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More Than 600 And 3,000 Missing After Catastrophic Flood Along China-Nepal Border; Ninety Americans Among Missing After Deadly Flood And Landslide In Nepal; 17,000 Children Need Help After Nepal Floods According To UNICEF; Trump Administration Moves To Crank Up Economic Pressure On Iran; Tributes Pour In To Honor The Legendary Dolly Parton; Experts: Trump Tests Bounds Of White House Secrecy; Closing Arguments Set For Monday On Tupac Murder Trial. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired August 29, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:02]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN HOST: Hello, and welcome. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Danny Freeman in New York.

We begin with more than 9,000 Nepali army forces being deployed in the region as crews desperately search for thousands of missing people after the massive deadly landslides and flooding on the China-Nepal border earlier this week. The foreign minister of China is describing it as the most serious cross-border disaster in years. Villages along China's border with Nepal have been devastated and in some cases nearly wiped out. Nepali authorities say at least 675 people have been killed along the Himalayan region.

We also have this new video from Nepal's police showing the moment a young girl is rescued. Now, we want to warn you, some viewers might find it hard to watch. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(RESCUERS SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Now, authorities say that young girl is being treated after resting overnight at a rescue camp.

CNN international correspondent Hanako Montgomery is in Nepal with the latest.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Danny, it's now been three days since that initial horrible flood that hit Nepal. And on Saturday local time, we accompanied the Nepali army as they went on a search and recovery mission, trying to find any remaining bodies that might still be stuck in the mud.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Here in Nepal's Devighat destruction stretches for miles. Daily life has grounded to a halt here, replaced instead by a steady stream of police and dogs sniffing for any bodies.

And actually, just moments ago, they did find one. We, of course, can't show it to you, but they told us that because it was so badly decomposed, they couldn't even identify who it was.

(Voice-over): Houses here are half buried in mud, and what little remains of people's lives are strewn in debris. Numbers can't describe the human cost of this tragedy. A pain shared by too many here.

Can you tell me what did this used to be? What was here before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we have this store of rice.

MONTGOMERY: How do you feel seeing your home destroyed like this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we can't do anything. We can now -- we have to start from zero.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Sudeep Nepal lost his business in the flood, and his home, the one he's lived in for years.

How long do you think it's going to take for you to rebuild all of this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it is not possible to stay here. I think we have to leave this place.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Sudeep barely made it out alive when he saw the flood rushing toward his town, he said, like a tsunami. He ran up a nearby mountain where he filmed these videos. All he had was a T- shirt and sandals. But luckily his whole family made it out in time. He shows us inside his home. Where furniture and a bathroom once stood are now tree branches, ropes and animal carcasses that the river brought in.

Now, as the critical 72-hour window of finding trapped survivors still alive closes, many of these operations are becoming search and recovery, a mounting toll of heartbreak for thousands of families.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Nepal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MONTGOMERY (on-camera): And Danny, after reporting on this story for a few days now, one thing that's really struck out to me is just how this flooding, how this natural disaster has affected so many people here higher up in the mountains, closer to that devastation. I mean, even if it's not their immediate family members, it might be their neighbors, it might be other people in their hometowns, in their villages.

I mean, that just goes to show the scale of devastation and impact of this horrible natural disaster that's affected the entire country -- Danny.

FREEMAN: Hanako Montgomery, thank you so much for that reporting. Meanwhile, of course, people from all around the world have been

reported missing after these floods. The State Department says 90 Americans are among them.

CNN's Rafael Romo joins us now with the latest.

Rafael, what do we know about the people missing from the United States?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Danny, in the last few hours, we have learned that out of about 90 Americans missing after the devastating flood, at least five live in the same area in northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C..

[19:05:08]

Those five hikers were part of a group composed of 10 men, including nine Americans and one Canadian, who were hiking together. That's according to the office of Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, which confirmed to CNN five of those hikers are his constituents, whom he described in a statement as community leaders who went to find spiritual connection in the Himalayas.

One of those missing Americans who live in Virginia is Anil Goel, who is described by his family as an avid hiker. His family also said that Goel had planned a multi-day trip to hike Mount Kailash, near Nepal's border with China, as part of the tour group. But his son, Anurag Goel, told CNN this morning that the family hasn't heard from his father or the group since the day before the disaster.

