Return to Transcripts main page

Erin Burnett Outfront

Trump's DHS Chief Warns Election Officials Could Face Prison Time; Iran: Two Tankers Trying To Transit Mined Part Of Strait Explode; Report: ICE Agents In Maine Wore Body Cameras, But Couldn't Use Them. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired July 17, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:21]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Trump's DHS chief threatened state officials with prison time, the latest attempt by the administration to raise doubts about elections. As CNN learns, Trump is rolling out the red carpet for China's president, the same president he just accused of bringing the election?

Plus, breaking news, explosions in the strait. Iran reporting tonight, major development that two oil tankers have exploded, traveling through a mined route. The United States is launching a seventh straight night of attacks at the same time.

And new details this hour about Trump's teleprompter operator, now under investigation over whether he made big bucks off betting on Trump's speeches, So, we're going to show you just how much access he had to Trump.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

And OUTFRONT tonight, threatening prison time. The Trump administration taking an unprecedented move just hours after the president's primetime address warning of election fraud. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin now threatening to put state election officials behind bars if they don't comply with administration demands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, DHS SECRETARY: If the election officials, once we gave them the information they need to secure their elections, and they chose not to, then those individuals can also be held accountable by fines, by penalties, and even, depending on how far it goes, prison time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Pennsylvania's Republican Secretary of State Al Schmidt dismissing the administration's concerns, saying, quote, "In Pennsylvania, every voter must take steps to verify their identity before they cast a ballot, including providing proper identification every time they register to vote, vote by mail, or vote at a new polling place. All evidence has shown that noncitizen voting is extremely rare across the country, including in Pennsylvania."

In other words. Mullin didn't need to say what he had to say today. He certainly didn't need to threaten state officials with prison time. And just to get to the bottom of this, as it's always necessary to do in one way, shape, or form, studies from right-leaning and left- leaning think tanks agree that the rate of voter fraud in US elections is less than 0.0001 percent. And wanting to root out that little infinitesimal amount, that is not what all this is about.

And it has not been hard for Secretary Mullin to carry Trump's water on this issue. Remember that Secretary Mullin refused to certify the outcome of the 2020 election on January 6th after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. And he still, to this day, can't bring himself to say Biden won in 2020.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): Who won the 2020 election?

MULLIN: Ma'am, we know that President Joe Biden was sworn into office, but he was a president for the last four years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: It's that odd refusal from Trump official after Trump official.

But now, President Trump is claiming that China tried to rig and undermine the 2020 election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: China engaged in other election-related activities to undermine my first administration in our 2020 campaign. They did not want, and they just didn't want it. They fought like hell not to have a Donald Trump to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Now, it is not true that China interfered in the U.S. election, according to U.S. intelligence, literally the entire, you know, 18 or so agencies involved in the U.S. intelligence community. And you would think that Trump would have taken some big steps as president if America's election was somehow stolen by Xi Jinping, right? I mean, he's been the president. There's a lot of things you could do in that case. It's essentially an act of war, right?

But this is what we've heard from Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm a big fan of President Xi.

President Xi's been great.

You know, who's very smart is President Xi of China. He's a very smart man.

President Xi was fantastic.

We had an amazing meeting with President Xi.

President Xi, good man, good man.

President Xi's an incredible guy.

I have a very good relationship with President Xi and with China.

I want to thank President Xi, my friend.

My relationship with President Xi is a fantastic one. I have a great relationship with President Xi. I have a very good relationship with President Xi.

President Xi is a good man, smart man. I have a very good relationship with President Xi. You know, I find him to be a tremendous guy, and we get along well.

I have a great relationship, as you know, with President Xi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:05:01]

BURNETT: I've made the point, and by the way, there's a whole lot more where those came from.

Kevin Liptak is OUTFRONT, live outside the White House.

Kevin, Xi Jinping is expected to visit the United States in a couple of months, and I know you've been speaking to your sources. This big speech comes out where Trump blames China. Are there any changes to this in light of that?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Quite the opposite. In fact, Erin, a White House official tells me tonight that planning is continuing apace for this state visit at the end of September. It's actually shaping up to be a pretty opulent affair, kind of reciprocating the visit that President Trump made to Beijing a few months ago.

