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Isa Soares Tonight
Former President Clinton Testifies About Jeffrey Epstein; President Trump Says He's Not Yet Made His Final Decision On Iran As Fears Grow Of A U.S. Military Action Against Iran; Chinese Whistleblower Reveals How China Spies On Its Citizens At Home And Abroad; Fears If U.S. Military Action Loom Over Middle East; Paramount Emerges Victorious In Bidding War For WBD; Stowaway Passenger Successfully Sneaks Back On A Plane. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired February 27, 2026 - 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, "I did nothing wrong". Those words from
former U.S. President Bill Clinton as he testifies about Jeffrey Epstein. We'll have all the details about that ongoing investigation.
Then growing fears of U.S. military action against Iran, as President Donald Trump says he's not yet made his final decision. We have the very
latest for you. Plus, a video exclusive as CNN speaks to one Chinese whistleblower who reveals how China spies on its citizens at home and
abroad.
That, and much more ahead for you this hour. I do want to get straight to our breaking news. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton telling lawmakers,
investigating Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, quote, "I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong."
Clinton is taking questions right now behind closed doors in New York State. He is testifying under oath about what he knew about Jeffrey Epstein
and when. In his opening statement, Clinton said he had only a brief acquaintance with Epstein that ended years before his crimes came to light.
He also said, "I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn't see. I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn't do. I saw nothing
and I did nothing wrong." Clinton himself is not accused of criminal wrongdoing, but he does appear in the Epstein files and appears numerous
times -- numerous times.
He will surely be asked about photos like these, showing him with an unidentified female in a hot tub. Republicans and Democrats on the House
Oversight Committee gave a preview of the questioning earlier today. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): Jeffrey Epstein was in the White House 17 times while Bill Clinton was President. We know that Bill Clinton flew on Jeffrey
Epstein's plane at least 27 times. So, those are questions that we're going to ask.
Everything that most media outlets have reported with respect to pictures and correspondence between Epstein, Maxwell and Bill Clinton, these are all
questions that we're going to ask today.
REP. ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA): I want to also add that there are a lot of questions today, whether there are about Epstein's finances, about
survivors, about foreign Intelligence, that we look forward to asking in a way that's serious and dignified, and we hope Republicans do the same.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, the former President's testimony comes a day after his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also spoke to the committee.
We're still waiting, of course, for her testimony to be released as was requested yesterday during our show from the Democratic lawmakers.
Well, moments ago, Democratic lawmakers spoke to the media. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Clinton, in his opening, made the most important statement. No one is above the law. And he made it clear that it
was perfectly appropriate for the committee to call him and ask him tough questions about what happened.
He also made it clear that it was totally inappropriate for this committee to call Secretary Clinton. That's why personally, I didn't even show up
yesterday. I thought it was outrageous the way they treated Secretary Clinton. She has nothing to do with that -- this.
But President Clinton answered the questions. I think you'll see when we have the deposition, that our side, that put the survivors first. We had
our members, our lawyers ask questions to get the basic facts, and asked difficult questions and the president answered.
And it was civil. And he set the tone, in my view, for the precedent that the president, President Trump, needs to now come and ask these -- answer
these questions, that Howard Lutnick needs to answer these questions, that other people, part of the Epstein class have been in these files needs to -
- need to come before this committee and ask these questions.
And that's the only way we're going to have accountability and healing. Now I'll turn it over to our Ranking Member, Ranking Member Garcia.
GARCIA: I'm just -- I'm just going to introduce folks, I'll make some comments at the end, but I'm going to introduce other members. First one we
have is Congresswoman Emily Randall.
REP. EMILY RANDALL (D-WA): Thank you. As you heard President Clinton in his opening statement, said that America was built on the idea that no person
is above the law, even presidents, especially presidents. And the Democratic members of the Oversight Committee feel the same.
[14:05:00]
No one is above the law, and anyone with knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes should absolutely come before the committee to give testimony about
what they saw or did. Who was there? Who was involved?
Survivors like Charlene Richard(ph), who was my State of the Union guest, deserve the accountability and the truth. The American people deserve
accountability and truth.
That means a complete release of the files and cooperation, not obstruction from Pam Bondi, and it means testimony on the record from anyone with
information, whether that's Howard Lutnick, Bill Gates, Larry Summers, and yes, even and especially Donald Trump.
GARCIA: Congresswoman Stansbury.
REP. MELANIE STANSBURY (D-NM): All right, well, good afternoon, everyone. I am Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury, and I am deeply proud to represent New
Mexico's first congressional district, where our state has taken action where the federal government has failed.
