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Bidisha Mamata is Interviewed about the Arrest of Former Prince Andrew; Wexner's Epstein Ties; Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-MD) is Interviewed about DHS. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 19, 2026 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Like administratives -- they think that the administrative subpoenas (ph) and warrants are the law. And I'm not clear, and I don't think the courts are clear, that's the case, that you don't have to go before judges if you think something is a crime. Anyone? Anyone?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes. No, and, look, and, Meghan, you said that the next president, when we get rid of this. I don't think we know that that's true, right? Once it's -- once information goes into the government, once the government gets things, it -- we don't know. I mean that's -- it's there.

CORNISH: Yes. Well, I -- this is one of those things where I think we're a couple lawsuits away from having an answer.

DOVERE: That might be true.

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: Yes, for sure.

CORNISH: But, yes, the free speech conversation is really flipped on its head now that you have an actual U.S. government enforcing various curbs on free speech. And I'm interested to see where that kind of coalition lies.

Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to continue to follow this breaking news out of London. Former Prince Andrew arrested amid the Epstein files fallout.

Plus, out of fuel. Running low on food. Is the U.S. pushing Cuba to the brink of collapse?

And a programing note. This Saturday, a special CNN and "Variety" town hall event. Yes, it's Timothee Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey talking craft and career. That's going to be Saturday night at 7:00 and, of course, on the CNN app.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:48]

CORNISH: Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. Thank you for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING.

It's half past the hour. And here's what's happening right now.

Mark Zuckerberg testifies in a landmark social media trial for more than five hours. The Meta CEO defended how his company navigates the safety of young users. Meta and YouTube are accused of designing their apps to be addictive and harming children's mental health. Families do not feel satisfied by his answers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAMMY RODRIGUEZ, SUING META AND YOUTUBE: No, I don't have any satisfaction. It's very similar to what happened in Congress two years ago when he swore under oath. And I feel just like I did when I left that day. But we're here and we're in a courtroom, so that's a big thing. I believe that there will be change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Both Meta and YouTube deny the allegations.

Russia is now pledging to send aid to Cuba as U.S. pressure is largely shutting off the flow of oil to the island. The promise from the Kremlin comes as gas pumps in the communist run island begin to run dry. Russia says it's also opposed to any naval blockade of Cuba, which the U.S. is considering. That's according to reporting in "Politico."

And it's the rematch we've all been waiting for. The border battle. Team USA and Team Canada face off today in the women's ice hockey gold medal game. So far the U.S. women have dominated basically every performance, five straight shutouts, including beating Canada already in the round robin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the most beautiful rivalry in sport.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the most competitive game I think I've ever been in. It's just -- from the whole 60 minutes back and forth, there's no letup.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is so spicy out there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just something about it. The intensity level goes up. You know, the want, the hunger, it just spikes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We bring out the best in each other. And that's why they're the greatest hockey games to watch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The last time these two met in the Olympics final was in Beijing. Canada, at that time, came out on top.

Now back now to this breaking news. Former Prince Andrew, the brother of King Charles, has been arrested

on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal titles because of his strong ties to Jeffrey Epstein. U.K. police arrived at his home earlier today. Now, they've previously said that they were assessing evidence related to the Epstein file.

So, I'm bringing in broadcaster and royal watcher Bidisha Mamata. Thank you so much for being here.

BIDISHA MAMATA, BROADCASTER AND ROYAL WATCHER: Thank you

CORNISH: First thing I want people to understand what was sort of being investigated in the U.K., which is that Andrew had denied sort of the sexual allegations against him. But there was this question about the kinds of information he was trading with Epstein. Can you help us understand that?

MAMATA: Absolutely. This has been a very long and messy affair. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor denied sexual abuse against the late Virginia Giuffre, but he did pay her out a multi-million-pound settlement. He had always fudged the details of his relationship with Epstein and his circle. He said that after Epstein's early conviction he'd completely ended this friendship. He wanted nothing more to do with him.

