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Rescue Underway for Men Trapped in Flooded Cave; Bondi on Capitol Hill; Alicia Arden and Gloria Allred are Interviewed about the Bondi Hearing. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 29, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: June 7th.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the breaking news this morning, a rescue operation underway to reach five men trapped in a cave for more than a week, try to reach them and get them out. CNN is right there watching the efforts.

Just moments from now, former Attorney General Pam Bondi will face lawmakers behind closed doors and face questions about her handling of the Epstein files.

And how do you spell champion this morning? It is s-h-r-e-y. And I was nervous about getting that part wrong. The Spelling Bee titan and the remarkable overtime spell off that won him the crown.

Sara is out today. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan. And this is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: Let's get to the breaking news this hour.

The rescue attempt is underway to try and save these five men who have been now trapped deep inside a flooded cave for ten days. Expert divers from all over the world are on the scene. New video shows some of them inside the cave earlier today. And you can just see how incredibly narrow and treacherous it is in there. They have been pumping water out of the cave all night to try to clear a passageway for the trapped men to more easily climb out. But none of this is easy. We're showing you -- we'll show you a diagram that will give a view of just how challenging this operation is.

The five men are stuck nearly 1,000 feet inside the cave. It takes an experienced diver two to three hours to navigate the distance between where these men are and that cave's entrance.

CNN's Will Ripley is live at the rescue site, deep inside this jungle in Laos.

What -- and as, obviously, night has fallen, what's happening, Will?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kate, I just want to play for you the last 15 seconds of a phone call that we were just on right before this live shot with a rescue diver inside the cave. Just as we were wrapping up the interview. Just listen. I hope you can hear it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thirteen meals (ph). Oh. Oh, they're coming out. Are they coming out?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: So, they're coming out is what he said.

So, obviously, it was -- it was kind of chaotic there. We talked to him for about 10 minutes. He was explaining to us how they've been working with the villagers trapped inside the cave, actually having them put on wetsuits and train with diving equipment, because even though they've managed to drain some of the water, he said the water levels are still very high, so they've actually had to teach them how to dive through the water while holding on to the legs of the expert divers that are in there to try to rescue them.

They also said the water underground is ice cold. And so it's obviously very difficult, very perilous. But right at the end of that conversation, you heard people in the background on the phone call saying, they're coming out, they're coming out. And then the phone cut off.

So, obviously, they're busy inside the cave right now. We don't have anything official, but you heard it on the phone, it sounds as if somebody has come out and they've been -- they've been engaging in this rescue operation for several hours. So, if this is the case, an extraordinary piece of good news. Obviously still unconfirmed. But you heard it right there. We were on the phone with the rescue diver inside the cave, Kate.

BOLDUAN: And, Will, let's stick with -- I need to stick with you because this is quite a moment. I mean these men have been in there now for ten days. When the rescue -- when it was such a relief when rescuers first made it to them to confirm that they were still alive. But now talk about what you've learned since you've been on the ground of just how hard this movement is to try to get these clearly weakened men through this cave to actual safety and get them out.

RIPLEY: Yes, it's been an excruciating experience, obviously for the men inside the cave who went without food for a week, and now they have been given food, they have been given fresh water. But many of them are starting to complain about health problems. Breathing in the air inside the cave. Saying that they feel like their bodies are starting to break down. And now what they are facing at this very moment in that cave 800 feet underground is one of the most arduous climbs that even a very fit person would struggle with and would take them several hours. But you're talking about people that have been stuck in total darkness underneath the cave now for ten days, having to basically swim through icy water, climb up 45 degree angles just to get to the mouth of the cave. There are also family members who have been waiting at the mouth of

the cave for any word. We actually spoke with a woman earlier whose husband is one of the five survivors, and we asked her if she has hope that she's going to see him possibly in the coming hours.