We have reopened an investigation through our state Attorney General into the crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and his associates in New Mexico,
as well as passed the first state level truth commission, in this case, ever passed in the history of the United States.
We will be working very closely to make sure that this state is able to make a full accounting of the crimes in New Mexico. With regards to today's
deposition, I want to be clear at the outset, that President Clinton as of today, has not been accused of a crime.
There are not public files available that accuse him of a crime, whereas there are publicly available documents that do allege a crime of President
Trump. But it is very well established that President Clinton had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
And we are treating this investigation extraordinarily seriously. And when you see the recorded deposition, you will see that we asked all of the hard
questions centering the survivors, making sure that we get to the bottom of where there are discrepancies in the record, and understanding how not only
the crimes that Jeffrey Epstein committed could go on.
But why there was a culture that surrounded him, wherein the rich and powerful turned a blind eye. And with that, I turn it back to our ranking
member.
GARCIA: Thank you. Congressman Frost --
REP. MAXWELL FROST (D-FL): Hello, everybody, Congressman Maxwell Frost. First off, I just -- a thank you to President Clinton for coming here today
to speak with us, answering these questions has been helpful for us, as we will continue this investigation.
Donald Trump, as we know, needs to come before this committee. He's been caught in multiple lies as it relates to his relationship with Jeffrey
Epstein. I can tell you, I've seen unredacted files myself that directly refute his assertion that he kicked out Jeffrey Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago,
and the reasoning why he did that.
Also walking out of this, I can tell you, we all now have a lot of new questions that we have to raise as it relates to the reasoning on why Jeff
-- or why Donald Trump had a falling out with Jeffrey Epstein in the first place.
Another thing is that, I saw about an hour ago, Donald Trump in a press conference said that Howard Lutnick is, quote, "a very innocent guy."
Donald Trump has asserted many times that he knew nothing of Epstein's crimes.
If he doesn't know anything about Epstein's crimes, how can he know for sure that Howard Lutnick is, quote, "a very innocent guy". We have
questions for him. And I think what today is showing, and what yesterday is showing is of course, no one is above the law, that includes the President
of United States.
And my hope is that our Republican colleagues, as we walk out of here today, and go back to D.C., will join us in making sure that we can hear
from Howard Lutnick, from Pam Bondi and from President Trump.
REP. YASSAMIN ANSARI (D-AZ): Good afternoon. Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari representing Arizona's third district. I think today was a historic day for
transparency in the United States of America. The fact that we have the former President of the United States, Bill Clinton, under oath, speaking
to the Oversight Committee and answering questions in a transparent manner is critical.
I look forward to the Republican majority listening to our demands of having the transcripts and the videos unedited of both depositions. Today's
and yesterday's released immediately, because the American public deserves to hear and see these answers for themselves.
And ultimately, this demonstrates that nobody is above the law. And my top concern at this moment is the ongoing White House cover up. It is deeply
concerning that we are seeing a very coordinated machine from the President of the United States continuously repeating that he has been exonerated.
He just repeated that today to members of the Republican Party on the Oversight Committee repeating that lie as well.
[14:10:00]
There are very credible allegations that have been looked into and investigated by the FBI, that the Department of Justice is illegally
withholding. Please, do not stop asking about this. Why is the DOJ continuing to defy the Epstein files Transparency Act by refusing to
release the full Epstein files by illegally withholding information, by deleting photos and videos of people like Howard Lutnick.
This is unacceptable. Donald Trump must be deposed immediately in front of this committee, as do many senior level officials from this administration.
REP. SUHAS SUBRAMANYAM (D-VA): I'm Congressman Suhas Subramanyam from Virginia. If there was any doubt before today that Oversight Democrats are
treating this investigation in a nonpartisan way, it will be put to rest when the transcripts come out.
We have been asking the former President the hard questions. To his credit, he has answered every single question. He has not taken the Fifth
Amendment. He's been actually quite comfortable, and he's actually given very long, deliberate answers to all these questions.
And so, we appreciate the former president being here today. And we would like to see the current President come before us as well, and give the same
kind of transparency that President Clinton has given us today.
And we're going to continue to demand the release of the files and continue to demand transparency of this administration.
GARCIA: Go on, get on your two questions.
REP. WESLEY BELL (D-MO): Two quick points. Wesley Bell, Congressman, Missouri's First District. First and foremost, President Clinton came here
and answered tough questions. I think the victims and survivors, the American public deserve those -- deserve a serious investigation because
thus far, what we're seeing from Republicans is a very non-serious as one of my colleagues referred to it as a clown show.
