Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Former Prince Andrew Leaves U.K. Police Station; Trump Calls Former Prince Andrew's Arrest a "Shame"; Trump Speaks as He Arrives in Georgia; Corporate America's Reckoning Over Epstein Files; Sources: U.S. Ready to Strike Iran, Awaiting Trump's Decision; Trump: Decision on Iran Could Come Over Next 10 Days; Shooter's Father on Learning of School Attack: "God, I Knew It" 3-3:30p ET

Aired February 19, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: ... storms in areas of the Midwest. So, in between, you'll start to see those winds die down, but then you get the secondary low-pressure system that comes in, and while you'd like to think that it would maybe perhaps bring some rain or snow to the area and provide some relief, most of that is just going to simply dry out. So, as that low pressure system kind of slides back through, all it's really going to do is end up kicking those winds back up again, and unfortunately, making it even worse than what we're seeing. So, conditions likely to get worse before they get better.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: That is not good news. We'll be watching. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

And a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Former Prince Andrew released from custody after a stunning and unprecedented arrest in England. The younger brother of King Charles taken by officials this morning for suspicion of misconduct in public office. The King's reaction? The law must take its course.

Plus, President Trump suggesting a decision on whether to strike Iran could come within days. As we learn, the U.S. military could be ready to strike as soon as this weekend.

And world and tech leaders meeting in a major A.I. summit in India. A hot topic of discussion, will artificial intelligence revolutionize jobs and bring about a new industrial revolution?

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

We begin this hour with breaking news and the stunning arrest of former Prince Andrew, just a few minutes ago, he was seen leaving a U.S. police station. These photos showing him in the back seat of a vehicle after he was likely questioned for hours over allegations of misconduct in public office following revelations in the Jeffrey Epstein files.

We should note, his arrest today is not related to allegations of sexual abuse. British police have been assessing whether the former Prince shared sensitive information with a late sex offender during his role as a British trade envoy. Andrew has denied all allegations related to Epstein. And just moments ago, we heard from President Trump reacting to the news of Andrew's arrest. The President telling reporters aboard Air Force One, quote, "I think it's a shame. I think it's very sad. I think it's so bad for the royal family."

Let's get right to CNN's Richard Quest. So, Richard, what happens now?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR & EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Well, the investigation continues. Clearly, as a result of information that they had gleaned from Epstein's files, the British authorities, the Metropolitan Police and others, decided that there was enough evidence to go forward and arrest him. And that allows them in Britain to do a whole range of different searches. It gives them different powers. It means they can ask different questions. And that's now going to take place.

The investigation into these allegations of what Andrew was doing when he was Britain's trade envoy and the certain allegations of passing on certain documents, there -- there are huge reporting restrictions in Britain once somebody has been arrested, which is why we can't go into much more detail than I'm giving you at the moment. But for the time being, the investigation will now go into a much higher gear. And ultimately, the authorities will have to decide whether they will charge him with any offenses or not.

SANCHEZ: What are the implications of all of this for the monarchy, Richard?

QUEST: It's huge. It's absolutely vast. Because we're talking about the King's brother. And indeed, King Charles has put out a statement. I can paraphrase it. The gist of it is, let me state clearly, the law must take its course. What now follows is the full, fair and proper process of the investigation.

But you can't help but realize the late queen protected Andrew. She was said to be her favorite son. I'm sorry, he was supposed to be the favored son. She protected him. They looked after him. They did not take the sort of measures that Charles finally took only a few months ago.

And as a result, now, they're in the position of having to completely quarantine him away from them so that whatever comes out during this investigation cannot and won't taint the royal family more than it already has.

SANCHEZ: Richard Quest, thank you so much.

We just received tape of the President addressing the arrest of Andrew on Air Force One. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, the former Prince Andrew, arrested by the police there, related to something with Jeffrey Epstein. Do you think people in this country, at some point, associates of Jeffrey Epstein will wind up in handcuffs, too?

[15:05:06]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, you know, I'm the expert in a way because I've been totally exonerated. That's very nice. So, I can actually speak about it very nicely. I think it's a shame. I think it's very sad. I think it's so bad for the royal family. It's very, very sad. To me, it's a very sad thing. When I see that, it's a very sad thing. To see it and to see what's going on with his brother, who's obviously coming to our country very soon and he's a fantastic man, the King. So, I think it's a very sad thing.

It's really interesting because nobody used to speak about Epstein when he was alive, but now they speak. But I'm the one that can talk about it because I've been totally exonerated. I did nothing. In fact, the opposite. He was against me. He was fighting me in the election, which I just found out through the last 3 million pages of documents. Yes, please. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said today on Iran, bad things will happen if Iran doesn't make a ...

