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Ex-Prince Andrew Released, Under Investigation Following the Epstein Files Fiasco; Trump to Release Government Records on UFOs and Aliens. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired February 20, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, wherever you are in the world. You are now in the "CNN Newsroom" with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta, and it is so good to have you with me. Coming up on the show.

The British royal family in turmoil following the arrest and release of former Prince Andrew, the latest high profile person to face fallout from connections to Jeffrey Epstein.

U.S. President Donald Trump is extending the timeline for making a decision on Iran, even as the U.S. builds up its military resources in the Middle East.

And we may get more information on whether alien life exists. President Trump says he'll release government records to the public.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Ben Hunte.

HUNTE: Welcome.

New developments in the crisis jolting the British monarchy. Not long ago came word that police are once again searching Andrew Mountbatten- Windsor's former home, that's the Royal Lodge in Berkshire.

Authorities had already finished their search of the former prince's current home in Norfolk. This is the first time in nearly 400 years for the senior royal has been arrested.

Ex-Prince Andrew sinking into a backseat on Thursday after he was released from custody on his 66th birthday. No charges have been filed, but British authorities say he remains under investigation for possible misconduct in public office, an offense that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

During the decade that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor served as U.K. trade envoy, he was in contact with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Police previously said they are looking into claims he shared information with the late sex offender while representing the monarchy. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and has not commented publicly on these more recent allegations.

In a statement released on Thursday, King Charles said authorities have the monarchy's full and wholehearted support for the investigation. He added the law must take its course, but notably the king did not use the word brother when referring to the former prince.

The arrest of the former prince is not related to any allegations of sexual misconduct, but some survivors of Epstein's abuse are speaking out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIELLE BENSKY, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: I think it's a small victory at this point, you know. I think that we have hope now as survivors and even though it feels like this might not be the charge that we wanted to see, it still feels like a win because it's really demonstrating a misuse of power.

So just to see that on display really means quite a lot to survivors and I think it's hard to think about this day without Virginia Giuffre. She's just been so incredibly instrumental to this fight and I always say, I use the analogy that she really dug this tunnel with her bare hands that we now have paved and get to walk through and help push the boulder through.

So I think that it's incredibly vindicating for her, but we really do want to see just a little bit more pressure on just those sex trafficking charges and making sure that they're really being linked to the Epstein and Maxwell case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Okay, CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is covering all of this for us live from London. Salma, thank you so much for being with me. To no one's surprise, yesterday's top story across every single newsroom was the arrest of the former prince and today the coverage is definitely going to continue, but what's going to happen next?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's start with the coverage today and I want to specifically start, Ben, with that image of former Prince Andrew slouched in the back of a car because that image is on the front page of every single newspaper in Britain today with some salacious headlines around it. I don't think there's a family that didn't have a discussion about this picture if they're not going to already.

Every bit of it has been analyzed. The look of his face, ashen. The image in his eyes, shocked, terrified.

The way that he's slouching in that back of the car, appearing as if to hide from the cameras. The tabloids interpreting him as a coward, as someone who has now been caught out, as a former prince who has fallen from grace. In this country, we don't really have mugshots, Ben, so this is, if you will, the mugshot that Britain is going to wake up to this morning. And yes, he has been released from prison, but there was really a

moment there where we wondered, are we going to see a member of the royal family, someone born into privilege and luxury, spend a night in prison?

[03:05:08]

But his troubles are, of course, far from over. As you mentioned, his former residence in Windsor is still being searched by police this morning. We are talking quite literally about monarchy property, where police are looking through documents.

We've heard, of course, from King Charles, his brother, that he is willing to support this investigation, which, reading between the lines, means that police may be able to access computers, information, messages that Andrew may have sent. Specifically here, we are talking about the period in time between 2001 to 2011, when he was still a prince and was serving as a trade envoy for the country.

Now, he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct while in public office. That relates to the accusation that he sent, forwarded, passed on sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein while he was a trade envoy for this country. That would be a massive violation of his role, of his bound to confidentiality as a member of a trade envoy for this nation.