And having led serious investigations, I can't disagree. When we hear members from the other side coming into a deposition with conclusions, get
no evidence to support those conclusions, and then announce to the world that these conclusions must be true.
That is unprofessional. It's unethical. And at the end of the day, what we're trying to do is get to the bottom of what actually happened so that
we can hold any offenders accountable. Democrats are doing that. The president and former first lady have done that.
And now, it's time for President Trump to do the exact same thing under oath, not when you can just make statements randomly on X or Truth Social,
but under oath, where your right hand is in the air, and there are consequences if you don't tell the truth.
And so, we're going to continue to push for transparency. We're going to continue to push for justice, because that's what the American people and
the survivors deserve.
GARCIA: I think I'll just make a couple of brief comments, then I'll answer one or two questions and then the deposition right now is on a break. And
so, we'll reconvene. There will be some additional hours of questioning by both the Democratic side and the Republican side as the afternoon goes on.
I want to just reiterate a couple of things that are -- that have been made which are important. The first is that we are thankful that President
Clinton came in and answered tough questions from both the minority party and the majority party.
We also think it's important to note that he made some of these statements in his opening statement. He made it clear once again that he does not
understand, nor do we, why we spent so much time yesterday grilling Secretary Clinton when she obviously had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein
and had never met Jeffrey Epstein.
We also want to reiterate -- now, I think it's important for us to know our call yesterday because of transparency, it is so important that we continue
to release both Secretary Clinton's deposition and President Clinton's deposition.
Both of the Clintons are committed to these records getting out as soon as possible. And Oversight Democrats agree the best way of going forward is
for there to be transparency and a full public record, and we're demanding that, that record not be edited.
But just a full recording of what transpired yesterday and what will continue to transpire today through the course of the day. And finally, let
me just also say once again that we have a new President in this country where we can now demand president and former presidents to testify in front
of the Oversight Committee.
So, we are once again demanding that now President Trump, who is in the Epstein files almost more than anyone else besides Ghislaine Maxwell,
answer our questions. This is not a hoax. She has not been exonerated, and we have serious questions for President Trump. And with that, we'll answer
a couple of questions.
[14:15:00]
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chairman Comer just came out and said that in this -- of questioning, you asked President Clinton if he thought President Trump
should come and testify, and Chairman Comer said that President Clinton's response was that, it was for you to decide.
And the President Clinton went on to say that President Trump has never said anything to him to make him think he was involved. Now, obviously, we
don't have the transcript of the deposition, but I would love your response --
GARCIA: I -- yes --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And kind of what --
GARCIA: Yes, I think the best response to that is for you to -- complete record of what actually he said. Which -- look, we're not going to disclose
what we said, because that's not in the rules. Republicans keep breaking the rules.
But I think to what Mr. Frost said earlier, there was -- I think that the president, President Clinton, did bring up some additional information
about some discussions with President Trump. I think that the way Chairman Comer describe it, I don't think is a complete, accurate description of
what actually was said.
So, let's release the full transcript, so you can get all -- get a full record of what actually was said, which brings up some very important new
questions about comments that President Trump has actually said in the past. Any other questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congressman?
GARCIA: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know in the former president's statement, he says that there may be times where he says he can't recall, as that -- I know you
can't really give a lot of details about what was said in the deposition, but how would you characterize when you say he's been cooperative? Is he
answering the majority of questions or a lot of his responses more are I can't recall.
GARCIA: I think everybody would agree that he's been very cooperative, and he's actually answering the questions fairly, I mean, to the best of his
ability. There's -- he's not taking a pass on pleading the Fifth for any questions.
He's been very thorough. He's been asked some questions multiple times over. I think you'll see that in the transcript. So, he's been very
cooperative. And in fact, his -- I don't think he's given any sense that he's been uncomfortable to be there.
In fact, I think he's been -- he's been pretty interested in answering, I think, all the questions of both the Republicans and the Democrats. With
that, we're going to wrap up, everyone is going to break, and then we will continue. Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: You have been listening there to Democratic lawmakers outside in Chappaqua in New York State, where we have seen, it's now on a break, as
you heard from Democratic lawmakers, we've heard the former -- we've been hearing the former President at this stage, Bill Clinton, who has been
answering questions from the House Oversight Committee.
This is bipartisan as part of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. We have seen from some of the statements, initial statement from the former
president saying that in his opening statement, he said he saw nothing. He did nothing wrong.
We are starting to get a bit of color, as you heard there, from lawmakers of what has come out of that questioning, saying the President Clinton,
former President Clinton, had made it very clear that no one is above the law, that he's been - really, he's been cooperative.
