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Isa Soares Tonight
Tensions High in Venezuela Amid U.S. Military Buildup; House to Vote Next Week on Forcing Release of Epstein Files; White House Says Epstein Emails "Prove Absolutely Nothing"; Comey and James Seek to Have Charges Dismissed; Israeli Settlers Torch West Bank MosqueTrump-Picked Prosecutor Under Fire; Fresh Pressure on President Trump to Order the Release of Full Epstein Files; U.S. Stations Aircraft Carrier Near Venezuela; Comey, Letitia James Challenge the Legitimacy of Trump-Appointed Prosecutor. Aired 2:00-3p ET
Aired November 13, 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]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, fresh pressure on President Trump to
order the release of the full Epstein files. I'll speak to a Republican strategist about how the recent revelations are playing with Trump's base.
Then with the U.S.' largest warship now stationed in the waters off Latin America, I ask a former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela what's driving
Washington's show of force.
Plus, a critical hearing in the cases against two of Donald Trump's most fervent political adversaries. We'll break down what's next for former FBI
director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. But first, I want to show you these images, you can see -- to us -- coming to
us live from the White House.
President Trump, any moment will be signing an executive order supporting foster care in the United States alongside, I believe, the first lady. Of
course, we are going to keep a very close eye on that event throughout the hour, and any really updates, whatever we hear from the President, we will
bring that to your attention.
We'll bring it -- all the latest lines. But just to let you know, we are monitoring the President, any updates, we'll bring them to you. Well, we do
want to start and stay in Washington for the time being, because U.S. President Donald Trump may have been planning on taking a victory lap
today.
Instead, he's facing growing outcry to release the Epstein files. In a truly split-screen moment on Wednesday, the President was applauded as he
signed a funding bill to finally reopen the government. You can see there, but that was partly overshadowed by the release of thousands of new e-mails
from Epstein's estate that once again raises some serious questions about the President's ties with the late convicted sex offender and what he may
have known about Epstein's crimes.
The U.S. House is expected to vote next week on whether to order the release of the files, and the President is turning up the heat on
Republicans to stop the vote. That would do just that. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert was the only lawmaker called to a highly unusual meeting in the
Situation Room of the White House after the e-mails were released.
The Situation Room, we should note, is a secure area normally reserved for crisis management. Here's what Boebert said afterwards. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LAUREN BOEBERT (R-CO): The President never asked me to take my name off of the discharge petition. The President has not forced me to do
anything. The President has not put pressure on me. I was not asked by the President to remove my name.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, the President calls the Epstein scandal a hoax, and he has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Epstein's survivors say the release of
the files is long overdue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HALEY ROBSON, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Unfortunately, with the way the investigation has gone, it's inevitable and it's obvious they're hiding
something. But everything in the dark does come to light. The cat is out of the bag, and the cat is not going back in the bag. So, I'm not going away,
the other survivors, my survivor sisters, they're not going away. And there are power in numbers, and we are not giving up until we get what we need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us from the White House. But first, I want to go to Arlette Saenz is on Capitol Hill. Arlette, just talk us
through -- just for our viewers right around the world, this vote potentially next week that could see the release of more of the Epstein
files. Where do the majority of Republicans stand on this? Are they facing political pressure? I know that, Boebert said she wasn't, but what are you
hearing from the others?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isa, Republican leaders in the House are bracing for mass defections from within the
Republican conference when this vote to compel the release of files relating to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation comes for a vote next week.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and the White House have really resisted trying to hold a vote on this measure. But Johnson's hand was forced after a
bipartisan group of lawmakers used an arcane procedural tool known as a discharge petition to force a vote on the House floor.
[14:05:00]
In order for that to happen, they needed 218 signatures from House members in order to have the discharge petition filed and to force that floor vote.
That effort had really stalled for weeks until yesterday when Arizona Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva was sworn into Congress, and she became the
218th vote. So, now what that was expected to do was trigger a seven-day long process, pushing a potential vote into early December.
But last night, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that it's basically a moot point now, and that he will instead fast-track that vote
and bring it up next week on the House floor. This all comes as Democrats have really tried to put a wedge between President Trump and his Republican
conference over the issue of the Epstein files.
There have been parts of President Trump's MAGA base that have pushed for greater transparency, wanted these files released, and that is part of the
reason that it's expected, a number of Republicans are expected to vote for this bill to force the release of these files. On that discharge petition,
there were four Republicans who signed it.