The missing man's son says the last communication from the group happened less than an hour before the flooding happened in that area around the border.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANURAG GOEL, SON OF MISSING IN NEPAL: They were known to last be at the Nepal side of the Nepal and Tibet border. That's called Gyirong Crossing, and that was -- they were last known to have received their departure stamp on their passports around 8:35 a.m. to depart Nepal and Tibet. And there were also some messages through WhatsApp exchanged around that time. So that was roughly 45 minutes before the flooding took place in that area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Goel also told CNN that, quote, "There's been a large lag in communication from the affected region." That has made it even more difficult for families like his, who are desperate for any news about their loved ones.

Friday night in Hicksville, New York, people came together for a solemn vigil.

Leaders from the Long Island Nepalese Society organized a vigil to gather in solidarity, prayer and hope as CNN affiliate News 12 Long Island reported.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJAN GOUELLE, LONG ISLAND NEPALESE SOCIETY: It is not a good moment, but we are sharing our sorrow and grief together.

SABITRA SIWAKOTI, LONG ISLAND NEPALESE SOCIETY: Very, very remote area there. It's very hard for people to even come up to the hospital, and hospital is overwhelmed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And finally, Danny, a State Department spokesperson, told CNN the United States government is sending half a million dollars in aid to Nepal, including food, and that the first trucks carrying assistance are on the way. The United Kingdom has pledged nearly $6.8 million in assistance, and the European Union said it would provide $2.3 million in aid.

Danny, now back to you.

FREEMAN: Rafael, thank you so much for that crucial reporting on those Americans impacted. Appreciate it.

And earlier this evening, I spoke with a woman whose husband is one of those dozens of missing Americans and is missing from that same hiking trip with the other nine men. It's now been more than 80 hours since she's heard from him or anyone else on the trip. Here's part of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SNEHA SUDHIR, HUSBAND MISSING IN NEPAL: It's a family that's out there. It's 10 boys who are stuck there. Everyone is a great human being, a great dad, a great husband. And I'm talking on behalf of the entire family of 10 that I'm representing here. We want to seek help from public, government, military. I don't know who's going to help me, but if you guys can start looking for them because there are some of them who needs their medical attention on a day to day basis.

I also have one of my elderly brother who had joined there, and he is 70 plus, super fit, many of them run their marathons, but of course they're not ready for something like this. And as I said, yes, they need their medications on a timely basis. They of course need to take their food. I don't know, whatnot, but 80 hours is way too long for them to be somewhere where they are not taken care of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Now, UNICEF says at least 17,000 children are in urgent need of help in Nepal, appealing for more than $17 million to sustain its emergency response and support early recovery.

For more on this, we're joined now by UNICEF emergency communications manager Joe English. Joe, thank you so much for joining us on such an important topic. Can

you give us a sense of the scale of the impact here? Obviously, so many children among the dead and missing. But also, I mean, there are whole communities that we've seen have been wiped out.

JOE ENGLISH, UNICEF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER: I mean, it's -- as this situation becomes clearer and the impact becomes clearer, what is becoming clear is this is an incredibly grave situation. And we know that in the in the weeks and months ahead, that children are going to need support in terms of, you know, protecting them from waterborne diseases, and nutrition support and psychosocial support.

[19:10:01]

But the very real risk at this moment is the continued rain and the development of this second lake, which is being monitored. But that not only poses a risk to the children and the families and the communities who have already been impacted by this, but also the search and rescue teams and the humanitarian teams who are on the ground trying to reach people with these basics of life. And so it's an incredibly concerning situation.

We are buoyed along by the hope of these rescues that we see in your report earlier, and the fact that we have the knowledge of how to provide help to people in these incredibly concerning situations. But it is a huge challenge.

FREEMAN: Joe, can you talk a little bit more about what exactly you're hearing from your teams who are on the ground right there, and what is most needed right now?

ENGLISH: Yes. So, you know, we're coming now to the end of that sort of 72 hours of the sort of classic search and rescue phase. But that doesn't mean that at that point, the search and rescue stops. But what we're really focused on, what our team on the ground is focused on, is providing children who have survived with those kind of basics of life. But one really critical issue now in terms of child protection is identifying children who may be unaccompanied or separated from their families.

Now, this is incredibly likely. We already know we've got reports of this. But, you know, this crisis struck, the flood struck at 9:00 on a school day. So many children are in school. They were not at home. They were not close to their parents. And so we've met with children who were separated and now, thankfully, have been reunited. And, you know, as a humanitarian worker, there is no better feeling than when you see a child reunited with their parents.