He's been thorough, he hasn't taken the fifth. Some of his answers are long. But you've also seen the criticism from Democratic lawmakers who saw
it yesterday when the U.S. former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton was asking -- being asked questions, and we're hearing it today.
So, let me give you a sense of what they are saying. Said that today is a historic day for transparency, but also saying that no one is above the
law. And that means that they are calling again, as we heard yesterday, for President Trump to also come before this committee for questions to be
asked.
One of the lawmakers actually said, we know -- we all have new questions following from what they've been hearing from former President Bill Clinton
relating to the reasoning. He said, why Donald Trump had a falling out with Jeffrey Epstein.
And like yesterday, we heard the Democratic lawmakers again asking for Howard Lutnick, Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is the Commerce Secretary, to
also come and testify. President Trump, as you heard from one of the lawmakers quoting today, saying that Howard Lutnick is a very innocent guy.
So, many questions being asked by the lawmakers, but saying that they're being thorough, they've put tough questions to the president, and they want
to understand the crimes that Epstein committed, but also why -- the culture around it.
So, let me go to MJ Lee. I think we've got MJ Lee with us who is listening in. MJ, I mean, Democratic lawmakers, they're going after once again,
President Trump, saying -- accusing him of a cover up, Trump saying he's exonerated.
But there are very credible allegations. Just give me a sense of what stood out from what we heard from them.
MIN JUNG LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, we know that there have been two hours of questioning from Republican and Democratic lawmakers. We saw
from the former president's opening statement, that he is emphatic that he wasn't engaged in any kind of wrongdoing, and that he also was not aware of
Jeffrey Epstein's criminal activities.
[14:20:00]
The lawmakers also said that he hasn't pled the Fifth, which is the same as Hillary Clinton in her deposition yesterday, and some of the lawmakers said
he has given long and deliberate answers to some tough questions about his knowledge of Epstein.
But I think you're right, that there is this focus that is shifting to the current President, Donald Trump. You know, every time that these lawmakers
come out to brief reporters, they are getting either questions about Donald Trump and whether he should be deposed in a similar manner, given how often
he is mentioned in the Epstein files.
And it was really interesting that the Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Comer said that the ranking member, the top Democrat on the committee, asked Bill
Clinton, do you believe that Donald Trump should be deposed as well?
And Bill Clinton allegedly said, according to Comer, well, that's up to the committee to decide. But Trump has essentially never said anything to me to
indicate that there was any involvement. So, you know, I think you could easily imagine President Trump hearing that and liking that answer.
Maybe using that answer to sort of say look, even Bill Clinton is saying that I didn't do anything wrong. But I think this is going to be an
important space to watch here as these depositions are still ongoing.
But there are many conversations that are bubbling up clearly about what the committee should do next, and particularly what kinds of other people,
other individuals the committee might want to bring in for questioning, including just on the question of the sitting President again, Donald Trump
and even the first lady Melania Trump.
SOARES: Yes, indeed, and also questions around Howard Lutnick, Secretary Lutnick. We'll get to that in just a moment. MJ. Let me bring in Corey
Brettschneider; he's a Political Science Professor at Brown University.
He's also co-host of "The Oath and The Office" podcast, and author of "The Presidents and the People". Corey, great to have you on the show. Let me
just pick up with what we heard from some of the lawmakers there. Pressure.
As you heard from MJ there, MJ Lee intensifying around the president, you know, with lawmakers saying that Donald Trump needs to come in, in front of
this committee. There's lots of questions being asked, publicly available documents that allege President Trump's -- knew something around Epstein.
Obviously, he denies any wrongdoing here. What are the chances? What is the likelihood, you think, Corey, of President Trump being called to testify?
COREY BRETTSCHNEIDER, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR, BROWN UNIVERSITY: Well, I think we're going to continue to see calls to call him, and the pressure
might heat up enough that we'll see Republican lawmakers see that -- I wouldn't have said that recently.
But as the information comes out about his involvement, including this new reporting by the "New York Times" and other outlets about the instance and
the files in which there is a complaint against him, a criminal complaint that seems like it was hidden.
So, you know, as is often the case with presidential scandals, the scandal is one thing. And then the more you try to cover it up, the more intense it
becomes, and that's what's happening. I can't resist, Isa, one point, which is that as viewers watch this show, you and I speaking around the world, we
are seeing other countries holding even royalty to account --
SOARES: Yes --
BRETTSCHNEIDER: And criminal investigations. Even a former prime minister, and the irony is that the American revolution, of course, was an attempt to
establish a republic against monarchy. And here we are placing our chief official, the President of the United States, for now, above the law.
