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Interview with Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA): Fetterman Blasts Ex- Aides Who Say He's Indifferent Toward His Work; Secret Doc on Silicon Valley Fraudster Drops at Film Festival. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 07, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Democratic Senator John Fetterman is lashing out at some of his former aides. In exclusive new CNN reporting, the Pennsylvania senator is calling them disgruntled staffers that want to tarnish his reputation. This follows a Wall Street Journal report on a series of text messages from Fetterman's ex-staffers, accusing him of often skipping meetings with constituents and showing general indifference towards the job.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: In one text exchange from last September, Fetterman was dismissive when an aide told him that officials with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, known as CHOP, wanted to meet with him. Fetterman writing, "Why do I have to keep having to meet with CHOP?" The aide responding, "Because they are worried about vaccines and Medicaid cuts."

Fetterman writing back, "Well, I'm not." Adding, "I'm convinced they just want free trips to D.C." CNN's Annie Grayer is with us now. What more can you tell us about how Fetterman's responding here?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, he is pushing back forcefully and denying these accounts and these allegations and specifically on that meeting with CHOP officials that you mentioned. Fetterman is pushing back in a statement exclusively to CNN where he says that that was a dumb joke. And for that, I sincerely apologize, end quote.

But he also points out that he's met with officials from this hospital multiple times, points to that on social media, says that he has a working relationship with those individuals. And in general, he's pushing back on this reporting, saying that it's coming from anonymous individuals, taken out of context.

So in one statement that he said to CNN, he said quote, "Per usual -- lies, half-truths, innuendos, smears and anonymous. And later adding, "No matter how many smears or stories, I'm proud to continue to deliver for Pennsylvania."

So Fetterman coming out with this fiery statement saying that these claims are stripped of any context, but it's not the first time that Fetterman has come under fire from his former aides. And as we know, he's a very controversial figure in the Democratic Party, has even threatened to leave the party if it takes an anti-Israel stance that is too far for him. SANCHEZ: Annie, there are texts and e-mails that back up some of these claims by staffers, right?

GRAYER: Yes, so this is not just anonymous quotes. The Wall Street Journal has texts to back it up. So in another example where staffers are trying to get Fetterman to go to a funeral of three police officers who were killed in his state, I'm going to read for you this exchange and how Fetterman responded there.

So the staff says quote, "No one will be allowed to staff you due to a number of restrictions. The organizers are requiring everyone to be seated by 11 a.m. and the funeral will begin at noon and last at least three hours. The dress code is formal."

And Fetterman responds, "Three hours??" The staffer responds, "Yes, it's a very formal ceremony and the equivalent of three separate funerals." And Fetterman responds, "This may be a non-starter."

So in response to this exchange, Fetterman said to CNN exclusively that he was there for his community in other ways, that he met with the police chief, that he met with the families of those involved. He posted on X to express his condolences. He sent flowers to those families and individuals.

So Fetterman has a response to each of these text messages and exchanges in this story. But the staffers who have since created an account on X and social media say that they have more examples to come, that this is just the beginning. So Fetterman is going to have a lot to respond to in the coming days.

KEILAR: This is just the beginning.

[14:35:00]

All right, buckle up, I guess. Annie Grayer, thank you so much.

Let's talk about this and more with Pennsylvania Democratic Congresswoman Madeleine Dean. Congresswoman, first on this reporting from Senator Fetterman, your home state senator. Do you feel represented by him? Do you want to see another Democrat challenge him in 2028?

REP. MADELEINE DEAN (D-PA): Good to be with you, Brianna. Happy Labor Day to you and to all of your viewers. I don't know if I've told you this before, but I ran against John Fetterman in 2018 for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania. Very briefly, it was a wicked winter. We drove all across Pennsylvania.

I got to know and like John, and I liked his Democratic values and how he was fighting for the common good. This reporting is very troubling, but it is not just this reporting. Take a look at his behavior that you can see, that you have evidence of.