And not even the president's claim last night that China's carrying out, quote, the largest compromise of election data in history seems to be getting away -- in the way of this visit. And according to my reporting, the president is also not considering any other punishments on China.

You know, he didn't mention any of it last night in the speech. And when we asked the White House today whether the president was considering sanctions, for example, on the Chinese government or even potential indictments on the Chinese officials that the president claims illicitly acquired 220 million U.S. voter files, they didn't respond. And so, it doesn't seem as if the president has any appetite at this moment to upend his relationship with Xi Jinping.

And it was fascinating. You know, just in the last hour, President Trump is up in New York. He's speaking at a World Cup reception. And he actually mused that the next time the U.S. hosts the World Cup, it could do it in conjunction with China, which is just remarkable.

You know, even though those files that the White House declassified showed absolutely no evidence that China was able to manipulate any votes, it did reinforce just how voracious China's appetite is for U.S. information and U.S. data. It talked about how China had actually hacked Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign. President Trump made no mention of that in his speech, and he also made no mention of punishment or repercussions.

The real repercussions that he was focused on were on the American intelligence officials who he said had withheld this information from him. He actually passed four different federal agencies with investigating them, firing them, and filing criminal charges against them, Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Karen Liptak, thank you very much, and interesting, you know, some of those involved in making. All of those when they laid out that there had been no foreign interference, included John Ratcliffe, who's obviously in the administration now, still.

OUTFRONT now, Ty Cobb and David Axelrod.

So, Ty, can we just start with China here when Trump, this big giant blame of China, but now you just heard Kevin Liptak reporting that he just said at an event that the next time there's a World Cup, the U.S. and China could do it together, and there's this lavish opulent visit being planned.

I don't -- is there a way, OK, to square the circle?

TY COBB, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE LAWYER: No, this can't be squared. The reality is that the president's obsession with the 2020 election is consistent only with his malignant narcissism and the huge insult that that loss was to his psyche. It's bizarre, in fact, that China is perceived to have tried to help him or tried to help others steal the 2020 election. But there's no mention of what they did in 2024.

I mean, if they were so successful in 2020, where were they when he won? He doesn't have any, he doesn't have any disputes about elections that he won. And I know for a fact that in 2018, the president was informed and briefed on Chinese activity with regard to the 2016 election and their interest in the 2020 election. And the 2021 intelligence report post-election that's statutorily required was delivered in March of 2021 and makes plain that, you know, no foreign actor took any action that was consequential in any way with regard to a single vote.

BURNETT: Yeah, which, I mean, that's the bottom line. And then there's the point, which you're raising, and I have seen, which is, you know, it is sort of odd to sort of imagine that that when Biden was president, he couldn't rig it when he was. Anyway, the whole thing kind of just defies belief.

David, the man leading Trump's task force on declassifying documents on elections and other issues is a man named John Solomon. And today, there was a really interesting exchange. He essentially admitted to a reporter right after the speech that none of it adds up. Okay, let me just play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN SOLOMON, CONSERVATIVE JOURNALIST, WORKING WITH WHITE HOUSE ON ELECTION DOCS: I only know, the Intelligence Committee has zero evidence that someone has flipped -- that a foreign power flipped a vote in 2020, '22 or ''24.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: All right, David. So, I just have to say he's the one who supposedly led the task force that led to this speech last night and he came out and point blank says that the intelligence community has zero evidence that a foreign power flipped the vote -- a vote in 2020, '22 or '24, which is of course what the declassified report concluded, right?

[19:10:11]

But he's saying I've seen the classified and it's the same conclusion. What is what does this do to Trump standing when he goes and gives a primetime address to the nation and the guy who was in charge of basically doing all the backup says it's bogus?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah, well, that is a rational analysis, but I think that people are accustomed to this with the president. You know, my mind goes back. Everybody's saying, well, he didn't object when he won in 2016. The weird thing is he did. He was upset because he lost a popular vote by, I think, three million, and he impaneled a task force, including -- led by the vice president, to find out where the fraud was that led to this to this mistake and they worked on this for a year and then had to disband because they couldn't find any fraud.