Unfortunately, as these latest revelations have showed, that is not the case at all. They weren't just friends, they were in very close contact and they had a lot to gain from each other. Epstein wanted that seal of royalty, of wanting to be inside aristocracy. And Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, he liked his -- he liked his American pal. He liked the social aspect. He liked to visit. He liked to be around all of that. So, it was a close, warm, constant friendship.

These latest allegations are about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's role in trade and what exactly he was spilling in these emails. He should not have been giving out any details about any other country, trade, diplomatic ties, negotiations. None of that is correct for that role.

[06:40:02]

CORNISH: Are we looking at King Charles sort of throwing this guy to the wolves as well? I mean, he's obviously very unpopular. Andrew is stripped of his title. But what do you make about how the firm is handling it, so to speak?

MAMATA: Well, the phrase throwing someone to the wolves is extremely "Game of Thrones." And I do think that there's an aspect of that here. The royal family is a centuries old medieval institution, and it will always endure. So, when there's a thorn in the side, or there's someone who is attracting so much disapproval and outrage, police interest, the last thing that the royal family or any royal family in the world wants is police interest at all. They would regard themselves as being completely impermeable as really being above that.

And so, I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the British royal family will create in Andrew a total outcast, a pariah, someone who is not welcome publicly or privately.

CORNISH: One more thing. People have talked a lot online about Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah's connection to Epstein. She's an unpopular figure, to say the least, in so many ways. Can you talk about what people are accusing her of and sort of what's going to be the fallout for her?

MAMATA: You are absolutely right, unfortunately. Sarah Ferguson has always had quite a poor, public reputation. She's seen as being unself controlled. There's an element of silliness to that. And that may well have been forgivable until now, because the Epstein file releases show that even after those early convictions, she was emailing Epstein and saying, you know, you can be reassured of my friendship. I had to condemn you in public, but that's not how I really feel. I was under pressure. Let's do business together. I need some money. Why don't we hang out with my daughters? And that, for me as a woman, is what is so shocking, that even though her own pal has been convicted in a sexualized light, of a sexualized crime, she's saying, that's OK, that's fine. You know, you like young women. Well, I'm going to still hang out with you. It's really such a terrible indictment, and it shows her own desperation to somehow be in, in with this network of people of poor character.

I can only imagine how the two princesses, Beatrice and Eugenie, feel because now both their parents are implicated. One of the parents, Andrew, of course, implicated so severely that it is really very alien to speak of the royal family in terms of Thames Valley Police, plain clothes police officers, unmarked police cars. This is how you treat a common criminal. And the fact that this is all happening in public, I am sure that the rest of the royal family knew this arrest was going to happen today, and are sending a public statement saying, we condemn this. We're OK with this one individual figure being publicized in this manner, and on his birthday as well.

CORNISH: Bidisha Mamata, that is a lot. Thank you so much for speaking with us.

MAMATA: Thank you.

CORNISH: Now here in the U.S., Democrats on the House Oversight Committee continuing to interview billionaire Les Wexner about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. And they say they have more questions than answers after they concluded a six-hour deposition with him yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA): There would be no Epstein island, there would be no Epstein plane, there would be no money to traffic women and girls. Mr. Epstein would not be the wealthy man he was without the support of Les Wexner

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, they're accusing him of downplaying his relationship with the late sex trafficker. Epstein previously served as Wexner's trusted longtime financial advisor. Group chat is back.

A lot to unpack there about the prince. Again, looking at the fallout in the U.K. You have someone arrested. You have a former U.S. ambassador fired. You've got companies shut down. You've got a trafficking probe. And here in the U.S., we have got a lot of questions.

Do you think lawmakers are getting their answers, or do you think the answer almost doesn't matter because this is a kind of crusade?

DOVERE: Both. And we'll have to see what keeps coming out of these depositions and inquiries. But what is amazing is that all these people, Les Wexner is the latest of people who say, I just didn't know that any of this was going on.

CORNISH: Yes.