Not attending committee meetings, not participating in his own committees. That's not doing your job. Take a look at also what he has done. He's voted over and over again with the President of the United States. I'll tell you what, my constituents, that's the 4th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, are very upset with John because he ran on very different ideals. And here he is not doing the work, reluctant to be in public for an entire year, and reluctant to meet with constituents.

CHOP happens to be one of the finest hospitals in this country. I can't imagine not wanting to meet with them. I meet with them regularly, as we all should.

But what concerns me is how he has voted with the President, I think with 11 secretaries that this President put forward. And very troubling to me was his vote for Markwayne Mullin to be in charge of DHS. And, of course, supporting the President in this reckless, chaotic, incoherent war in Iran.

John, unfortunately, I think has it wrong.

KEILAR: So, the New York Times polling shows his favorability at 22 percent with Pennsylvania Democrats. That's down from 74 percent in 2024. It's gone way up, though, with Pennsylvania Republicans.

73 percent, kind of the opposite flip-flop here. That's up from 25 percent. He's more popular with Pennsylvania Republicans than the Republican Senator, Dave McCormick.

And Fetterman, though, has batted down some suggestions that he'll switch parties. But do you have concerns that he might?

DEAN: That's up to John. What I have concerns with is he's not participating with the party that he ran with, the Democratic Party. He should be caucusing with the Democrats.

He should be strategizing with the Democrats. He should be putting forward the values that he ran on, frankly. That's what's disappointing to me.

What the staffers continue to say is a different matter. And I understand why they might be concerned and why they want to call these things to attention. The other area where I disagree with John very strongly is his robust support for Mr. Netanyahu and what he has done in Gaza and what has continued to happen in the West Bank. This blind support for Mr. Netanyahu is something that is incomprehensible to me, even as I recognize how tragic, how horrific October the 7th was and the rightness of going to war against Hamas. But the blind loyalty to Mr. Netanyahu and following into this war with Iran, not exercising our constitutional power to declare war, that's where I disagree with John completely.

KEILAR: That is the issue, though, where he has clearly given, him pause to think about changing his party affiliation if the Democratic Party, in his view, becomes anti-Israel. And I know you say it's up to Fetterman about whether he switches parties, but if he decides to do that in his final time in office, that's something that would dramatically affect Pennsylvanians and those that you represent. What would your concerns be about that?

DEAN: Well, number one, I have read what John has said about the Democrats becoming anti-Israel. All of what I just said is not anti- Israel whatsoever. It is actually my love of Israel that says that I separate myself from Mr. Netanyahu and his atrocities. In terms of if John Fetterman decides to become a Republican, that's on him. I know that my Democratic voters will have a lot to say about it. They will want to replace him.

They will not want him to continue to serve in the way that he has been serving.

KEILAR: Progressive House members and candidates tell CNN that Hakeem Jeffries and his allies are failing to grasp the demands of far-left voters who showed up in droves this summer.

[14:40:00]

For example, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, who's the author of the House's Medicare for All bill, says she was very confused and surprised -- that was her quote -- when she saw Jeffries' public disavowal of the bill. She added that she's been having direct conversations with Jeffries about it.

Is he struggling to bridge the divide that's in your party?

DEAN: I don't think that's true at all. And we are a big party. I talked to Hakeem a couple of times this week.

You may know that he is sending me and a couple of others to Texas for this midterm convention that J.D. Vance and President Trump are hosting with a bunch of speakers. I think it's going to be something that falls very flat.

So I think it's very much less about whether or not one piece of legislation is being supported. I see Hakeem actually bridging the divide in our party and making sure that we are welcoming to all. Even as we say, I don't agree with that espoused value by some candidates.

We're allowed to do that. The greater difference is what is going on in the Republican Party. I couldn't disagree more with the Republicans who are sitting back as the president so incoherently and so grotesquely, corruptly pursues what he's pursuing.

He doesn't know how to get out of the war in Iran that he foolishly got into at Mr. Netanyahu's behest. And so what does he do? He focuses on rubble and ruin and projects and affixing more gold to his White House office.

The president is in a terrible place. I've spoken multiple times with the speaker to say you must come around him and say that what he is doing is incoherent. I don't know if you saw the post this last week where he puts up a poster of himself as the greatest president.