But the flip side of that is that there will be many, many children who have lost parents, and there will be many, many parents who have lost their children.

FREEMAN: Joe, some of these areas are extremely remote and difficult to get to. How is that impacting response efforts?

ENGLISH: Yes, it makes it incredibly challenging. You know, we face many of these same difficult circumstances in terms of accessing communities after the earthquake in 2015. But UNICEF has been operating in Nepal since over 60 years now. And so, you know, we know the communities, we know the towns. We are obviously, many of our -- many of my staff are Nepali themselves. And so, you know, we are there. But it is going to be a case of not just days ahead, but many months in terms of helping people rebuild their lives.

FREEMAN: Joe, our colleague Will Ripley is reporting from Nepal or has been for the past few days, and speaking with search and rescuers. And one complaint that he's heard is that there's been so much red tape from the Nepalese government when it comes to getting international aid in in particular.

I was just curious, is that something your teams have encountered or has this, as you just noted, long standing relationship maybe eased some of that tension?

ENGLISH: So it's an incredibly complex picture in terms of this kind of response at any time. And I know that over the last sort of 24, 48 hours, the government has taken steps to address some of these kind of bottlenecks. But it's, you know, there on the one hand, you want to get as many people in to provide support as possible. But on the other hand, you want to make sure that you have coordination, that you don't have teams, multiple teams going to the same places.

It is never simple, but I think for all of us, you know, as I say, we are driven by that single purpose, which is to save lives and to make sure that we are reaching children and families who are affected with the key sort of, you know, their basic necessities of life.

FREEMAN: Yes, certainly such a key priority. We also understand that UNICEF has mobilized what we understand to be mental and psychosocial support teams. Can you just explain what role do they play in the immediate aftermath of such a disaster like this?

ENGLISH: Yes, it's a critical role. You know, we talk about the basics of life, water and food and shelter. But for children who've been through this kind of experience, you know, and people we spoke to described it as being hit by liquid concrete. So for an adult, that's unimaginable. For a child, I mean, you know, and so being able to provide psychosocial support, you know, being able to help children process.

But I will say that that process cannot fully begin until the risk is gone and the risk still remains because of this continued rain, because of the risk of further flooding. You know, and so it is a sticking plaster on a huge wound at the moment. But we will do everything we can to make sure that children are getting this kind of support.

FREEMAN: Joe English, thank you so much for coming on and explaining the challenges that your group is doing, but so thankful for the work that UNICEF is doing of course in this area. Appreciate your time this evening.

ENGLISH: Thanks so much, Danny. FREEMAN: And of course, if you want to help the people in Nepal

affected by this disaster, you can go to CNN.com/Impact or scan this QR code here on your screen to, again, provide any aid that you can.

Still ahead, the U.S. is threatening to cut off a major Egyptian bank over its ties to Iran. We're going to talk whether or not it's the right move for the former U.S. diplomat. Plus, the trial for the murder of rapper Tupac winds down as the jury gets ready to decide the fate of the man accused of orchestrating the crime all those years ago.

[19:15:04]

And later, we remember the life, of course, and legacy of country legend Dolly Parton.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREEMAN: The Trump administration is signaling its first public action to ratchet up economic pressure against Iran. The Treasury Department on Friday proposed a rule to ban facilitating transactions with UAE based branches of one of Egypt's largest banks, Banque Misr UAE.

[19:20:08]

Secretary Scott Bessent writing, quote, "We are taking the first step in holding it accountable for its continued egregious support of the Iranian regime."

So our next guest is a former U.S. diplomat with 20 years of experience. In an op-ed for the "Washington Post," he writes that President Trump is right to, in his words, "resort to an intensive economic pressure campaign."

We're joined now by the author of that article, Ludo Hood. He's also a senior fellow with the Hudson Institutes Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East.

Let's begin here, Ludo, and thank you again for joining us this evening. Iran has been under some form of sanctions for decades, and the regime has survived them. Why do you think this action is the right move now?

LUDOVIC HOOD, FORMER U.S. DIPLOMAT: Danny, thanks very much, and thanks for asking a question that I'm sure is on a lot of your viewers' minds. I think there's a big difference with where we are at this point in time in 2026. Don't forget that thanks to the conflict that erupted earlier this year, the Iranian -- Iran as a whole and the Iranian economy have taken a significant beating as a result of the conflict as a result of the navy blockade.