DOVERE: And so, like, it is -- and I don't know what Wexner himself saw but somehow --

CORNISH: There's sort of two halfs, which is, I didn't know it was that bad, or, after I learned it was that bad, I never spoke to him again. And both of those --

DOVERE: Except that on the latter one, some of those people actually did, we've now seen, keep speaking to him.

CORNISH: So, I always want to know, and I hate to harass my pollster, about who cares about this. I think the public originally perceived the Epstein scandal and saga as a preoccupation of the right.

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

CORNISH: That in particular wanted to go after figures like Bill Clinton.

[06:45:03]

It ain't shaking out that way. So, how are people feeling now?

ANDERSON: Well, I don't think that this is one where you see massive divides by party on who cares about the issue. I mean a lot of different questions. If you say, OK, how concerned are you about immigration? How concerned are you about climate change? You'll see big differences between Republicans care about law and Democrats care --

CORNISH: But there were no Republicans present at the Wexner deposition. They just like unsubscribed.

ANDERSON: Yes. Well, and this is one where it was conservatives, you know, sort of the online conservatives who were really agitating around this when you had the Biden administration in office, sort of during Democratic administrations Republicans were calling for this. And that's why you've seen, you know, you saw Pam Bondi get really frustrated during -- when she was in front of Congress not long ago saying, hey, wait a minute, you never called Merrick Garland in front of Congress and asked him this. But in some ways --

CORNISH: And also the Dow is up 50,000 points.

ANDERSON: Well that as well.

CORNISH: Just letting you know.

ANDERSON: Which does not -- you know, what I would say is that both parties care about the economy, but both parties, you have voters that also care about this. And it's not as though it's like the kitchen table issue, it's the number one thing voters are voting on. But it is symbolic of this dynamic of the average guy just isn't playing by the same set of rules as rich people.

CORNISH: Yes, and it doesn't --

ANDERSON: And it has broken through, I think, in a way that some other inside baseball political issues don't because of the number and variety of really famous household names who are involved, who are implicated.

CORNISH: Or even less so. I just want to mention very briefly, California Democrats, they are going after Casey Wasserman. He's an entertainment executive and also chairman of the L.A. 2028 summer games. So, it feels -- and it feels like there are Democrats there in particular that are like, he should go.

HAYS: Yes, absolutely. I think that people want to see people held accountable. And to your point, this is a big issue for people because it is just more things that the wealthy get that average Americans don't get. And it feeds into the Democratic narrative perfectly of there are privileges for rich people and we are doing things for billionaires that we are not doing for everyday Americans while they still can't pay for their groceries.

CORNISH: OK, if you missed any of that conversation or the one earlier, please know we are a podcast, which means that you can download, you can share it, you can get this QR code now to find it if that's even easier. We're available anywhere you get your podcasts.

And coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, Democrats say the partial government shutdown is about ICE and immigration, but other agencies are feeling the pain. So, how long are they going to hold out? I'm going to ask Democratic Congressman Johnny Olszewski, next.

Plus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Ask the federal government for help.

GOV. WES MOORE (D-MD): This is a D.C. pipe on federal land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's been dubbed the Poop-tomac. Why the cleanup has turned into a political fight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:51:48]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He wants the government to be open. We've been engaged in good faith negotiations with Democrats. Last night they sent over a counterproposal that, frankly, was very unserious, and we hope they get serious very soon because Americans are going to be impacted by this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK, Democrats say they're looking for guardrails on immigration agents following the recent deadly shootings of the U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. But other agencies across DHS are now feeling the brunt of the partial government shutdown.

So, here's an example. The administration has suspended any new FEMA deployment of hundreds of aid workers to disaster sites around the U.S. And that order took effect on Wednesday.

Joining us now in the group chat, Congressman Johnny Olszewski, Democrat of Maryland.

Did I say it right? We did it.

REP. JOHNNY OLSZEWSKI (D-MD): You nailed it.

CORNISH: We did it.

OLSZEWSKI: You did it.