That was Congressman Thomas Massie who led the effort with Democrat Ro Khanna, there's also Nancy Mace, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert,
who you mentioned had that meeting at the White House to discuss the Epstein files. But one thing that Nancy, one of the leads on that discharge
petition has said is, he believes that there will be a cascade of Republicans who vote for this bill when it comes to the House floor.
He is trying to achieve a veto proof majority, 290 House members approving this bill. A big question, though, is what happens in the Senate, whether
Senate majority leader John Thune will bring this up for a vote, and whether there actually would be enough Republicans getting on board with
that. They would need 13 Republican senators on that side of the Capitol.
So, a lot of big questions about what would happen even if this does pass the House. But right now, Johnson was facing incredible pressure from even
within his own Republican conference. And they are expecting a number of Republicans to side with this vote to release the Epstein --
SOARES: Yes --
SAENZ: Files going against President Donald Trump.
SOARES: And Republican representative, you were saying there, Arlette -- Kevin, Thomas Massie of Kentucky said I've already had a couple of
Republicans tell my office privately that they're going to vote for it, and I think that could snowball. Kevin, to you then, given what we are hearing,
well, let's set out.
Look, I think it's important to point out to our viewers there is no evidence of wrongdoing by President Trump in the files we have seen so far.
He hasn't been accused of anything, but you know what Arlette has just set out and give us a sense of is, really this growing pressure we are seeing
on the President. So, what is the strategy if this as Republican Representative Thomas Massie is saying could snowball?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and I think it's probably a little generous to describe whatever is happening at the White
House right now is a strategy. I think what you're seeing is the President really kind of revert to his impulse to lash out when he feels under
pressure. He is kind of in a defensive crouch, calling this a con job, calling this a hoax.
You know, he uses those kinds of words all the time when he feels like Democrats are coming for him, and he has really entered this fight mode in
a way where he pushes back so hard that it sort of generates even more attention, perhaps, than it would have otherwise. And you saw that kind of
play out yesterday when the White House called in Lauren Boebert to the Situation Room, of all places, to have this talk with Pam Bondi and Kash
Patel.
You know, two of the top law enforcement officers in the entire country to discuss this matter. It really is kind of a heavy-handed approach. And so
far, it has had the effect of backfiring. Lauren Boebert did not take her name off the discharge petition, nor did Nancy Mace, who the President had
been trying to get in touch with as well.
And so, you know, I think it's an open question of how this proceeds going forward. The real reason that the White House has been so opposed to this
discharge position is because it will have the effect of forcing every single Republican on Capitol Hill to go on the record about whether they're
willing to release these documents.
Many of these people have told their constituents in campaigns that they would do everything they can to shed more light on this case, to try and
release as much information as possible. And this will actually force them to say yes or no. They're pitted against their loyalty to President Trump,
which is always, I think a difficult place for a Republican to be.
You know, Arlette was talking about how it's not clear whether this will have all of the votes in the Senate. Certainly, that's true. We don't know
whether it will pass. If it does, it will force President Trump himself to go on the record of saying, yes, I want all of these documents released or
no, I'm going to withhold some of them.
You know, the point that White House officials have been making, and I don't think this is unfair necessarily, which is that, if there was
something implicating President Trump in these files, you know, it would have been out by now.
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This has been a now decades long scandal and controversy, Democrats were in power for the last four years, if there was something in there that
implicated the President, they suggest that, that would have been out there already. But certainly at this point, there's no evidence that they're
having any success in sort of tamping down all of the furor.
SOARES: Indeed, Kevin and Arlette, thank you to you both. Well, the Epstein case has caused backlash for Mr. Trump, as both Kevin and Arlette
was saying there, even amongst his most loyal supporters. So, how is the President's base reacting to the latest release of these e-mails? Rina Shah
is a former senior congressional aide to two members of the U.S. House. She's also a principal and founder of Rilax Strategies. Rina, welcome to
the show. I will talk about the base in just a moment --
RINA SHAH, PRINCIPAL & FOUNDER, RILAX STRATEGIES: You're welcome --
SOARES: But I really want to pick up if you don't mind what we heard there from my colleagues in Washington. And that is the growing pressure that we
are seeing and the drama about the release of these Epstein e-mails. What is your sense, Rina first of all, where Republicans are or where the split
is, if there is a split on this, on backing this vote first of all.