[09:05:01]

I just want to play for you a portion of that interview with her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: What's the first thing you're going to say to him when you see him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): What could I say? I'd just be so happy to see my husband again. I'm grateful and proud that people from other countries came to help us. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd say I'm so happy that the foreigners come to help. I cannot say thanks enough.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm so excited and happy that I'll get to see my husband again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: She hasn't slept, she said, in nine days. And she can barely eat. And yet she has been going up to the cave. She's been hiking up. You can't see it now because it's pitch black, but it's a very steep road that they have to walk up or get a ride on heavy equipment. Every hour or so they keep bringing it up and down.

But she's been going up there. She's been bringing food for the rescuers. And they're also sending food down into the cave, hoping that their loved ones can receive it. And they've been camping out there around the clock.

So, this has been really an ordeal, obviously, for the people underground who are now fighting to come back up to the surface. A very dangerous operation, by the way. Even skilled rescue divers can die in a situation like this, not to mention people who are weakened after spending so many days in such a precarious and difficult situation. And yet that is what's happening right now. A lot of people praying that they can pull together the strength to make it out of this cave safe and alive. And, of course, the search is still continuing for two other villagers who are still missing inside the cave. We're waiting for official word about them.

Kate.

BERMAN: Will, it's John Berman.

If you can hear me, you are the world's sole possessor right now. I think, of a piece of audio which tells this story. So, if you can play it again, can you play that phone message you got again so we can hear it and explain what it is and what it's saying and why it's so helpful.

Do what you need to do. I know that it's obviously --

BOLDUAN: Story of my life, what's the passcode? Yes.

BERMAN: A technical bit of an issue here.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

RIPLEY: I -- Isaac, which -- where -- can you show me where the voice memo is? We're going to get -- we're going to get access to the phone. It was not -- it was not on my phone. This is Isaac, our star producer, by the way. One of our amazing team out here. We've got John. We've got Cocha (ph). We've got Becks (ph). These guys are -- these guys are champions that they got us on the air in the middle of the jungle. I mean it is -- it's just incredible. Arranging a helicopter ride.

So, let me just play you again the last 15 seconds of this interview that we were doing right before the interview. Here, let's see, time code 721. All right, play.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because you are --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) we can leave (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. You're a professional diver, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes. I've been doing cave diving for the (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many years, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's about 13 years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thirteen years years (ph). Oh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're coming up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, they're coming out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're coming up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are they coming out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) come out?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: And then the phone disconnected. So, again, nothing official, but there was a lot of excitement inside the cave and the phone call cut off just as we were wrapping up a really -- a really important and interesting interview because they were explaining to us how they're training these villagers to get out of this cave with their own power, and they're actually going to have to do some diving under ice cold water to do it.

So, this is -- what they're saying is they weren't sure if they -- if anybody was going to make it out tonight. They might need to wait until tomorrow to give them some time to rest because they've been working with them for so long. But it sounds like at least somebody maybe has made it through. And, obviously, we're waiting for any more details.

There are ambulances, at least two of them behind me. There's another ambulance over there that are standing by to bring anybody to the hospital as quickly as possible. Also medics, of course, on scene. About 100 people are up that road there, of course now in pitch black, although they're -- they've lit the scene with generators.

And, obviously, we're obviously monitoring all the social media, all of the -- all of the video feeds that are coming out of the cave almost in real time because they've been able to miraculously install wi-fi down in the cave and video -- the villagers have even been sending video messages up to their loved ones. But being -- sending a video message is a lot different from actually crawling physically through very, very difficult -- if you see the map of the cave, to go from 800 feet down, through ice cold water and then up at times, a 45- degree angle to get out. It's not for the faint hearted and certainly not for somebody that's been underground as long as they have, but this is what they're going to have to do right now in order to come out of this situation alive.

BERMAN: They're coming out is what it said on that phone message that you were able to play.

And, Will, if you can. I want you to describe where you are on planet earth right now so people understand how remote your location is. Then where you are vis a vis this cave. And then where the people in the cave are, and how the mechanics of this are all going to work.