So that is right now what is being investigated by police. Not, of course, the sexual misconduct allegations, but although it is him being investigated, it is very much the monarchy that is in the spotlight here, Ben.

You saw that statement from King Charles, again, trying to separate himself from his brother. We heard from Prince William and his wife, who, again, backed that statement from the king. But how can you separate yourself from a man who you were literally family related to and who is still in line to the throne?

So a lot here coming ahead, an investigation that's underway. The troubles are going to continue, of course, for the royal family. They now have to find a way to restore public trust, restore public affection for the monarchy while this investigation drags out.

This is only the beginning, he has not been formally charged. That is what we're waiting on, Ben. So until we see either a formal charge or a move from the police, we are in this waiting pattern to find out more.

HUNTE: Okay, Salma Abdelaziz, thank you so much.

Bidishma Mamata is a royal watcher and comes to us from London. Thank you so much for being up early for me. I'll get straight into it.

This is being described as absolutely unprecedented, a senior royal being questioned by a local police force in plain clothes. Just how huge is this moment for the British monarchy? BIDISHMA MAMATA, ROYAL WATCHER: It's completely and utterly staggering

and unbelievable. It is so unexpected. It is completely a public statement on behalf of the rest of the royal family and indeed the police forces that everyone should be equal under the law.

And it doesn't matter if you're a prince, an ex-prince, justice, karma, the law will eventually catch up with you. And in the way that Andrew himself would least want. He has been trouble for the royal family for many decades, exactly as Max outlined in his report.

He has been known for not being hardworking, for being hedonistic, for, as we now know, fostering extremely negative friendships. And it's all coming home to roost.

HUNTE: Yes, the King's statement that the law must take its course was so blunt. How significant is it that King Charles appears to be publicly siding with the police rather than offering support for his own brother?

MAMATA: Blunt, it definitely was. It was like a hammer falling down on this fraternal royal relationship. I was waiting for even one line of King Charles to say, my brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, none of that. And in fact, every statement of loyalty and faith and fidelity that the King made was towards the police, the law, the legal process, victims, witnesses, and survivors.

He has completely thrown Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as he refers to his own brother, to the dogs. And that is as it must be, because usually the royal family are very good at getting out ahead of a scandal, getting out ahead of public disapproval.

They've been lagging behind here because all over the world, on both sides of the Atlantic, people are demanding, what are you going to do about this mess? At the moment, this is still at the level of scandal and gossip. People are picking over all of the available details released in the Epstein files.

But the next question has to be, if there's evidence of wrongdoing, surely that's a legal matter. It's not really a tabloid matter or a casual discussion matter. Now that is beginning.

HUNTE: Do you get the sense that this is the palace cutting ties with the former prince? And could this be the final stage of his formal exile from royal life?

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MAMATA: Yes, I think so. For a very long time, I'd argued that the palace as an institution and then the royal family as a family were two different things, and that even though there was a public and very obvious shunning over the last few years, they were probably still on speaking terms privately.

I think that once you've stood by while your brother's arrested very publicly on his birthday, that private dimension is over. We know that the royal family is a centuries old institution and it will always endure.

How does it do that? Through pragmatism, through ruthlessness, even when it comes to your own relatives.

He is still eighth in line to the throne, but I don't think that that is really ever going to happen. I think he's out -- he's being iced out.

HUNTE: Wow, I love that you don't hold back. So juicy.

For viewers outside the U.K., misconduct in public office can sound very technical. How serious is that offence in British law? And what would prosecutors actually need to prove to bring charges?

MAMATA: It's incredibly serious, but it's not a sexualized crime. Andrew has not been called up in front of the police at the moment to talk about anything to do with trafficking or the abuse of women and girls. And the incredibly moving and distressing case of the late Virginia Giuffre is separate from this.

But if you are in an envoy role or any kind of cultural diplomatic role, you are not supposed to do certain things.

Do not tell other people outside your immediate working relationships about trade deals, business deals, trips. Insider gossip is also illegal. Do not set up meetings, graces and favours, creating links.

All of that is both unethical and illegal to do.

In particular, if there is written evidence of it, you are not supposed to be setting up side meetings or fostering any kind of professional relationship if you're in a formal role.

