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Trump Claims Intel Reveals Vulnerabilities in U.S. Elections; Declassified Intel Shows No Evidence of Altered or Manipulated Votes; Ossoff Grills Clayton About Gabbard's Presence at Fulton County Search; Heavy Rain Moving West After Deadly Floods Hammer Central Texas; Trump Teleprompter Operator Under Investigation for Insider Trading. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired July 17, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: You'll be able to get those as a stock trader. Now he can make money off of that because they're selling that access. The company actually needs this.

It has only made around $3 million in sales. That's with an M. And it has lost $700 million just last year.

So this is not a very profitable business. This might help at least a little bit.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: So conflict of interest? And if it were, especially if it were, more profitable?

GOLDMAN: Potentially, yes. And that's always the worry here when you mix politics and business.

WHITFIELD: All right, very good. Thank you so much.

GOLDMAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it. All right, David Goldman. A new hour of the CNN New Central starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the breaking news we're tracking overnight. There are new warnings for parts of Texas already devastated by catastrophic flooding. There's facing even more.

At least two people are now confirmed dead from the floodwaters. I mean, it's really yet another tragedy. They have also forced evacuations of so many, displaced hundreds.

We have teams standing by all along the storm zone.

Cues, cash and insider trading investigations. The president's teleprompter operator now accused of using his job to cash in on the prediction markets.

And it's a phenomenon known as Nun Girl Summer. A nun's viral podcast has the world, the interwebs, proclaiming, sister, yes.

John and Sara are off today. I am Kate Bolduan and I am with Fredricka Whitfield. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

WHITFIELD: All right, President Trump promised Americans that they would be shocked by his rare prime time address from the White House. But this morning, there are actually more questions than there were any real certain claims coming from the president. The president issued multiple claims about election security, even declassifying documents, he says, back up his long debunked stance that there were massive efforts to cover up voter fraud and election interference attempts related to the 2020 election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every American deserves to know that when they cast their vote, that vote will be counted accurately in a system. And that is to make that system secure. One where cheating and interference are not just difficult, but virtually impossible.

Unfortunately, the system we have today falls catastrophically short of that standard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, the documents President Trump declassified to back up all of that actually fall short. An early CNN review finds those documents largely discuss potential vulnerabilities that were previously included in U.S. Intel assessments. The focus now turns to how the president's speech will impact the midterm elections that are just now 16 weeks away.

CNN's Betsy Klein is live for us at the White House. What is the White House saying this morning? Is it pleased with what transpired last night?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, President Trump is already up and posting on social media about the rave reviews he's getting for this speech. But the president using a rare primetime address to the nation to talk about an issue that he has long fixated on, election integrity. The president now raising alarms about the possibility of future election vulnerabilities as he is making a case for the Save America Act.

That is the elections overhaul and voter ID bill he's been pushing so hard for that does not have the support on Capitol Hill at this time to pass. But to do all of this, the president is making hyperbolic and unfounded claims. He's also pointing largely to previously known declassified intelligence that was part of a 2021 report from his own intelligence community.

Now the White House posting hundreds of pages of newly declassified documents. I want to take you through some of the president's claims here. He took aim at China for illegally acquiring 220 million U.S. voter files and working to undermine his administration and the 2020 election, which of course he lost.

Now the intelligence report says that China considered trying to influence the election but ultimately decided not to do so. Then the president claiming that 278,000 non-citizens are on state voter rolls. That was citing data that has been uncovered and largely documented to inflate those numbers.

And then the president going after members of the so-called deep state that he said was engaged in a coverup. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:05:00]

TRUMP: You had those responsible for sounding the alarm instead kept the information secret and hidden. They did not disclose to me as president or to anyone else and to the best of our knowledge, they did not inform Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, none of this declassified information supports the claim that any U.S. election results were manipulated in a way that would have changed the outcome. But experts and Democrats raising the alarm that with this speech, the president is now sowing doubt in those upcoming November midterm elections, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Betsy Klein at the White House. Thank you so much. All right --Kate.

BOLDUAN: Georgia has long been a focus of President Trump's unfounded election fraud claims. And for years, he has said, again, without evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen in Georgia. There were multimillion dollar defamation suits won by a voting machine company and Georgia election workers over those claims.

In January, you remember FBI agents carried out an extraordinary seizure of hundreds of boxes of records from an elections office in Fulton County. And last night though, the president did not specifically mention the state or that ongoing Justice Department investigation.

Joining me right now, the Democratic nominee for Fulton County Commission Chair and also a former County Commissioner, Mo Ivory. Thanks for being here. Mo, it's good to see you.