CORNISH: We did it, Johnny O.

So, I want to start with this counteroffer. Do you guys have a red line? We know what you want. You want use of force standards. You want no masks. You want judicial warrants.

Is there a thing where if you could at least just get that thing, you'd be happy?

OLSZEWSKI: I don't think there's one thing that the American people want us to say, "Just do that and we'll settle for it."

I will say, I came to Congress as the leader of a large law enforcement agency. As Baltimore County executive, we had almost 2,000 sworn officers.

And these are not just common sense. These are not just not radical. They're actually best practice -- use of force standards, not operating in sensitive areas. You know, having body-worn cameras.

I mean, I can't even get my Republican colleagues on this one to agree that we shouldn't be deporting American citizens. That's pretty ridiculous.

And so, I don't think that what Democrats are asking for in this partial shutdown fight is unreasonable.

CORNISH: How long will you hold out for it?

I'm under the impression that ICE has so much money in the bank that you're not going to stop a single operation. Meanwhile, FEMA, disaster, all these other things, it's -- they're out of luck.

OLSZEWSKI: Yeah. If you look at what happened in Minneapolis, the senseless killing of American citizens to a lawless agency, I don't think just letting them go forward and pretending like this is normal is okay.

CORNISH: But you think -- so -- what I'm hearing you say is the public is with you if you hold out longer and it affects their TSA lines or whatever?

OLSZEWSKI: The public overwhelmingly supports these reforms, 70, 80 percent. Almost any of the items that you listed that Democrats are asking for is overwhelmingly supportive --

CORNISH: Kristen, is that what you're learning?

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, the question will be at what cost, right? There are lots of things that I can ask in a poll, and I can find 70, 80, 90 percent of people say, yes, I agree with.

But then when the rubber meets the road and it actually inconveniences them, that's why typically, when there's a shutdown, the party that is calling for the shutdown or saying were using this shutdown as leverage does tend to be the one that takes a political hit.

So, the congressman is right that many of the things that he's outlining there are things that I'm sure if I put them in a poll today, I could find 70, 80 percent of Americans saying they like.

CORNISH: Yeah.

ANDERSON: But when it begins to affect your life, suddenly that calculation changes for a lot of people.

CORNISH: Let me ask you about something else, because of this spill in the Potomac, this pipe that has ruptured and I want to play for you just sort of the political back and forth over this.

[06:55:03]

You've got Trump and Maryland Governor Wes Moore fighting over who bears responsibility for what is a federally, at least regulated pipeline.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: An environmental disaster now turning into a partisan fight as millions of gallons of sewage spill into the Potomac River outside D.C.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we're really concerned about is the potential for people to interact with the sewage.

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: President Trump has attacked Governor Moore on a wide variety of issues, immigration and crime. The latest issue is sewage.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He's clearly shown he's incapable of fixing this problem, which is why President Trump and the federal government are standing by to step in.

GOV. WES MOORE (D), MARYLAND: What she says is laughable, and it continues to remind me that that this is not a serious team that we're working with. We're talking about a D.C. pipe on federal land.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to smell like booty butt cheeks on like the Potomac all summer. Do not invite me on a boat trip on the Potomac this summer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Okay. I like the reality check at the end. It's funny. How long is this going to last?

OLSZEWSKI: I mean, it's funny but this is a really serious issue, right? This is one of the largest sewage spills in the country's history, and it's really unacceptable.

CORNISH: So, who's supposed to fix it?

OLSZEWSKI: Well, let me first say, this is absolutely federal land. It is run by D.C. Water. That said --

CORNISH: Which is the utility.

OLSZEWSKI: That said, I don't care whose responsibility it is. We should stop pointing fingers at each other and come together.

I expect the president of the United States and my governor to just get it done. We're spending all this time with the back and forth even now, talking about who's blaming whom, as opposed to just fixing --

CORNISH: Yeah, Governor Moore is saying the president is lying about this. We've been on the ground. We've done X, Y, and Z.

