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U.S. Pursuing Another Oil Tanker Venezuela Amid Trump Blockade; Growing Outrage Over Release of Heavily Redacted Epstein Files; Heavy Rain, Flooding and Snow to Inundate California This Week. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired December 22, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking this morning, the U.S. chasing cargo ships across the oceans. One Republican senator calls it provocative and a prelude to war.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And a brewing storm for the Trump administration as the slow release of the Epstein fights is leading to accusations of a cover-up and the immense amount of redactions is not helping

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And out west getting hammered with another fast moving and dangerous storm system, rain, flash flooding, and some heavy snow potentially in the mix now through the holidays.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: And new this morning, a chase on the high seas. As we speak, U.S. forces are in active pursuit of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. The ship was sailing toward Venezuela to pick up oil, it is under U.S. sanctions for alleged links to Iranian oil. A U.S. official says that when the Coast Guard attempted to board, the ship refused to stop.

Now, if this looks familiar, this is the newest escalation of what President Trump has called a total and complete blockade on sanctioned vessels connected to Venezuela's oil industry. That's the heart of that country's economy. U.S. forces have already seized two other ships this month. This has earned some backlash even among Republicans who warned this could lead to war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): I consider it a provocation and a prelude to war, and I hope we don't go to war with Venezuela. Look, at any point in time, there are 20, 30 governments around the world that we don't like that are either socialist or communist or have human rights violations, we could really literally go through a couple dozen, but it isn't the job of the American soldier to be the policeman of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: All right. With us by phone for the very latest on this, CNN's Kevin Liptak, who is following the president who is down in Palm Beach for the holidays. Kevin, what are you hearing?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. It's been an extraordinary active weekend off the coast of Venezuela there in the international waters, just in the last 48 hours. Significant crackdown on Venezuela's oil industry, including that episode yesterday where the U.S. Coast Guard attempted to interdict this tanker, which is called the BELLA 1. It's a massive tanker. It was under U.S. sanctions. It's part of what the U.S. views as this shadow fleet that's transporting sanctioned oil all over the world. There was a warrant out for seizure, but it did not stop. It didn't submit to the U.S. personnel who tried to board it and turned around and essentially fled into the Caribbean Sea with the Coast Guard chasing behind.

U.S. officials describing it to me as an active pursuit, and it was the second tanker that the US had attempted to board this weekend. On Saturday, it intercepted a tanker called The Centuries. They did successfully board it. And Kristi Noem, who's the Homeland Security Secretary, posted video of a Coast Guard helicopter, you know, hovering over the deck in this predawn operation. That vessel, according to the White House, was carrying stolen Venezuelan oil, although the ship itself was not covered by American sanctions.

So, this is all coming after Trump announced what he calls this complete embargo as he works to up the pressure on Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan leader, work to really squeeze Venezuelan's oil industry. That's its main economic lifeline. It's really what has allowed Maduro to retain his grip on power. President Trump has made pretty explicit his interest in Venezuela's oil reserves. They're the largest in the entire world.

You also see Maduro really stepping up the rhetoric. He has accused the U.S. of psychological terrorism. He's also ordering his Navy to escort oil tankers, leaving Venezuela, which, of course, ups the risk of a potential escalation in that part of the world.

Of course, the question now is what comes next? President Trump keeps saying that U.S. airstrikes on land will be coming. He's been saying that for the last several weeks though, and he hasn't ordered the final order on that.

We will hear from President Trump today. He's due to make an announcement at 4:30 from down here at Mar-a-Lago. He'll be joined by Pete Hegseth, by the Army -- sorry, the Navy secretary, by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio. We don't know the precise topic of that, but certainly it will be an opportunity for him to talk more about what his objectives are in Venezuela.

[07:05:07]

John?

BERMAN: All right. Good to have you there reporting on this. Kevin Liptak for us in Palm Beach this morning, we'll get back to you in a bit. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. New this morning as the DOJ prepares to release more documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. The department is facing intense criticism over the slow pace of the rollout and the heavy redaction in the initial batch of files the DOJ says it erred on the side of over redaction to protect victims of Epstein.

Yesterday, the Justice Department republished a photo taken from Epstein's home that featured an image of President Trump. It was deleted Saturday, but reappeared Sunday. But the DOJ saying it temporarily removed the picture to make sure it didn't show any victims.

The heavy redactions and drip, drip of the documents release has angered the bipartisan lawmakers behind the Epstein files legislation. They're now threatening contempt proceedings against Attorney General Pam Bondi. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): The quickest way, and I think most expeditious way to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): We're building a bipartisan coalition and it would fine Pam Bondi for every day that she's not releasing these documents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Joining me now is CNN Legal Analyst and Criminal Defense Attorney Joey Jackson. We heard Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who was also behind pushing this forward, said that the letter of the law and the spirit of the law has been broken, something that many Democrats agree with. What's the recourse here as you started to see there what there's going to potentially -- what they could do, but they have to have bipartisan support obviously?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, they must. So, Sara, good morning to you. What happens is, is, generally, the recourse, the remedy when you're not complying with the law is in the law itself. The unfortunate thing here is that there is no provision in this law that gives a specific remedy. And so what they have to do that is Congress is look for ways in which they could bring enforcement.