I mean, this is a running story with him, but my concern, Erin, isn't. I mean, yes, I agree with ties analysis of what motivates the president to reject any kind of negative verdict from voters. But, you know, the concern I have is what the signals for the next four months. And I feel it's going to be a pretty bumpy ride. And you could hear Secretary Mullin, you know, suggesting that he's going to bully state officials.

I really think the president's creating a pretext, either for intervention on the part of the government, calling an emergency and intervening in these elections in ways that could be really pernicious, or an alibi for a loss if the Republicans lose in November. But I'm afraid it's the first. You know, one adjective nobody's ever used about Donald Trump is subtle. OK, he's been signaling this for months now. He's been upping his rhetoric about rigged elections. He talked about it in California. Now we have this ridiculous speech last night.

So, he's -- he's doing this for a reason.

BURNETT: Ty, do you believe that that that there is a strategy to it? You know that the timing now being a few months before the midterms, that there's a strategy and an actual concrete plan.

COBB: Oh, absolutely. I mean, we have Steve Bannon, who has made plain that, you know, the president intends and Bannon will support ICE in the streets at the polls. You know, I think the keep in mind that in 2020, president wanted to seize ballot boxes and seize voting machines after the fact, notwithstanding the fact that Bill Barr explained to him in no uncertain terms that there was zero evidence of fraud and that he went zero, I mean, zero for 63 in court challenges where they alleged fraud. And the lawyers that pursued those claims, many of them were later disbarred or punished or indicted.

So, what we -- what we see with this president is they're trying to season the American public and certainly MAGA for the -- for the likelihood that there will be aggressive action akin to sending ICE to the polls and rallying the National Guard either to promote or intimidation or to seize ballots go.

AXELROD: Erin, if I could just add one thing to what Ty -- if I would -- to what Ty just said. A number of the people who were involved -- the lawyers who were involved in some of that promotion of the myth of 2020 are now in key positions in the government related to election security.

BURNETT: Yeah.

AXELROD: So, you know, these are there are all kinds of clues as to where they're going here. And I hope I'm wrong, but I I'm afraid I'm not.

BURNETT: Ty, you know a lot of these people or you've crossed paths with them or you know, people who know them, right? And they're in there. And you know, we play, you know, one of them every few days. Now, as we're doing this, you know, saying, well, you know, Joe Biden, I believe Joe Biden was certified or I know he was certified or I know that the electoral vote, you know, but not that he won, right? Never, never actually acknowledging the legitimacy of it all in.

And I just am wondering, do you think at this point they know what they're doing, that they have any sense of shame about it? Or do they believe in it? I mean, we put the number out there 0.0001 percent. right? And we all know you don't even want that number, but we all know that what we're looking at here isn't about that, right? Any person who's honest with themselves knows that. Do the individuals that are out there perpetuating it, perpetrating

it, leading these election commissions, do they know the truth anymore, Ty?

COBB: I think some do. I think Jay Clayton does. I'm sure Jay Clayton's attitude is, you know, I have to do this. Let me get in because I'll be better than anybody else that might take this position and do what I can to provide guardrails.

[19:15:00]

But the problem is, if you're -- if you can't tell the truth to Congress in an open hearing, what are you going to say to the president when it's just the two of you in the room and he desperately wants to do something? That's the danger we have. We don't have the General Kellys of the world, the General Mattises, the Nikki Haleys, even the Mike Pompeos, you know, who would say, "No, Mr. President, you can't do that." The Bill Barrs of the world who say, "There's no evidence. That would be wrong."

There's nobody in this administration who will tell the presidency he's wrong. And the best evidence is the number of these people who fecklessly say, you know, I'm not going to discuss who won the 2020 election.

BURNETT: And, David --

AXELROD: Yeah.

BURNETT: Yeah, go ahead, David.

AXELROD: No, what I was going to say is, the other half of it is, the more people play along with the president on this, the more they're part of a conspiracy to malign the election system in our country, which is really a sin against our democracy. The fact of the matter is, election system, not perfect, but it's the envy of the world. And, you know, when the president said it's worse than a third world countries last night, that was just an abject lie. And when they won't tell the truth about the 2020 election, they are lending their weight and their prestige to that lie.

BURNETT: Well, there's no foreign influence campaign that would ever add up to what Trump is doing himself, which is sort of the shock about all of it.

