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Erin Burnett Outfront

GOP Rep. Max Miller Digs In Amid Abuse Allegations: "I'm Not Going Anywhere"; Trump Calls Dem Progressive's Win In Michigan "Great News" For GOP; Trump Moves To Prevent Business Finances From Being Shared With BBC. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired August 05, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:19]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Max Miller refusing to go. The Republican congressman is defiant tonight amid new calls for him to step aside over domestic abuse allegations. His former father-in-law, a Republican senator, has a new plea tonight.

Plus, progressive Democrats with big primary wins. But can they defeat Republicans in November? A top election forecaster is here.

And why is President Trump making a last-ditch effort to keep his financial information private once again?

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BOLDUAN: Good evening, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan, in for Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news. Here's the quote, "I'm not going anywhere." Embattled Republican Congressman Max Miller, he is now declaring that to CNN's Banu Raju as he is facing these disturbing allegations still, which he denies, all of them, the allegations of abusing his ex-wife.

Miller's insistence that he won't leave Congress, that he won't drop his reelection bid, is drawing a new and sharp rebuke from his former father-in-law, Republican Senator Bernie Moreno.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE MORENO (R-OH): I wish he cared about figuring out how to solve his family issues, as much as he cares about his political career. This is obviously very atrocious. You know, someday we're all going to have to explain this to a girl and what happened. I would give up. everything in my life in that little girl. And I just wish that he felt the exact same way.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BOLDUAN: Senator Moreno is also now calling out the Republican House Speaker, Mike Johnson. Here's what Johnson said and Moreno's reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INTERVIEWER: Will you tell him to drop out?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: No, I will tell Max what I tell everyone. These are serious allegations. I'm the father of two daughters who work on Capitol Hill. I mean, the allegations are serious. I think Max is taking them seriously. I think our colleagues are. But again, we have to allow this process to play out.

MORENO: These aren't accusations in my world. In my world, this is the reality. So, I'm not sure where the term accusations come from. This is my lived reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And Speaker Johnson's not the only top Republican not taking a stand tonight. Vice President J.D. Vance today was silent when asked multiple times about what Miller should do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Vice President, should Max Miller drop out? Should Max Miller drop out?

REPORTER: Should Max Miller resign?

REPORTER: Thank you, sir. Should Max Miller resign?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And Miller is also not the only Republican congressman facing serious allegations and fueling anxiety among House Republicans right now. like Congressman Chuck Edwards of North Carolina, who said today that he is no longer seeking reelection after the House Ethics Committee said that he should be censured for acting inappropriately toward two female staffers.

Republican Cory Mills of Florida is facing investigations, including by D.C. police, for alleged assault. And just today, two of his Florida Republican colleagues endorsed his primary opponent.

Edwards and Mills both deny wrongdoing.

And it is also not just a problem for Republicans. Two Democrats, Graham Platner, Eric Swalwell, ended their campaigns amid allegations of sexual assault, which they deny.

Sitting Democratic Congressman Jimmy Gomez is also facing a House ethics investigation over sexual misconduct allegations. He denies violating the law or House ethics rules.

Manu Ra -- I feel like I have to take a breath. The list is that long at this point.

Manu Raju's OUTFRONT on Capitol Hill.

And you're covering all of it, Manu. You just spoke to Max Miller. He said he's not going anywhere, but there is a growing number of lawmakers who do want him to go.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and there's so much anxiety within the ranks and the Miller is maybe perhaps benefiting at the moment from the fact that the House is not in session. So, senators are the ones who are weighing in about what happens across the Capitol.

Oftentimes senators don't like to do that, but one of them is the Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, who went a little bit further than he did with me yesterday when I asked him about it at the time yesterday, he said it's an issue. It's a family issue. It's a personal issue. You left it to the voters of his district to decide.

Today, he went a little bit further so that way for this to be resolved. He said there's probably one thing that could probably end all the speculation and swirl and the unpleasantness associated with this. probably hint, hint, resignation was what he seems to be referring to others going further.

Katie Britt of Alabama telling Burgess Everett with "Semafor" that it's time for Miller to end his campaign, to resign from the House.

But Miller is defiant, Kate. When I spoke to him earlier today, he made very, very clear he was not going to bend to this pressure campaign, the calls, the concerns about all of this.