Do you think he needs to just kind of let go, okay, take the hit to the ego and go to the White House?

OLSZEWSKI: The governor has been on the ground but again, I don't think spending this time with a tit for tat, and back and forth actually gets it done.

I worked with Governor Moore when I was in that local office when the Key Bridge collapsed. It was the state, local government and the federal government under President Biden and his administration, clearing the channel of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in 11 weeks.

Everyone thought it would take 11 months. If we bear down and bring the resources of the federal government, the state governments, local governments, we can get this fixed. And that's what we should be focusing on.

I think that again, this is why people are so frustrated with politics.

CORNISH: Yeah.

OLSZEWSKI: We're so busy pointing fingers at each other. We don't just sit down and fix the damn thing (ph).

CORNISH: Under the Trump administration, do blue states get the support that red states do in moments of disaster?

OLSZEWSKI: Absolutely not. I mean, we're still -- we are still waiting for -- western Maryland had a major flood, and the Trump administration is still withholding federal aid out in western Maryland, jurisdictions that voted overwhelmingly for President Trump, I would remind the president.

So -- but again, this isn't about pointing fingers. I would go meet with the president anywhere in Maryland at this site to say, we got to get this done, let's get it done together, because at the end of the day, this is affecting the health and the environment of our shared constituents. And that's why I got in government so we could actually get stuff done.

CORNISH: One more thing because you mentioned being in law enforcement in the past. We're reporting today the breaking news about the former Prince Andrew and his arrest in the U.K.

And when there is an arrest, that means there's going to probably be a trial, which means you're going to have someone answer questions under oath who pretty much refused to do it for U.S. officials. That's something that was shown in the files.

So, what is it that you think we should be listening for coming out of Andrew's case?

OLSZEWSKI: Well, hopefully accountability. I mean, I'm glad to see that someone is finally being held accountable other than Maxwell and Epstein. I mean, this is far too vast a network for there not to be more accountability.

I'm the father of a 10-year-old little girl. And to think about what these rich and powerful men have done to women and survivors across this country and have gotten away with it is disgusting. CORNISH: But then you have to tell those girls -- over in the U.K., in Poland, in Lithuania, they're all doing something about this and we are still writing sternly worded requests for conversations.

OLSZEWSKI: Yeah, we can't even release all the files. I mean, there are three million files we're still waiting to see.

CORNISH: Is there something in particular?

OLSZEWSKI: I went to try to see some of the unredacted files as a member of Congress.

CORNISH: Yeah.

OLSZEWSKI: There are dozens and dozens and dozens of files that I looked at that are still redacted.

I think this could be a bigger scandal than Watergate if we ever actually get all of the information released. The network of people involved, the severity and just the disgustingness of the crimes.

And so, I think it's right that we're pushing on this. This is something that cuts across, as you were talking.

CORNISH: Will Democrats be campaigning on this in the fall, like talking about this on the trail?

OLSZEWSKI: You don't have to campaign on it for it to be the right thing to do. And I think that's one of the lessons I've learned, is that when you see the rich and the powerful get away with things, it just turns people off, and it's not a Democratic or Republican thing. I actually have this constitutional amendment to over -- to have Congress review pardons with Don Bacon, a rare bipartisan thing.

[07:00:03]

CORNISH: Yeah, I know. Go ahead.

OLSZEWSKI: I told you I'd get a Republican on that last time we were in.

CORNISH: Yes, you did.

OLSZEWSKI: But, you know, but it just speaks to when you can be a crypto con artist and get away with, you know, putting tons of money in Trump's crypto, or you give $2 million to the Trump MAGA PAC, and you get a pardon. You're an NFL player, you get a pardon.

It disgusts people. It turns them off. And it's wrong. It's wrong about what's happening with Epstein and it's wrong with these pardons.

CORNISH: It's going to be fascinating to see how it's talked about going forward. A lot to talk about today. Thank you for being with us.

I'm Audie Cornish, and the headlines are next.