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Isa Soares Tonight
Top Trump Officials to Hold Epstein Strategy Dinner; Five Soldiers Hospitalized After Shooting at Fort Stewart; Texas Dems Faced Potential Bomb Threat in Illinois; Huge Wildfire in France; Sean Combs' Attorney Approached Trump Admin for a Pardon. Both the U.S. and Russia Say Make or Break Talks Today were Productive Over a Possible Ceasefire in Ukraine; Pressure Mounts on the Trump Administration Over the Jeffrey Epstein Scandal; Deadly Unprecedented Wildfire Rages in Southwestern France. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired August 06, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
OMAR JIMENEZ, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: Welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Omar Jimenez in for Isa Soares. Tonight, both the United States and Russia
say make or break talks today were productive over a possible ceasefire in Ukraine. We're going to be live in Moscow with the latest. Then pressure
mounts on the Trump administration over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
We'll explain why Vice President J.D. Vance is holding a strategy dinner tonight. Plus, a huge wildfire in France is now bigger than the size of
Paris and it keeps on growing. That, and much more coming up. But we're going to start with Russia. U.S. President Donald Trump says great progress
was made during a three-hour meeting between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Last hour, President Trump posted that the talks were, quote, "highly productive". The President then added that he updated European allies, and
everyone agrees this war must come to a close. Russia's state media, describing the discussions as, quote, "constructive and useful", end quote.
This all comes as the clock ticks down on Friday's deadline from the White House for Russia to begin negotiating peace with Kyiv or face punishing new
sanctions. That deadline was set by President Trump, who is mounting frustration with Moscow has been pretty hard to miss over the last few
months. President Trump's former National Security adviser says Russia will likely do what it can to continue its military campaign in Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOLTON, FORMER U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think the question is whether the Kremlin came up with something, some kind of proposal that
would mollify Trump and avoid getting into a confrontation over sanctions. The fact is, Putin thinks that he's winning. He thinks he's making headway
and he's inclined to continue doing that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: In a moment, we're going to go to the United States' State Department, but first, let's get to CNN's Fred Pleitgen who's in Moscow for
us. So, Fred, do we have a sense that the talks described as constructive today could lead to any further goals of potential peace talks with Kyiv?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's very difficult to say. It certainly seems as though President Trump is
making that indication. It was interesting to see his post there on Truth Social where, Isa, that great progress was made, and that also all sides
want the fighting to end, and that that's something that he and others would be working towards in the coming days and weeks.
President Trump, of course, also saying that he briefed European allies, and we also know that he's had a call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of
Ukraine as well. So, certainly, President Trump appears to be thinking that some headway was made. It's unclear, however, what exactly was said in
those talks and what exactly the results are going to be.
And also, Omar, what concessions the Russians might be willing to make. It was interesting to hear a senior Kremlin aide, Yuri Ushakov, who was in
that meeting between Vladimir Putin and the President's envoy, Steve Witkoff. He came out afterwards and he did say that the meeting was useful
and constructive.
He also said that signals were received by the Russians from the Trump administration, and that the Russians had sent signals of their own as far
as the conflict in Ukraine is concerned. And so, we're going to wait to see whether or not that means that the Russians might be willing to make
concessions in certain areas, or whether or not talks for a possible ceasefire could be jumpstarted.
Of course, we have had a certain disconnect ever since President Trump has come into office and said he wants the war in Ukraine to end as fast as
possible, where the Ukrainians and the U.S. are saying they want a ceasefire as fast as possible for 30 days, whereas the Russians are saying
they want a larger peace deal to be put in place, and they want negotiations for that.
But of course, while those negotiations are going on, the fighting is continuing in Ukraine. So, whether or not any headway was made there, is
something that we'll probably see maybe later in the day, today, maybe tomorrow when both sides give sort of wider readouts of what exactly was
talked about in that meeting that lasted almost three hours.
It certainly seemed as though there was a lot to talk about. But there's one other point of emphasis that I think is very important, because the
Trump administration, of course, keeps talking about Ukraine and saying that they want to achieve a ceasefire there. But the Russians, for them, it
seems as though the talks with the Trump administration are about more than that, because that senior Kremlin aide also said that jumpstarting new
relations or restart of relations between Russia and the United States was also something that was discussed.
[14:05:00]
That, of course, very much in the interest of the Russians, who certainly want a wider cooperation with the U.S., including sanctions relief. But of
course, possible also agreements with the U.S. in the economic sector as well. Omar.