He said he is not going anywhere, that he plans to run for re- election, even though many members want him to step aside. Speaker Johnson deciding not to call for his resignation in part, some believe has to do with the belief among the speaker and his team that if he did so, it may not change the equation for Max Miller, who has a frosty relationship with the speaker himself.

But if he were to get a drop out of the race immediately, Kate, that could allow at least at least Republican leaders there in the district in the state to try to find someone else to replace him in November. It doesn't look like Max Miller would do that. He's making very clear he's defined plans to fight these charges, even though Republicans are very fearful he could give up a one safe Republican seat -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Manu, there is a lot going on here, as you said, behind the scenes and out in public. Thank you, Manu. Great reporting as always.

David Axelrod, S.E. Cupp, both OUTFRONT here now.

So, David, Max Miller, we hear what he has told Manu. If you're advising Max Miller right now, what are you -- what are you -- what are you advising?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Get some help, just one thing. I mean, look, first of all, I'd say think about your family and what this is doing to your family. And I think his father, his ex- father-in-law made an important point.

I mean, how much do you value your political career versus the well- being of your child? But listen, you know, I said we spoke about this earlier in another place in this building. But -- and I said that -- and I still -- you know, he is doing what his mentor taught him to do. He is denying, he is denying, he is denying.

And as for the speaker, the speaker is a very moral man, and he consults higher sources on questions like this, like the president. That's the source he consults. And if Donald Trump said he has to go, they would ask him to go.

But Max Miller is close to him. He touched all of Donald Trump's funny bones yesterday on Jake's interview and said, I'm just doing what I learned from the president and so on. And so, he didn't.

But I think it could cost them a seat because that is a plus-five partisan lean for Republicans, but that's not an insuperable barrier.

Now, I will say last thing, sorry, S.E.

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You go, please.

AXELROD: Last thing in the Washington Post, they did an interview and his constituents said, no, we're not going to --

BOLDUAN: That's exactly what I was looking at today, too.

AXELROD: I know, I was reading your notes.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

AXELROD: So, but this one woman said she would probably separate his personal foibles, meaning domestic abuse, from her political considerations as she has done for President Donald Trump. I know there are things in his past that people aren't happy with, and I've had to set it aside. If it comes to that, that's where I stand.

So, you know, this is -- this is the kind of environment that the president has created. And it's not limited. As you point out, Democrats have these. in terms of discipline, there really isn't any.

BOLDUAN: What do you think of what David's raising? Because "The Washington Post", the way they put it is that the scandal is barely registering back at home. And they talked to dozens of voters in his district, they said.

And to David's points, yes, some said I can't, I can't back him anymore, but it seems that the take is, the general take is either they're not paying attention to it, hasn't broken through there yet, or one woman who described herself as a Trumplican, said they can say all they want, but it's not going to sway my vote. I'm not perfect, and I'm not that great of a person all the time, so I can't judge him. I'd have to vote for him even if I can't stand him. Her kind of suggesting, because I've got-- it's Republican or bust,

right? It's Trump's person or bust. I don't know. What do you do with that?

CUPP: Well, that's a group of people, and I feel like they're impenetrable. But I think there's a larger group of people that with every time they see this guy talk, right? And he did Jake yesterday. He also went on Newsmax yesterday.

He is talking and talking and he will not be able to campaign in a vacuum. I think more and more people will be turned off because when you watch this guy, when you listen to this guy and we know he's denied all the allegations, he sounds creepy. He sounds really, really creepy. And so, I think he's going to be his own worst enemy here. His defiance, his ego, his refusal to do the right thing for his family to David's point or for his party politically, I think is going to be the thing that imperils the scene.

And David's right, Ohio is competitive and people like me whose job it is to go out and talk about this are going to tie him to Ken Paxton to, you know, all the other Republicans facing this kind of scrutiny and asking, is it worth it?

[19:10:02]

Is he worth it to keep backing him? And I don't really understand what the meaning of leadership is.

BOLDUAN: I was going to ask that, too.

CUPP: For Mike Johnson, JD Vance, Donald Trump, any of these guys, If you're not going to lead on these issues of character, and you're going to push it right up to the very edge and make voters decide, you know, where the line is, you're not leaders, you're followers.

AXELROD: Right, and that's the reason that the speaker is there, because he is a follower and he follows the president, and if the president said he has to go, he has to go.