SHAH: Well, first of all, we have to look at what the Epstein files really are. And they're not just a scandal. They're a litmus test at this point
for accountability in Washington D.C., and I believe that Republican voters, regardless of their stripes, know that. Republican candidates
campaigned on full transparency. But now, with the House vote just looming over the House next week, what we see is that party loyalty is clashing
with the public demand for truth.
So, like I said, that's something that doesn't change regardless of what type of Republican you are. But one thing we have to make clear here is
exactly how the Republican voters have been messaged to by the very man they support, President Trump, who for years called it an Epstein hoax. He
has doubled down on that this year.
He's called it a Democrat distraction from the government shutdown. He's claimed it's all political theater to bury their failures. And we even hear
the White House Press Secretary echoing that. But without this story, media would spotlight Republicans winning on reopening the government. That is
what she has tried to say, I don't think voters are buying it.
SOARES: Right, OK, this is interesting because as we know, as you rightly slated -- stated there, Rina, you know, releasing the files is what
President Trump and I remember this very clearly, campaigned on, right? Many within his base --
SHAH: Right --
SOARES: Wanted to see these -- this -- these e-mails released. So, do we have a sense -- we have any sense of polling where his base, whether they
care about the Epstein e-mails being released or have they moved away from that?
SHAH: Right now, I think the polling did move away, but will come right back --
SOARES: Yes --
SHAH: Because what we know is that this is going to front of mind, and it's being added to the list of failures of this administration. It's being
added to the list of betrayals to MAGA. So, the polling, wherever we look coast-to-coast, you do see more Republicans saying that they want
transparency, accountability and sunlight on what the federal government is doing.
So, that even goes back to the Biden administration's handling of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who sits in jail today. That is what the base has
always been concerned with. We've even heard that from Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee. He's talked about being really fed up, and he's done
with messing around here.
He's talked about people who have tried to fast-track the bill. He's talked about people saying, you know, those people have been blocked by
leadership. When you have such a right-wing figures as him coming out and betraying leadership and stepping out of line with the messaging given to
them, you see that there's something about to happen here.
That pressure has not just caused real tension between the White House and some of these people. We're seeing in some of the polls as well, like I
said, it's not purely on the handling of the Epstein files by Republicans, but we're talking about is, talk of release of more, whether it's from the
DOJ or anywhere else. I'm seeing polls that show over 80 percent of Republican voters wanting full release --
SOARES: Right --
SHAH: And some 36 percent even disapproving of Trump's handling. That's a really rare intraparty rift. I want to make sure people --
SOARES: Yes --
SHAH: Realize that those are some high numbers we don't typically see.
SOARES: So, Rina, given what you've just told me, then how -- I mean, Kevin was saying there's not really a strategy. How do you see this playing
out? Because the White House said -- well, in the last 24 hours, we heard it here that the e-mails prove absolutely nothing other than Trump did
nothing wrong. Yet, this whole Epstein saga continues to dog Trump.
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Doesn't matter how much he tries to shake it off, it comes back. So, this drip of bad news just keeps rearing its head. So, how do you see the House
vote? Do you think it will get to the Senate? And if the President then votes it down, doesn't that potentially go against him even next year for
midterms? How damaging could this be? Speak to the political ramifications here.
SHAH: That's a long-term play talking about it getting to the President's desk. But it is reality --
SOARES: You don't it will?
SHAH: Because right now, I do believe it will, because right now --
SOARES: Yes --
SHAH: Frustration is boiling over online and in the base. You've got Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who I very much agree with
about with -- on -- about this issue. She's blasting the cover up, it's horrendous. And I do believe that more Republican voters, as time goes on,
will see this as a cover up.
Marjorie Taylor Greene has also vowed to read the client list on the floor if needed. So, when you're talking about again, how Republican lawmakers
will match up with their constituents, they will start to also say, many of my voters are feeling betrayed, President Trump, because on day one, you
promised transparency on the trail.
Yet, here we are with leadership stalling. And it's going to be seen as a loyalty test as well. MAGA hardliners see it as an elite -- as a protection
of the elite, which I also agree with. There are moderates who view it as overdue justice, which I also agree with. But either way we splice this
thing, its victims, advocates, people like Maria Farmer, attorney, a victim, who call it decades of government neglect.
And that is what the Republican base wants to get to the heart of here. So, what they're all saying, and what I agree with as a Washington insider who
is a Republican, is that all the files must be released, absolutely, yes. Do it now, even if that means that Trump is planning a veto in the future,
it's got to look at this point like it's not a partisan gotcha game. It's a moral --
SOARES: Yes --
SHAH: Imperative. And with 20,000 pages having dropped this week, that show Epstein e-mailing Trump knowing about the girls and spending hours
with the victim, you know, claims that the White House is dismissing right now. I think withholding -- will fuel further suspicion and a full release
will protect victims by naming enablers and not just Epstein and Maxwell.