JIMENEZ: All right, we will see. Fred Pleitgen in Moscow. I want to bring in CNN's Kylie Atwood who is in Washington for us as well. So, we were
listing to Fred, it seems that at the very least that points were made as far as potentially being constructive here in regards to how this meeting
went. But when you talk about what the United States is threatening, sort of moving forward in regards to sanctions, do we have any sense as to
whether those plans have slowed in any way or the magnitude of what we are expecting to come?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It's a great question, and at this point it appears that those plans remain in place. In essence, this
meeting that the Russians requested with Steve Witkoff, President Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, this meeting wasn't able to actually
put anything on the table from the Russian side that would bring a swift end to this conflict.
So, while the Trump administration, President Trump himself, is saying that this was a highly productive meeting there, simultaneously, according to a
White House official, going to be moving forward with these sanctions, these secondary sanctions on those who import Russian oil coming later this
week.
And simultaneously, just hours after the meeting occurred, the White House also put out an executive order saying that there would be additional
tariffs on India as a result of their imports of Russian oil. So, you have a dynamic here where there are multiple levers that the administration is
looking to use to clearly pressure Russia to try and actually end this conflict.
Those are tools in their toolkit that the Trump administration was not willing to use, or really even discuss for the first few months of their
administration. So, this is a very different strategy from the Trump administration, but what will be interesting and very important to watch
here, Omar, is when the rubber hits the road.
The Trump administration, a White House official saying that those secondary sanctions are going to go into effect on Friday. We'll have to
watch and see if they actually do. And those tariffs on India, as a result of India importing Russian oil, are set to go into effect in 21 days from
now. So, that isn't immediate. It is an intention of the Trump administration to do it with this executive order.
But we have to watch and see what actually happens, also what Europeans are saying about this, if they believe that there was any actual offers from
Russia that could potentially lead to an end to this conflict, which they have been trying to do for years now.
JIMENEZ: And that dynamic of secondary sanctions or tariffs has been a threshold we've been watching to see breach for a while. We will see if it
-- if these threats actually bear out. Kylie Atwood, appreciate it. I want to keep this conversation going with Steven Pifer; a former U.S. Ambassador
to Ukraine, he's an affiliate of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, and wrote an article this week titled
"Trump's New Deadline for Moscow: Does He Mean It This Time?"
Which I think is the right place to start this discussion? We've seen various threats from President Trump of sanctions, for example, within the
context of ending the war in Ukraine. But do you think this moment is different for the U.S. President, as opposed to what it was at this time
last month, or potentially even the month before?
STEVEN PIFER, CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY & COOPERATION, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: Well, that really is the question. In April and May, I think
Mr. Trump three times set deadlines for Russia to do something, Russia did nothing. And then there was no punitive step against Russia taken by Mr.
Trump.
So, we'll see what happens on Friday. Now, he's talked about great progress. We don't yet know what Mr. Witkoff is bringing back from Moscow.
But I would note that up until today, all the signals from the Kremlin were that one Russian war aims remained unchanged, and two, that Russia fully
intends to continue to prosecute this war.
So, it will be interesting to see whether what Mr. Witkoff brings back, does that really justify not moving forward with a fairly significant set
of sanctions on Friday?
JIMENEZ: Yes, I mean, you wrote in your article that President Trump does still have significant potential leverage should he choose to use it here.
What do you mean by that? What options do you think are still on the table right now?
PIFER: Yes, when you talk about secretary -- secondary sanctions, he's talking about secondary sanctions on India, but not on China. And China by
far is Russia's largest trading partner, and imports much more energy from Russia than India does. But those are economic sanctions which can have an
impact.
[14:10:00]
But I think a more important impact on Moscow would be if Mr. Trump were to do things like ask Congress for more money so that we would be not just
selling weapons to Ukraine, but actually providing the assistance and providing weapons to Ukraine, or perhaps in conjunction with that, working
with the Europeans to go ahead and seize the $300 billion in Russian frozen central bank assets, and put that money into a fund that Ukraine could use
both for reconstruction and to buy weapons.
Those kinds of steps could confront Putin with the probability that Ukraine can fund its defense for years to come, and then Putin has to ask himself,
does he really want to continue to absorb the kind of casualties? Bear in mind that Russia's lost more than a million soldiers now, killed and
wounded in action, I think that might have a bigger impact than more economic sanctions.
JIMENEZ: And on the economic front, though, you know, as we talk about this threshold of secondary tariffs and sanctions on India, because of the
amount of oil and gas they import from Russia, it was around 36 percent of their oil and gas was coming from Russia, according to at least one data
firm here.