CUPP: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: Think about this, but the little-- yes, it's taking insight even further that Manu adds is because of the existing bad, frosty, as Manu described a relationship between Max Miller and the speaker. There might be a calculation here of the speaker being like, if I come out and say, get out, he's going to say, I'm not going to.

Is that -- should that be a calculation for a person in leadership?

AXELROD: You know, here's what I wonder. I wonder if I'm a member of the House. and I'm fighting my ass off to try and keep the majority against great odds that have been made more difficult because the president's so unpopular.

How do I feel about a speaker who's willing to give up a seat and not confront the issue? That would -- that would really anger me if I were them.

BOLDUAN: What -- do you think that when it comes down to it, we know that the speaker, it seems the speaker doesn't move unless he's going to hear something from the president. We know the president's been, I don't know, the reporting is that he privately does not think that Miller can win, given the accusations, publicly. Well, let me play what he said, actually, publicly, just overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Can you comment on Representative Miller?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope he's able to work it out. I feel badly for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Is this dynamic really not changing unless Donald Trump just -- I don't know what he sees, but he sees something and decides that he's now going to say Max has got to go.

CUPP: Well, that would be out of character for him. He has a long and consistent record of defending guys who have been accused of this kind of stuff, from Herschel Walker to Roy Moore.

Now, the good news --

AXELROD: To Donald Trump.

CUPP: To Donald Trump. But the good news in that, Rob Porter, I mean, there's a lot, but the good news in that is those people didn't win, right? The voters ultimately decided.

So even though these guys want to shirk their responsibilities and their moral obligations to guide their party and their voters to the right place, the voters ultimately will make that call. And I truly believe, I truly believe that the more people hear from Max Miller, the more they will decide, they cannot, in good conscience, give this guy their vote.

AXELROD: When he says he's not going anywhere, that's the thing he's ignoring. You know, the people of his district can dispatch him, and I think there's a very good chance they will.

But the odd thing about that quote that you played from the president was, he said, I feel badly for him. What about for his wife? What about for his child? What about for Senator Moreno and the family, you know? That sort of absence of empathy for them is very telling.

BOLDUAN: It is remarkable how -- I mean, the fact that the sitting Republican senator is the former father-in-law and the one that's taking a stand against another Republican from the state in the congressional delegation -- I mean, this whole thing again I've said that I just can't -- it is just --

CUPP: It's awful. BOLDUAN: It is awful.

CUPP: It's awful.

BOLDUAN: It's good -- thank you guys for being here. Really appreciate it.

OUTFRONT next, the president is celebrating Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive Democrat who just won Michigan's Senate primary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The poll says we do better against the communists, so he won and so I think I'm happy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Is he right to think Republicans have a better chance of winning now? Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is our guest.

Plus, new details about the armed man arrested at Trump's golf course, did he pose a threat?

And they're called "Black Widows", women marrying Russian soldiers, sometimes on their deathbeds and allegedly taking their death payments from their grieving families.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:18:48]

BOLDUAN: Tonight, Republicans are celebrating a Democratic win. Progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed beat out moderate Haley Stevens in the Michigan Democratic Senate primary. And President Trump wasted absolutely no time jumping in on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Abdul el-Sayad, lovely gentleman. He's a man of hate. And now he's going around saying, no, I love everybody. I love him.

He doesn't love everybody. Put him in office. You're going to find out what he loves.

He doesn't love Israel. He doesn't love Jewish people. He hates them. He hates them with a passion that burns in his heart and there's not a fricking thing he can do about it.

The poll says we do better against the communists, so he won. And so, I think I'm happy I put out a statement. Congratulations to the Republican Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So, there's that, and the top Republican in the Senate added this. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: This is the extreme radical choice that the Democrats made and now we're going to have to, you know, accept those positions that he has been advocating for in a general election setting, which I think puts us in a pretty good spot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:20:03]

BOLDUAN: Both of those men projecting confidence tonight.

OUTFRONT now is Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the former chair of the Progressive Caucus.

It's good to see you, Congresswoman. Thanks for being here.

So, you supported El Sayed, you campaigned with him. What is your reaction to hearing the president, hearing Thune, hearing Republicans celebrating his win?

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE; FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Well, Kate, first of all, Donald Trump is the same guy that's endorsed Max Miller, who you were just talking about, so I'm not sure I would listen to who he's talking about in terms of candidates that he's supporting. He's also got poll numbers that are in the tank. I mean, they're really -- he's not popular with voters across the country, and certainly in Michigan, that is the case as well.