And it's really important to remember that the economy was already in really terrible shape before this conflict even erupted. In fact, some of your viewers will remember that late last year, early this year, there were nationwide protests across Iran in multiple cities and towns because of economic concerns and the ongoing and increasingly unpopular nature of this regime. Obviously, those economic concerns have deteriorated a lot in the context of the war. The navy blockade has dried up a lot of the oil revenue.

And I think most relevantly, in terms of what your viewers may be hearing from the administration is I get the feeling from where I sit that unlike in previous efforts, Secretary Scott Bessent at the Treasury Department and his team will be undertaking the enforcement in a more vigorous, proactive way than we've seen before.

FREEMAN: This is something that our team has been curious about here. The Trump administration so far, as far as we understand, has not listed any major financial institutions from China as part of these new measures. The context here being that China is one of Iran's largest trading partners. Is that a mistake not to target such an economically influential player in Iran's world?

HOOD: China is, of course, one of the major facilitators, shall we say, or indirect buyers of illicit oil, together with other countries, some of which are allies of the U.S., some of which are, are not. I think it's important to note that going back to my point about enforcing sanctions rather than announcing new targets, that a lot of that will be done diplomatically. So the diplomats, Secretary Rubio, Special Envoy Witkoff and their teams, will be speaking privately to a number of governments. again, some allies, for example, the UAE, and then some obviously our strategic competitors like China, to talk about ways in which they should be doing more to clamp down.

And then if need be, Treasury will consider announcing secondary sanctions or other enforcement actions. So I think at this stage, from what I can tell, we're still in that private, diplomatic phase of outreach. And again, I get the feeling from what Secretary Bessent and others have been saying is that we're really going to be doing this a lot more vigorously and proactively than I saw in previous incarnations.

FREEMAN: When do you think the Iranian people might feel the effects of such enforcement, as you're calling it, in terms of actually trickling down to what Iranians might feel every day?

HOOD: Well, I think the more relevant question is, you know, at what point do the Iranian people take to the streets for what would be the fifth time since 2018 alone to protest dire economic conditions that existed prior to this ongoing standoff that we have with the Islamic Republic. This regime has run Iran's economy into the ground. It's been far more focused on wreaking havoc in the region, trying to dominate parts of the Arab world.

You know, engaging in sort of shadow hybrid warfare occasionally with us even, obviously with the Israelis and others. And that's been a focus. It seems to me that, you know, large swathes of the Iranian people are simply fed up with that. They're fed up with incompetent governance. They, you know, many of them will recall the sheer brutality of the regime in January when thousands or possibly tens of thousands of Iranian women, children and men were massacred in their own cities when the government put down those protests.

[19:25:13]

So I think the real question here is, you know, at what point does the boiling discontent erupt again?

FREEMAN: Yes. And that is well said, because that's been kind of the question since this conflict has begun now six months ago.

Ludo Hood, thank you so much for your expertise and insight onto this continuing conflict in the Middle East. Appreciate it.

HOOD: OK. Thanks.

FREEMAN: All right. Coming up in just a moment, Dolly Parton, so much more than a musical artist. One of her movie co-stars now is going to be here right with us after the break, actress Danica McKellar joins us to talk about her memories and the legacy of the iconic superstar.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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FREEMAN: We are remembering the life and legacy of music icon, Dolly Parton. Her death this week at the age of 80 after a brief battle with cancer, sparked just an outpouring of tributes and love from Hollywood to Dollywood.

Fans have been visiting the theme park brought to life by Dolly in 1986 to honor her memory and business empire, Dollywood has expanded over the years to become a hugely popular tourist attraction, receiving over four million visitors a year. And Dolly also starred in the 2019 hallmark movie, "Christmas at Dollywood."

Well, her costar in that movie, actress, Danica McKellar, joins us now.

Danica, thank you so much for joining us on a sad week, but just a joyful one of remembrance of just an icon. What was it like to work with Dolly on that movie?

DANICA MCKELLAR, ACTOR: Unbelievable. Dream come true. I actually met her earlier that year because of my book "Good Night, Numbers" was in her program, Imagination Library, an amazing organization. If you -- if anyone watching doesn't know about it, go look it up, the Imagination Library.

