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"The Rise of Christian Nationalism" in the U.S.; Ex-Prince Andrew Arrest on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office; Trump Holds First "Board of Peace" Meeting; Sources: U.S. Ready to Strike Iran. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired February 19, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: There could be babies crawling around while they teach, they might be holding their babies, Brianna. It's to remind the students that their female teacher's primary role, first and foremost, is to be a mother. I mean, that is foundational as well in their belief system, that women should be submissive to their husbands and they should be a mother first and foremost.

So, I'm going to examine all of this and much more in my hour-long documentary on The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper this Sunday, February 22nd at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN or the next day on CNN's all-access streaming platform. And you can see other elements of the story while we're promoting this week on my Instagram, @PamelaBrownCNN.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Really fascinating, and I know it's going to generate a lot of conversation.

BROWN: And it should, and I hope people of all different faiths watch this and learn something from it because it's a consequential moment in our country. It certainly is. Pamela Brown, thank you very much.

A new hour of CNN New Central starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: A historic moment for the monarchy. King Charles' brother, the former Prince Andrew, has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. We have the latest reaction from Buckingham Palace. Plus, prepared to strike, we have new reporting on how the U.S. military could attack Iran as soon as this weekend. The question now, will President Trump give that final order? And we have the latest on efforts to contain a ferocious wildfire burning through multiple states. Ahead, how the latest forecast could pose new obstacles for crews battling those flames. We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN New Central.

We begin this hour with the British monarchy facing the first arrest of a senior royal family member in centuries. Earlier today, police taking former Prince Andrew into custody on suspicion of misconduct in public office. While officials are not saying what led to his arrest, British police have been assessing whether he shared confidential government information with Jeffrey Epstein during his time as a U.K. trade envoy. Andrew's older brother, King Charles, releasing a statement saying in part that he supports a, quote, "full, fair and proper process," adding the law must take its course.

Let's get right to CNN's Max Foster, who's live outside Buckingham Palace for us. Max, walk us through what apparently triggered this arrest and what we know about where the former prince is now being held.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR AND ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: So, several police forces holding investigations right now into the Epstein papers, and one of them, Thames Valley Police, was specifically looking at misconduct in public office and allegations against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

So, when he was Prince Andrew, he had a role as trade envoy, and there are suggestions in the Epstein papers that he forwarded confidential government reports to Epstein. No evidence of that beyond what we've seen in the Epstein papers, and the police aren't giving much more away. But when we woke up this morning, we had this bombshell news that clearly the investigation had progressed to the point where they were able to arrest Andrew on the king's estate in Norfolk, where he's been decamped to after all of this scandal.

And as far as we know, he's currently in police custody answering questions, potentially sitting in a cell between those moments, not getting any special treatment at all. And I'm told by sources the king wasn't even informed this arrest was going to take place.

So, he could be held for the rest of today, perhaps into tomorrow. He then could be charged, he could be released on bail, or they could go to a magistrate and hold him longer. A very complex, historic investigation to deal with here for the police. But they've clearly got some information they wanted to present to him, and, you know, time will tell what that information is, but it's clearly significant.

SANCHEZ: We just read a part of the statement from King Charles. Are we anticipating that the royal family is going to say more as this investigation goes on?

FOSTER: Well, it's hugely sensitive because the king is the head of state, he's head of judiciary, and he can't be seen to be interfering with this whatsoever. So, he's leaving it now to the police to come up with statements. They said they're not going to make any more either. It was interesting to look at the statement. If I go through the first part of it, I've learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and referring to him by his full name is obviously unusual, rather speaking to brother, but he is trying to create as much distance as possible from this affair to protect the monarchy.

What now follows is a full and fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. As I've said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and cooperation. So, the king in his role as head of state supporting the police, but also doing all he can to protect the monarchy and separate the monarchy from what is happening here.

[14:05:00]

But what they can't deny is that these allegations go back to a time when Andrew was a prince. He had an office at Buckingham Palace, and he was using that position allegedly to share confidential government reports, which would be, if he's found guilty, an abuse of his position. It would not have been in the public interest, which is very undermining for the British monarchy.