SOARES: Rina, really great to get you on the show and get your insight. Thank you very much indeed. Rina Shah there. And as Rina was talking, we're
showing you, we're monitoring, you're seeing there on your screen, President Trump speaking, of course, at the White House. He's preparing to
sign an executive order alongside the first lady, supporting foster care in the United States.
We are keeping a close eye and a close ear, any new lines we think are updates we get, we of course, will bring it to your attention. Continue to
stay for the moment in the U.S., because the U.S. government now shut down is finally over. One major question remains. When will SNAP enrollees
receive full benefits?
Earlier, the Trump administration withdrew its emergency request for the Supreme Court to block full food stamp payments. Nearly 42 million
Americans are enrolled in the SNAP program, which basically provides critical food as well as nutrition services. Depending on which state
someone lives in, the timing remains unclear for when they can expect to receive full benefits.
One SNAP recipient spoke with CNN this week about the challenges many people are still facing. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAJEE KINARD, SNAP RECIPIENT: It's been very difficult. The uncertainty can really put you in a mental anguish. I know I'm not going through this
by myself. It's unacceptable. Food should not be up for a bargain. Everyone should have the right to eat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, the U.S. government shutdown may be over, but that doesn't mean the travel chaos it's -- that has created is. Hundreds of flights have
been canceled nationwide today, and more than 1,000 others are delayed. Air traffic controllers, meanwhile, are starting to staff-up again, though
workers who haven't received a paycheck in weeks will still have to wait for back pay.
And still to come tonight, Venezuelans voice fear as well as skepticism as tensions between President Nicolas Maduro and the United States intensify.
We'll have a live report from Caracas, Venezuela, for you. And then later, high stakes hearing that could determine the fate of two criminal cases
involving adversaries of U.S. President Donald Trump. Both those stories after a very short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. Venezuelans are voicing fear as well as skepticism as tensions between President Nicolas Maduro and the U.S.
intensify. America's largest and most advanced aircraft carrier is now operating near Latin America. While Venezuela is pushing for a massive
mobilization of military forces, the arrival of the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group we told you about, marks the largest U.S. military presence in
the region since the invasion of Panama back in 1989.
The Ford carries a slew of military assets, including electronic jamming aircraft, control planes, cargo and passenger planes, as well as
helicopters, and it carries a crew of almost 4,600 people, including its air wing. The U.S. claims this show of strength is to fight alleged drug
trafficking.
But President Maduro believes the Trump administration is attempting to topple him. Stefano Pozzebon is at a pro-Maduro rally in Caracas,
Venezuela. And Stefano, give us a sense of what you are hearing that he normally attracts a large crowd. Give us a sense of what you are hearing
from the -- from the rally there.
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I'm hearing, of course, loud and loud music, and apologies, Isa, for the quality of the sound. It wouldn't
be a political rally in Latin America if you didn't have blasting reggaeton from massive speakers. But basically, we are at the arrival point of a pro-
Maduro rally.
We've been here, and to the starting point of the rally, about a couple of kilometers from where I am, for about a couple of hours today. Speaking
with many people who, they're either saying that they are ready to stand up to fight for Nicolas Maduro, or they are here to defend the fatherland. The
loud -- the music is getting even louder by the way.
This is not the largest rally I've covered in more than ten years since I've been in Venezuela covering this political crisis. This is frankly, a
small crowd for the normal mass manifestation. It proves that the government is showing the will to mobilize its base. Of course, this is a
government that still has some support base, but it also shows you the crisis of popularity that Maduro and the rest of the government have
entertained since at least that dramatic election in July last year.
Maduro is not currently a popular President, and you can hear it because there is a lot of music, of course, but not many people on the streets
today. However, we did speak with several of them. They have traveled from all across the country, they have traveled from, for example, places like
the state of Sucre, where the majority of these strikes from the United States have been concentrated, or the area outside the state of Sucre.
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And of course, they are here to tell us that in the case that the U.S. went to proceed with a direct attack against the Venezuelan people on the soil,
well, they will be ready to fight. It shows you that despite the crisis of popularity, that Nicolas Maduro is still capable of mobilizing hundreds, if
not thousands of people both in Caracas and in the rest of country. Isa?