But the threatened rate of 25 percent tariffs on top of the previously announced 25 percent tariffs set to go into effect Thursday, would bring
the total tariff rate to 50 percent total with India. You know, you sort of start to go down this path where you could create some longstanding damage
to what has been a longstanding trading relationship here.
Do you think this is a smart path to go down and furtherance of potentially weakening Russia, but with a pitfall of also weakening relationship with a
consistent trade partner?
PIFER: Yes, I mean, that's where I think you have the conflict of two different objectives. I mean, I do agree that if you could find a way to
lower the revenues that Russia receives from its oil exports, that would be a good thing. But I'm not sure that secondary sanctions like this are the
best way to do it, as opposed to what the United States and the European Union have been talking about now for a couple of years where they have set
a price cap, saying that if you want to use western-flagged tankers or have western insurance for shipping oil, you can be moving oil that the Russians
are selling only at $60 per barrel.
That keeps the Russian oil on global markets, so, it keeps the global price down, but it reduces the amount of money that the Kremlin gets for that.
And then you do that, and then sanction these shadow fleet tankers that Russia is using so that countries will refuse to use them. That's how you
can put pressure on Russia.
And I think that may be a more effective way than some of these secondary sanctions, which then will conflict with our goals dealing with third
countries.
JIMENEZ: Yes, and you know, you mentioned China earlier, also imports a lot of energy from Russia. The U.S. already waging their own tariff or
truce threats back-and forth, cycling between those three stages at various points. But I wonder how you see the dynamic with China differing from the
dynamic with India in regards to, again, whether it's secondary sanctions or another remedy that the United States chooses to move forward on.
PIFER: Well, I think the challenge with China is that China has some counter leverage vis-a-vis the United States, and that at this point in
time, unfortunately, we still remain overly dependent on China for things like rare-earth minerals that are important to high tech products in the
United States. And that may be one reason why the Trump administration and the White House are talking about secondary sanctions against India.
But thus far, they've not talked about those kinds of sanctions against China, even though China imports far more energy from Russia than India
does. And China is by far Russia's largest trading partner.
JIMENEZ: Yes, and just looking at some of the numbers from last year, share of U.S. imports, China made up closer to 15 percent of those imports.
So, clearly, making up a large portion of what the U.S. is bringing in so far. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Steven Pifer, I've got to leave it
there. Thank you for being here, really appreciate it.
PIFER: Thank you.
JIMENEZ: All right, meanwhile, shifting to the Middle East, Gaza's Health Ministry calls it the Hiroshima of our time. But the worst of the war may
still be to come as Israel considers a full military conquest. Now, take a look at these new aerial pictures showing the extent of the devastation
some communities flattened by Israeli attacks.
You can see some of it here, the Health Ministry says 138 people have been killed in the past 24 hours, that is the highest death toll in weeks. And
this is the aftermath of a strike in Gaza city. This from the ground much closer. The U.N. says -- reports that Israel could pursue a full takeover
of Gaza are, quote, "deeply alarming".
Now, Israel's security cabinet is set to vote Thursday on expanding operations against Hamas, as hostage families are organizing what they call
an emergency rally today, they're urging the government to seek a deal instead to secure their loved ones release.
[14:15:00]
Sources say Israel's military chief has warned against a full takeover of Gaza. Opposition leader Yair Lapid is also speaking out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YAIR LAPID, ISRAELI OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): I told Netanyahu, the idea of occupying Gaza is a very bad one. You don't embark
on such an operation unless the majority of the people are behind you. The people of Israel are not interested in this war. We will pay too heavy a
price for it. Occupying Gaza is a bad idea operationally, it is a bad idea morally, it is a bad idea economically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Israel's biggest backer, though, the United States is expressing no concern about a possible conquest of Gaza. For now, here's what U.S.