The law is very clear. The law indicates you have records, communications, you have documents that to be released. It's called the Transparency Act. It's called that because it really envisions the information coming out to the public. It also says you have 30 days to do so. It also says, Sara, that after those 30 days, 15 days later, you're to report to Congress with respect to the redactions, the categories of them, why you redacted them, what was the purpose, et cetera. So, what you're looking for is compliance.

So what I believe, and they've been floating this, you heard there, either contempt proceedings, impeachment proceedings, something to bring teeth to the notion that what we said to do in the law, which, by the way, it passed in the House less one vote. I mean, there was only one person that didn't vote for it, and unanimous in the Senate. So, this is something that the public is screaming for.

SIDNER: Yes. I want to talk about the 15 or so files that were taken down a day after they were posted, which included a photograph of President Trump, Melania, Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell. Here's what the DOJ said the reasoning was for pulling down those images. It says, out of an abundance of caution, the Department of Justice temporarily removed the image for further review. After the review, it was determined there was no evidence that any Epstein victims were depicted in the photograph, and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction.

I mean, when you look at this sort of push and pull, it's like they put it out, they take it back, they put it out, what does this tell you about the process they are using to deal with an enormous amount, to be fair, an enormous amount of files and documents?

JACKSON: Yes, I think it, there's a concern amongst the public about whether there is a cover-up or whether this is being done in good faith, whether you have Clinton's name mentioned so many times. It's not about politics and who should be mentioned, who shouldn't, it's about complete accountability. The law speaks to who are the government officials and others who were named and who were not.

And when you look at this, Sara, I think it's important very briefly to look at the timeline, every once Clinton, Clinton, Clinton. The reality is that Epstein, the public investigation began in 2005, right? Clinton served '92 to 2000. And then you look at him actually being accountable in Florida, if you could call it accountability, in 2009, some believed that he escaped justice in a very significant way. And then, of course, 2019 is ultimately when he was indicted, died a year later.

And so I think that if you're going to release it, for law's sake, release it so they're not conspiracy theories. And if you're going to redact it, of course, you want to redact sensitive victim information, of course, classified should not be there. It says it in the law itself. But everything else, really, if it's not child pornography, et cetera, should just be given to the public and let the people decide.

And when it comes out in a disjointed way, when it looks like you're preserving and protecting people, I think those are when conspiracy theories abound, and perhaps they should.

SIDNER: Yes. There were a lot of talk about, you know, the pictures of Clinton, Bill Clinton, and then you had this one picture that showed Trump, which, by the way, people had seen before that was taken out.

[07:10:01]

It does ramp up those folks that believe that conspiracy or a cover-up is happening. And we will see what happens going forward. There are many, many more files that still must be released, and I know we'll have you back, Joey Jackson.

JACKSON: Looking forward.

SIDNER: I do appreciate you.

JACKSON: Thanks, Sara.

SIDNER: Kate?

BOLDUAN: So, dangerous and deadly storms are sweeping through Northern California now facing flash flooding and chest-deep waters. We have the latest forecast for you.

Plus, is Russia's war in Ukraine killing Santa's reindeer? The unexpected impact of Putin's war effort now.

And a billionaire by Christmas, tonight's Powerball jackpot climbs to $1.6 billion, the odds very clearly, not merry, but dreams so bright.

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[07:15:00]

BOLDUAN: It looks like it's going to be a dangerous and stormy holiday week for much of California. A powerful storm has already caused serious flash flooding and road closures in the northern parts of the state, and there's more dangerous weather on the way. At least one person was already killed in the flooding. Multiple water rescues have been needed with even some parts of major interstates submerged.

CNN's Derek Van Dam is tracking this one for us and where this storm system heads from here. What are you seeing?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Good morning, Kate. Believe me, this Christmas present is on nobody's wish list, but, unfortunately, we need to face the reality of what's to come for the state of California using the wording from the National Weather Service out of L.A. This is going to take dead aim at the state in the coming days and you need to take precautionary efforts right now to protect your property and potentially your life because the flash flooding threat is real and it is high.

We've already gotten a taste of it across the northern parts of the state. This is coming out of Humboldt County this weekend. Look at the flooding inundating some of these homes. We've got this atmospheric river. We call it a river in the sky for a reason because the amount of moisture that it can transport into the state is just incredible.

Here it is on the satellite, very visible, lots of moisture, and it's already dumped over a half a foot of rainfall. That's liquid precipitation. That is not snowfall totals. So, unfortunately, we're going to add more misery to this because this fire hose is really aimed right at the state as we speak. So, it is going to be a significant rainmaker for the state of California. We're talking about over a foot of rain in some locations. And we've already seen that rainfall, four parts of the state. The satellite and the radar here over the past 24 hours has been significant with that narrow band of heaviest rainfall into the San Francisco Bay area, impacting places like Redding, as far south as Sacramento as well.