I think that when I listen to both of them, I'm struck by the fact that they have nothing positive to offer voters. All they can do is try to attach labels to Abdul El Sayed after seeing a primary that was remarkable turnout from voters. I mean, 1.4 million votes, I believe cast in the Michigan primary.

People are electrified and being on the ground with Abdul. I can tell you he is an electrifying candidate. He has really mobilized a whole group of voters who had given up on the Democratic Party who didn't believe in politics more broadly, there were Republican coming out for him because they know that the system is broken and they want somebody who is going to be a fighter for working people right here at home and they feel like Abdul is that guy.

So, I am excited for this general election. We knew it was going to be close no matter who won the primary. Elissa Slotkin won Michigan -- the Michigan Senate seat in 2024 just by a margin of 20,000 votes. So, it's going to be close.

I was really thrilled to see my colleague Haley Stevens and Mallory McMorrow both come out immediately and say OK, the primary is over. Let's get to work. We are going to defeat Mike Rogers. We are going to take this seat, and it is important for Michigan and for the country.

BOLDUAN: The conventional wisdom was, though, that El Sayed would win with a bigger margin. Again, a win's a win. That's how it works in politics. But still, CNN's Isaac Dovere has some new reporting that Democratic leaders talk confidently about how they know the party will come together to get behind and unify behind El Sayed.

But then, Dover is reporting that many then asked to go off the record to say how terrified they are that the wounds are too deep and festering to heal within the Democratic Party. How hard is it going to be to bridge the divide, do you think?

JAYAPAL: I mean, it's going to take work obviously, and I think that Abdul in his speech last night that I heard or early this morning was talking about how this is not about gloating about a victory. This is about what we have to do in the general election in November. We all have to come together.

I heard Haley Stevens say the same thing this morning, so yeah, there's going to be some griping behind the scenes, but I think at the end of the day You know it is true that we have much more in common. We understand why this is important that we win in November.

And you know, the -- being terrified. I'm so used to that narrative, Kate, but let's just remember that this is a state that voted for Donald Trump and I think we have a shot of actually convincing voters to come back to us or to come to us for the first time. That is very, very exciting. 10 -- over 10,000 volunteers on the ground.

And Abdul's campaign, when I was with him, I was with him twice two different times. I was impressed by the fact that he did it the old- fashioned way, if you will. You know, he went to so many events, small events, big events, big rallies, yes, but also lots of small events across the state.

And it's interesting to me that he won without winning the three traditional counties that that Democrats would win, just like Bernie Sanders did in 2016. And I think that it just shows, again, that there are inroads across the state with the new electorate, as well as, of course, the electorate we need to have.

And he needs to build those relationships with black voters, with Jewish voters, with all voters. He -- that will be work that he and all of us will have to do to make sure we do that and make sure that we beat Mike Rogers and take back the seat.

BOLDUAN: You mentioned Bernie. The fact that Bernie Sanders' pick, if you will, won over Chuck Schumer's preferred candidate, now in more than one primary -- what does it mean for the direction of the party?

JAYAPAL: Well, I think that for those of us, and, you know, for those of us who have been saying for a long time, we need a different kind of politics. We need to invest in working people, not billionaires and corporations.

[19:25:02]

We need to not be spending money on forever wars elsewhere to bomb kids and instead invest in health care right here. We need to not tinker around the edges because people are suffering. The systems are broken for ordinary people to be able to thrive, much less barely survive.

And I think that is resonating across the country. And you need authentic candidates who have a track record of standing up for those things. That's the thing about Bernie. He's incredibly consistent. I think probably all of us that have watched Bernie know what Bernie is going to say, right?

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

JAYAPAL: And that is expected by the voters and appreciated by the voters. That is true of Abdul as well. I've known Abdul for over a decade.

I wrote -- Bernie and I wrote different forewords for his Medicare for all book and I've worked with him and he is incredibly consistent about what he says. And you can see it in his pledge to not take corporate PAC money to call out what is wrong, but to be open to voters from everywhere.

When I was there, there were Republican voters who were like, yeah, you know, he's probably a little too left for me. But I am willing to give this a chance because what we're doing is not working. This is not the country that it should be, and I'm willing to try something else.