Thank you both very much. I appreciate -- yeah, go ahead. Ty, finish. Yeah, sorry.

COBB: Thank you. I was just going to say, and I would add, Erin, I think the most important piece that you showed so far is the John Solomon. John Solomon was one of the instigators for Trump's press conference last night, which fell flat because even the documents that were released in connection with it did not support anything that he had said.

But when John Solomon says there is zero evidence that a vote was affected, that guts the president's speech. And it makes you wonder, why in the world did the country have to go through that?

BURNETT: Yeah. Thank you both very much. I appreciate it.

And we have breaking news from Iran, which is just now reporting a major development that two oil tankers have exploded after attempting to pass through a mined area of the street. This is coming from Iran. We've got the details such that they are just coming in.

Plus, the Harris County D.A., who's been investigating the ICE-related shooting in Houston, is now accusing DHS of stonewalling his investigation. And he's going to tell you exactly what is happening. And Trump claiming the golden age of America is here.

But our Phil Mattingly went city to city to find out if that's the case for many in this country, including one woman who's now living in her sister's basement because she can't pay rent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: The alternative was roughly 1,600-ish.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sixteen hundred, or, yeah, I sleep in my little hatchback, so --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:22:21]

BURNETT: Breaking news, several signs tonight that the war with Iran may be on the verge of a major escalation. Iran's state-run news agency reporting two oil tankers have just exploded after trying to pass through a route in the Strait of Hormuz that had mines. The IRGC says that the strait is now completely closed. U.S. Central Command says it's launched new strikes against Iran. That would be the 7th night running. And Iran has warned it's almost zero hour, in their words, for attacks against U.S. Navy units in the region.

That warning coming just hours after the United States released this video, which it says shows the destruction of a crucial surveillance tower used by the IRGC to track ships in the strait. Iran media also accusing the U.S. of targeting bridges across the country, many of which are on routes which are connected to Bandar Abbas, a coastal city on the Strait of Hormuz, which is an important military site as well.

Now, Iran is also carrying out retaliatory strikes against U.S. allies in the region. Those include, as of tonight, Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, and Qatar today.

OUTFRONT now, retired U.S. Navy Captain Carl Schuster.

And, Captain, I appreciate your time. So, Iran's come out and said that there's been this massive explosion of two oil tankers. They're blaming U.S. intelligence, saying U.S. intelligence essentially misled them on how they could get through the strait, and they went over mines, and now there's this massive explosion.

Again, this is coming from Iran, so we obviously can't independently confirm it at this point. But how serious do you think something like this is if this happened, especially given the claim that it's because U.S. intelligence basically didn't know what to tell the ships?

CAPT. CARL SCHUSTER, U.S. NAVY; SERVED ON U.S. AND ALLIED WARSHIPS (RET.): Yeah, I think it could be serious. The thing to remember is, are we looking at reality or propaganda?

BURNETT: Yeah.

SCHUSTER: Mines generally don't affect they damage, but they don't create gigantic explosions on ultra large and very large crude carriers.

And so, if it's that type of ship and it's a large explosion, then that is something that hit it either at the water line or in the oil containment area, the piping and so forth on top or sabotage. If you can get someone aboard the ship and place explosives, you can get quite a blast because of course you have all that flammable material.

BURNETT: Yes, and I know some of the shipping companies we've spoken to has been some of their biggest fears is a really big ships. In some a person just kind of scaling up, it can be hard to detect at night.

Iran said it's almost zero hour for attacks against U.S. Navy assets. Those were their words, Captain, zero hour. Do you think that's a threat to take seriously in a world against U.S. Navy assets? Those were their words, Captain Zero hour. Do you think that's a threat to take seriously in a world where, frankly, one side threatens with civilization wiping off the map, and thank God that didn't happen.

[19:25:05]

But zero hour, is that a real threat?

SCHUSTER: You can't ignore it. The Iranians use what we used to call beehive tactics, where they try to mass, used to mass suicide boats, but now, of course, drone attacks Integration of drone, cruise missiles, and fast boat attacks might be what they're talking about, which might explain the bombing and strikes around Bandar Abbas, which is a large naval facility, and it is also the central IRGC headquarters for maritime operations.