President Donald Trump told reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are there now trying to get people fed. That's what I'm focused on as far as the rest of it. I
really -- I really can't say. That's going to be pretty much up to Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: And we have seen U.S. officials and lawmakers in the region showing solidarity with Israel. House Speaker Mike Johnson, for one,
visited a West Bank settlement earlier this week, saying the occupied Palestinian territory belongs to the Jewish people. U.S. Ambassador to
Israel, Mike Huckabee accompanied the delegation as well, so did his daughter, President Trump's former Press Secretary and current Governor of
the state of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
There she is in the pink. She sparked controversy by meeting with far-right Israeli Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who's been banned by seven countries for
extremist anti-Palestinian views. A lot of dynamics to watch here. I want to get more from senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak. So, Kevin,
obviously, we heard some of the President there in that soundbite that we played -- but do we have a sense of why we are seeing more U.S. officials
on the ground in Israel as of late?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, you know, I think at least, when it comes to Mike Johnson; the Republican House Speaker, he was
there not as an official capacity, sort of on a congressional delegation that you ordinarily see go to some of these countries. It was a different
type of trip, and that could be part of the reason why he visited the West Bank and sort of said some of those eyebrow-raising things.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders was there on a trade mission, but obviously, her presence was notable because her father is serving as the Ambassador to
Israel at a moment when, you know, the U.S. is really kind of giving this full embrace to Netanyahu and to his plans in Gaza. You know, the word from
Israeli officials when this idea of, quote, "full conquest" of the Strip came up, had suggested that they were fully aligned with the Americans on
this, that the President had essentially given the green light.
You know, I think his comments yesterday actually stopped somewhat short of that. He seemed unaware of this plan altogether, and said that it would be
up to Israel to carry out that operation. And I think the President very intentionally putting some distance between himself and an idea that I
think will raise a lot of questions about what the future of this trip is.
What is clear is that the President is frustrated that his attempts to end this war have so far bore no fruit. You know, it was only about a month ago
that the President was optimistic that a ceasefire for hostage deal could be in the offing very quickly. But I think that those -- that optimism
faded after a negative response from Hamas.
And now what you hear officials talking about is a more comprehensive deal. Steve Witkoff; the President's foreign envoy, who was in the region last
week, told hostage families while he was there that the U.S. would now pursue something of what he called an all-for-nothing plan. You know, the
previous plan had been this sort of phased release of hostages for a 60-day ceasefire.
Now, the President and Witkoff no longer seem to believe that, that will be effective. Now, what they're pursuing is a more comprehensive plan that
would see all of the hostages come out and the fighting end. But how they reach that kind of agreement isn't clear after they were unsuccessful in
getting this phased plan sort of off the ground.
And so, you do hear an enormous amount of frustration from the President. The other thing that he seems very intent on doing is trying somehow to
alleviate the humanitarian crisis that is underway there. You heard the President saying that the U.S. is trying to get more food in with the help
of Israel, and potentially with the help of some of the Arab nations to try and distribute it on the ground.
Again, not precisely clear what exactly the plan will be on that front. You know, the U.S. has thrown its support behind the Gaza Humanitarian
Foundation, which is the private organization that has been trying to distribute aid. Those aid distribution sites have been the scene of an
enormous amount of chaos and death, and it's not clear that it's done anything to alleviate the starvation crisis that's underway in Gaza.
[14:20:00]
But clearly, the President has been affected by some of the images, by some of the video on the ground there. He has -- behind the scenes, we're told,
said that he wants to do more to try and help in particular, the women and children who are suffering so deeply there. But it is not an all-clear from
what he is saying or what we've been hearing behind the scenes, that there is a real concrete plan to go about doing that.
JIMENEZ: Kevin Liptak at the White House, appreciate it as always. Still to come tonight, back to the drawing board. We're going to have the latest
on the Epstein saga as the U.S. Vice President prepares to host a high profile strategy session. We'll talk more about it coming up. And we're
going to take you to a U.S. Army base where a gunman has shot multiple soldiers. The latest details when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: At this hour, 80 years ago today, Japan was reeling from the world's first nuclear attack. Tens of thousands were dead, and tens of
thousands were dying after the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima in World War II.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BELL RINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Dignitaries and survivors commemorated the anniversary in Hiroshima earlier after that first bombing on August 6th, 1945, a second
atomic weapon destroyed Nagasaki three days later. Peace activists observed a minute of silence at 8:15 a.m. local time, marking the exact moment the
bomb, code-named Little Boy, was dropped on Hiroshima.
This building, the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall was remarkably the only remaining structure. It was later renamed the Hiroshima
Peace Memorial. It commemorates those who lost their lives that day and end in the years that followed from radioactive poisoning.
Eight decades on, survivors of the blast are warning the world is edging closer to nuclear weapons being used again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hibakusha know more than anyone else that if nuclear weapons are used for the third time, there will no longer be anyone left
alive to happily observe the effect and the consequences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Chilling warning. CNN's Hanako Montgomery is in Japan and has this report.
[14:25:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It's a very somber day, not just for Japan, but for the entire world. Hiroshima is one of only two
cities to have ever been hit by an atomic bomb during war-time, and that singular nuclear weapon killed tens of thousands of people, many of them
civilians.