So, I think that is really important. And I think that's a message that's resonating not just in Michigan, but in Pennsylvania and Ohio and California, Colorado, New York, Washington State. Across the country, voters are sick and tired of a system that privileges the wealthiest few and the billionaires and the giant corporations and is not taking care of their everyday needs.

BOLDUAN: Well, a tough primary now becomes what's going to be very clearly a very tough general, which can be expected in such an important race. Let's see what El-Sayed does with it.

It's good to see you. Thank you for your time tonight.

OUTFRONT with us next, David Wasserman, senior editor and elections analyst at "The Cook Political Report.

It's great to see you, Dave. Thanks for being here.

So, who has advantage in this race now, El-Sayed or the Republican -- the former Republican congressman, now Republican nominee, Mike Rogers?

DAVID WASSERMAN, SENIOR EDITOR & ELECTIONS ANALYST, THE COOK POLITICAL REPORT: Kate, this was a breakthrough for the progressive left last night. But the irony is that Abdul El-Sayed has run as a champion of the working class, but it was actually upper-income white voters living in areas with high college education who put him over the top. It wasn't a surprise that he won college towns like Ann Arbor and East Lansing. But his largest margin in the state was actually in Grand Rapids, a

white-collar area that's been moving sharply away from Republicans towards the left in the last couple decades. And he ran respectably in Oakland County, which was Haley Stevens' backyard, holding her margin to two points there.

Where he struggled was with black voters, with working class and older white Democrats. For example, losing Macomb County and a wide swath of rural Michigan. So, he did well in the places where Democrats already are doing well. He's got work to do to win over more moderate voters in outlying regions of the state that Elissa Slotkin was able to convince to vote for her in 2024 and beat Mike Rogers.

This is going to be a brutal race. It's a toss-up in a state that Democrats ought to have the advantage in in a year as favorable as 2026. But given that Donald Trump's approval rating is the mid-30s here, Abdul El-Sayed has a pathway to victory. It's probably a narrow advantage over Rogers.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, it's -- where he has work to do. You could see just in the conversation with Pramila Jayapal, she seems very aware of the areas and the voters that he has worked to do with and to make ground up with.

Broader picture, just -- great to have, is it -- while I have you. Democrats need to pick up four in the Senate to take the majority, three seats in the House to gain control.

How likely is it looking right now from your vantage point?

WASSERMAN: The Senate's always been a tall order. Democrats need to win at least two states that voted for Donald Trump by at least 11 points.

And yet, Kate, this is the first week where I thought that Democrats, if the election were held next Tuesday, would probably win control of both chambers. We've seen the approval rating for the president go from very bad to extremely bad as concerns about the war have only festered with independent voters where his approval has tanked. And Democrats need to lock down these purple states, including Michigan and Maine, to have a pathway to get there.

But the big difference that we're seeing between Trump being underwater in some polls by 23 or 24 points and the congressional ballot, Democrats still only have a six- or seven-point lead on the question of which party would you vote for, for Congress.

What that says is that there are a whole lot of voters who are still undecided on their choice for Congress, even if they disapprove of the job that Trump is doing, that's where candidate quality really makes a big difference.

And there may be shades of acceptability between Abdul El-Sayed, who would be going to Washington but wouldn't really have that much power in the last two years of a Trump administration.

[19:30:08]

Voters might simply see him as a check on Trump -- versus someone running for governor on the left, like Francesca Hong in Wisconsin, who's proposing a variety of things that might be objectionable to moderate voters there.

So, we'll see. It's going to be a mixed bag.

BOLDUAN: And quite a time to have your job. Thank goodness you do, so I can lean on you.

It's good to see, Dave. Thank you so much.

OUTFRONT for us next, Trump with a last-minute legal move to block the release of his company's finances, as new reporting raises new questions about this claim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I have nothing to do with a family business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And Iran is insisting there are no talks underway, as President Trump warns of new consequences, including the largest strike since World War II.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:35:24]

BURNETT: We do have breaking news. The president is fighting to keep his financial information private. His lawyers just filed an emergency motion to halt a requirement to hand the Trump Organization's financial details over by tomorrow. That requirement is part of a lawsuit that the president brought against the BBC and its documentary that Trump says damaged his businesses.

This comes as my next guest has new reporting that the president is far more involved in the Trump Organization than he has claimed.