But what's going to happen, this flood watch that's in place from the National Weather Service really paints a very big picture because pretty much the entire state and as far east as Las Vegas and western sections of Arizona are within the flood watch. That is because we have the potential for days of rain as this atmospheric river starts to take aim at the southern portions of the state from Wednesday, Thursday into Friday.

And this is when things start to get very real. We've got a big population density in and around Los Angeles, San Diego and not to mention the recent burn scars for this area that will lead to the potential of flash flooding, mudslides, landslides, rockslide with days of rain coming in.

So, Kate, yes, not a great Christmas time in terms of the weather for this part of the country.

BOLDUAN: Days of rain to come. All right, Derek, thank you so much for keeping a track on -- track of it all. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Still ahead, Jim Beam is cutting itself off. The bourbon maker will pause production at its main Kentucky distillery as barrels pile up. What tariffs have to do with all this.

And the NFL is investigating what happened here between Steelers wide receiver D.K. Metcalf and a Lions fan.

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[07:20:00]

SIDNER: A big win for the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Detroit Lions, but it comes with another headline that's from the sidelines, Steelers Wide Receiver D.K. Metcalf's altercation with the Lions fan now under league review.

CNN's Andy Scholes is here with us. What do we know about what happened?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: So, Sara, I'm not sure we've ever seen a player smack a fan mid-game and then kind of just continue like nothing ever happened, but that's what occurred yesterday with D.K. Metcalf.

And so in the second quarter, Metcalf, he went over to this Lion's fan who was sitting front row behind the bench. He grabs a fan's shirt, pulled him closer, and then swings at him. Now, the Detroit Free Press spoke to the Lions fan. He told them he called Metcalf by his full name. DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf. That's why Metcalf confronted him.

Now, Metcalf did not speak with reporters after the game. A league source tells CNN that they will be reviewing the incident.

Now, as for the game, it had a thrilling finish. The Lions were down five in the closing seconds. They're going to get a touchdown here to Amon-Ra St. Brown to take the lead. But it's called back for offensive pass interference because Isaac TeSlaa threw an illegal pick.

Now, the final play of the game, Goff to St. Brown again, he's going to lateral it back to Goff who's going to dive into the end zone for a touchdown with no time left. But, again, they called offensive pass interference, this time for St. Brown pushing Jalen Ramsey.

The game is over because they don't run another play after an offensive penalty. Big win for the Steelers, brutal loss for the Lions. For Detroit to make the playoffs, they now have to win their final two and have the Packers lose their final two.

Now, the Ravens' playoff chance is also slipping away last night. Lamar Jackson, he left this game with a back injury after this play in the second quarter. The Ravens, though, they took a 24-13 lead in the fourth quarter after this Derrick Henry touchdown run. But then after that, for some reason, Henry never touched the ball again in this game.

The Patriots rally for back-to-back touchdowns, Rhamondre Stevenson with 21-yard T.D. here to take a 28-24 lead with two minutes left. And then with the season basically hanging in the balance for the Ravens, Zay Flowers fumbles, Patriots recover, game over. Ravens now have to win out and have the Steelers lose out to make the playoffs. Ravens, they do play the Steelers in week 18.

Elsewhere, the Broncos' 11-game winning streak finally coming to an end, Trevor Lawrence and the Jags just staying red hot. Lawrence, he threw for three touchdowns.

[07:25:00]

He also ran for another. Jacksonville would win 34 to 20 to get to 11 and four on the season. They still have a chance at the one seed in the AFC.

And, finally, the Panthers getting one of the biggest home wins in years. They were up 23-20 on the Bucs. Tampa was driving to either win or tie this game, but Lathan Ransom picks off Baker Mayfield to steal the win. Bucs have now lost six of their last seven. Now, these two teams do play again in the final game of this season, but the Panthers now have the upper hand for the division title.

And, Sara, good one tonight, we've got the cults hosting the 49ers. And that means we get to watch 44-year-old Philip Rivers on the field once again. The Colts have to have this game in order to have a chance at making the playoffs. So, we'll see if Rivers can get it done.

SIDNER: It's amazing. What, he's been out of football for, what, five years or so? He's got ten children. Like the man's back, it's incredible to me.

SCHOLES: I mean, can you imagine the busy time of year for him around Christmas time? You got ten kids. I mean it's a lot of fun.

SIDNER: He's got things to do.

Andy Scholes, it is a pleasure. Thank you so much. John?

BERMAN: And I'm sure Andy meant to play very many more highlights of the Patriots win, Drake Maye threw for 380 yards. Contact me directly if you'd like to see some of those highlights.

All right, the onstage argument at a key conservative gathering, how much space should be made for people trafficking in blatant anti- Semitism?

And with Christmas fast approaching precious reindeer killed by wolves, how it's being connected to Vladimir Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you blame Vladimir Putin for these dead reindeer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who could I blame? I could blame the whole world why this should happen. It's getting worse after the Ukraine war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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