The bomb's repercussions are still felt to this very day and forever restructured our global politics. Now, earlier on Wednesday, Japan
commemorated this 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima with a peace ceremony held in the city. We heard from local politicians, from
atomic bomb survivors, and also from the Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Here's part of Ishiba's speech.
SHIGERU ISHIBA, PRIME MINISTER, JAPAN (through translator): The current security environment is becoming increasingly severe. However, it is
precisely because of this that we must make every effort to realize a world without nuclear war, and ultimately a world without nuclear weapons.
MONTGOMERY: Now, his warnings come at a tense time globally. Just this year, we've seen tensions rise between Israel and Iran, between India and
Pakistan. Now, some experts fear that these conflicts could escalate to nuclear confrontation, fortunately, that did not occur. But this 80th
anniversary serves as a very stark reminder of what's at stake here.
Should nuclear weapons ever be used again? The total devastation, the heartbreak, the loss of countless lives. Now, for survivors of the atomic
bomb, this anniversary carries even more weight. Many of them have said that because of their old age, this could be the last significant
anniversary that they commemorate.
But they hope that their message of peace, of an end to all wars, continues to be carried on through younger generations. Hanako Montgomery, CNN,
Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: Still to come tonight, top Trump officials are gathering to talk strategy over the Jeffrey Epstein files. We're going to have details ahead
on tonight's dinner. And who gets a seat at the table? And lawmakers on the run. What Republicans in Texas are doing to force Democrats to come back so
a redistricting vote can move forward? All that and more coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
JIMENEZ: Welcome back, everyone. Some of the stories we're continuing to follow the Trump administration facing fresh backlash to its handling of
the Jeffrey Epstein case. Sources Tell CNN Vice President J. D. Vance is set to host top officials at his residence tonight. One major topic likely
to be addressed whether to publish an audio recording and transcript of the deputy attorney general's recent meeting with Epstein's accomplice,
Ghislaine Maxwell. Now, the family of Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year, wants to know why survivors of the late sex offender
were not invited to the strategy dinner.
Kristen Holmes joins us now live from Washington. So, Kristen, what more do we know about this planned dinner and has there been any movement on
potentially inviting some of the survivor's families to this?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Omar, the White House is pushing back on the notion that this is a strategy session. They
are saying that the people who are there, they have been involved in the response and that it's likely to be a topic of conversation. They say very
specifically that this is not meant to be a meeting just about Jeffrey Epstein. So, the likelihood of bringing in survivors or anyone related to
the case outside of these top administration officials seems very unlikely.
But the thing to point out here is really that this is a chance for these administration officials to realign. And the last time that we were
reporting directly about these sit downs between Kash Patel, the head of the FBI, Pam Bondi, the attorney general, and the deputy attorney general,
Todd Blanche, all of whom are supposed to be at this dinner, if it happens tonight, we were talking about a giant confrontation they had at the White
House where Susie Wiles was present, in which essentially Patel and Bongino were accused of leaking negative stories about Bondi, which they denied.
Bongino then stormed out of the meeting.
So, this would be an opportunity for at least two of them, Patel and Bondi, to realign, to have a meeting in which they broke bread in an informal
setting in a way for them to kind of restructure that relationship. Patel himself has been out of the country for the best better part of three
weeks. So, this would be kind of the right time, I'm told by these White House officials, to have a reset.
Now, all that being said, likely to come up is the response to Epstein, because that is what broke down the relationship between these two leaders
in the first place. And also, because of what you just mentioned, because of our reporting yesterday, the fact that there is this audio, that there
is this transcript that White House officials are trying to determine and some of them would like to release some of that transcript of the meeting
between the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, and Ghislaine Maxwell.
So, that will, for sure, be something that is coming up because we know right now the White House is having those conversations. The one question
that we still haven't gotten to the bottom of is whether or not the White House and the Department of Justice is aligned in this idea of releasing
transcripts and potentially releasing that audio.
We've heard from some legal experts who say could be potentially very risky to release some of this information, but from these White House officials,
they are trying to prove some sort of transparency here after they've spent the better part of the last month on the defensive about the Epstein case
and the information surrounding the investigation.
JIMENEZ: And so -- all right. We have this dinner. There are clearly considerations about whether to release portions or a little or a lot of
transcript or audio. Do we have a sense as to how maybe surprised the White House has been that Epstein has now been a part of their likely daily
communication strategy and response for what has now been weeks? I mean, President Trump clearly frustrated with it at points.