OUTFRONT now is Dan Alexander, senior editor at "Forbes", who's done extensive reporting on the president and his businesses.

So, Dan, let's get to the details and get into those details of your reporting in just a moment. But first, on the news, what's your take on why the president is so determined to try to keep the financial records of his businesses away from the BBC?

DAN ALEXANDER, SENIOR EDITOR, FORBES: Well, look, it's been bad news for Donald Trump when his financial records have seeped out in the past. And the risk here isn't just theoretical. Remember, the Trump Organization was convicted of nine crimes, including tax crimes a handful of years ago. Its longtime CFO went to jail for five months, including for tax fraud. And Donald Trump had a lawsuit that ultimately led to a penalty of nearly a half a billion dollars. That's since been reversed, but related to discrepancies in his own financial records.

So, they have very clear reasons that they want to keep their information under wraps.

BOLDUAN: And this gets to what you have done so much work on. The president's often claim that he has walled himself off from his businesses. Let's just play a few examples.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I don't do anything having to do with my business. My kids run it.

I have nothing to do with the family business.

My kids are doing it. They're running my business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Your reporting, though, had you digging through regulatory and financial documents to get a real handle on just how involved or not Trump really is. And it's more on the involved side of this scale.

What did you find?

ALEXANDER: Well, there is a regulatory document filed in the United Kingdom, which requires a little bit more disclosure than the United States of private companies. And in that filing, the Trump administration -- excuse me, the Trump Organization admitted that Donald Trump still controlled some of his businesses.

But here's the thing. They admitted not just that they control U.K. businesses, but that the control was held through a trust. And that trust holds everything in the Trump Organization. So, they're saying in a documented filing what they won't tell the American public, which is that, yes, he has given some control to his kids, but the president maintains control as well for himself, which is what people in his businesses will tell you as well.

BOLDUAN: There's also a fascinating element of your reporting as of a private dinner that he attended at Mar-a-Lago for his meme coin business. And one person there got on stage and told a story of how he was actively doing business with Trump. What more can you tell me about that?

ALEXANDER: That's correct. I mean, everything about this scene makes it impossible to believe that Donald Trump is not involved in his business. This is right as the Iran war is starting, he decides to jet from Washington, D.C., down to Palm Beach. He arrives at Mar-a-Lago, his own club, at an event supporting his meme coin, which provided $635 million to him last year.

And his partner gets on stage and says, yeah, earlier this year, Donald Trump called me up late at night. It was about midnight and said, hey, you've got to change the logo on our watch. And they did make the change, and then the watch has started selling even better. So, here's somebody saying the president has a direct line to somebody

involved in his businesses and is weighing in on something as minor as the product design on a watch. Then he introduces Donald Trump, who walks out to "God Bless the USA". And just so you don't miss it, they are also selling a "God Bless the USA" guitar for $1,000 online right now.

Everything about this has to do with business.

BOLDUAN: You reached out to the White House, of course, for comment on what you found. What did the White House say?

ALEXANDER: Well, the White House for a long time has said that Donald Trump is not involved in the operations of his business. Recently, they've tried out a new line saying that all of his assets are being managed by third-party financial institutions. I told them that unless something dramatic can change, that's not true. And their response to that was, well, if you don't want to use that part of the statement, you can just use the rest.

BOLDUAN: That's -- that's one way to amend a statement, I guess.

Dan, it's great to have you on.

[19:40:01]

Thank you so much, and thanks for your reporting.

ALEXANDER: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Also tonight, there are new details about the armed man arrested near the president's golf club in Southern California. Just days before the president visited that club, officials now say that the man had a public telephone number for the White House on him and a loaded pistol when he was arrested Sunday. He was also allegedly at that same golf club on Friday, acting suspiciously, taking photos and videos of federal agents' activities.

So, what now?

OUTFRONT now is a former FBI special agent in charge, Greg Ehrie.

It's good to see you, Greg. What -- thank you for being here.

Based on what you have seen so far, yes, there's much more to learn, but it does seem like they've gathered quite a bit already. Do you think that this man posed a real threat to the president?

GREG EHRIE, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Absolutely. When you start to put together the breadcrumbs, what they're seeing, there's definitely the potential for a threat. But what you are seeing are lessons learned from the previous events that have happened.