TRUMP: Yes, bad thing -- really bad things.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What will that ...

TRUMP: I'm not going to talk to you about that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay. Can you just put a note what is the goal if there is a U.S. military strike?

TRUMP: Well, we're going to make a deal, or we're going to get a deal one way or the other.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But with a military strike, is it to wipe out their nuclear program?

TRUMP: I'm not going to talk to you about that, but we're either going to get a deal or it's going to be unfortunate for them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then you said today 10 days, you gave them a deadline for them to make a deal?

TRUMP: I would think that would be enough time, 10, 15 days. Pretty much maximum.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, when you have the Border of Peace, obviously there's a lot of countries that you're trying to get on. What countries would you like to see join the Border of Peace the most?

TRUMP: Well, we have a lot that are on and we have a lot that are going through the process of getting on to have to get legislative approval, et cetera. And we've had billions of dollars put up already by the countries that are on. You saw some of the big players today. It's been very successful. Everyone's going to want to be on. Everyone wants to be on. Some have to go back to their legislatures to get approval.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which one, with China or Russia, any one of those countries?

TRUMP: I -- I would love to have China and Russia. They've been invited, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something that got a lot of ...

TRUMP: You need both. You need all persuasions. No discrimination.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something that got a lot of attention this week, Barack Obama said that aliens are real. Have you seen any evidence of non-human visitors to Earth?

TRUMP: Well, he gave classified information. He's not supposed to be doing that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, aliens are real?

TRUMP: Well, I don't know if they're real or not. I can tell you he gave classified information. He's not supposed to be doing that. He made a -- he made a big mistake. He took it out of classified information. No, I don't -- I don't have an opinion on it. I never talked about it. A lot of people do. A lot of people believe it. Do you believe it, Peter?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I -- well, the President can declassify anything that he wants to, so if you want to make an announcement.

TRUMP: Well, maybe I'll get him out of trouble. I may get him out of trouble by declassifying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know illegal aliens are real.

TRUMP: Yes, illegal. Only illegals. What else?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you -- based on what you've been told, what do you think happened to Savannah Guthrie's mom, Nancy?

TRUMP: Boy, it's so -- so crazy. It's so bad. I didn't like when they were talking about going after the pacemaker and the -- and, you know, before they even started going after it, they're coming and reporting it. So, if, in fact, they could do it that way, the person would say, well, I'm not going to let that happen, right? So, bad things would happen if he's not going to let that happen. I -- I can't imagine why they would have done that. Just in terms of strategy, just one little piece. I don't know, but we have to start reporting on other subjects also and see what happens. It's a very sad situation.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Sir, we're in time to takeoff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And with Iran, if -- if the whole point of ...

TRUMP: Yes, I have to takeoff. I'll -- I'll come back, all right? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, thank you very much.

TRUMP: We'll do it after.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That was President Trump on the way to Georgia, answering reporters' questions on Air Force One. He spoke about the arrest of former Prince Andrew, saying that it was very sad. The President also taking questions on Iran, aliens, a variety of topics, Brianna.

KEILAR: The explicit details revealed in the Epstein files have created a PR nightmare for many corporate executives and their companies. The public reckoning for several C-suite chiefs mentioned in the trove of DOJ documents is just beginning. Some business leaders have been forced to resign. Others have been ordered to testify before lawmakers. Let's get more now from CNN senior reporter Matt Egan.

The ripple effects through corporations are very real.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Brianna, they are very real. At first, when the Justice Department was forced to release these documents, the ramifications for corporate America were quite limited. But now we have seen a steady stream of significant resignations caused by executives' links to Jeffrey Epstein in these files. So, the latest one is Tom Pritzker, the executive chairman at Hyatt Hotels. He said he's stepping down because he says he exercised, quote, terrible judgment in keeping ties with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Last week, it was Kathy Ruemmler, the top lawyer at Goldman Sachs. After reporting by CNN's KFILE and other media outlets, Ruemmler says that she's stepping down at the end of June.

[15:10:06]

There was a lot of scrutiny over her personal messages with Epstein and gifts that she had accepted.

Brad Karp resigning as well as the chairman of the prestigious law firm, Paul, Weiss.

Casey Wasserman, the Hollywood talent agent and chair of the 2028 L.A. Olympics, he's selling his talent agency. He said that his ties to Epstein in the Epstein files had become a, quote, "distraction to his firm."