SOARES: Stefano Pozzebon, for a very noisy Maduro rally there, thank you very much, Stefano, appreciate it. Let's stay on the story, let me get
more. James Story served as the U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela from 2018 to 2023. He joins me now from South Carolina. Ambassador, great to have you on
the show.
Let me start -- Stefano was talking about some of the people protesting there coming from the region of Sucre. Many people, some of those are the
ones that have seen strikes, that have been hit with strikes there. But we have started to see a significant build-up. This military show of force off
the Caribbean. Why this build up? What is the intention, you think, ambassador?
JAMES STORY, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO VENEZUELA: Well, it certainly started out as some signaling to the Maduro regime and those around Maduro.
And I believe that the policy approach is that this signaling will lead to somebody making a decision to take an action against Maduro himself.
But over the course of the last two months, that the level of sort -- resources in the -- in the Caribbean has increased to the point where I
believe that the President now has in front of him all the resources necessary to take direct action, were he to choose to do so. That's the big
question.
SOARES: Yes --
STORY: I think everybody is kind of wondering, well, why would you have an aircraft carrier to go after small fishing boats? And I think that's a --
that's a fair question there.
SOARES: Do you think then what are -- what is your sense, ambassador, what are you hearing? I mean, it's certainly a huge show of force to be hitting
just small boats, right? Do you think we'll be seeing the U.S. President, will go for boots on the ground or not just boots on the ground, pardon me,
U.S. attack on Venezuelan soil. And if so, what are the ramifications for the region here?
STORY: Well, I believe that these resources are entirely too powerful to go strictly after narcotics trafficking organizations. I think it's
definitely a message directed towards the Maduro regime. I think that the President could do anything such as -- up to and including going after
specific leaders of the Cartel de la Soles.
This is a drug-trafficking organization run through the Venezuelan military or it could take direct action against the FARC or ELN. These are guerrilla
groups in Colombia that are now headquartered in Venezuela. There are plenty of targets because Venezuela is filled with criminal groups and
illegal armed groups that are trafficking narcotics, as well as doing other criminal activities. This is why you have 9 million Venezuelans who fled
that country.
SOARES: Yes, a significant, huge number of Venezuelans, of course, not just leaving to going towards the United States, but also many to Colombia
and elsewhere. But let's stay with then, the strategy from the United States, ambassador. One guest on my show, Christopher Sabatini was talking
to me about this being gunboat diplomacy.
I wonder whether you feel that this pressure that we are seeing, whether it's just symbolic trying to rattle Maduro, whether you think that could
dislodge his inner circle, his Generals, because we have seen pressure, perhaps not to this level in the first term with President, and that did
nothing, of course, in -- with Guaido.
We had many of the world leaders supporting Juan Guaido, but that didn't move the needle. So, how long does the U.S. keep up this pressure campaign
if it doesn't do anything?
STORY: Well, a couple of different issues here. One, those resources, what we have in theater cannot stay there indefinitely.
SOARES: Yes --
STORY: You'll have to rotate folks out. So, therefore, if the President is going to take action, and I believe that the preponderance of what I would
say the possibility is that he may take some action, I believe he will. That would happen relatively quickly, I think within 30 days. Now, what
does that actually look like?
You know, Chris Sabatini, I know him well, I know Stefano also, what does this actually look like? Perhaps it's something that's very much directed
towards a couple of individuals who run, for instance, the organizations within Venezuela, that not only do narcotics trafficking, but also are
responsible for crimes against humanity.
Kidnapping American citizens, torturing political enemies. So, there is a possibility that the President goes in that direction and then -- and then
there's a move made against Maduro. But the President has the resources to do everything up to and including decapitating the government. Now, will he
do that is the big question.
I do think he's laid out a case, of saying that this is direct threat to the United States, and as you expand the definition of executive authority,
therefore, within that expanded definition, I believe direct tax on Venezuelan soil is possible from the point of view of the White House.
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Yes, I don't know whether you know whether President Trump cares about specific dates, because in about 10
days or so, it's President Maduro's birthday. So, it'll be interesting to see -- you're saying 40 something days, going to be interesting what
happens from here on in.
But if there is some sort of a way of dislodging Maduro, and we saw those protests, and not significant, of course, compared to the lives of Maria
Corina Machado, which I've seen have completely filled those streets of Caracas. But there's also been a rally around the flag, Ambassador, when
you see the sort of force in the Caribbean, could -- what are the ramifications for the rest of the region? We have seen tit for tat already
with Colombia, President Petro. Do you fear that if this escalates -- this -- has wider conflict, wider concerns for many of the regional allies
there?
