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People Gather for Cheney's Funeral; DOJ Admits Mistake; Primary Challenge to Jeffries; Texas Braces for Storms. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired November 20, 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]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: He should -- they should go after Democrats. In July, in a memo, she said that the investigation was closed and no further investigation is necessary. But then she said this to explain why it's back open again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Theres's information that -- new information, additional information. And again, we will continue to follow the law, to investigate any leads. If there are any victims, we encourage all victims to come forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: She says there is new information. I mean what do you think about that statement?

AMANDA ROBERTS, SISTER-IN-LAW OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: I think the American people need to be watchful of the things that they say. Sometimes they're setting the scenes for how they're going to maybe stall this process, right? I think that was one of the things that we were afraid of, that if they opened the investigation now, before the files are released, they could try to pull the idea that, well, there's an investigation open on this, so we can't release this information that could be potentially implicating a person.

I want to make it very clear. The idea that they didn't have this information, and, sure, there's new information coming forward from the estate, OK, but they have troves and troves and troves of documentation right now. The FBI investigation that happened before, that can shed light that will implicate these people and that will bring this case forward.

So, they have that information. That is the information. Survivors have been asking for their own FBI files for years. They are owed this. And so, any tactic to delay this process is another smoke and mirror from this administration. And the American people have to be watchful of how they implement this bill.

SIDNER: Amanda and Sky, I know you will be watching and I know this has been incredibly difficult. But as you said, you had a bit of joy, and I hope that resonates with you for a long time, seeing that these files are signed into law that they should be released. I really do appreciate you coming on.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A live look now inside the National Cathedral in Washington, where people are gathering for the funeral of former Vice President Dick Cheney. That will begin later this morning. More than 1,000 people are expected to the invitation only event. Notably, some people who will not be there, President Trump nor Vice President J.D. Vance. Neither were invited. The rest of the living vice presidents were, and along with former presidents Joe Biden, who, of course, both a former president and a former vice president, he will be there, and former President George W. Bush, who will speak at the service.

With us now, CNN's Jamie Gangel and Jeff Zeleny, they are there outside the cathedral.

First, Jeff, set the scene for what you're seeing there.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, mourners are beginning to arrive here. And as you said, it's an invitation only service here. And, Jamie, that is what is so striking, who is going to be here, but also who is not.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: No question. You know, John, as you said, it is notable that President Trump and Vice President Vance were not invited. That is not usually the protocol at an official funeral or state funeral like this.

On the other hand, it's really not surprising if you think about the relationship between the Cheneys and Trump, if you take into consideration January 6th, that Liz Cheney was the vice chair of the committee and that former Vice President Dick Cheney spoke out, he was a fierce critic of Donald Trump. He called him a danger. He called him a coward.

I think what's also interesting is who is going to be here. I'm told close to 1,100 dignitaries, VIPs. And it is absolutely bipartisan. If anything, we're told there may be more Democrats here than Republicans. It really speaks to -- it's reminiscent of another era.

ZELENY: It certainly is. And all living former vice presidents will be here.

GANGEL: Right.

ZELENY: Vice President Harris, of course, who Dick Cheney endorsed just a year ago. He said that Donald Trump was the greatest threat to our republic. So, Vice President Harris will be here, along with President Biden. It will be one of the first times that they have been together in public since her book came out.

GANGEL: Right.

ZELENY: Certainly extraordinary. It's President Biden's 83rd birthday today. Other living vice presidents also here. Vice President Al Gore, Vice President Mike Pence and Dan Quayle, as well. As well as former House Speaker John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi. So, truly a bipartisan era. And it really shows what has changed in Washington, the politics. I mean this building here, Jamie, as you well know, has hosted so many funerals of dignitaries.

[09:35:02]

But what has changed is, in the Trump era, that he is often not included or invited. But he has not said a single word about Vice President Cheney since he passed.

GANGEL: Right.

ZELENY: By statute, they lowered flags to half-staff, but he has still not said anything at all about the former vice president.

GANGEL: Correct. And just to add one other thing, we're going to see a number of Supreme Court justices here. The chief justice, John Roberts, I'm told, will be here. Justice Kavanaugh. And notably also Elena Kagan, who represents the other side of the court, but was also Liz Cheney's law professor a long time ago at University of Chicago Law School.

But, you know, Jeff, as you pointed out, you're going to see, other than Donald Trump, what would be an old school official funeral here at the cathedral?

ZELENY: Absolutely. No question. And that eulogy from President George W. Bush certainly will be one to listen to, because, of course, he picked Dick Cheney to be his vice president. And he became the most powerful vice president in American history.

John.

BERMAN: And we don't actually hear that much from George W. Bush these days. So, that will be interesting in itself.

And, of course, this event very much, like you say, something of a Washington time machine.

Jamie Gangel, Jeff Zeleny, great to have you both there. Obviously, CNN will be covering this throughout the morning. Appreciate it.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely.