[09:10:11]

RIPLEY: So, we are in central Thailand in Longjiang, which is a province that may be familiar to some Americans because during the Vietnam War it's very close to here that there was this secret CIA base. It was actually a city that was never on any map during the Vietnam War, but it was a key military intelligence gathering hub.

It's about a 45-minute helicopter flight to get here from the capital of Laos, which is what we did. Our drivers that took a lot of our gear, they had to drive more than ten hours through roads that are so treacherous you can't drive on them at night. You can only pass on these roads, a lot -- many of them dirt roads, during the daytime hours. So, you have to leave early in the morning to get here before the sun goes down because at night there's too high of a risk of accidents. There's also millions of American bombs that were dropped on the

jungle terrain between the capital and where we are right now. Many of those bombs are unexploded. And every year people in Laos still die from running into unexploded ordnance. So, the fact that these people went through thick jungle up to this cave, which is about a 40-minute walk up this dirt road behind me, this barricade here is kind of the line where you can't pass it unless you're an emergency worker or a family member. They -- you know, even hiking through jungle, even clearing this road potentially could be risky.

So, you might ask, what were these people doing in this cave in the first place in the middle of monsoon season where it's been raining every day except for today where there's been a break in the rain? They were going in that cave because they were looking for gold. There have been reports that there are pockets of gold that have been found in that cave, and there's actually some people that live in villages around here that make a living and try to support their families by crawling into these dangerous spaces, mining in these areas and looking for gold.

The problem with that is that everybody's working individually. They're not working as part of some greater corporation. These are -- these are individuals that are trying to go into the cave to find gold. And so, as a result, there's no coordination. They may or may not have been aware of the weather forecast that day that the monsoon rains caused the cave to flood in a matter of minutes. And also, when they were trapped, they actually didn't know how many other people were inside the cave. The only reason that we know about the people being inside the cave is that there was one person who was -- who knew that there were others in the group who managed to escape on day one, and that's the reason why they began the search because one person who knew the cave well was able to escape despite the rising waters, and to alert everybody. Otherwise, we might not even be out here right now. They could have been stuck down there for even longer.

BOLDUAN: And when -- and now where we are in this moment, waiting for more information after you had that -- you had that phone call where you heard someone say, they're coming out. Who -- who were you talking to, Will? Like, where were -- what were -- how do they know? Where are they?

RIPLEY: So, Li Qiang (ph), who we were on the phone with, is one of the experienced divers who actually has been -- we actually saw a helicopter, a military helicopter, with divers arrive shortly after we did this afternoon. There were other helicopters that have been arriving in the last couple of days. You have divers from Thailand. You have -- you have a Finnish cave diving expert. You have experts that have flown in from France. Really from all over the world. Anybody who knows how to deal with cave rescues.

And remember, they had a major cave rescue, not here in Laos, but in Thailand back in 2018, when the Wild Boar soccer team was stranded underground. They were all eventually rescued safely after 18 days. But actually one of the divers, one of the -- one of the -- one of the military that were actually assigned to help rescue them, they actually perished in Thailand during that rescue. So, these rescuers, these cave divers, including the one that we were on the phone with, really are putting their lives on the line to go in there selflessly and to try to get these less experienced villagers, who maybe have some experience in mines, but not the kind of operation to get them out of a flooded mine like is -- like what's happening right now.

BOLDUAN: Just amazing as this is unfolding.

Will, you and your team are doing amazing reporting on the ground, and this is all happening as we speak. We're going to stick close to Will. He's working his sources very clearly and successfully. And we're going to bring you updates. As we heard on that phone call from that diver that Will was just talking about, they're coming out. Who and where are they? We will keep very close to this and bring you updates as they come in.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:18:48]

BERMAN: All right, the breaking news happening at this very moment on the other side of the world. CNN is on the scene of this rescue operation to free five people who have been trapped in a cave for more than a week some thousand feet in. There are rescue divers in the cave right now working to get those people out.