STORY: Well, certainly, President Petro views himself as an ideological leader that goes beyond the borders of Colombia, to some extent. If we look
at this, we break it down into two pieces, the counter narcotics piece, we're going after transnational criminal organizations. Therefore, they
don't, they don't really pay attention to lines that have been drawn between, for instance, Panama or Colombia, between Nicaragua and Honduras
or El Salvador.
They're looking at how do we move the drugs, and they have all these different methodologies. Therefore, we always worked or have worked in
coordination and cooperation with other nations, utilizing intelligence, sharing intelligence to go after not just the drugs themselves, but also
the money that gets moved and the politics that get played. And how do you go after the whole organizations themselves? The organizations in Medellin
or the organizations in Miami? You got to go after all of them. You can only do that if you're working internationally.
Now, let's say this thing turns into something that's more kinetic, or more directed attacks within Venezuela. Certainly, cooperation from Colombia
will be shut down. And that really hamstrings us, because the ELN and FARC that are now headquartered in Venezuela will move back over into Colombia
and use that border in order to escape direct confrontation in the United States.
We'll be blind, to some extent, what's happening along the border, if we don't have the cooperation of Colombia. Similarly, President Lula in Brazil
certainly wouldn't be very cooperative or supportive of any action we would take.
SOARES: Such important context that you just provided. Ambassador, thank you very much for coming on the show. Really appreciate it. Ambassador
James Story there.
STORY: It's a pleasure to be here.
SOARES: Thank you. Thank you. And still to come tonight, more reactions to the release of emails written by Jeffrey Epstein, that include mentions of
President Trump. What some Epstein survivors are saying, we'll bring you that next.
And then, why this prosecutor handpicked by Donald Trump is the focus of a court hearing today involving two of the president's political adversaries.
We'll explain next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:00]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. The U.S. House speaker is promising a vote next week on whether to back the release of the remaining Jeffrey Epstein
files. That follows a new round of emails made public on Wednesday, written by Epstein that mentioned Donald Trump on multiple occasions. And that's
putting added pressure on the White House from Democrats and Republicans alike to release the files.
Support for that release not only includes Democrats, but longtime supporters of the president, such as Republicans Nancy Mace and Lauren
Boebert. Boebert was the only lawmaker called to an extraordinary meeting in the Situation Room of the White House on Wednesday. She says, she told
our Manu Raju, the president did not pressure her to pull her support for the Epstein release petition.
Here's what Epstein survivors, though, had to say about the latest emails released by House Democrats. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIELLE BENSKY, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: I think the emails really speak for themselves. You know, you read it and you have a very visceral reaction to
them. And I think survivors have been very clear and consistent about our messaging, that anyone who performs harm or anybody that that has done any
wrongdoing or has harmed people should face accountability.
LIZ STEIN, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: We need the government to release everything that's in these files, of course, with the appropriate redactions to
protect the privacy of the survivors. But we really need this information to be out there so these crimes can be investigated. I think it's really
upsetting to us that this is so politicized when it's not a political issue. This was a crime and it's a crime of sex trafficking. And we really
just want to see justice for the crime that happened to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's stay on this. I want to bring in CNN Politics Senior Reporter Stephen Collinson who joins me now from Washington, D.C. So,
Stephen, let's start on that vote, potentially, that we may see next week on the Epstein files. I was speaking to Arlette Saenz at the top of the
show from Capitol Hill, and she was talking about mass Republican defections here. What is your sense of which way this is going to go,
whether this eventually will get to the president's desk, of course? Will dominoes -- are dominoes about to fall here?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, the way this has been going today is it does seem that there's going to be more than just a
handful of Republicans in the House that are going to vote for this, which would be very interesting in itself, because it would raise questions on
the president's control of the Republican Party, which has been absolute in his two terms in office. It would be very unusual to see such a rebellion.
I think Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican who's brought this issue up, is hoping for a veto-proof majority, a two-thirds majority in the House
that would really box the president in. If he could get that, I think it would put a lot of pressure on the Senate. A lot of us have assumed that
when this does get to the Senate, it might simply go away and wouldn't be brought up. But a massive Republican defection, I think, would put a great
deal of pressure on a lot of those senators.