You have such a unique perspective on election security and the moves by the federal government on voting systems because of everything that's happened in Fulton County. What did you hear in that speech last night from the president?

MO IVORY, (D) NOMINEE FOR FULTON COUNTY COMMISSION CHAIR: Kate, good morning. And thank you so much for having me. Nothing new.

What the president had to say last night is not anything that we haven't heard over and over again in an attempt to make Americans feel like our elections are not safe. I was glad that he did not mention Georgia or even Fulton County, but there would be no need to. Our elections are safe.

This 2020 election that he lost has been audited, litigated over, recounted over and over again to only find that he lost the 2020 election. So all of the theatrics that he continues to do are only a move to sow the seeds of doubt in Americans' minds that elections are not safe. We just held a primary and a runoff election in Georgia for the midterms, and everything went very well.

We will do it again on November 3rd, the way that we always do, fairly and professionally.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and that's not just coming from a Democratic nominee. That's also coming from the Republican Secretary of State of Georgia and the Republican governor of Georgia who would say exactly what you just said about past and current and future elections in Georgia. I did mention that he did make claims, the claims that he made, but he did not in specifically calling out or discussing this Justice Department investigation in this fight that continues with regard to Fulton County.

Where do things stand with this? I just saw that there was just a ruling from a judge just at the beginning of this month with regard to a new aspect of this.

IVORY: Yes, well, the judge ruled that we will not be turning over our information about election workers, about election volunteers. That is not something that Fulton County will have to do, and we are very glad about that because obviously the target of President Trump's obsession with 2020 should not be the Fulton County election workers. Volunteers, people who come out to administer elections, to serve the voters.

This is what mostly all election workers and those that volunteer year after year to administer elections come to do, which is to serve the voters and to make sure that everybody has their right to vote safely and in a professional manner. So we are very happy that that has passed us now. We do not have to worry about turning over confidential information about Fulton County workers to Donald Trump because of his obsession with 2020.

We are still in court over the battle to return the ballots and we will continue fighting that.

BOLDUAN: We were just showing video from what happened in January in Fulton County. The President's next pick to be Director of National Intelligence was just asked this week during his confirmation hearing about the FBI search in Fulton County. And I want to play for you what happened in discussion with Senator Jon Ossoff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): Are you aware that Director Gabbard was present at the Fulton County raid earlier this year? Yes or no? Are you aware? I was --

OSSOFF: You won't answer that question either.

JAY CLAYTON, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE NOMINEE: I just said I was made aware of it by you yesterday.

OSSOFF: The first time you learned that Director Gabbard was present at that raid was in my office yesterday?

CLAYTON: It was the first time that in my recollection I've thought about it recently. Now, was I aware of it before?

[08:10:00]

OSSOFF: What?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That's just a small part of it. It went on. It was a head- scratching moment.

What did you make of it?

IVORY: I mean, again, it's another, you know, I think any American that watches the -- I don't know what word to use except sort of the theatrics and the inability to answer questions that are pure facts must be dismayed about the level of, you know, the attention to the facts in bringing these people who are responsible for things that are so important. I was disturbed by that. I'm so glad that our Senator Jon Ossoff asked the hard questions, kept on pressing in order to bring to light the lack of accountability, the lack of ability to tell the truth, the lack of ability to say the things that already happened.

He lost the election. Yes, she was there at the raid. This is what happened.

I don't know why it is so difficult to answer questions that we clearly can see are factual events that happened, but that's the scary part of what's happening in our federal government right now. And our responsibility here in Georgia, and especially in Fulton County during these midterm elections is to not be deterred by that and to not fall into all of these stories and lies that continue, but to protect the right to vote, to serve our voters, and to run elections professionally and fairly like we always do.

BOLDUAN: Mo Ivory, thanks for coming in. Appreciate it -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, deadly floods are ravaging Southern Texas as officials issue new warnings and evacuation orders. More rain is in the forecast as well. We're tracking the threats this morning.

And the Taco Bell company is now responding this morning after shredded lettuce sold there was linked to the multi-state outbreak of that very serious stomach illness. What to look out for? Plus, expelled Congressman George Santos lands a new gig. Which popular reality show is set to cast him on their new season?

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BOLDUAN: This morning, Texas Hill Country is reeling from the catastrophic flooding that we have now getting images of. Just look at this, this is from yesterday. And we now have learned that it has killed two people, at least.

The damage unfolding in some of the same areas where more than 100 people were killed in the flooding last year. The danger not yet over there, but hopefully it will pass soon. There has been more than 200, there have been more than 230 rescues needed, including this one in Kirk County.