And our Will Ripley, who's very much in the middle of all of this, just got this phone call from someone who said they are coming out now.

Now, Will is back doing more reporting. We're trying to get a better sense of exactly what's happening there. We will get back to Laos and Will any moment now.

First, though, we do have some other news.

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi has arrived on Capitol Hill to face questions about the Epstein files. She was initially subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee back in March.

The interview today is behind closed doors. She will not be sworn in under oath, and it will not be videotaped. It will be transcribed.

Now, there are questions about what was released in the Epstein files and what was not, over redactions on some pages, while the names and private information of some victims, survivors, were released on other pages.

This is what one survivor had to say on Capitol Hill about this this morning.

[09:20:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, we hope that today is actually a day where maybe she's had some reckoning, and maybe there is some transparency now that she doesn't have the threat of being fired.

I just hope that she does have a moment where she remembers her own humanity and our humanity, and finds her compassion, and remembers that this is a bigger story than political rhetoric.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Let's get right to CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid, who is live on Capitol Hill this morning, where this is happening.

Paula.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Right now former Attorney General Pam Bondi, sitting across from lawmakers here on Capitol Hill, answering what we expect will be some pretty tough questions about her handling, of all things Epstein. That includes the investigation itself, the release of these files. She may even get some questions about why Ghislaine Maxwell was transferred from one prison to another.

Now, again, this has been a highly anticipated appearance. Lawmakers expected to grill her, but this will not be on camera. This will not be broadcast live, nor will it be recorded. We may get a transcript in about a week or so. So, we are relying on our sources inside the room to tell us what's happening.

But a short time ago, Bondi released a statement. So, we do know that her opening statement to lawmakers will include a thorough defense of her handling of this matter. But I also want to note, her message to survivors. She said, quote, "I would like to repeat what I shared before the House Judiciary Committee in February. I have spent my entire career fighting for victims, and I will continue to do so. I am deeply sorry for what any victim has been through, especially as a result of that monster. If they do have any information to share with law enforcement about anyone who has hurt them or abused them, the FBI is waiting to hear from them."

Now, there are many survivors up here on Capitol Hill. At least one of them pressing Chairman Comer on his way in, demanding that they try to get some answers.

Let's take a listen to that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Can you assure us that today we will get information from Pam Bondi about why the files were released in the manner that they were released, specifically the redaction process? Survivors names over and over and over were exposed, yet we see time and time again perpetrator's names have been redacted when they shouldn't have been.

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): Yes, well -- REPORTER: Are we going to get some answers about that?

COMER: I hope so. Those are the questions we're going to ask.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: Survivors, they are demanding answers about why survivor names and personal information were not fully redacted during the release of these files. I also want to note, this appearance comes as the former attorney general has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She tells me she received this diagnosis around the time she was fired from the Justice Department. She has been receiving treatment, including surgery a few weeks ago. She is still recovering from that surgery.

Now, this hearing, we don't know how long it's going to go, John. It could last a couple hours. It could last six to eight hours. It just depends how many questions these lawmakers have for the nation's formerly top law enforcement official.

BERMAN: And we will stand by to figure out if you learn anything about what's going on inside, any messages, contemporaneous or otherwise.

Paula Reid, on Capitol Hill, thank you very much for that update.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: And joining us right now is a survivor of Epstein's abuse. Alicia Arden, and her attorney, Gloria Allred, who is representing 27 of Epstein's survivors.

Thank you both for being here.

Alicia, as we just heard from my colleague Paula Reid, there -- we do have an opening statement of what Pam Bondi is going to say when she sits down. And at the very bottom of her -- at the very end of her opening statement, Pam Bondi, in this -- in this says this, "the bottom line is, justice and transparency in this matter have been delivered at the direction of President Trump and his administration."

What do you think of hearing that?

ALICIA ARDEN, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: I don't think it has all been delivered. I was -- I would like for them to ask her, why, Miss Bondi, did you tell Fox News that the Epstein files were on your desk? They're sitting on your desk for review. And then later, the DOJ said there's nothing here. There is no -- nothing in the files. So, I would like for them to ask her that.