SANCHEZ: To underscore that point of how fraught and complicated this all is, Andrew is being arrested in the name of the king, his older brother.

FOSTER: Absolutely. So, when any arrest is made, it's done on behalf of the state. And the monarch is the representative of that state. So, you could argue that King Charles, under his authority, Andrew is being arrested. If the case continues to trial, it will be Crown versus Andrew. So, it is an extraordinary state of affairs. As you say, no senior royal has been arrested since the 1600s. So, that's extraordinary in itself. And that was King Charles I.

And -- but what we have here is a monarch effectively arresting a member of the royal family, which obviously wasn't the case with King Charles I. So, you have to go even further back in history to find a case of that. It's truly extraordinary.

SANCHEZ: Max Foster, live outside Buckingham Palace for us. Thank you so much. Brianna.

KEILAR: Let's get more perspective on this royal reckoning with CNN Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour. And, Christiane, you just spoke with the BBC journalist who conducted that infamous interview that Andrew gave back in 2019 that was so consequential. Tell us what you discussed and what her response is to this arrest.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, as you can imagine, she's in high demand, Emily Maitlis, former BBC journalist, because she did get the only on-the-record conversation with Prince Andrew. That, of course, was about the allegations regarding the sex trafficking and the, you know, encounters with Virginia Giuffre specifically. And that is not what this current investigation is about.

And we here in the U.K. have to be quite careful because, according to the law, we can only specifically refer to the current investigation, which is about looking into the possibility of misconduct while in public office. So, that's, as Max was saying, about his activities and allegations around that and sharing confidential information as a trade envoy. But I did ask Emily, does she think, as so many people are saying, that this is a real change moment and an earthquake, I said, for the whole royal family?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Do you think it is a royal earthquake? Do you think it threatens the very monarchy?

EMILY MAITLIS, INTERVIEWED ANDREW MOUNTBATTEN-WINDSOR IN 2019 AND CO- HOST, "THE NEWS AGENTS" PODCAST: I'm absolutely stunned by what we're seeing today. As you said, the last time there was an arrest of a royal was 1647, that is 350 years ago. And it ended up with the beheading of Charles I, and briefly the end of the monarchy. So, this is not something we see in this country. This is not something that we are used to seeing.

And we have to remember that Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne. He still lives in a royal residence. It isn't in Windsor. It isn't Royal Lodge, the place that he was moved out of. But it is on the royal estate. And I think the questions now for the royal family and particularly for the monarch, his brother, will be how close that relationship is made to seem between the two of them and to the wider public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Yes. And, of course, it is all about the monarchy trying to keep these hundreds and hundreds of years of institutional trust between it and the people, which is why it still exists. So, I did further ask her about what she just raised. How will this affect King Charles and the whole process going forward?

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AMANPOUR: Why do you think it's happened now? What is the trigger?

MAITLIS: There is no question in my mind that when King Charles removed that title from Andrew six months ago, last October, when he asked him to leave Royal Lodge, the king was essentially paving the way for the law to take its course. He was essentially saying, I think, to the forces of justice in this country, I don't want to tie your hands. He's my brother, but he is no longer untouchable.

I'm not saying that King Charles had any advance warning of what happened today. In fact, I think we know that he didn't. There was no tip off. There was no communication between the police, the forces that arrested him and the monarch. But that statement was absolutely critical. When King Charles said, let the law run its course, this has to be fair justice for all, essentially.

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But he also said this curious line, which was, I have the deepest concern. I thought that was a very strange combination of words because he didn't really explain who that concern was for. Was it for a brother that he feels he no longer can call a brother formally? Was it for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein in whatever form or guise they are? It remains unexplained. But I do think that that was a seminal moment because King Charles was indicating six months ago that no one is above the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP) AMANPOUR: And of course, the British prime minister reiterated that as well. Keir Starmer said no one is above the law. And we're going to wait to see when Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is released from this custody, because that's also going to tell us about how serious it is.