The American people aren't going to stand for that for long. And that's why, yes, I think the pressure might get so serious that a subpoena will be
issued. He'll defy it. He'll refuse to testify, but that will be an important point in American --
SOARES: Yes, I --
BRETTSCHNEIDER: History when it comes to nobody being above the law.
SOARES: Indeed. And we heard that repeatedly in the past two days. We have heard Democratic lawmakers basically, you know, accusing this White House
of a cover up, them saying that, you know he has not been exonerated.
He, talking about President Trump, and that they're very credible allegations, hence they need to release the full Epstein files and stop
deleting files as they have accused them. Can I just leave part, President Trump there for just a moment and just focus on what we have heard though
today, Corey.
From the former President Clinton, who you probably heard in his opening remarks, he said, "I know what I saw, and more importantly, what I didn't
see. I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn't do."
He also added this, "you'll often hear me say that I don't recall, that may be unsatisfying, but I'm not going to say something I'm not sure of. That
was a long time ago." We have heard from Democratic lawmakers that he hasn't pleaded the Fifth.
He's been cooperative, he's been thorough. Just what do you make of his initial statements? How do you see this moment?
BRETTSCHNEIDER: Well, the fact that he showed up and agreed to testify is - -
SOARES: Yes --
BRETTSCHNEIDER: Itself an important symbol, because, of course, when President Trump was accused credibly and indicted in two in four cases, I
should say, you know, he cited immunity. One of them, he was convicted and that immunity didn't work.
[14:25:00]
But in three other cases, he has been essentially been regarded as above the law. Now, as a former president, per -- you know, Bill Clinton might
have claimed all sorts of claims of immunity. He didn't do that. He showed up.
And so, he's setting the precedent. I think that's one of the most important things that happened today regardless of what he said in the
testimony, that you know, if you're credibly accused of a crime or have knowledge of a crime or didn't realize that you had knowledge of a crime,
but did, that might be the case with Bill Clinton.
You need to show up when there's an investigation, when there's a criminal process or a congressional inquiry. And so, all of this is trying to set
the stage for recovery of an idea that we've totally lost as a result of the immunity case in this presidency.
Which is, yes, that no person is above the law. That's the theme here.
SOARES: And we have -- we haven't seen, of course, the deposition, the video is being released which the Democratic lawmakers have been asking
for, for the past 48 hours unedited, may I add, this is something they've recalled.
But let's focus then on the former President Clinton's wife, Secretary -- former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who I think was questioned
for something like six and a half hours, Corey. And he said today, President Clinton, in that opening remarks, which really struck me.
"Before we start, I have to get personal", he puts in his opening remarks. "You made Hillary come in, she had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein,
nothing. She has no memory of even meeting him. She neither traveled with him nor visited any of his properties.
Whether you subpoenaed 10 people or 10,000 people, including her, were simply not right." I mean, what was the point, then, of summoning her to
testify? And was that -- I am wondering, an own goal by the Republicans because now they're being questioned over other names included Howard
Lutnick.
BRETTSCHNEIDER: You know, President Clinton and Hillary Clinton are extremely savvy political players. And, you know, I think that they walked
into a trap that she had nothing, no evidence. She had not even met Epstein, as she said.
And so, the real question becomes, why are you subpoenaing me? It's about political show. And then she was able to flip that script onto the question
of, why are you not doing your real jobs and investigating the actual people who committed crimes, including the President of the United States,
who has now been accused of a crime and there is a cover up to try to hide it?
This is just breaking. But the more that becomes the story, and it is becoming the story as a result of that, the more questions like impeachment
become on the table, not just of the Attorney General who did the cover up.
And let's not forget that in the past, attorney generals like Nixon's attorney general actually were convicted, he went to prison for crimes that
involved cover-ups as well. And Nixon himself was forced to resign. So, that's the narrative that she was able to shift quite brilliantly.
She did mention, by the way, and I think this is just humiliating for the Republicans on this committee, that she not only was asked the same
question over and over again, which is, you know, annoying, given that she's been very clear she never met the person.
But that they brought up wild conspiracies like Pizzagate; the beyond credited false story that involved all sorts of made-up stories about
Hillary Clinton herself being involved in sex trafficking. There is a sex trafficking example here on the table that we're all focused on.
SOARES: Yes --
BRETTSCHNEIDER: She's not involved in it, and she was --
SOARES: Yes --
BRETTSCHNEIDER: Able to say why not focus on the real stuff rather than the made-up stuff?