And when are they all going to be released? I don't think that that's a proper statement that she said that.

BOLDUAN: Because they have -- yes.

ARDEN: All the files need to be released, and they haven't been released. And why -- when they were, why did the DOJ said there's nothing here in the files? BOLDUAN: Gloria, where -- what are you thinking about in terms of, if

you would be going into this conversation, this interview with Pam Bondi right now? From your perspective, what should she be asked?

GLORIA ALLRED, VICTIMS' RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes.

[09:25:03]

Well, I think it's really important to remember, by the way, that just two days ago there was a complaint filed with the Florida bar by the retired supreme court justice of the Florida Supreme Court and 100 legal scholars and judges alleging that she has violated her professional responsibilities, violated the trust of the public, because -- and that she has misled the public in her handling of the files. And the fact that victims' names and sensitive information, identification of them was released and was unredacted while the names of alleged perpetrators were redacted. In other words, covered up. She has a lot of explaining to do.

And we have to ask, you know, why is it not -- why is her testimony not being videotaped? Why is it not under oath? Why are we just going to have to wait and get a transcribed copy of it?

She was the attorney general of the United States. She has a lot of responsibility to the public. And if she has misled the public and not delivered justice and not been a role model of ethical responsibility, then she needs to be accountable to the state bar because she needs to be accountable to the public as an attorney.

She had a duty to protect the survivors. And, you know, there were photographs, naked photographs, Kate, of some females who are thought to be possibly underage, in other words children, that were released in the Epstein files. How did this happen? Is she taking responsibility for the failures of her staff? She's the head. She needs to take responsibility and not just issue political statements like, we have delivered justice, when this is far from justice for the survivors who have been hurt by what the Department of Justice has done.

BOLDUAN: There's also this element, Alicia, where I'm seeing this also in the statement where Pam Bondi says, if they, meaning any survivor, have any information to share with law enforcement about anyone who has hurt them or abused them, the FBI is waiting to hear from them.

Just yesterday, I had a -- I had Marina Lacerda on, an Epstein survivor, who says that she was just 14 years old when she met Jeffrey Epstein. And she says that she has -- they have been waiting and asking to speak with the FBI, to hear from the Justice Department, to hear from the now acting attorney general, to talk about the names they have, to tell their stories, and to actually give them information. And she says that has absolutely not happened.

This -- these two things don't seem to me that they can both be true. Why do you -- what do you think of this?

ARDEN: I think Miss Bondi is overwhelmed. I think she's in a position where she may have been in over her head being in the position that she's in. it's very overwhelming to her. And I don't -- I hope these other people will come forward, other victims will come forward, like I did.

But I think -- I think Miss Bondi needs to release all of the files, which she hasn't. I think she's in -- was overwhelmed by everything that came up. And she said that the files are on her desk. They're sitting on my desk for review. Remember when she actually said that? And then I don't know what happened. The DOJ, she released them and the DOJ said that there is nothing there. So, I think she's just so in over her head.

ALLRED: I would say also, Kate, that the FBI did interview many, many alleged survivors. I know they interviewed many of my clients. And then there was the whole issue, when the files were released, that they didn't release what's called the 302s. In other words, the FBI interviews of many of the survivors. So, why did they fail to do that? Why are they not responding to any survivors who still wish to be interviewed by the FBI?

And, you know, why did Todd Blanche, at some point, say that there were -- that nobody was going to be prosecuted? No men were going to be prosecuted. There's only one person who's been prosecuted and convicted, and that's Miss Maxwell. And the public wants to know, who are the other names who helped to conspire and support and enable Jeffrey Epstein, and who perhaps sexually exploited, sex trafficked children and adult females. We don't have that information.

[09:30:01]

So, this is a failure of the Department of Justice. And there has to be accountability. There better not be softball questions for Miss