But keep in mind that they don't have to sink a ship to make a political point.

BURNETT: Yeah.

SCHUSTER: They only have to hit in damage, and that might be what they're after. I don't see, you know, a several 100-drone attack on a ship, but you might see one that is large enough to get through. And so, the earlier we detect the raid coming out, the more likely we can prevent it from achieving any success.

BURNETT: So, CNN's reporting that the president has received options for expanding the military, the war in Iran. And this includes, again, this Kharg Island. In the early days of the war, as you know, Captain, we talked a lot about this, whether there would be U.S. ground troops on the ground there. So that that's back on the table, as is bombing underground complexes at Pickaxe Mountain, which is believed to be connected to the Iranian nuclear program and apparently was not struck last summer in the operation.

So, can you share your sense of what those operations might look like?

SCHUSTER: Yes, ma'am. This -- Kharg Island is fairly easy to take by U.S. military style assault, holding it will be the challenge because you're within artillery, easy drone strike range and so forth in the mainland.

Pickaxe Mountain is a more difficult target. And I would argue what we would probably do is take out the entrances to it and the lift mechanisms. They're fairly close to the surface, easily damaged, and therefore deny the regime access to what is below, because I do believe they dug it about 100 meters deep. So tough target, but the facility's mechanical operational aspects are all within 30 meters of the surface.

BURNETT: Yeah, which honestly just begs the question of why that didn't happen before, given that even last summer, right, when the whole goal was to, using the massive ordinance bombs, take all those facilities out. So that's a huge unknown answer.

Thank you very much, Captain. I appreciate your time on this Friday.

And next, the district attorney in Houston has been asking for access to the white van belonging to the man killed by ICE agents for over a week, the same van that the FBI claims was used as a weapon against agents and that they found drugs in. The D.A. is our guest OUTFRONT.

Plus, new details about Trump's longtime teleprompter operator who is under investigation now over betting on Trump's speeches. So, what did he find out to make nearly six figures in profits?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:32:48]

BURNETT: Breaking news, a top Democrat in Maine demanding answers from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin about why he said agents at the scene of the deadly ICE shooting of a Colombian man weren't wearing body cameras.

The demand comes as new reporting from "The Intercept" says four ICE officials who reviewed images from the scene stated federal officers who were there were wearing devices that had the ability to record. But the officials reportedly say that the cameras were not turned on and couldn't be turned on because that function wasn't available?

So, let's go to independent journalist Karl Loftus, who broke this story.

And, Karl, can you explain this? So, your ICE sources say that officers on the scene were wearing devices, okay, that the devices could record, but the function wasn't turned on and couldn't be turned on even if someone wanted to. That's where I get confused.

Can you explain it?

KARL LOFTUS, INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST: Correct. So, these devices are functioning as Bluetooth microphones for ICE's radios currently. They do have a camera function on them, but that function is not available to ICE right now, so they just cannot turn on. So, although these pieces of tech are designed to function as cameras, they do not work in that regard in this application.

BURNETT: OK, I guess now I'm in a sense, I'm even more confused with an administration that's put so much focus on ICE. Maybe there's a complete lack of desire for there to be any record of what's going on. I suppose that that's possible as a reason.

I mean, why is it so hard to have functioning cameras in a world where we live in where everybody's filming everything all the time?

LOFTUS: I mean, I would disagree that there's not a desire to have functioning cameras, at least from the perspective of the ICE agents and officers. You know, they all want to have these cameras. They all want to be protected and the public wants them as well.

But really the reason behind it is just more to do with, you know, the corporate contracts. in bureaucracy that's happening on that end of things.

[19:35:00]

So --

BURNETT: OK, can I -- just want to give you a chance to emphasize -- sorry, I just want to give you a chance to emphasize something you just said there, because this may be surprising to some, but I think it's important. You're saying that the ICE agents that you're speaking to that they want the cameras, they want the record that they think that's important for them, too?

LOFTUS: Yes, that's very, very important for everyone to understand is they want these cameras just as bad as we want these cameras.

BURNETT: Okay, I think that is important that your sources are saying that. Okay, so back in January, right, because ICE had said that every arrest team would have body cameras. ICE had said that.