She has donated hundreds of millions of books, there it is, oh, "Good Night, Numbers" is right over her right shoulder right there. And so that actually inspired the movie "Christmas at Dollywood." I said to Bill Abbott, who was at Hallmark at the time, now he is at Great American, I said, let's do a movie that lifts up the Imagination Library, and Dolly Parton's amazing work in that.

And so we got a writer and put the movie together. And of course, it had to happen at Dollywood. And she said, yes.

But anyway, there is a documentary made about the Imagination Library, and I was asked to narrate that earlier in the year. And at the recording session, who stops in to surprise me? But Dolly Parton herself, I was floored. I was just my -- I was gob-smacked, my mouth dropped open, there she was, head-to-toe, black leather with grommet holes and like a big chain cross and just her hair, in all her glory. It was an amazing moment that I will never forget.

And then later that year, we did this movie together. Working with her was incredible. She has a really strong work ethic. She wanted to rehearse and I was like, I would love to rehearse. Let's rehearse all day.

She was just a sparkling ball of light. We were all -- I was nervous about doing this big scene with her.

FREEMAN: Of course.

MCKELLAR: I was nervous doing an acting scene -- I've been acting for like 40 years, but I was with butterflies. And she walked on the set. We were all just so nervous, she said -- and she goes, "Merry Christmas, everybody." And we all just -- it just diffused all the tension and the nervousness we all had.

She put us all at ease immediately. She is wearing head to toe silver sparkles with these, you know, six-inch heels, platform just incredible. And she was amazing. And no matter what she said, sounded good.

I still remember that the director of photography said, "Miss Parton, you're going to be stepping over some cords here." And she is wearing these tall heels, right? I don't want you to trip over them. And she goes, no, you don't, honey. It was just so charming.

And so she knew how to deliver any kind of message with charm.

FREEMAN: Oh that's incredible. There are so many great memories packed into all of that. I am curious, though, is there anything about her personality that surprised you once you were able to actually interact with her in person?

We've heard about the hard work. We've heard about -- you know, we all know the charm, but is there anything that stood out to you that's surprising during those -- that time?

MCKELLAR: First, how normal she was. She was just incredibly normal and humble and giving. She was -- and you've heard this too, that she makes everyone feel good about themselves. She knows exactly what to say.

I think it was the wardrobe woman made a self-deprecating remark about how she could never be as beautiful as Dolly, and it is kind of an awkward position to be in, right? Well, Dolly looked at her and said, "Honey, you are beautiful inside and out." And the woman just beamed.

Dolly just knew what to say. She just knew what to say.

FREEMAN: All right, well, speaking of movies, as I understand --

MCKELLAR: One surprising thing that she --

FREEMAN: Oh, yes, Please.

MCKELLAR: Yes, there is one surprising thing and that is that she doesn't consider herself -- she didn't consider herself naturally beautiful. She told me that, and I was really surprised. She said, "Honey, you've got just a natural beauty. I don't have that. I need to do all this stuff." And I was like, "No, you don't. I mean, it is great that you do, but like you --" But I was -- that was the biggest surprise that I hadn't heard that. But she was just lovely in every way.

FREEMAN: I can imagine -- I can imagine that hearing that, being like, what do you mean? You're Dolly Parton?

MCKELLAR: Yes!

FREEMAN: Wait, but I want to take a note though, because speaking because speaking of movies, as I understand it, you're currently shooting your 14th Christmas movie, "The Greatest Christmas Gift Of All" coming out on this Thanksgiving weekend. What do you want people to take away from that film?

MCKELLAR: So it is on Great American Family Channel, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and then also streaming on Great American Pureflix. It is a beautiful movie. It is really about love and community coming together.

[16:35:10]

I actually have two Christmas movies this year, another one called "The Christmas Yes List." That one premieres November 14th, also on Great American Family and Pureflix, and they're both completely different.

"Christmas Yes List" is like this romantic comedy. It is a true comedy like -- and then "The Greatest Christmas Gift" is heartfelt, beautiful, faith-driven, heartfelt, romantic drama, I guess you could call it. Two very different movies. I love them both.

I am actually in Kentucky right now shooting it. That's where I was when I found out about Dolly. So if you go to my Instagram, you see, I was in tears and I just had to share because I had to get it out. I was like, I have to do another scene. So if you see me there wearing a red sweater with like little Santas all over it. That's because I am shooting a Christmas movie and the news came out about Dolly. Yes.