Also still ahead for us in the show, the Justice Department's case against former FBI Director James Comey is hanging by a thread after a wild twist. What the lead prosecutor had to admit to the judge and what the judge must now decide.

And NASA is now putting out some incredible photos of an incredibly rare interstellar comet.

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[09:41:16]

BOLDUAN: So, this morning it appears the Justice Department's case against former FBI Director James Comey is hanging by a thread. The reason being, the prosecutor, handpicked and installed by President Trump, admitted in court yesterday that the full grand jury did not see the final indictment against Comey. And Lindsey Halligan was already in something of hot water over how she presented the case to the grand jury. A judge earlier this week made the rare decision to order prosecutors to hand over -- hand over to Comey's team all of the grand jury materials. That came after the judge said transcripts suggested Halligan had given the grand jury improper instructions and may have shown privileged evidence. The big question now is this a fatal blow to the entire case against Comey?

CNN's Katelyn Polantz has the very latest for us on this one.

Katelyn, what is the judge now considering?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The judge is looking at a lot of things in this case against James Comey. This was a bombshell revelation yesterday. There is no other way to describe it. I was in the courtroom, and it was like a chill went across the entire room. It changed the tenor of the case.

It -- what yesterday was, was a discussion about how the grand jury had seen or didn't see the full indictment that James Comey now faces. They had deliberated on three different charges, decided not to approve one, and that the U.S. attorney's office, without taking it back to the grand jury, just cut out one of the charges from the documentation. So, that was what we learned yesterday. Very unexpected and something that the judge clearly reacted quite strongly to.

But, Kate, it adds to a pile of issues in this case and questions of whether prosecutors acted appropriately. It's also going to fuel Comey's defense team as they argue first to get access to the full grand jury transcripts. And then in addition to that, to put together all of these issues related to how the prosecutors handled this case and argue it needs to be dismissed because what they say is that Lindsey Halligan, the Eastern District of Virginia U.S. attorney, was not acting appropriately, either on her own or at the direction of Donald Trump.

So, the issue yesterday, it does not stand alone. It's important to remember other things that the judges have already found in this case when they privately have looked at grand jury transcripts. Some of those things include a magistrate judge saying that Halligan improperly told the grand jury what the law is for a trial, implying that James Comey would need to testify in his own defense. In fact, he has a Fifth Amendment right not to do so at trial if he is the defendant.

Also, the judge has said that prosecutor -- that Lindsey Halligan, the prosecutor, may have suggested the Justice Department had better or more evidence later on than what the grand jury saw. But the Justice Department, they pushed back yesterday. They said everything's cool. We don't want to let these transcripts go to the defense team. They don't need to. And that the U.S. attorney did not misstate the law. The grand jury was not misled. And the transcript shows a routine regular presentation of the indictment.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Stand by to stand by on this one for sure. Katelyn, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, so new this morning, a Democratic socialist here in New York has filed papers that would let him stage a primary challenge, potentially, to the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. So, what does that tell us about the current state of the Democratic Party and the possible rise of Democratic socialists after New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani won the election here? And we should note, Mamdani has said he doesn't think anyone should challenge Jeffries.

[09:45:02]

That said, let's talk about this in depth.

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten here.

So, Hakeem Jeffries, should he be nervous?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: No, I don't think he should be -- I mean, look, you're either running unopposed or scared, as Fritz Hollings, the great senator from South Carolina, once said --

BERMAN: Before he lost.

ENTEN: Before -- no, he --

BERMAN: He retired. He retired.

ENTEN: He retired. He retired. He got out of South Carolina before they really went against the Democrats.

But take a look here. I think this really gives you an indication of why I think the primary challenge -- one of the big reasons I think the primary challenge to Hakeem Jeffries will likely fail. Net favorability among Democrats. You know, nationally, remember, there was all this energy, not just locally, but nationally from Mamdani. And there's all this national energy against Chuck Schumer. But Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer are on different planets. You know, you look at January, the net favorability rating, they were pretty close, plus 22 for Jeffries, plus 11 for Schumer. But over the course of the year, Jeffries net favorability among Democrats has actually gone up. It's gone up to plus 29 points.

Look at where Chuck Schumer is. He's underwater with Democrats in the most recent Fox News poll at minus two points. But at this point, Hakeem Jeffries is running over 30 points better with Democrats nationally than Chuck Schumer is. The anger on the left is much more so against Chuck Schumer than it is against Hakeem Jeffries. Most Democrats think that Hakeem Jeffries is actually doing a pretty good job.

BERMAN: Yes, this screen right here tells me these are not the same things you're looking at here.

ENTEN: These are not the same things.

BERMAN: All right, Democratic socialists in general. How much room for growth is there?

ENTEN: So, OK. So, we can go into New York City, right? We can go -- and we had that mayoral election just a few weeks ago. And I think there's this idea, right, you know, obviously, Zohran Mamdani very much on the left. But what was the percentage of Democrats and the percentage of Mamdani voters who actually consider themselves Democratic socialists in the election a few weeks ago? In fact, it was the minority of Mamdani voters, 43 percent, still a pretty large number but the minority, 43 percent, who said they were Democratic socialists.