Trump administration says the distribution is still ongoing. And Tom Homan, the borders czar, of course, said, and I quote him, the body cameras have been ordered. There's a deployment schedule on the books.

So, obviously, this goes all the way back to January. Again, in the world that we live in, that is hard for some to understand. You've got new information on all of this. What can you share?

LOFTUS: Correct, so just minutes ago, I talked to a source within ICE. This is an agent who functions as a trainer for the body worn cameras that are coming in and that person tells me that there is a training process that agents and officers will have to go through once they receive these body worn cameras.

BURNETT: All right, well I appreciate your time, Karl. Thank you very much and for your new reporting. We appreciate it.

And more breaking news, the district attorney investigating the fatal ICE shooting of a Houston man who is driving to his work site is saying that DHS is not cooperating with his team as the D.A. is attempting to conduct an independent probe into the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. It comes as we are awaiting test results from the FBI because one of its agents said that the FBI found plastic bags with, quote, "crystal-like substances" inside Salgado Araujo's van, which the FBI then said it suspects could be methamphetamine.

Now the lawyer representing Araujo's brother is pushing back, saying that it was assault.

I want to go to Sean Teare, the district attorney for Harris County, because obviously this is going to be very important. And Sean, this is you're in the center of all of this.

So, you've got an investigation going that you say DHS at this point is stonewalling that they're not collaborating with your investigators. What can you share with me?

SEAN TEARE, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Erin, thanks for having me back on.

Yeah, they are -- they're effectively a black box. We're not getting any communication back and forth from them. The FBI has been very forthcoming and collaborative in the small part of the investigation that they're doing. But look, we're 11 days out from this tragedy, and we still don't even have the name of the person that shot Mr. Salgado. We don't have a single name of any of the agents that were involved in this pursuit, in this mistaken takedown of the vehicle.

These are critical pieces that every day that goes by that someone hasn't talked to the person that discharged the shot and the other agents, we're losing evidence.

BURNETT: It is -- it is shocking. Now, it's been 11 days. We don't have names. It's also been 11 days, and my understanding is you still don't have the van. I mean, you and I spoke. I guess it was a week ago today, right? And I was surprised then.

Investigators hadn't been given access to the van right at that point that this all happened Tuesday morning. This was Friday night. You didn't have access to the van. The van, which they allege was being used as a weapon now and had drugs in it or something that they are saying they think is drugs, methamphetamine, which they put out before they'd actually tested it. So, now, we're 11 days and the van, which is central to all these

things, you still haven't gotten access to it.

TEARE: Right, we were allowed to be present during the execution of the drug search warrant for the van, but we have not been able to forensically download the van, which is a much more critical piece of information. And if you look at that search warrant that was unsealed, that which is the first time in my 20-year law enforcement career that I've ever seen a federal search warrant unsealed.

But you saw that search warrant that's unsealed and they didn't even ask to process the van forensically. They didn't ask to get the crash data recorder data that would have shown steering input, speed, braking for up to 15 seconds before the incident. They didn't ask to get DNA to confirm who had touched the outside of the van.

Was there an agent that had actually come into contact with the van before any of those things all they were looking for were baggies that were in clear -- open -- open sight and the only thing that I can think they did it for was to smear a good man's name.

[19:40:01]

BURNETT: Well, and it's also confusing because they initially said in all of the confusion, right, that that he wasn't the target, that maybe it was a, you know, mistaken identity. And now they're, you know, saying they were drugged. So, it is all very confusing.

But can I ask you about the -- what's in the bags? Because the family says that the bags contained granulated salt mixed with lemon and water. They're very specific about it.

They say that is because that's a homemade electrolyte mix that is used by construction workers working in the incredibly hot summer in Texas, OK? So that's what they're saying.

The FBI puts this out that it's crystals and that they haven't tested it yet, but looks like it could be meth. You have been clear you don't think that that is correct.

Can you just explain what you know and why you believe that?

TEARE: Sure, everything that we know about all four of the men that were in that van at the time of the shooting. having any kind of illicit narcotics would be completely inconsistent with what we know about them. But what we do know about them is they work day in and day out in July in Houston, Texas. They sweat.