BOLDUAN: Sadly, the string of previous events. What do you see in that? EHRIE: We're seeing the coordination between not only the Secret Service, but the local police department, the Los Angeles authorities, and the JTTF, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, who is leading this investigation now for the FBI.

BOLDUAN: What are investigators doing right now to kind of really get to the answer of this question of what was this man's motive? How real was this possible threat?

EHRIE: You're absolutely correct. That's the nexus they're looking for. They certainly have arrested him, and he's been charged at most state and federal court with weapons charges.

BOLDUAN: Kind of like a beginning charge, right?

EHRIE: Absolutely. Now it's the motivation. Can you prove that he was there for a particular reason, or is he just an emotionally disturbed person? That's the question they're going and what the investigators are now doing are picking apart his life, the digital footprint, the phone calls. Is there anybody else that he was dealing with?

BOLDUAN: Greg, from all of your experience and when you list out the series of events that these breaches, these security breaches or concerns that have had to be addressed, you've had breaches at Mar-a- Lago, you've had in Florida, you've had the two assassination attempts, you had the man opening fire and trying to rush the White House Correspondents Dinner.

I mean, just how concerning is this environment and what the FBI and Secret Service are up against here?

EHRIE: It's incredibly difficult. One, VIP protection is incredibly challenging, especially when you have a president who likes to be out amongst the people, to give public appearances, which is difficult to defend against. What we're seeing is an unprecedented amount of these threats or potential threats coming forward, whether it's from political rhetoric, the emotional status of the nation right now, all the events you mentioned. We haven't seen those before previously, and what that's doing is taxing law enforcement and the Secret Service to provide different levels of protection.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, while they're investigating one, another one almost seems to occur while they're in the midst of the investigation from the previous.

EHRIE: Absolutely.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you. Thank you for coming in.

EHRIE: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: OUTFRONT next, Iran rejecting Trump's claims that talks are underway, so are strikes then about to ramp up again? Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander is next.

And women, dubbed by Russian officials and state media as "Black Widows", accused of profiting from Russia's dead soldiers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:17]

BOLDUAN: Breaking news. President Trump now says that the United States is currently negotiating with Iran, talks he says Iran initiated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We were all set for the biggest attack since World War II. And they called me and they said, please don't do it. Let's talk. And then they don't -- they said, we never said that.

We are talking. Let's see what happens. But they respect us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: But, but, but Iran's deputy foreign minister is denying any talks were happening, saying on state media the following, quote, "There have been no negotiations.:

OUTFRONT now, Democratic Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander, she's on the Armed Services Committee and is a former intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve.

It's good to see you. Thank you for being here, Congresswoman.

What do you think it means at this point that the president says they're negotiating? Iran, though, continues to say that talks are not happening.

REP. MAGGIE GOODLANDER (D-NH): Well, Kate, thanks so much for having me. You know, we're six months into this war and every day, it has been dizzying to watch and listen to the president of the United States constantly shift the objectives, constantly shift the strategy. This is a time for serious people, and this is a time for the president to bring this war to an end in a way that is not going to completely devastate the American people.

Right now, we have a war that is being waged in a way that has not been good for the American people. The economic consequences of this war were all predictable at the outset. We knew that this risk here was giving the Iranian regime a renewable resource that it can use, an asymmetric weapon that it can use against the global economy. And that's exactly what it's done.

We've got a younger and more emboldened regime, and we've made no progress on the nuclear front. The president and his administration have got to be accountable for these egregious errors. But now is the time to get to the table for serious people to be negotiating.

My question is, where is the Secretary of State? Where is the senior leadership of the Trump administration, and why are they not at the table ending this war? BOLDUAN: Well, with this pattern of the president making threats and pulling back, still the Strait of Hormuz is not fully opened. Do you think it has reached a point that to get an end to this war, no matter the negotiated outcome, it will now include some sort of Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz? Would you accept that if it brought an actual end to this?

GOODLANDER: Look, the unfortunate and truly tragic reality here is that the president has created two very bad paths for the United States of America. Continuing this war would continue catastrophe. We've lost 18 American patriots in this war.

[19:50:00]

Here in New Hampshire, the price of gas is still more than $4. The consequences of this war have been real. Tens of thousands of service members continue to be in harm's way, and we have made no progress on any of the objectives.