HUNTE: There is outrage internationally over the Epstein files in Britain today is a reaction more about the alleged conduct itself, or do you think this is also becoming a backlash against privilege and maybe the monarchy, too?

MAMATA: I think you're exactly right. Lots of different things are happening. There are anti-monarchist groups who are delighted by all of this because they are smelling the downfall, the potential downfall of an institution, which I don't think is actually ultimately going to happen.

There's such an extreme cost of living crisis and inequality, social mobility crisis that people are saying, well, the royal family existed as a form of soft power and to form some kind of entertainment for us, the living soap opera. This is not that.

This is abuse and criminality. So there's a sense of disgust and outrage at impunity. And so many people are saying, oh, well, I always thought that the world was secretly run by a network of extremely negative and immoral characters who do exactly what they want with total impunity and think that there's a class of people who can do what they like. And then there's another class of people who can be used and abused and discarded and disbelieved. And they must think that we're mugs. And there's an element of that in the Epstein files as well.

It's also that this Andrew drama has dragged on for so long and his lies and falsehoods and obfuscations and fudges of the truth have been so messy that people are sick of hearing his name and they want this cathartic end. They want the spectacle of him being pulled out by police. So there is some of that to it, too.

HUNTE: Okay, Donald Trump is trying to pressure Iran to make a nuclear deal as the U.S. president orders the largest military buildup in the Middle East in decades. What we know about the possibility of U.S. military action against Iran, next.

Plus dozens of countries attend the inaugural meeting of President Trump's Board of Peace. There's a lot of talk about the future of Gaza, but what actually came of it? That's ahead. See you in a moment.

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[03:15:00]

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HUNTE: Welcome back.

U.S. President Trump is giving himself another 10 to 15 days to make a decision on whether to order military action against Iran over its nuclear program. He has already ordered the largest U.S. military buildup in the Middle East in 22 years as he tries to pressure Tehran to negotiating a table.

CNN's Kristen Holmes has the latest from the White House for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The president continues to weigh a range of options when it comes to military intervention in Iran. This would include either targeted strikes that might force Iran to the table for negotiating to a much more longer, prolonged military operation. We are told that behind closed doors, President Trump just has not made a final decision here.

Now, the White House has stressed that the first option the president would like to take is diplomacy. And today, he discussed what that timeline would look like in terms of Iran coming back to the table before there could be potential strikes. Take a listen.

DONALD TRUMP. U.S. PRESIDENT: I would think that would be enough time, 10, 15 days, pretty much maximum.

HOLMES: And now he said 10 to 15 days. That was just hours after he had said 10 days. So clearly, there is a shifting timeline.

And really, this kind of ambiguity or vagueness is something that we are hearing is happening behind the scenes as well. I talked to a number of advisers who seem to not know how to communicate or did not know why exactly it was in America's best interest to get involved now in some kind of military intervention in Iran and how to communicate that to the people. Remember, there are still a number of questions here as to what exactly the United States is hoping to achieve if they are going to, in fact, strike Iran.

[03:20:02]

Is this going to be a targeting of top leadership? Is this a targeting of enrichment capabilities or ballistic missile facilities?

We do not have those answers from the White House or from the administration. And if it is to be some kind of regime change that the United States is hoping for, it is unclear that the United States or the administration has a plan as to what exactly that would look like on day two after these strikes.

Right now, the White House has not really sold to the American public why there might be this heightened sense of needing or urgency to go into Iran. But we do know President Trump has not yet made up his mind. He is waiting, weighing these various military interventions as well as this idea of trying to reach some kind of diplomatic solution.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: For more on the U.S. tensions with Iran, let's bring in Ali Vaez. He's the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, and he's in Geneva, Switzerland. Thank you so much for being with me.

President Donald Trump is apparently weighing options that range from targeted strikes to potentially trying to topple the regime. In your view, how real is the risk that this escalates beyond limited military action into something that's going to be so much bigger?

ALI VAEZ, IRAN PROJECT DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: It's good to be with you. Look, from the Iranian perspective, they are not going to make any distinction between a limited strike or an all-out conflict.