FREEMAN: Well, I mean, what -- again, so sad about Dolly Parton. But as we were talking about earlier, it is nice to know that you were able to film a little bit of joy, not only with her then, but are still doing that now, which, you know, feels very Dolly Parton-esque at this moment.

MCKELLAR: Absolutely!

FREEMAN: Thank you so much for your time, Danica.

MCKELLAR: And that's like what we all can do is just be as Dolly, right? That's what we can do is to be as Dolly as we can be, that's what we must do moving forward. I think that's what you would want, and I am proud to get to do that in my little small way with these Christmas movies.

FREEMAN: Yes, very, very well said. And yes, you've been busy with those Christmas movies and I cannot wait to see them.

"The Greatest Christmas Gift of All" coming out this Thanksgiving weekend, as we remember Dolly as well. Thank you, Danica. I really do appreciate your time today.

MCKELLAR: Thank you so much.

FREEMAN: All right, still ahead, in just a moment, we are going to tell you why The White House is pushing to keep some conversations with President Trump a secret. You're not going to want to miss this conversation. Stay with us.

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[19:41:26]

FREEMAN: With the midterms about two months away, President Trump is planning how to fend off any future attempts by lawmakers to investigate him. Experts say the Trump administration is staking out extreme positions on White House secrecy.

In a Justice Department memo and legal filings, the Trump administration is arguing that the president can keep secrets, not just the conversation about him to keep a secret, not just the conversations he has with his advisers within The White House, but that his dealings with individuals outside of the government can be shielded as well.

CNN's Julia Benbrook joins us now.

Julia, what do we know about this administration's position on secrecy, especially going into the midterms?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you pointed out, the midterms are just weeks away and President Donald Trump is already laying down markers for how he would fight any attempt by lawmakers to investigate him.

As of right now, Republicans have control of The White House, the Senate and the House, but that may not be the case in a matter of months. Democrats aim to take control there in Congress, and with that would come subpoena power. Now, a Department of Justice memo and court filings show that the Trump administration has argued that the President can keep secret, not just his conversations with advisers within The White House, but also with those outside of the government. And The White House has also said in court that even the identities of people who have worked on significant policy issues that revealing those, disclosing those could infringe on presidential confidentiality.

In a statement, a White House spokesperson said this in part, "Throughout history, presidents have relied on advisers outside the executive branch, restricting executive privilege to only communications with executive branch officials would make it impossible for the President to rely on important outside sources."

This comes as Trump, during his second term as he has worked to set his agenda, has notably relied on business moguls outside the government attorneys as well as close friends for some of those key decisions. Now, Democrats, in a letter to The White House just earlier this week, had called for a list, an outline of some of those outside advisers that the administration believes that this presidential privilege applies to.

I want to pull up part of that letter for you now, because they are making this argument. They said in part, "... that it is not an unlimited shield designed to insulate private citizens, informal advisers and non-governmental actors from congressional oversight and public accountability." Congressional democrats are already probing some of the administration's relationships with and ties to certain groups.

But if they take back some control on Capitol Hill, those investigations would become more serious -- Danny.

FREEMAN: Julia Benbrook, thank you so much for that reporting. I really do appreciate it.

All right, still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, the case against the man accused of orchestrating the murder of rapper, Tupac. After 30 years, it all goes into the hands of the jury this week. An attorney joins us next to break down the case.

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[19:49:19]

FREEMAN: In the Tupac Shakur murder trial in Las Vegas, both sides are readying their closing arguments for Monday.

The defense rested its case this week after calling just three law enforcement witnesses. That includes retired Las Vegas homicide detective, Dan Long, who testified that he could not corroborate the details that the suspect, Keffe D, gave police in a 2009 interview with police.

Now, attorney, Areva Martin joins me now.

Areva, thank you so much for joining us to talk through this.

Do you think that the defense cast enough doubt on the prosecution's case so far?

AREVA MARTIN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes, that retired police officer's testimony is devastating to the prosecution, because we know the defense has been claiming that Keffe D's whole story about orchestrating this murder was just one big fiction, that it was a fabrication that he made to cash in on Tupac's murder, and basically to bring fame and fortune to himself.

[19:50:15]

So the defense attorney has always been arguing that this is one big lie, basically. And now you have a retired police officer saying, we could never corroborate that Keffe D was in that white Cadillac. So that could be potentially fatal to the prosecution's case and definitely could raise some doubt in the minds of some of the jurors.