And late last year, Larry Summers, the famed economist, he stepped down from the board of OpenAI and he said he was, quote, deeply ashamed by his ties to Epstein. Now, I do want to stress that none of these business leaders have been accused of wrongdoing. However, they have been accused of exercising poor judgment, especially because some of them kept ties with Epstein long after his 2008 guilty plea for procuring a minor for prostitution.

Now, I also think it's noteworthy that this may just be the beginning here. I talked to Bill George, who served on the board of directors over at Goldman Sachs, ExxonMobil, Target and other companies, and he told me, quote, "This is not over." He said, "This is just the tip of the iceberg. We're going to see more prominent people get implicated.

Now, the problem for companies is just how toxic this Epstein issue has become. Companies are doing damage control. They're trying to protect their reputations. The last thing an investment bank wants is to lose a spot in a lucrative IPO or a mega merger because clients are worried about the fact that one of their executives was linked to Jeffrey Epstein.

So, we've got to stay tuned here, Brianna, because there's millions of documents spanning many years, and we could very well see more resignations to come. Back to you.

KEILAR: Yes, he had many friends in high places. Matt Egan, thank you very much.

Still to come, President Trump says a decision on whether to strike Iran could come within days as we learn that Iran is now fortifying several of its nuclear facilities.

Plus, body cam footage presented in court shows Colin Gray's reaction after learning that his son was involved in an alleged mass shooting at a Georgia high school.

And then later, the VA is changing course and says that it will not enforce a rule that could impact disability compensation for some veterans. This after a fierce backlash from veterans groups. We'll have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:40]

SANCHEZ: President Trump is laying out a new timeline as he decides next steps for potential military action in Iran. Sources tell CNN the U.S. is preparing for a strike as early as this weekend. Satellite images appear to show Iran fortifying nuclear sites that were damaged in American strikes last summer. Since then, the U.S. has been taking a more diplomatic approach to try and halt Iran's nuclear program.

Speaking today from the inaugural meeting of the Trump chaired Board of Peace, the President says he's not taking anything off the table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So now we may have to take it a step further or we may not. Maybe we're going to make a deal. You're going to -- you're going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days. But this meeting today is proof with determined leadership nothing is impossible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's discuss with former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State during the Obama administration, Joel Rubin. He's also the author of "The Briefing Book" on Substack. Joel, thanks so much for being with us.

JOEL RUBIN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE, OBAMA ADMIN: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: So, if we're anticipating proposals from Iran about a potential nuclear during the next two weeks, but we're also going to potentially see some kinetic action in the next 10 days, which comes first?

RUBIN: Well, you know, Boris, this right now is the most coercive moment regarding American diplomacy towards Iran that we've ever seen. We have not had a military force arrayed against Iran like this while negotiations have been underway ever. So, we'll see if the Iranians decide that President Trump is serious.

And I think the real question is, are they willing to do what he is asking? Because if they go back for consultations in Tehran for new proposals, it means they're trying to figure out how to keep the infrastructure for their nuclear program. And for President Trump, he's argued that's not on the table.

SANCHEZ: Yes, speaking of trying to keep that infrastructure, I mentioned the satellite images of the fortification of several nuclear facilities. Does that tell you anything about their diplomatic disposition?

RUBIN: It tells you that they -- they want to keep that program. And -- and it tells you that diplomatically, they don't want to give it up. And that's the real problem here. I have to say also, stepping back, we didn't get here out of the blue. The last several weeks of buildup are frankly because of the mass slaughter of Iranian civilians by the regime in Iran. Tens of thousands were killed in cold blood just for peacefully protesting. So now President Trump moved troops there for that reason, moved our forces there for that reason.

But the Iranians, they -- they seem to want to keep their nuclear program as the highest priority and I think that that's the real danger, is that while the President came in with force for protecting the civilians, he may really focus on eliminating the program. And the Iranians are possibly willing to take that strike.

SANCHEZ: I mean, does that necessitate regime change? Do you see that as a potential outcome -- likely outcome?

RUBIN: That's -- that's the big debate that people are having right now, is -- is -- is regime change truly the goal or is it eradication of the program and the missile program as well as other issues related to Iranian support for proxies? I don't think you can negotiate with this regime and expect it to maintain a peaceful posture on its nuclear program and its missile program without clear, strong verification.

But a regime change policy without a day-after scenario also is incredibly difficult. And if we aren't going to put boots on the ground, and I'm not advocating we do, we don't have real control over what happens inside the country.

[15:20:05]

So, this may all be posturing for the negotiations to try and get the Iranians to give up their nuclear infrastructure. But that said, that is the core target, is to try to make sure that they do not have that nuclear capacity.