They believe that the U.S. is out to get them. The U.S. is out there to undermine and topple the regime. And so they would see any attack, any kinetic action as an existential threat and are likely to respond to it in a disproportionate and harsh manner, which is very likely to turn this confrontation into a regional conflagration.

HUNTE: The U.S. is reportedly positioning significant military assets in the region. Do you think this is just a leverage for negotiations or does it signal genuine preparation for long lasting operations?

VAEZ: It is both. I mean, we know that President Trump believes that he can always extract more concessions through more pressure - military pressure, economic pressure, diplomatic pressure. But at the same time, if this is giving the President options, if he decides to take military action with so much firepower now around Iran, he would be in a position to be able to sustain offensive and defensive operations for days or weeks.

The question is, you know, the President has had now several years of experience with Iran and pressure has always made the situation more complicated, not better. It has never rendered the Iranian more flexible at the negotiating table. So I'm not sure if repeating the same experience would put the U.S. in a better position, but the President seems to be persistent.

HUNTE: Even just looking at the map as you're speaking there, these are absolutely wild times. Trump says he will know within 10 to 15 days whether a deal is possible. Is that timeline realistic or are we bracing for something a lot sooner, as was previously reported this week?

VAEZ: So this gives me flashbacks to last year when the President said he would take two weeks to make a decision in the middle of Israel bombing Iran to decide if he wants to join in or not. And then three days later, he did join in and bombed Iran for 45 minutes.

Now, this time around, we know that they're waiting for Iranian negotiators to come back with a counterproposal. If that counterproposal is good enough, maybe war could be averted. If not, then war might become inevitable.

But I think the most important question here is, what is the U.S.'s objective here? The President said last year he obliterated the Iranian program.

And so is it really to finish off that program entirely? Is it to finish off the regime? And take into account, there's been no policy debate about this in Washington.

The American people are not aware of it, Congress has not been consulted. And again, the day after plans are also entirely unclear.

HUNTE: It's so true. And with everything going on in the news right now, it really is getting pushed down, isn't it? Can you just break down for us what the U.S. is currently asking for? And what could a compromise actually look like?

VAEZ: Well, it appears that the U.S. is asking for a very comprehensive agreement for Iran to completely abandon and dismantle its nuclear program, as well as put serious curbs on its ballistic missiles and on its support for partners and proxies in the region.

This whole thing started with the President threatening military intervention in support of Iranian protesters who were massacred by the regime. But apparently, human rights or democratic values are not on the menu of these negotiations.

[03:25:06]

The problem from the Iranian perspective is that they believe that if they concede to these demands, it would amount to capitulation and that would also undermine the regime's position. So in a way, the U.S. is putting Iran in face of a choice that it would either have to commit suicide or be killed by the United States.

HUNTE: My goodness. Well, you've got a very busy few days coming up, potentially.

Ali Vaez, thank you so much for now.

I'm sure we'll be speaking to you again very soon. So thank you.

Drink some coffee. Let's go. Thanks.

The first meeting of President Trump's Board of Peace saw lofty pledges for Gaza's future, but uncertainty remains about next steps. Mr. Trump said nine nations pledged more than $7 billion for relief aid. He vowed the U.S. would give $10 billion to the group, but he didn't say whether he'd asked Congress for those funds.

Dozens of countries attended the meeting, either as members or as observers. Notably, some key U.S. allies have declined the invitation to the board. But President Trump touted the group's prospects.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: In terms of power and in terms of prestige, there's never been anything close because these are the greatest world leaders. Almost everybody's accepted, and the ones that haven't will be. Some are playing a little cute, it doesn't work.

You can't play cute with me.

They're playing a little bit, but they're all joining. Everybody most of them very immediately. A few that we really don't want because they're trouble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Next, that sinking feeling. Former Prince Andrew hunkered down in the back seat of a Range Rover after his arrest. We'll have all of the details in a moment.