Apparently, they can keep him for 24 hours without charge. And he has not been charged. Important to say that. Or they can keep him for longer if they find more things that they need to talk. I think the maximum is 96 hours. But -- so this is going to be incredibly interesting to see and important to note what actually comes out of this in terms of how he's released, when he's released, on what conditions is he released.

KEILAR: Christiane, can you give us a little more context? Because I was, you know, jumping off of what Emily said there and something that we heard the royal historian Kate Williams say earlier. They kind of shocked me and I pay attention to what's happening with the royal family. But she said that this is bigger than the abdication, that this is bigger than the death of Princess Diana. And that really has to do, of course, with the threat -- this being an existential threat.

So, from the outside, as we're looking in on that, explain why is this such an existential threat, in particular at this moment in time for the monarchy with King Charles being still relatively new at the helm?

AMANPOUR: Well, for him, it's very painful, obviously, because, as you say, not only did he not so long ago take over when his mother, the Queen Elizabeth, died, but also, he is suffering from cancer. He continues to undergo cancer treatments and he is trying to do the best he can as the public face of the head of state. And so, it's very, very difficult.

And it's been gathering apace for many years and months. I mean, Emily Maitlis did that first interview in 2019. And from that moment on, Andrew has been increasingly falling from grace until now he is arrested. It's important because, as I said, there has not been a royal arrest like that. A senior member of the royal family since 1647, 350 years ago. King Charles I, who was, in fact, then beheaded and the monarchy ended for a period. And it did. So, it was really existential and it remains so now.

And I think, you know, the further you go in history, the further you go from the abdication, which was around, you know, the Second World War, the further you go from Princess Diana's death, which was in 1997, you get further and further away from that overwhelming bond that the people of this country have with the monarchy. Yes, they are still massively popular, but every year they have to work harder to keep that faith and to keep that -- you know, that that commitment and commune community with the people and therefore legitimacy and credibility and existence. So, the word existential, as you said, is important.

Now, on the top of all of this, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, under whose administration Andrew, who was then Prince Andrew, was the trade envoy. He has reported today that he has written a five-page memorandum for the police asking them to look out for different and more issues. Particularly asking them to look out for. And this is now relating to the issue of trafficked women, of illegal criminal activity with younger women who may have been brought into this country using private planes into one of the regional airports here. So, that's a whole another look. And that's being pushed by a former prime minister.

So, there's endless strings to this, you know, situation. It has to be said, of course, that Prince Andrew, when he was prince and continues to deny having any having done anything wrong in any of these instances. But it's gathering a legal rule of law pace that is unseen in this country regarding that family for hundreds of years.

KEILAR: Yes. And if they investigate that, if they find something in that, obviously, it will raise a whole host of other questions beyond even Andrew. Christiane, it's great to have you put this into context, Christiane Amanpour, thank you so much.

AMANPOUR: Thanks, Brianna.

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KEILAR: Still to come, President Trump threatening military action against Iran as soon as this weekend, saying the country must agree to a nuclear deal or risk a, quote, "very different path."

Plus, unveiling plans for the future of Gaza and the Palestinian people. President Trump saying his board of peace will be looking over the United Nations.

And a huge fire the size of Chicago is burning thousands of acres. It's destroying homes across Oklahoma and Kansas. We'll be looking at that. We have that and much more coming up on CNN News Central.

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[14:20:00]

SANCHEZ: President Trump today presided over the first meeting of his newly formed Board of Peace, and one of his first acts was to announce a $10 billion contribution from the United States. Part of the group's mission today presided over the first meeting of his newly formed Board of Peace, and one of his first acts was to announce a $10 billion contribution from the United States. Part of the group's mission will be the reconstruction of Gaza. The president also said that he envisions another task for the board, overseeing the United Nations.