HOLMES: Yes, Omar, I would say that now it's becoming less surprising to them, given the fact that this is just an everyday onslaught. I mean, when
it was happening at the beginning, they couldn't understand why the story was going away, particularly President Trump who kept asking, why won't
people move on? We put out this memo, it's time to move on. I've told them to move on. And yet, you saw some of his ardent supporters lashing out
against him, against the administration saying they should have handled this differently.
Now, you're seeing the White House try to take control of the narrative, try to take control of the optics. They want to be on the offensive here.
President Trump, I mean, what you saw yesterday with the House Oversight Committee issuing these subpoenas to mostly Democrats. Yes, there were some
Republicans, but you would notice no allies of President Trump when it came to the Republicans that were subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee.
[14:35:00]
The White House was very well aware of those moves that the Oversight Committee was going to take regarding Epstein. They are trying to get ahead
of this, and that's really a page from the Trump playbook, which is try to deflect, take the pressure off of President Trump, put it on someone else.
You saw the Clintons were in there as some of the people being subpoenaed.
But the thing to keep in mind. So, there's only one person and one party in power right now, and that is President Trump. So, when you talk to the
people who surround him, that have supported him, but have also called for transparency, they are not going to let up on the president or the
administration anytime soon when it comes to the Epstein case, when it comes to the information surrounding the investigation, because they
believe, ultimately, it's in his hands.
JIMENEZ: Kristen Holmes, appreciate the reporting as always. We are also learning new details about the shooting at Fort Stewart in the State of
Georgia. Officials saying moments ago that the suspected shooter is a male sergeant and at least five U.S. soldiers have been taken to a nearby
hospital.
Now, the Army base was put on lockdown as police search for the shooter who has now been taken into custody. The Fort Stewart base is home to the U.S.
Army's Third Infantry Division, and thousands of people live there.
I want to bring in CNN's Isabel Rosales who's with us. As I understand, we're expecting a press conference next hour, which we will monitor, but
for now, what more can you tell us about these soldiers and about what may have happened here?
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. So, we're making those phone calls and of course, keeping our eyes on this 3:30 press conference where
we hope to hear more about the extent of the injuries for these five soldiers that we know have been shot. But what is the urgency, the
seriousness, the degree of seriousness of their injuries here, we hope to find that out here shortly in about an hour.
But the brand-new information coming in from our colleague, John Miller, who has a law enforcement source confirming to CNN that the suspected
shooter is an army sergeant. He is a male, he is alive, he is in custody. This person also coming from the Jacksonville area of Florida and he has
had previous, prior run-ins with law enforcement. Now, it's unclear whether this is a person who's a soldier at Fort Stewart.
But let me run you through the timeline of events here what we do know. We know that emergency medical personnel were dispatched to a call of a
suspected shooting at the Second Armor Brigade Combat Team complex. That happened shortly before 11:00 a.m. this morning.
The installation was on lockdown just eight minutes later. And the shooter, who again is a soldier, was apprehended by 11:35 a.m. That would've been 40
minutes since the shooting started. All of this to say that there is no active threat to the community.
Now, this area, this Fort Stewart, this army base is large, Omar, we're talking about over 280,000 acres, just southwest, as you can see in this
map of Savannah. This is an area base that houses more than 10,000 soldiers, army civilians, family members, military retirees, and is also an
enormous employer to more than 19,000 employees there who are on base.
Let me go back to the Second Armored Brigade Combat team. This is where the shooting originated from. Let me give you a little bit of context as to
what this unit is about. This is part of the Third Infantry Division, which calls Fort Stewart home. They would be training in this area with heavy
armored vehicle, things like tanks, mechanized infantry units. This area where the shooting originated from is also known as the Spartan Brigade.
So, clearly, Omar, we have a ton of questions here, the connection of this suspected shooter to this base. Did he know these people? How targeted was
this? And of course, the condition two of those five soldiers who have been shot.
JIMENEZ: Of course, thankfully, no more threat to the community right now. But a lot of questions that need answering in this press conference. Again,
we expect to happen in about the next hour. Isabel Rosales, appreciate the reporting.
ROSALES: Thank you.
JIMENEZ: Meanwhile, Texas House Democrats remain defiant despite threatened fines, arrest warrants, and President Trump's warning the FBI,
quote, "may have to help in a roundup." Now, dozens of lawmakers fled the state to prevent a quorum and in turn, block a vote on redistricting. It's
an effort to stop Republicans from redrawing congressional maps, which would eliminate, if it goes through as proposed, it would eliminate some
Democratic seats. Now, the state's attorney said he will ask Texas courts on Friday to remove the wayward politicians if they don't return to the
state capitol.