FREEMAN: Are you surprised, ultimately, that the prosecution and the defense opted not to call either Suge Knight or Sean "Diddy" Combs, and that Keffe D himself, of course, did not take the stand.

MARTIN: I am not surprised about any of those tactics or strategies that were used by both the prosecution and the defense. Suge Knight made it very clear that he did not want to testify, that he would not testify, even if he was subpoenaed. He went on to TMZ to say that this murder cannot be pinned on Keffe D, that it is a much larger conspiracy, as you will, involving lots of other people as well.

Diddy said he had no involvement. He knew nothing about this case. So I think the prosecution decided that there was no value in calling either of those witnesses. And from the defense's standpoint, they already had a law enforcement officer say that he could not confirm that Keffe D was even at the scene on the night of the murder.

So I think they both believe they had what they had and it wouldn't benefit from calling either of these witnesses, both of which would have been very hostile.

FREEMAN: Well, let's talk a little bit -- a little bit more about this, because the defense really tried to muddy the waters on the prosecution's story by introducing the possibility of a second white or cream colored Cadillac.

Your perspective on that? Have they poked enough holes, do you think in the prosecution's case?

MARTIN: Yes, Danny, you know, the defense doesn't have to prove anything in a murder case or any prosecution. All they have to do is convince one juror that the prosecution has not proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. And I think by suggesting that there was another white vehicle, by having testimony that Keffe D could not be confirmed to even be in the vehicle, it probably created enough doubt. We will see what happens after the closing arguments.

I don't have a crystal ball, but I do think the defense put on a very effective case.

FREEMAN: Let me ask you this just to take a step back and look at the big picture. This is a 30-year-old case. During the questioning, the lawyers repeatedly said they understood when a witness could not remember exact details. I think a lot of potential jurors might think that as well.

Do you think that is a compelling argument here?

MARTIN: Well, that's not a great argument for the prosecution. The jurors are sitting there probably thinking, well, why are you wasting our time? If you have a case where the witnesses can't remember key details, then what do you expect us to make a determination of? I think that's very fatal to the prosecution's case.

Jurors expect to see corroborating evidence. They want to see the murder weapon. They want to learn about that car. They want to see eyewitnesses. They want something that gives them some sense that someone they may be sending to jail for the rest of their life, that there is concrete evidence to do that.

So I think that, again, was a problem for this prosecution in bringing this 30-year-old case.

FREEMAN: All eyes on Las Vegas this week. You know, Areva, I remember that press conference when prosecutors were so confident bringing these charges and we will see ultimately what happens.

Areva Martin, thank you so much for your expertise, as always, really do appreciate it.

MARTIN: Thanks, Danny.

FREEMAN: And we will be right back.

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[19:58:13]

FREEMAN: Some of the biggest stars in the world of sports made their names in the 2010s. Simone Biles, LeBron James led the way while social media connected fans to their favorites in a brand new and powerful way.

Here is a preview of the new episode of "Decades in Sports."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The amount of excitement and attention that LeBron James garnered since he was 15 years old is and was singular.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: LeBron James is on the cover of "Sports Illustrated" as a junior in high school, he played on ESPN in high school, and then he was drafted as a senior.

KEVIN MERIDA, JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR: Cleveland drafted him number one in 2003. Cleveland loved him because he was from Akron.

HANIF ABDURRAQIB, POET, ESSAYIST, AND CULTURAL CRITIC: So you get a once in a generation player who is staying home and is going to bring glory to the place that they grew up in.

So for the Cleveland fans, there is no expectation that is too high.

JOE POSNANSKI, SPORTS WRITER: The city had not won anything since the Browns won the NFL championship in 1964. There was just nothing but bad endings and heartbreak, and here was this transcendent basketball player. And he dragged a very, very mediocre Cleveland team to the 2007 championships.

And then they get destroyed by a very good San Antonio team. But they were just outmanned.

After seven seasons, you could see it wearing on LeBron.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: LeBron from Akron, and he goes to the Cavs. You think that's it. LeBron is going to play there for 20 years, wear a Cavs jersey for the rest of his career. Little did you know he had other plans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Be sure to tune in to a new episode of "Decades in Sports." It airs tomorrow night at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific on CNN, and of course the next day on the CNN app.

Thank you all for joining me tonight. I am Danny Freeman. Remember, if you're in the U.S., you can stream CNN whenever you want on the CNN app. Visit cnn.com/watch for more.

"Real-Time" with Maher is coming up next.

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