Now, the alternative path, we've got to reach a deal. We've got to reach a deal and end this war, and the president has got to do so on terms that are not going to surrender everything to a younger and more emboldened Iranian regime. The terms of the interim agreement that were being discussed earlier this year The giveaway of billions, hundreds of billions of dollars to the Iranian regime is a non- starter.

But the fact is --

BOLDUAN: So, what would you expect --

GOODLANDER: Everyone in this administration --

BOLDUAN: What would do then except when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz? Because some of the reporting is, is they're trying to come to some deal. Maybe it isn't -- maybe Iran isn't exacting tolls, but they are exerting control over the strait. Is that something you could get comfortable with?

GOODLANDER: Look, this is -- I served for more than a decade as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve. Kate, this was all predictable, what the contingencies might look like and the risks of giving the Iranian regime this asymmetric weapon that it has used against the global economy. These were all the risks.

But the job of the president and this administration is to get to the negotiating table and to bring an end to the siege of our global economy, to the extraordinary pain that the American people are feeling. He's presented -- he's created terrible options across the board, but it is his task to bring this to a conclusion swiftly and in a way that's not going to continue catastrophe.

BOLDUAN: What will -- what will be acceptable to members of Congress? We do also need to start trying to figure out, even if it is a choice of terrible options.

Congresswoman, thank you so much for your time this evening.

OUTFRONT for us next, families of fallen Russian soldiers denied thousands of dollars in death payments. So, who's getting the money?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:11]

BOLDUAN: Tonight, "Black Widows", women marrying Russian troops, sometimes on their deathbeds to cash in on their deaths. The move is leaving the families of fallen soldiers shocked and without tens of thousands of dollars.

Matthew Chance is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The mass wedding of Russian soldiers before they're packed off to the front lines.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I want to shake your hand and thank you for not running away, for not being scared.

CHANCE (voice-over): But not all marriages offer love.

Russian military wives get thousands of dollars compensation if their husbands are killed in action. And officials say ruthless scammers dubbed Black Widows now tricking vulnerable recruits into wedlock.

The father of Maria from St. Petersburg died after being shot in Ukraine last year. She told me she only found out her dad had joined the army after he was killed, and only then did he had a new wife.

CHANCE: How did you feel when you found out that your dad had got married just days before he went off to war?

MARIA, DAUGHTER OF RUSSIAN SOLDIER (through translator): It felt unreal. When I was being issued the death certificate, they asked if he was married. I said no, but they told me he was. I never even managed to contact the woman. I simply didn't know what to say to her because I suspected it was a scam.

CHANCE (voice-over): It's just one suspected case in a growing number scandalizing Russia.

CHANCE: With the war in Ukraine now in its fifth year, and casualty rates at catastrophic highs, it's hard to imagine there are people out there marrying vulnerable men and encouraging them to join the military just so they might financially benefit if they're killed on the front lines. No wonder there's outrage across Russia at the spread of these Black Widow scams.

CHANCE (voice-over): There are numerous allegations of recruits honey trapped before dying on the front lines, even marrying on their deathbeds in hospital. This woman who married a soldier 10 days after meeting him, then posted images of herself with other men, was branded a black widow in the Russian media and denied compensation when her husband was killed before their divorce went through.

She denied any wrongdoing, saying the allegations had blackened her name.

But there's growing public anger at how cynical some Russians have become about the war, which the Kremlin calls its special military operation.

"If I want an apartment, where am I supposed to get the money?" the host of this podcast asks. "It's simple," the guest, who's a real estate agent, responds. "Find a man serving in the special military operation, and when he's killed, you get eight million rubles," she laughs.

The podcasters were prosecuted and forced to apologize, a rare intervention by the Russian courts.

Back in St. Petersburg, Maria takes us to the block where her dad's old apartment has now been sold off, convinced he was also scammed out of his home.

CHANCE: Do you know who the new owner is? How long, how many years did your dad live here? Five years. This is it. It's open.

CHANCE (voice-over): Behind the broken door.

MARIA: What's your name?

CHANCE (voice-over): The new occupants insist it was a legitimate sale and that they never even met the seller.

It means the money and the widow, just like Maria's dad, are now long gone.

Matthew Chance, CNN, in St. Petersburg.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Tragedy on top of what is already a tragic war.

Matthew Chance, thank you so much.

And thank you all so much for joining us. I'm Kate Bolduan.

"AC360" starts now.