Then underneath, he categorizes greats. In the greats, according to him, he's the only greatest. In the greats are Lincoln, Washington, Andrew Jackson, and some others.

And then failures, of course, he has those he's very jealous of, Mr. Biden, Mr. Obama, and others. The president is unhinged, and the Republicans are what we should be worried about. Why are they following him so lemming-like?

KEILAR: Well, let me ask you about that. You'll be in Dallas, as you mentioned, as part of this counterprogramming of the Republican midterm convention with Leader Jeffries. And a big part of the messaging in your party is affordability in the economy. It's the same issues that really played a huge role in Democratic losses back in 2024.

Why should voters put their trust in Democrats on that issue this time around?

DEAN: Well, you already see the polls are showing that. Of course, the president's numbers are tanking. Extinction-level approval rating for the president.

We're going to go down there and focus on that. What has happened in the time of this presidency, the second time around, between tariffs and the war? The cost of everything is up.

It's gas, it's groceries, it's all the goods that we try to buy. And, of course, this war has been so costly. So we will be talking about accountability, affordability, and ending of this reckless war that has already cost 18 American lives, 800 are wounded, tens of thousands are deployed, and just this weekend the president called it small potatoes.

We'll be running against all of that.

KEILAR: Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, thank you so much for being with us.

DEAN: Thank you very much, Brianna.

KEILAR: Next, it was filmed in complete secrecy and only revealed this weekend. And everything we know about the unsettling new documentary starring convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: So, my algorithm fed me this curveball this morning. A surprise documentary about a convicted fraudster that stole the show at this weekend's Telluride Film Festival. It's called "You Can See Everything," and it tells the story of Elizabeth Holmes, the now-in- prison founder of the health startup Theranos.

This time, though, through the eyes of comedian, savant, artiste Nathan Fielder.

KEILAR: Holmes and her partner opened their home to Fielder and his co-director Lance Oppenheim roughly a month before she began serving her 11-year sentence for defrauding investors who bought into her blood-testing technology. The film comes out next month, and here's a clip from the trailer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH HOLMES: I have anything to deceive you on. Of course I'm not deceiving you. I'm engaging with you as a human being.

Why would I deceive you? There's no, there's no reason for me to do that.

NATHAN FIELDER, CANADIAN COMEDIAN: OK. All right. OK, good shot. You're being real right now?

HOLMES: I'm always being real.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Wow. All right, Katey Rich is awards editor at Ankler Media. Katey, I mean, this is, wow, oh my gosh.

What was the reaction to this documentary when it dropped?

KATEY RICH, AWARDS EDITOR ANKLER MEDIA: Well, it's not even that the documentary played in this audience at Telluride, which is seeing movies all weekend, this really great crowd of film lovers, but it had been days of speculation leading up to it. Like, what is the secret movie going to be? They were getting their phones taken away to go into the theater, which almost never happens at a film festival.

It was like a high profile concert. So the anticipation was just off the charts. And then the reactions out of it had been a little bit of what did I just see?

[14:50:00]

But just a huge amount of enthusiasm for, I think, pulling off something no one thought was possible, which is here's something new about Elizabeth Holmes, someone who's been discussed so much, but I think we've never really seen her quite like this before.

SANCHEZ: Which so much of Nathan Fielder's work, a lot of it is what did I just see, right? And the trailer's been described by some critics as unnerving, especially given that unforgiving eye contact between the two of them. I wonder how big an audience is there for a story that's not only been so well documented, but also told through the lens of someone with a very specific storytelling style like Nathan Fielder?

RICH: I think that's what would make anyone want to see it, right? You think, OK, I saw the dropout, the TV show version of Elizabeth Holmes' life, I've read the books about her, but I've never seen her approached by someone like Nathan Fielder, who so willingly blurs fiction and reality with his projects. He's working with an established documentarian. So there's a lot of documentary tactics in this, like you would see in something, you know, a regular documentary, but from what we've been reading, a lot of stuff that really goes out there, it gets experimental, it gets interesting. Her partner is apparently a big part of the story there. So I think it's not going to be like anyone else's version of the Elizabeth Holmes story, which to me is what sounds so exciting.