Let's get more from CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes. Kristen, what exactly did President Trump mean when he talked about the board looking over the U.N.?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, Boris, that's the question here. And one of the things to note, this doesn't align with what President Trump last said about the Board of Peace and the United Nations when he said that the two would work in conjunction, but it does feed into the fears that so many countries had about President Trump's Board of Peace. It's why many of our allies didn't actually join the Board of Peace, this fear that President Trump was going to use this newly established entity to try and take over the United Nations. So, here's the context in full of what President Trump said about this overseeing of the United Nations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: The United Nations will be, I think, is going to be much stronger. The Board of Peace is going to almost be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly. But we're going to strengthen up the United Nations. We're going to make sure its facilities are good. They need help and they need help money- wise. We're going to help them money-wise. And we're going to make sure the United Nations is viable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, it is true that the United Nations is having serious money issues, in part because the United States has refused to pay $4 billion in dues that it is owed to the United Nations. Now, one thing to keep in mind here, the U.N. actually approved the kind of structure of the Board of Peace back in November, but that was when the scope of this board was very narrow. It was all about the reconstruction of Gaza specifically.

Now, of course, we are seeing a broader question as to what exactly President Trump plans for this board. And, of course, it is worth noting that, again, some of our greatest allies, France, European countries, Italy, Germany, none of them are members of this Board of Peace because they were concerned, in part, of what this would mean for the United Nations and what the actual scope of this was.

SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes, live for us at the White House, thank you so much for that reporting. Still to come, the U.S. military boosting its presence in the Middle East as President Trump threatens new strikes against Iran unless a nuclear deal is reached. A deep dive into the military buildup in the region when we come back.

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KEILAR: Anxiety is growing in the Middle East as President Trump ramps up pressure on Iran. One source is now telling CNN that the U.S. is prepared to strike as early as this weekend. But President Trump hasn't decided yet on when or even if to launch an attack.

Speaking today, the president suggested that his decision could happen over the next 10 days, while giving Iranian leaders an ultimatum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And we do have some work to do with Iran. They can't have a nuclear weapon, it's very simple. They can't have -- you can't have peace in the Middle East if they have a nuclear weapon. And they can't have a nuclear weapon and they've been told that very strongly. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: All right. let's bring in CNN military analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton to talk a little bit about this. The big tip off here is just how much military material is in the region.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Take us through this. Yes, absolutely, Brianna. And this is really quite interesting because the deployments have been quite considerable. You know, you have everything from two combat ships like this, the USS Tulsa and the USS Canberra. You also have a bunch of other assets, including the most important one at the moment, the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is the aircraft carrier and it brings with it a whole bunch of other assets that are really part of this, including guided missile cruisers and some other assets right here that can really provide a great deal of support.

That does not include the Air Force assets and other aviation assets that are stationed in places like Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. So, what we've got is a huge, not only an armada, but we've got a huge air fleet that is ready and poised to go after Iran.

KEILAR: And Iran isn't just sitting around, right? They are fortifying their assets. What does that tell you about what they're expecting?

LEIGHTON: So, one of the key things is that each one of these areas is a potential target right here. And, of course, they're really interested in some of their nuclear sites like these right here. Those could be restruck in a situation like this where there's a potential for an attack. You have a lot of oil refineries, some of them in the southwestern part of Iran, like these right here.

And then, of course, you have the regime targets, the ones that are listed here in the green, those can be very important from the standpoint of going after the regime leadership, the police, the military forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. So, each of these target sets could be critical in order to potentially decapitate the regime, or at least make life very unpleasant for the regime.

KEILAR: And reports indicate that this could be a joint effort, right, by the U.S. and Israel. What would that look like mean?

LEIGHTON: So, basically what would happen here, so when you look at the map and you see Israel, which is right here, they would be the ones that could potentially go in and take out large parts of the Iranian air defense system, those parts that they were able to reconstitute. So, air defense assets could be positioned in areas like -- you know, areas like this, and certainly around Tehran and any of the nuclear sites. They could potentially have air defense assets right there. Israelis could take those out along with us.

Plus, we also have the capability of preventing Iran from doing things. So, in place like Qatar for example, where you have Al-Udeid Air Base, you would have the capability of knocking out -- [14:30:00]