There, it would need 60 votes out of 100 to go to the president's desk. And it would put President Trump in a very difficult spot, I think.
[14:40:00]
SOARES: Yes. And you're right -- actually, there's a very good point that leads me very well to the point you raised, which I'm then going to throw
the question that you pose in your article back to you. Because you say, one question now is, how on earth does Trump, whose approval ratings are
already dipping fast and who's struggling to empathize with a wave of economic anxiety rippling across the country, ever make all of this go
away?
Because he's tried on so many occasions, Stephen, to make this go away. But it keeps coming back. Is there a strategy? I mean, Karoline Leavitt
yesterday was talking about, you know, transparency. I've heard from Republican strategists at the top of the show talking about the MAGA base
want this out, overwhelming want this out. So, how -- what is potentially the play here?
COLLINSON: Yes, I don't know how it gets out. Because as you say, every time the White House tries to fix this, it makes it much worse. The --
think about the conversation the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, had with Ghislaine Maxwell, that made it look like there's something to hide.
The more these emails come out, it poses the question, not necessarily whether there is something criminally wrong that the president has done,
there's no evidence of that yet, but why is he so desperate to stop this coming out?
If there is nothing else, you would think that a mass release of all the information that the Justice Department has about the Epstein case might be
the best way to do it. By that, it doesn't look like it's happening anytime soon. Certainly, it doesn't seem like anyone in the White House wants to go
and tell that to the president.
I think what is different in Trump's second term, or at least in the last few months, is he seems to have less political leeway simply because the
economy is not doing very well at all. He's growing doubts about the economy. His approval rating is tanking. That perhaps gives him less power
and leverage over those Republicans in the House.
And I also think that -- you saw one of the Epstein victims there, several of them, you played tape from them, they've become a very powerful and
news-savvy force over the last couple of months or so. They've come out of the shadows. That wasn't the case before. And I think they are providing
very powerful testimony that's starting to drive the politics of this.
SOARES: Stephen, as always, thank you.
COLLINSON: Thanks.
SOARES: Well, the criminal cases against two of U.S. President Donald Trump's adversaries are facing a critical legal test today. Attorneys for
former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James are asking a federal judge to drop charges against them. They argue that
the prosecutor, who single-handedly pursued their indictments, was unlawfully appointed.
Lindsey Halligan was handpicked by President Trump days after her predecessor was ousted. Her office charged Comey and James soon after Mr.
Trump openly called for their prosecutions. Our Katelyn Polantz following developments? So, Caitlin, first of all, just tell us what came out of this
court for us today, of this court hearing.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a hearing that was focused on Lindsey Halligan. There was James Comey in the
gallery of the courtroom. His lawyers were there arguing. Letitia James, her lawyers were arguing. But it was Halligan that this was all focused on.
And there is going to be a decision, the judge says, on whether Halligan can continue with these prosecutions, continue serving as the U.S. attorney
for the Eastern District of Virginia, so the prosecutor office that is prosecuting these cases.
And also, the judge may be determining if these cases can even go forward at all toward a trial all within a couple weeks. Before Thanksgiving, Judge
Cameron Currie said she would decide on the question of Halligan's prosecutorial authority. Now, this is a much bigger issue about how the
executive branch appoints its officers, people like U.S. attorneys in positions like the one Halligan is in right now.
The bottom line here is that she hasn't been confirmed by the Senate. So, does that mean that the president can keep appointing people over and over
again while he's serving or is this a moment where the district court would be stepping in and deciding who gets to be in that position whenever there
isn't some sort of congressional approval of the prosecutor?
The defense team, one of their arguments was that Lindsey Halligan is in place in the U.S. attorney's office in this district because it is
manipulation by Donald Trump and the politics he wants. At one point, they said that these cases against James Comey and Letitia James were being
resisted, being brought by inside of the office, and the government was trying to find anyone they could at the last minute to bring the
indictment. That's how they landed on Halligan in that job.
[14:45:00]
What the prosecutors say is that that's the Justice Department they side. They said it's merely a paperwork error. The attorney general, she is
giving all of the authority that Lindsey Halligan needs. She's been appointed in that job, and she should stay, as should these indictments.
The judge had harsh questions, especially for the Justice Department lawyers, at one time asking, do you think that this should be dismissed
like the case against Donald Trump had been dismissed? But we didn't get a ruling from the bench today from Judge Currie. We're going to be watching
in the docket to see an opinion when it comes down.