SOARES: Corey, so good to get your insight on this. We'll wait, of course - -
BRETTSCHNEIDER: That's right --
SOARES: For the deposition unedited to see exactly what was said. Good to see you, Corey. Corey Brettschneider there, thank you --
BRETTSCHNEIDER: Thank you, Isa, always a pleasure --
SOARES: Thank you --
BRETTSCHNEIDER: Thank you --
SOARES: Very welcome. We're going to take a short break; we'll see you on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:31:39]
SOARES: Well, let me take you to the Middle East where fears of U.S. military action against Iran are looming. The U.S. embassy in Israel has
authorized non-essential staff and their families to leave the country due to safety risks, warning they should get out while commercial flights are
still available. The U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading to Israel on Monday with Iran expected to lead the agenda.
The USS Gerald Ford carrier strike group is set to reach northern Israel today as part of the buildup of the U.S. forces in the region. The U.S. has
also sent a dozen stealth F-22 fighter jets and at least nine aerial tankers. A source says President Trump has been briefed by the head of U.S.
Central Command on military options in Iran.
On the diplomatic front, nuclear talks are due to continue in Vienna in Austria next week. That's after discussions between the U.S. and Iran were
mediated by Oman, if you remember, this week in Geneva. And they showed signs of progress but really no major breakthrough. President Trump,
though, expressed his frustrations in the past hour. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we haven't made a final decision. We're not exactly happy with the way they're negotiating. They
can -- they cannot have nuclear weapons. And we're not thrilled with the way they're negotiating. So, we'll see how it all works.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, for more on the potential of U.S. military action against Iran, I want to bring in Jennifer Hansler in Washington and as well as
Jeremy Diamond, who's standing by in Tel Aviv. And, Jeremy, let me just go to you first and really get your analysis here.
Help us read the tea leaves. Because we've got Secretary Rubio visiting Israel. We've got nations advising nationals to leave or -- you know,
before flights -- while fights are still available.
We have a military buildup in the region. Meantime, these negotiations haven't reached an end, right, with these indirect talks next week. What
are you hearing on your side?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think that there are multiple layers of indications that the United States is gearing up for
strikes on Iran. Although, it is important to caveat that with the notion that it's not clear that a final decision has been made. And as ever with
President Trump, there is always the possibility that this is a negotiating ploy, that he doesn't pull the trigger ultimately.
But what we are seeing in the region right now are all of the kind of shore fire signs that something is getting ready to happen. We saw today the U.S.
embassy telling its non-emergency personnel that they can leave the country, with the U.S. ambassador Mike Huckabee telling those staffers that
if they want to leave, they should do so today. And he wrote today in all caps, according to a source who I spoke to who is familiar with that e-
mail. He also made clear that this was -- you know, no one should panic. This is out of an abundance of caution.
But we saw similar moves happening at the U.S. embassy in Beirut earlier this week. Today, we are watching and monitoring as one country after the
next is issuing similar travel advisories as it relates to Israel, as well as several other countries in the region. We've been seeing these very
unusual sites in Israel of at least nine refueler tank planes positioned at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. That's a civilian airport and yet U.S.
military aircraft are there now, as well as those dozen F-22 stealth fighter jets at another -- at an Israeli military base in Israel.
Very, very unusual. And again, it just adds to the picture of this massive U.S. military buildup in the region. And now, you can add to that those
comments that you just played from President Trump, indicating that he is not happy with the course of negotiation so far. The lack of a
breakthrough.
[14:35:11]
You know, we've always been told that there was the possibility that President Trump's patience could run out with Iran as it relates to these
negotiations. And that could be what is happening. But again, important to note that we simply do not know yet whether or not these strikes will take
place. But there are certainly a number of indicators pointing in that direction at this hour.
SOARES: Indeed. Let me go to Jen in Washington. And, Jen, on the diplomatic front, and given what we've heard from President Trump that he's not happy,
these indirect talks are supposed to focus on technical discussions. I remember at this time roughly yesterday we were hearing from the Omani
foreign minister, the Iranian foreign minister, and they all had kind of positive remarks -- readouts of that meeting.
It's very different from what we're hearing from the president. What is your sense? What are you hearing came out of those indirect talks?
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isa, it seems that there are still those significant gaps that they have yet to bridge.
And while they may have made some small progress, we're hearing from President Trump just a little while ago that he doesn't feel that Iran is
negotiating in good faith. He said he'd love for them to negotiate in good faith, but he doesn't feel that they have been doing so.
It seems from our sources that the key issues are still very much left to be hurdled. These are issues of enrichment. Iran continues to say that they
will not go to zero enrichment, that they have a right to continue enrichment even at lower levels. The U.S. is continuing to say they do not
want to see Iran enrich uranium and that they want to see the enriched uranium that they already have shipped out of the country.