Now, on Wednesday, Illinois police, Illinois, the state where many of these lawmakers fled to, said they had to evacuate a hotel where some Texas
Democrats were camped out. Steve Contorno has more.
[14:40:00]
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Texas State Democratic lawmakers who are in Illinois trying to block the redistricting push by Republicans back
in their home state were forced to evacuate their hotel on Wednesday morning due to a bomb threat. Local and state police as well as the FBI
confirmed that there was a threat to the hotel this morning, although the scene has been cleared and they are continuing to investigate what
transpired.
Several of the Democrats putting out that this statement, quote, "This morning, a threat was made against the safety of the members of the Texas
House Democratic Caucus. We are safe, we are secure, and we are undeterred. We are grateful for Governor Pritzker, local and state law enforcement for
their quick action to ensure our safety."
Now, source is telling me that these individuals were alerted by the hotel telecom system around 7:18 a.m. that there was a threat on the building and
they quickly scrambled to evacuate. Now, as they face threats here in Illinois, they also face threats back home. They've been accruing fines
this time while they've been out of the state. It's up to $1,500 now.
And Texas Governor Greg Abbott upping the ante in Texas by threatening to go after some of these state lawmakers and actually remove them from
office. And he filed a lawsuit on Tuesday nights against their Democratic leader, Gene Wu, trying to get him removed from office. Now, Wu saying that
he remains undeterred. All these Democrats say that they are in this fight for the long haul. The legislative session in Texas is scheduled to end on
August 19th, and they're committed to staying until at least then. It's unclear though what happens after that. Greg Abbott could call them back
into a legislative session once more.
Steve Contorno, CNN, St. Charles, Illinois.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: All right. Thank you, Steve. Still to come tonight, a wildfire bigger than Paris. We will have a live report from France, some of the
images here, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: A huge wildfire in France is growing in size and has killed one woman. The fire is said to be larger than the size of Paris at more than
16,000 hectares. Some of the images here. That's almost 40,000 acres, by the way.
[14:45:00]
The blaze broke out Tuesday afternoon in the southern part of the country. Low humidity, high temperatures, and wind are continuing to help the fire
spread. I want to bring in from Paris CNN's Melissa Bell. So, Melissa, do we have a sense on whether authorities have a handle on this fire? What is
the latest that you're hearing right now?
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Omar, no, they don't. For now, the fire continues to rage, we understand uncontrollably.
They've been trying to bring it under control for much of the day using (INAUDIBLE) trying to bring water. And when you look at the images of it,
it's really remarkable how high the flames still are.
Really remarkable in many different respects this particular wildfire, Omar, by its speed, by the suddenness with which it engulfed such a huge
proportion of this particular region of Southern France just above the border with Spain. It started on Tuesday afternoon and had burnt through
some 16,000 hectares within 24 hours, really spreading remarkably quickly.
Now, what we see is very high winds continuing to push those flames forward. And we understand from local authorities that the operations
certainly that involve those planes trying to bring water overnight, which will have to be paused will have to wait till the morning.
In the meantime, the weather conditions are not getting any better. They say the winds are going to remain strong and possibly worsen into tomorrow.
So, it looks like this fire, for now, continues to rage beyond their control. We saw the French prime minister and French interior minister,
excuse me, make their way to the region earlier, but really watching as they could as local authorities try to bring it under control for now.
This fire, which is very clearly, they say, the result of global warming in these very parch conditions, we've seen in so many parts of Southern Europe
that have worsened over the course of the summer. This the biggest fire they say in many decades. And for now, Omar, nowhere near under any kind of
control.
JIMENEZ: Yes, and looking for a potential reprieve and weather conditions doesn't sound like it's going to come in the immediate future right now.
Melissa, do we have a sense on the effect on people in the area? Are there major population centers that are being threatened, evacuation warnings
going out? What is your sense on that front?
BELL: There have been many thousands evacuated already. Tragically one woman has lost her life, but this, as we understand, from local
authorities, a woman who'd refused to obey that evacuation order. This is a part of France that is heavily involved with agriculture winemaking, but
also tourism. It's a part of France where a lot of people will be on holiday this summer. Campgrounds have been evacuated as well.
And we've been hearing over the course of the day some of these terrible stories of people whose entire crops have been ravaged who've lost their
homes, who've lost their businesses. And of course, that is only beginning to be counted as authorities concentrate on trying to limit this fire as
much as they can.