SOARES: Katelyn Polantz, I know you'll be across it. Thank you very much indeed. And still to come tonight, one mother calls it a death sentence for
her son. We'll tell you about Israel's plan to deport dozens of sick Palestinians back to Gaza.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Charred walls, broken windows, burned copies of the Quran. Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank have attacked a mosque, the latest
target, in a wave of violence. They set it on fire and scrawled graffiti that included an insult of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. The Palestinian
Foreign Ministry says it's holding the Israeli government responsible for the crime and the consequences, saying settler gangs are carrying out daily
assaults. The IDF says it dispatched forces to the scene but no suspects were identified.
Doctors at hospitals in East Jerusalem say Israel is planning to deport six Palestinians to Gaza, even though it's currently undergoing its treatment.
Jeremy Diamond explains why, for some patients, returning to Gaza's devastated landscape could be a matter of life and death.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: They really range from babies who were born in Jerusalem because their mothers had pre-existing
conditions and were brought to Jerusalem to give birth before the war in Gaza began following the October 7th attacks. And they also include
individuals with kidney failure, with heart conditions, a whole range of conditions, really. And just this week, they received notice that Israeli
authorities are seeking to deport these 89 patients and their families back to Gaza as early as next week.
Now, we've seen previous efforts by the Israeli authorities to deport some of these patients who are being treated in East Jerusalem hospitals back to
Gaza. Those have been met with challenges, including by an organization known as Physicians for Human Rights Israel, a story that CNN covered back
in March of 2024, for example, resulted in the Israeli Supreme Court issuing an order to temporarily halt those deportations.
[14:50:00]
But the situation now is different, of course. The war is over, at least for now, inside of Gaza. A ceasefire remains in place. But what hasn't
changed is the condition of Gaza's hospitals. And that is why so many of these families are concerned about what will await them or their loved ones
who are sick if they return to Gaza, concerned that they won't be able to get the proper medical care necessary.
One of those is the family of a boy named Yamin al-Najjar (ph). He is a teenager. He was brought to Jerusalem for treatment just two days before
the October 7th attack, being treated for a bleeding disorder. And his mother has actually been trying to get him abroad to a third country
because even in Jerusalem, the treatment that he is receiving isn't sufficient to actually address all of his symptoms.
But there is a major backlog, whether it is patients in Jerusalem or patients in Gaza who are trying to get to third-party countries, even when
they have approval from the World Health Organization, oftentimes there simply are not enough third-party countries willing to accept patients who
originate from the Gaza Strip. And that is a big part of the backlog here.
We have reached out to the Israeli authority known as COGAT, which is responsible for issuing this deportation order and coordinating any
humanitarian activity between the Gaza Strip and the outside world. They have not responded to our request for comment.
It is important to note that most of these patients and their families are willing to return back to the Gaza Strip despite the conditions there. But
for some of them, they fear that this could be a death sentence for them or for their loved ones, a very concerning time and an issue that we will be
tracking very closely over the coming week.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Jeremy Diamond for us there in Jerusalem. We're going to take a short break, but we'll see you on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Now, is the age of the toy over? This is the question the beloved "Toy Story" franchise plans to address in its fifth installment set to
release in June. From mutant toys to evil stuffed bears, "Toy Story" is famous for its epic showdowns and villainous characters. While the
cherished toys, including Woody, Jesse, and Buzz Lightyear, always prevail, the new teaser trailer reveals they'll have to face the most menacing
villain to date, Lilypad. Yes, you guessed it. The tablet.
[14:55:00]
Much of the plot remains under wraps, but it appears the movie will look at how young generations play in a digital world.
Well, Bern, once simply the capital of Switzerland, has now become the self-proclaimed capital of cheese. This comes after hosting this year's
World Cheese Awards, which bring together experts, lovers, producers, and traders from around the globe to pick the tastiest creation.
More than 5,200 cheeses from 46 countries competed in this year's event, but the ultimate winner, the cheese from the host country, a Swiss hard
Gruyere, matured more than 18 months, and one of my favorite cheeses, along with the Comte.
And finally, tonight, the holiday season is officially underway, at least in London's Coffin Garden. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: Five, four, three, two, one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: The countdown to the Christmas tree lighting took place on Wednesday. The theme of the night was the Theatre of Christmas and featured
performances by the actors from "The Lion King" play. I definitely think it's getting early, November 12th, that's a bit soon.
That does it for us tonight. Do stay right here, "What We Know" with Max Foster is up next. I shall see you tomorrow. Bye-bye.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