Mr. Salgado's wife, every single morning, would create enough of these effectively homemade electrolyte drinks for everybody on Mr. Salgado's crew. This is something they've been doing for years, which is consistent with where the baggies were found.

If you're driving around with illicit narcotics and you're being chased for blocks upon blocks by someone that you believe is either robbing you or law enforcement, the bags are not going to be continued to be placed on your dashboard.

BURNETT: So what do you think is going on here? When you cut through it all, you haven't been given access to the van, which they allege was used as a weapon. They put out all this stuff about these potential drugs and get into what we believe it might be. It looks like methamphetamine, but they don't bother to test it and just get an answer before they put it out there. What's actually going on here?

TEARE: You know, that's a question that that I would love to be able to put to. the Department of Homeland Security. But I can tell you that that what we are able to do and investigate. We're able to put the picture together, regardless of how much cooperation we're getting from DHS.

At the end of this, we're going to be able to present this case to a grand jury and see what criminal charges are appropriate. I would really love for this to be a collaborative effort so that the American public can have faith in all of their institutions. But as 11 days out, it certainly doesn't look like they're all playing in the same direction.

BURNETT: Right. It doesn't. And it obviously doesn't match. You know, Karl Loftus is saying they want the body cams. Body cams can make a huge difference here.

Thank you so much, Sean. I appreciate your time tonight.

And next, new reporting on just how much access Trump's longtime teleprompter operator actually had to the president in his speeches. He's now being investigated for possible insider trading.

Plus, this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; It's not affordable to live on your own as a single person anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Our Phil Mattingly takes us across the country where the American dream is slipping away for far too many.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:33]

BURNETT: Tonight, new details about just how much access President Trump's longtime teleprompter operator has to the president. Gabriel Perez is now under investigation for potential insider trading for winning nearly $100,000 on bets about the president's speeches.

Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: Where is Gabe? Is he here?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Where is Gabe? Right now, in hot water.

Gabriel Perez has been a favorite Trump staffer for years, a teleprompter operator close at hand for many major speeches, neck deep and dead center for many final word changes.

TRUMP: The teleprompter just went out.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Trump complained when it seems Perez was not around.

TRUMP: I can only say that whoever's operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.

FOREMAN (voice-over): But now officials are looking into whether Perez used inside information to wager online in the Kalshi prediction market, betting on what Trump might say when Perez already knew what was coming.

So, Trump's once-glowing words --

TRUMP: Gabe, he's excellent.

FOREMAN (voice-over): -- have dimmed considerably.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He believes it's deeply unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Prediction markets allow people to put money down on almost everything from the outcome of a war to election results to how many acres will burn in a wildfire. Critics call it a toxic form of gambling, which might spur people to meddle in the real world. Starting fires, for example, numerous states are looking to regulate prediction markets. Some lawmakers want more.

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): At the local, state and national level, this has to be outlawed.

FOREMAN (voice-over): But the president and his are embracing it. Donald Trump, Jr. is an advisor to an investor in the multibillion- dollar business and team Trump seems fully in line with the argument that this is not gambling at all.

These are just like other financial investments such as corn futures, which only the federal government should control. It is a major industry and we must protect it, the president has posted.

Still last spring, the Justice Department accused a U.S. soldier of exploiting classified information on the capture of the Venezuelan president to make $400,000 on the prediction markets. He's pled not guilty.

At the time, the president did express reservations.

TRUMP: Well, you know, the whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino. I was never much in favor of it.

[19:50:00]

I don't like it conceptually, but it is what it is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: It's interesting to note that the supposed activities by this teleprompter operator, in fact, were flagged by Kalshi to begin with. They first raised the allegations for federal investigators. And I do want to note, Erin, because it is important that CNN does have a partnership with Kalshi to use its data on the coverage of big stories

And, of course, CNN employees are forbidden from making any trades on these markets -- Erin.

BURNETT: Absolutely.

All right, Tom, thank you very much.

And next, our Phil Mattingly traveling from city to city. And you'll hear what people are telling him about suddenly feeling priced out of this country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:55:26]

BURNETT: And tonight, Phil Mattingly on Americans being priced out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOLENE SIMECEK, RENTER: It's not affordable to live on your own as a single person anymore.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For generations, Cleveland was the promise kept. One of the last places a family of almost any income could own a home that was theirs.