A drone footage -- this is how we were getting this -- showing the emergency crews using a boat to rescue a family with children after they say that the floodwaters were nearly reaching their attic. That is where CNN's Ed Lavandera is for us this morning. Ed, how are things looking?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate. Well, it is surreal to be back here on the banks of the Guadalupe River as the nightmare of what this community endured last year, still very much front and center as they're dealing with this current crisis. The Guadalupe River has receded significantly.

24 hours ago, where we're standing was completely underwater, all the way back to the dark tree lines you see there in the distance. Imagine this wide swath, probably close to like a quarter mile wide of area just filled with water. In some places, the Guadalupe River surpassed the levels of flooding that we saw last year.

But the good news in terms of the overall death toll is that it did not reach what we saw last year. There have been two confirmed deaths, but many of the residents, Kate, we've talked to, we've talked about how the sirens and the warnings and the phone alerts really made a difference this time around, but also people taking it much more seriously, and that kind of speaks to the lasting legacy of the ordeal and the nightmare that they endured last year. But this isn't just a flooding story that has affected the area along the Guadalupe River.

This is very widespread, north to Fredericksburg and south to Uvalde. In fact, one man there talked about what it was like losing his home in these floods.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE MALDONADO, UVALDE RESIDENT: Honestly, I'm upset, mad, because I felt like I could have maybe saved it, done more. I mean, first, it is my, you could say, first home that I bought last year, Christmas. And now what to figure out to do is the next thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LAVANDERA: Kate, what you hear over and over from people, even people who've experienced this once before, is just how quickly these flood waters came up. Some people tell us this came up in less than 30 minutes. The good news is the rainfall that's falling today, north of where we are, so perhaps that gives this area a respite today -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Perhaps. It is just these images of the Guadalupe River and how, when the water breaches its banks, how far and wide, as you're talking about, it really reaches, it's just an astonishing thing. It was really the first time I had kind of seen it was last year, and seeing it happen again this summer, it's just, it's a terrifying thing that they have to be enduring there and how quickly it happens to them.

I know that you've been covering it over and over again, though, Ed. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it, Ed.

Just these images, my goodness. Coming up for us, wildfire smoke blanketing states from the Midwest to the East Coast. Places like Chicago facing some of the worst air quality in the world right now.

And why the person in charge of the president's teleprompter is now under investigation for insider trading.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, new this morning, President Trump's longtime teleprompter operator has been placed on unpaid leave for alleged insider trading. Gabriel Perez, who has been with Trump since 2016, is accused of using his access to the president to make bets on upcoming presidential speeches on the online prediction market, Kalshi. Investigators say Perez made nearly $100,000.

CNN senior reporter, Marshall Cohen, joins us now with much more on what we're learning here -- Marshall.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Fred, this is the first publicly known instance of potential insider trading coming from the Trump White House. As you mentioned, Gabriel Perez, President Trump's longtime teleprompter operator, a trusted aide who has worked with Donald Trump for about a decade, he's the one that, according to our sources, is involved in this potential insider trading. These were on what's called mentioned markets on Kalshi, which are actually pretty popular among traders.

They've seen hundreds of millions of dollars in trades this year. You can bet on what public figures are going to say in their public speeches, like an earnings call for a large company or a World Cup broadcast or Trump speeches. And public figures are going to say in their public speeches, like an earnings call for a large company or a World Cup broadcast or Trump speeches.

And Trump is pretty popular on these mentioned markets because you never really know what he's going to say, of course, unless you're the teleprompter guy. And that's the problem here. The potential for inside information that could cross the line and get someone in legal trouble, that is a real vulnerability on these markets.

And experts have been flagging this for a while. And finally, we have the first possible case coming from the White House.

Now, we reached out to Perez for comment. He didn't answer, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke out yesterday. She said Trump was outraged. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I'm aware of the report. The president is too. I spoke with him about it.

He believes it's deeply unfortunate and frankly, a disgrace. And the individual that was cited in that report is complying with the CFTC. This individual will no longer be here and he'll be on paid administrative leave.

I'm sorry, without pay. The administrative leave is unpaid, to be very clear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So Fred, we will obviously see what comes of this investigation that's currently underway by the federal regulator that oversees prediction markets.

And for full disclosure, CNN has a partnership with Kalshi. We use its data to cover major events, but CNN journalists like you and me aren't allowed to use prediction sites for obvious reasons -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Right, all right. Marshall Cohen, thank you so much.

All right, coming up, breaking overnight, Iran expands their retaliatory strikes following a week of U.S. attacks, claiming for the first time an attack on a U.S. base in Syria.

And the first World Cup on American soil in more than 30 years has excited fans from around the world, but did it deliver on the economic boost the U.S. had hoped for? We'll break down the numbers.

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