KEILAR: Yes, he's famous for his reenactments, Fielder is. For instance, in the rehearsal where he steps into the shoes of Captain Sully Sullenberger to land a Boeing 737. This is said to have some of those too.

RICH: Yes, they are. I believe that at the screening, everyone was asked not to spoil any of the people or things that might come up in the reenactments. And I think if you really wanted to Google, you could find some stuff.

But there's an air of mystery around what comes because this is being filmed right before Elizabeth Holmes goes to serve her prison sentence. And then it continues on after she's already in prison. And that is the point at which I think some interesting stuff, some new faces, some reenactments start to become part of the story.

SANCHEZ: He reenacted Sullenberger's life to the point of acting as a baby in a diaper in like a massive crib and having like fake giant parents take care of him. It was odd, but it did kind of make you like Sully Sullenberger even more. I wonder if you think Elizabeth Holmes is aiming for something like that in persuading the world that she's been misunderstood.

RICH: It does seem like what she would be going for her -- what she would be going for by allowing this documentary crew into her house, right? Saying, I want to set the record straight. From the reviews, it says she says at some point in the documentary that she's never lied once a day in her life, which is a really interesting thing to say for someone who has the track record she did.

So if she wants to just get things out for the record and say her side of the story, I'm not sure that's what the filmmakers are there to do. And that's a really interesting contrast I think the movie could explore.

KEILAR: OK, so, I mean, how wide of an appeal ultimately do you think this is going to have? It's definitely going to be unique. I think we're definitely going to see something new on a topic that has been covered a lot already.

Do you think it's going to be really well received?

RICH: Well, it's coming from A24, which has a really good history of marketing to younger audiences, people who might be interested in something that's a little bit out there. One of the co-directors, Lance Oppenheim, also has Primetime coming out with Robert Pattinson playing Chris Hansen just a few weeks before this is going to come out, I think. That's another really interesting take on a story that I think we all thought we knew.

So I think if you like A24 movies and you like things that challenge you, I don't think it's going to be Odyssey-sized box office numbers, but there's a lot of Nathan Fielder fans, there's a lot of people who know that he can give you something you've never seen before, and I would imagine those people would turn out for this.

KEILAR: Katey Rich, good chat. Good chat, Katey Rich.

RICH: Thanks, guys.

KEILAR: Still to come, some new video of the moment that an Amazon cargo plane crashed in Miami, raising more questions than answers as we wait to hear from investigators.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: This Friday marks 25 years since the September 11th terror attacks. A brand new CNN film, "TOP OF THE WORLD," tells the story of the windows on the world, the legendary restaurant atop the World Trade Center. The terrorist attacks claimed the lives of all 79 employees working that morning, along with 91 guests.

Our John Berman spoke with a former executive chef about the friends and colleagues he lost, and how he moved on after the tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's the 25th anniversary, obviously, of September 11th, but the 50th anniversary of the creation of Windows on the World. How would you want it to be remembered?

MICHAEL LOMONACO, FORMER EXECUTIVE CHEF AND DIRECTOR, WINDOWS ON THE WORLD: You know, Windows would still be there today had we not suffered this horrendous day. It stood as a beacon on New York. It was welcoming to all.

And I think that that hospitality is what we can offer anybody, anywhere, in any time in life.

BERMAN: We're 25 years on, which feels like a long time, but there's still a connection there. And I know that there are people who reach out to you and say, hey, I'm related. I'm the niece, I'm the grandchild of someone who worked at Windows on the World.

LOMONACO: People will reach out to me through social media or through someone they know, and they'll say that my grandfather worked there. And then they say, what can you tell me about them? I'm always touched by that because it's how we connect as people.

And then I start to feel like somehow, I'm part of their family.

BERMAN: Which is so important. LOMONACO: The story of people who lost so much, the families who lost

so much, the nation who lost so much, came together to rebuild and to go on again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: The all-new CNN film "TOP OF THE WORLD" premieres tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern and tomorrow on the CNN app ...