And then you look among Democrats in general, and it's 36 percent. And it's 36 percent. The majority of Democrats in New York City and the New York Eighth District looks a lot like New York City. It look -- at least in terms of the mayoral vote, back in the primary.

You see it here, 36 percent. So, the majority of Democrats in New York City, and likely in New York Eight, do not consider themselves Democratic socialists. It's a fairly large percentage, but 36 does not get you north of the 50 percent that you would need to defeat Jeffries.

BERMAN: No, at first blush I'm like, oh, that's a big number there. But thinking forward to maybe a Democratic presidential primary, if you're looking at where more voters might be, it's in that other batch.

ENTEN: That's correct. That's correct. The Democratic Party has become more left, but not that far left.

BERMAN: All right. So, what does this all mean for Hakeem Jeffries? What do people think of his chances?

ENTEN: Yes, OK. So, again, you know, you look at the prediction market odds here, the chance to win the New York '08 Democratic nomination. You see Hakeem Jeffries has the majority chance at this point, 80 percent chance in 2026. That number has actually climbed over the course of this week as Mamdani has come out against that primary challenge to Hakeem Jeffries. And I actually think this number is a little bit low.

Look, anything can happen in politics, but at this particular point, Hakeem Jeffries looks like the likely favorite, likely to win another term, likely to win renomination in New York state, John. BERMAN: And the question is, is he just a congressman and minority

leader from New York or --

ENTEN: Or is he the coming speaker of the House?

BERMAN: That's another thing.

ENTEN: That's a -- that, I think, we'll cover down the line.

BERMAN: We'll ask the prediction markets about that eventually.

Harry Enten, thank you very much for that.

ENTEN: Thank you, my friend.

BERMAN: A lot of stuff happening right now. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:52:55]

SIDNER: All right, on our radar for you this morning, the Coast Guard confiscating more than 49,000 pounds of cocaine? That's worth more than $360 million. The Coast Guard says this is the largest seizure by a single ship during a single mission in history. Officials said the seizure was a result of 15 separate interceptions by the crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone, along with other agencies in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

NASA releasing the latest image of an interstellar comet known as 3I/ATLAS. The rare comet was first detected on July 1st and zoomed past Mars last month. The object will swing within 168 million miles of earth on December 19th.

All right, stunning new video this morning showing thousands of camels heading out on their annual migration across China's inner Mongolia region. Look at these wonderful, beautiful images. Now, it's beautiful for us to watch. Gives us some peace and zen. Harder for the camels, as you might imagine. Herders and trucks are leading the camels on an epic journey towards their winter home. The process takes about a month for the camels to cross the desert, where they spent the summer grazing freely. Gorgeous, gorgeous pictures there.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So cool.

SIDNER: I always wanted -- I want to see that. John does too. Let's take a trip.

BOLDUAN: I think we can take the show on the road. I think so.

SIDNER: I think so too.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SIDNER: It would be perfect. A little desert storm for us. We're good.

BOLDUAN: Perfection.

That's amazing. Yes, that's now on our Christmas list. Thank you so much.

Let's turn to this right now, an update for you. Texas is on alert, facing down a serious flood threat in the Texas hill country. Overnight they already saw several inches of rain just upstream from that same area that was devastated by those horrible flash floods in July. More than 100 people, many of them children at a summer camp, died in those July 4th floods. Today, more than 75,000 people in the hill country are in the threat zone for another five or so inches of rain.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar watching this one and, as you said earlier, need to watch it over and over again.

[09:55:05]

What's the latest?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I think that's the key thing here is it's not just one line that's going to move through, it's going to be multiple waves that come through.

So, here's where we have the biggest threat for today. All of these areas you see here in green, essentially from Dallas all the way back down to the Mexico line, this is where we have those flood risks for today. And the first line already made its way through Dallas very early this morning. Here comes that second wave, but it's moving so incredibly slow, which means it has a ton of time to dump a tremendous amount of rain over all of these areas. Here you can see again, a lot of those focus points right there just east of San Angelo, that's what's going to be sliding off to the north and east as we go through the rest of the day today.

So, when we talk about where the greatest threat is going to be, look at this. Here's that second line, lining right up with Dallas around 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 p.m. local time, right during the evening commute. Unfortunately, that is just going to be the ideal timing for the heaviest rain. Then it continues to slide off to the east, impacting states like Arkansas, Missouri, and eventually into Tennessee and Kentucky for some travel plans as folks head out this weekend.

BOLDUAN: Yes, got to watch all of that.

Allison, thank you so much. It's great to see you.

John. Sara.

BERMAN: Yes, thank you all for joining us. Except for Kate, who didn't really join us in person today.

This has been --

BOLDUAN: I am always with you.

BERMAN: This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM" up next.

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