SIMECEK: I wanted to, you know, a yard for my kid and just the normal American dream. Just a house, pick a fence, a yard. And it just seems that that's more and more not. It's out of touch, not reality.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): For Jolene Simicek, that deal has come undone. A working mom and a nursing student, she's always had a job, but she can't keep up with the skyrocketing rents in her Cleveland suburb.

SIMECEK: It went from $785 to nearly $1,600 a month.

MATTINLGY: Your rent effectively doubled.

SIMECEK: Yes.

MATTINGLY: Over, what, seven years?

SIMECEK: Yeah. MATTINGLY: Six years, seven years?

SIMECEK: Yeah.

MATTINGLY: Your income presumably did not follow the same path over that period of time.

SIMECEK: No, it did not go up at that rate at all.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Her next best option, a room in her sister's basement.

SIMECEK: They're lucky enough to rent it to me for $450 a month. Yeah.

MATTINGLY: The alternative was roughly 1,600-ish.

SIMECEK: Sixteen hundred, or, yeah, I sleep in my little hatchback, so --

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Nearly one in four Clevelanders now hand over more than half of what they earn just to stay housed.

SIMECEK: I've already paid a quarter million dollars in rent in my life, you know? I should already have the home with the equity paid off, but I didn't make the right decisions, you know? If you rent, that's what you get.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): So, how did it get this bad?

Frank Ford has spent decades tracing the forces that shaped these streets. It starts with redlining, lenders starving black neighborhoods of home loans.

FRANK FORD, SENIOR POLICY ADVISOR, CLEVELAND FAIR HOUSING CENTER: There's a shift that took place in the late '90s where some mortgage lenders flipped that and realized, well, wait a minute, instead of denying people loans because we perceive them as high risk, what if we make loans and use that perception as the reason to raise interest rates?

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Those predatory loans inflated a bubble that burst in 2007.

FORD: The banks found themselves sitting on 600 homes in Cleveland, 800 homes in Cleveland. They started to offload those properties for pennies on the dollar to investors.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Thousands of homes swept up by phantom investors charging market rent while letting them rot. The paradox of a broken market. Homes are cheap because families can't buy them, but the rents stay high.

The spread is a magnet for out-of-state LLCs. Buy all cash, collect rent, ignore the repairs. Nowhere is it clearer than Shaker Square.

MATTINGLY: OK. ANDERSON WALDON, SHAKER SQUARE: This is my one-bedroom. These are the water blisters that dried out I told you about.

MATTINGLY: Yeah.

WALDON: These here are the holes where all the water came through.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Anderson Walton came here in 2020 to retire somewhere safe and walkable. Instead, three of every four neighbors left, and the buildings crumbled around the few who did stay.

WALDON: I have my drills. I've tried to fix everything myself because I can't wait until it gets done because it never gets done.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Drive 20 miles west, and it's a different universe where families priced out of the city now compete fiercely for every home.

STEPHEN MILLER, HOMEOWNER: Before this, we lived in the city and wanted to buy in the city. And in the specific neighborhood that we were in, the cost of housing has exploded in those places.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Stephen Miller and his wife are working professionals who embody what, for decades, represented the first rung of the housing ladder. But home prices in Cleveland have surged nearly 60 percent in six years, among the fastest in the country.

MILLER: We were looking for probably about a year for what eventually kind of became our unicorn, I guess, which never fruitioned. And then, you know, over time, we just kind of gave up and started kind of expanding that search.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Battling all-cash investors, waiving inspections, they eventually closed miles from where they wanted to be.

MILLER: We live in a lovely suburb now that's right on the lake. It's great, but that was never in the plans, to say the least. It's frankly astounding. There's some phantom outside buyer that comes in the last second, 50 grand over the asking price. It's just, it's absolutely brutal out there.

SIMECEK: The Midwest was like the secret where you can live comfortably and it's not that way anymore.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Back in Parma, Jolene made clear she's not asking for a handout. She's only wondering, how did it get this hard for the people who did everything they were told to do?

Phil Mattingly, CNN, Cleveland, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Thanks for watching.

"AC360" starts now.