that Gregory Bovino, the top official who is on the ground here in Charlotte, as well as was at that controversial operation in Chicago, is going to be taking his officers to New Orleans likely the first week of December.

We're expecting roughly more than 200 officers to take part in that operation there. The Trump administration has talked about New Orleans as a place that they felt needed some kind of federal intervention in the past.

[13:25:06]

HILL: All right, Dianne, I appreciate it. Thank you.

Still ahead here this hour: President Trump forging new deals with the Saudi crown prince. Now some 9/11 families are talking about his visit and that he should also focus on accountability for the 2001 terror attacks.

A man who lost his father on that day will join us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Happening right now, a day after hosting diplomatic meetings with the Saudi crown prince at the White House, President Trump today is shifting focus to deepening U.S. business ties with Mohammed bin Salman's country.

Trump's cozy relationship with the crown prince is drawing criticism among families who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. Some are speaking out and using this White House visit to spotlight the Saudi government's alleged role in the terror attacks.