There is also the issue of sanctions relief. Iran is pushing for very large sanctions relief on those crippling U.S. sanctions. We understand from our
Fred Pleitgen that they are also calling for the lifting of UN Security Council sanctions that went back into place late last year after the
snapback mechanism went into place following the collapse of that 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Interestingly, Isa, Trump keeps bringing up this idea of no nuclear weapon, that he hasn't heard what he calls these magic words from the Iranians that
they will not have a nuclear weapon. Of course, we know the fact is that they have been saying that they do not seek nuclear weapon. The Iranian
foreign minister has put that out on social media.
That was also in the original 2015 Iran nuclear deal that Trump pulled out of when he took office during his first term. So, there's a lot of issues
still that need to be bridged here. And it's unclear if they'll be able to do so before Trump makes a decision.
SOARES: And that context that you added, the 2015 nuclear deal was so important for so many as we move ahead in these negotiations. Jennifer
Hansler, great to see you, Jen. Thank you very much, indeed.
Now, to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, where days of tit-for-tat strikes are at risk of escalating into an open war. Kabul and Islamabad have been
trading deadly shelling and mortar fire across their long border for the past few days. Islamabad says Friday strikes hit Afghan defense facilities
in the capital Kabul as well as elsewhere.
That, after Islamabad struck what it said were militant camps in Afghanistan last weekend. The Taliban's military launched what it calls a
retaliatory attack late on Thursday. Our Nic Robertson puts the latest surge of strikes into context for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's kind of interesting because if you go back to when the United States and allies
were in Afghanistan, the Taliban that were attacking them were the Afghan Taliban, and they were using safe bases and spaces inside of -- inside of
Pakistan. Then, the United States pulled out. And then a group called the Pakistani Taliban, TTP, and I remember having a sort of an e-mail exchange
conversation with the leader at the time. He said we are now looking to get support from the Afghan Taliban.
Now, they're in charge. And this is in essence what's happened over the past several years that they -- the TTP, the Pakistani Taliban, have set
themselves up at bases inside of Afghanistan. The Pakistani government says that the Afghan government is allowing them to do this and not cracking
down on them.
The Pakistani Taliban have been attacking the Pakistan border, the military post there. They want to take control of parts of Afghanistan. They want to
turn it into something similar to Afghanistan and Islamic Emirate. That's what they've said that they wanted to do, bring strict Sharia Law to those
areas in Pakistan.
So, what has happened here, and we saw a similar sort of flare-up in October last year, that after a big border attack by the Pakistani Taliban
against the Pakistani military at the border, Pakistan's army has said enough. We're going to strike their camps. We're going to strike the
Pakistan Taliban camps in Afghanistan.
That -- the response came from the Afghan government, therefore, to use Afghan government troops, Taliban, to attack Pakistan border. It all begins
to look a lot like the same thing for the Afghan government. And they in turn, as we saw overnight, struck what they said were Afghan government
military positions inside Afghanistan.
That's where the escalation is, that they're striking Afghan government targets. So, there are lines of diplomacy at play at the moment, but the
tensions are simmering and high. And it's quite possible that more cross- border attacks by Afghan or Pakistani Taliban in Afghanistan against Pakistan will likely very quickly bring further air strikes by Pakistan's
air force.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:40:35]
SOARES: Nic Robertson, thank you very much indeed. Well, Donald Trump appears to be ratcheting up the pressure on Cuba. While speaking to
reporters just a short time ago, the U.S. president said Cuba is in such a bad shape right now that it could make sense for the U.S. to take it over.
He didn't seem to be talking about military action, almost more of a rescue operation. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But what about the --
TRUMP: After many, many years, we've had a lot of years of dealing with Cuba. I've been hearing about Cuba since I'm a little boy. But they're in
big trouble. And we could very well -- something could -- I think very positive for the people that were expelled or worse from Cuba that live
here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Friendly takeover of Cuba there. Well, a U.S. official tells CNN there were two American citizens on board a speedboat that got into a
deadly shootout with Cuban force, if you remember that happened on Wednesday. Cuba says four people on the boat were killed while trying to
infiltrate the island nation.
One of the dead was an American. The six other people on the boat were all injured and are now in Cuban custody. U.S. officials say they're still
investigating the incident but stressed that it was not something planned by the U.S. government.
And still to come tonight. A month-long Hollywood drama takes an unexpected twist. The media giant that now appears to be front-runner to take over
Warner Bros. Discovery. That story, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. It appears Paramount Skydance is now on track to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Precisely the outcome President Trump
has indicated he favored in the high-stakes battle over CNN's parent company. That's after Netflix stunned many by backing out of the bidding
war on Thursday, shortly after company CEO Ted Sarandos left meetings at the White House. You can see that any deal between Paramount Skydance, and
WBD still needs, of course, to clear regulatory hurdles.