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[03:30:00]

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HUNTE: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Ben Hunte. Let's check some of today's top stories.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor remains under investigation after being released from police custody. And right now, authorities are continuing their search of his former home in Berkshire. The former prince was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office but has not yet been charged. U.S. President Donald Trump says he will make a decision on possible

military action against Iran within the next 10 to 15 days. President Trump is trying to pressure Tehran to agree to a new nuclear deal after he pulled the U.S. out of the previous deal during his first term. Sources say the U.S. could be ready to strike Iran as early as this weekend, though officials do not expect strikes to happen that soon.

President Trump's Board of Peace held its inaugural meeting on Thursday. Dozens of countries took part in the talks in Washington, D.C. Mr. Trump says nine countries will give $7 billion for Gaza aid and the U.S. will give $10 billion to the group.

Across Africa, financial access is quickly expanding as a rising number of adults sign up for banking accounts. In Senegal, one mobile money provider is at the forefront of that shift, helping to drive financial inclusion across the continent.

Eleni Giokos has more in our "Connecting Africa" report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELENI GIOKOS, "CONNECTING AFRICA" HOST (voice-over): Along the coastal city of Mbourou, south of Dakar, hordes of fishermen are busy bringing their latest catch ashore.

On the beach, they saw through their catch by species, size, and quality. It's a daily ritual, an activity that sparked an idea several years ago that would go on to financially impact millions.

KARAMOKHO BADIANE, REGIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, WAVE (through translator): We will start working with the government to make sure that we have a Wave started working with fishermen in 2018 because it was a population that was excluded from the traditional financial system, but also excluded from mobile money.

GIOKOS (voice-over): Until 2018, this was an informal economy. The fishermen were unbanked and cash was king.

BADIANE (through translator): Two main problems came out. The first was that these services were too difficult to use, it was just too complicated. The other problem was the cost.

GIOKOS (voice-over): Wave has been adopted by traders whose challenge wasn't earning money, but the cost of moving it.

SOULEYMAN N'DIAYE, FISH TRADER (through translator): Wave really solved all our difficulties because before to send one million, you know, here we deal with large amounts.

So to send one million, you had to pay 10,000, 20,000 or even 25,000 francs. Then Wave arrived and to transfer one million, we only paid 5,000 francs. It really made things easier for us.

GIOKOS (voice-over): Today, Wave says it has on boarded 20 million customers across nine African countries. BADIANE (through translator): Wave allows its users to receive, to

send money, to buy mobile airtime, to pay their bills, to receive international money transfers. Now we have started to introduce a bit more advanced services like virtual Visa cards that are saving wallets that allow them to save their money and also some services like the purchase of electronic tickets for mass transport.

[03:35:10]

GIOKOS (voice-over): With its ambitions growing, what started with fishermen, Wave looks set to further unlock the benefits of financial inclusion across the continent.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[03:40:00]

HUNTE: So welcome back to CNN, this is your Business Breakout and these are the business headlines.

As tensions flare between the U.S. and Iran, investors are feeling the stress. Gold has risen more than 2 percent in the past few days, topping $5,000 an ounce, this as oil prices spiked to their highest level in nearly seven months. With fears Iran could shut down the Strait of Hormuz, about 20 million barrels of oil pass through the waterway daily.

Walmart is no longer the world's largest company, Amazon has now surpassed Walmart in sales, breaking its 13-year streak. Amazon posted $717 billion in sales last year, topping Walmart's $713 billion. Revenue growth in cloud computing, advertising and other businesses helped it.

Nestle is getting out of the ice cream business. The world's biggest food company says it's in advanced negotiations to sell its ice cream business to its joint venture partner, Froneri. The company says it's prioritizing coffee, pet care and food; another food giant, Unilever, spun off its ice cream unit in December.

President Trump says he'll direct U.S. government agencies to release government records related to extraterrestrial life and UFOs. His comments come days after former President Barack Obama confirmed the existence of aliens in a podcast interview, saying they're real but I haven't seen them. Well Obama later clarified he was talking about the statistical likelihood of life existing on other planets.

President Trump says he doesn't know if aliens are real or not, but that it's an, quote, "extremely interesting and important matter."

Thank you so much for joining me and the team this hour. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta and I will see you tomorrow. "World Sport" is next, please enjoy that, you are watching CNN.

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