But, you know, we've had big fires like this in France a couple of years ago. They were nowhere near. As fast, the flames nowhere near as high and
they were brought under control within a couple of weeks in each cases -- in each case. But this one, everyone seems to suggest is really beyond
anything like what we've seen before.
As I say, in its speed, in the height of the flames, in the pace at which it continues to engulf vast proportions, vast parts of that southern part
of France, Omar.
JIMENEZ: Of course, Melissa Bell, appreciate the reporting. Meanwhile, in the United States, the Gifford Fire in Southern California has become that
state's largest wildfire this year, burning more than 83,000 acres in just a few days. That's about 34,000 hectares.
Now, the fire continues to spread across Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties where evacuation orders remain in place. Hundreds of homes are at
risk with nearly 2,000 firefighters on the ground and fire crews as we typically see when these flames spread are contending with hot, dry, and
windy weather as forecasters warn of intensifying fire conditions later this week. So far only 9 percent contained. So, a dynamic to watch there.
Meanwhile, a sudden flood triggered by torrential rain swept through a Himalayan village in Northern India, killing at least four and leaving more
than 50 people missing. We want to show you some of the footage. Look at this mudslide ripping through this city here -- or this flooding, I should
say, showing the flood waters tearing through buildings, destroying a number of hotels, restaurants, and homes. You see how quickly that water
moves. Rescue teams are working through the debris, searching for survivors, but continuing bad weather conditions are complicating efforts.
As see more of the images there.
Meanwhile, a short but spectacular eruption at Kilauea today on Hawaii's big island with lava mountain spraying nearly 370 meters or 1,200 feet into
the air. Kilauea means spewing in Hawaiian, fitting for one of the most active volcanoes on earth.
[14:50:00]
This kind of short intense eruption that you're seeing now is a semi- regular occurrence for the volcano, and don't usually last more than a day. Visually stunning nonetheless.
All right. Still to come tonight, Sean Diddy Combs' attorney is speaking exclusively to CNN about the music mogul's recent sex trafficking trial.
She'll explain their strategy to try to keep him out of jail more coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: Welcome back, everyone. An attorney for Sean Diddy Combs confirms to CNN they have approached the Trump administration for a pardon. Now, the
music mogul was convicted on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution, currently facing 20 years in prison for that. But recently,
our Elizabeth Wagmeister spoke to his attorney about the trial.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: This verdict was, in no uncertain terms, a victory for the defense. Talk about that strategy
from day one to come out of the gate and say he is a domestic abuser, but that is not what he is on trial for here.
NICOLE WESTMORELAND, ATTORNEY FOR SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS: So, you know, the strategy was to just tell the truth. That's really what we decided, to just
tell the truth. We didn't need a creative story. We didn't need to overreach. We knew that telling the truth meant not guilty. We knew that he
had not sex trafficked anyone, and we knew that RICO was absurd. So, we figured, hey, we'll tell the truth and that will pay off. And I believe
that for the most part, that strategy worked.
WAGMEISTER: He is still facing around 70 civil allegations from men, from women, from people who allege that they were minors at the time, across
decades with horrific accusations of being drugged, of being sexually assaulted. Each of those cases does have to play through the courts
individually. So, I understand that he denies them, but those are still active cases.
WESTMORELAND: True. But let me say this to you. We are talking about the United States government. This is the federal government, all right? It
doesn't really get any stronger than that.
[14:55:00]
And so, they obviously fully investigated Mr. Combs and obviously threw the book at him, right? And so, if you think for a second, if the government
really thought that there were minors out there hanging in the balance, if the government really thought that there was drugs in the baby oil or
something of that nature, do you -- you think the government just wouldn't have brought that up in a full-fledged criminal trial? Absolutely not.
Right. So, that's not even logical.
And so, if the government had -- if there was any real evidence of those allegations, we would've heard all about it in the criminal trial.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: And thank you to Elizabeth Wagmeister for bringing us that interview. Now, before we go tonight, we are marking a moment on Broadway.
The Tony Award-winning show, "Hamilton," is celebrating its 10th anniversary on the great white way with two special performances today. The
musical tells the story, if you haven't heard, of Alexander Hamilton, one of the great founding fathers of the United States. Actor Thayne Jasperson
will be on stage. He's the only remaining original cast member left on the show. So, if you haven't seen it to this point, you still have a chance.
Thanks for watching tonight. Stay with CNN. "What We Know with Max Foster" up next.
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[15:00:00]
END