SANCHEZ: We're anticipating that Secretary of State Rubio is going to visit Israel next week and meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

RUBIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Talk to us about Israel's function in all of this. They clearly want some action against Tehran.

RUBIN: Well, the Prime Minister has wanted regime change in Iran for pretty much his entire political career. And so, there -- there's no surprise in where he's trying to push this discussion. He doesn't have any faith that the Iranian regime will ever be negotiated with. And going back to the nuclear deal that President Obama struck.

But I think the Israelis are willing to watch and wait to see what President Trump does this time. They weren't -- in June of last year, the Israelis struck first, and then the President followed on appropriately with his strikes. But I think that -- that we're seeing coordination now. And this is one of the assets that Israel brings to the table, is intelligence and the ability to target on the ground. And any strikes, if they take place by the United States, we're going to have to learn where to strike, and the Israelis are very helpful in that.

SANCHEZ: And if there are any strikes, there are going to be economic ramifications, no doubt, given just the outsized proportion of oil that flows through the Strait of Hormuz. What is it going to be felt like for people around the world?

RUBIN: Yes, Boris, that was one of the big fears of the June war last year, that it would spike prices in oil markets, that we would have an American military presence on the ground in perpetuity, that there would be many other secondary negative effects. Those did not happen.

So, it's not clear that that would happen again either. If the strikes, for example, go after the nuclear program and the leadership, but not the other economic infrastructure, it's quite possible that there could be a day after, just like what we saw with Venezuela, where while Maduro was taken out, nothing else was destroyed.

So, this transition question, the policy objective overall, but the transition is part of the policy, it needs to be laid out. This is one area where I think the President would do himself a favor and all of us, if he were to propose it to Congress to get them to at least debate it, weigh in on it in the near term, to be open with the American people about what his policy objective is.

SANCHEZ: That's it. An important point, where is Congress in -- in all of this? Joel Rubin, thanks so much for the perspective.

RUBIN: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Brianna.

KEILAR: We want to correct something that we said in the last hour. Before going to break, we reported that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had said she planned to send ICE agents to polling centers. That's incorrect. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she couldn't guarantee that ICE agents would not be near voting locations on election day, but she said the administration has no formal plans to place agents at polling sites. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:08]

KEILAR: Day four in the trial of a school shooter's father revealing some key evidence. Jurors heard the first words that Colin Gray said when deputies told him about the attack at his son's school just outside of Atlanta. Colt Gray would later be charged for killing two students and two teachers at Apalachee High in 2024. His father is on trial for allegedly gifting his son the rifle used in the rampage, despite past warnings to restrict the boy's access to weapons.

The jury watched video of the defendant recorded just after deputies informed him of the shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN GRAY: God, I knew it. My little girl just texted me. She's in middle school. She says we're in lockdown. I'm like, God Almighty, please don't (INAUDIBLE), please don't (INAUDIBLE) ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you think that?

GRAY: He is -- I'm trying to get him into counseling. He just didn't fit in last year at the high school so we let him do online school. We brought him back into just doing normal this year and it was going okay. We reached out, talked to the school, and said, hey, do you all have counselors, we want him to, you know, check in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN's Jean Casarez has been following this trial. She's here with the latest.

And Jean, correct me if I'm wrong, but what's, I think, most staggering about this response from the father is they didn't actually tell him, right, that his son was the suspected shooter at the time, right?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I don't think so, no, but he had just spoken with his daughter, and his daughter is going to take the stand, so what was that conversation right there? What did she say to her father? She had to say something to make him realize, oh, no, this could be Colt.

You know, a forensic phone expert is just taking the stand right now in the trial, but minutes ago, very important video evidence was shown to the jury. It was May of 2023, and the FBI, and they do monitoring, and they had found that Colt Gray had been on discord, and he was actually threatening that he was going to shoot up a school. So, they tell local law enforcement. Local law enforcement comes to the house. Colin Gray comes out on the front porch, initially. Colt comes out a little bit later, but they tell him what they know that the FBI has told them about what his son is doing. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAY: I don't know anything about it, if he said (expletive) like that. I will be mad as hell.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did.

GRAY: And then all the guns will go away, and they won't be accessible, you know? You know, we -- I'm trying to be honest with you. I'm trying to teach him about firearms and safety. He knows the seriousness of weapons and what they can do and how to use them and not use them and so forth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) ...

[15:30:01]

GRAY: It's kind of a little bit of a shock, so in whatever y'all are telling him, please instill in him that what -- if this is