Our chief media analyst, Brian Stelter, has had quite a busy 24 hours. He joins me now. Brian, great to see you. Look, before we look ahead, just to
give our viewers some context here and why -- what is your understanding this hour as to why Paramount was so intent on purchasing WBD?
[14:45:29]
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Well, here's the way that Netflix has put it. Netflix says, you know, for Netflix, this was a nice to have
addition to the company. But for Paramount, it's an absolute must-have.
And I think executives at Paramount agree with that assessment that Paramount is a relatively small media company. Warner Bros. Discovery is
about five times larger. Paramount believes it needs to get a lot bigger and as fast as it can in order to compete with actually the likes of
Netflix. So, that is the fundamental business theory here. Although there is also a long history of media companies attempting through M&A to get
bigger and then failing upward and being -- and not being able to pull it off.
So, for Paramount which wants to really make its mark in Hollywood, create a much bigger presence around the world with streaming, this is a way to do
it. Take control of Warner Bros. and HBO. Take control of CNN. This is a -- in some way, it's like it's a shortcut for Paramount to get really big
really fast.
SOARES: And we'll talk about a CNN in a moment. But as I mentioned earlier, I mean the deal is still subject, Brian, to regulatory approval. I did hear
the California Attorney General Rob Bonta. This is what he said on social media.
Paramount and Warner Bros. is not a done deal. These two Hollywood titans have not cleared regulatory scrutiny. The California Department of Justice
opened an investigation. And we intend to be vigorous in our review.
What kind of roadblocks are we potentially looking at here? And I'm just saying, not just in United States. I'm thinking internationally too, right?
STELTER: And he's not the only one. Yes. That's right. Two main elements now. There are European regulators taking a very close look at this
Paramount deal.
SOARES: Yes.
STELTER: And then there are states -- state attorneys general in the U.S. There is kind of a conventional wisdom, at least among Wall Street
analysts, that this Paramount deal will glide through Washington, through the Trump Justice Department, given the cozy relationship Paramount has
fostered with the Trump administration. Now, maybe that's the way it should be. Maybe that's corrupt. There's a lot of different interpretations of
that situation.
But you look to Europe, where there are ongoing interviews, and you look to the states in the U.S. In the last few minutes, the California AG, Rob
Bonta, went a little further. He said, I'm in conversation with my AG colleagues about Paramount.
What he's saying is that he's talking to other states about possibly joining forces to try to block the deal. It is possible for some states to
try to do that, although they don't have as much power as the federal government in order to accomplish that. So, that is the big unknown now.
But I am told Paramount would like to close this deal in September. Officially, the company hasn't commented yet, and they're probably waiting
until after the market closes in New York.
SOARES: Yes.
STELTER: We'll probably hear more from Paramount later today. But the vision is to get this done in the next six months.
SOARES: And that is fast. And look, Brian, as we're running out of time here, we don't like to talk about ourselves. We're journalists. But this
is, of course, a stressful time as you all know.
You would have heard in the NEWSROOM here across the pond, too. Just give us a sense of what this will mean, of course, not just for CNN, but also
our editorial independence. You hinted there, of course, politics at play potentially here.
STELTER: Yes. Number one, nothing changes today. Nothing changes tomorrow. Nothing changes for a while at CNN.
SOARES: Yes.
STELTER: Paramount knows what it is buying. Paramount executives have told me privately that they greatly admire the global reach of CNN and the news-
gathering muscle. I suspect Paramount will try to merge CNN with CBS News, the news division that it already operates.
There are definitely going to be political concerns and questions given Paramount's close ties to the Trump administration. That is going to be a
political storm cloud or looming cloud for quite some time. I would suggest to viewers, keep a close eye on it, be skeptical, be scrutinizing the
coverage. But I know, having worked here for a long time, journalists here at CNN, just like at CBS News, just want to report the news.
And here's the other thing that's really important. CNN's a highly profitable business. So, it would be foolish to go and mess with it. And
I've heard that from many in the media industry today.
SOARES: Brian, as always, thank you. We'll keep our heads down and keep working. Do the -- what we need to do, and that is reporting the news. Good
to see you, Brian.
Well, we are less than three hours from a Pentagon deadline that threatens leading AI developer Anthropic. The U.S. giant says it has no intention of
removing safeguards that prevent its AI from conducting surveillance on U.S. citizens or controlling automated weapons like drones as well as
robots. The Pentagon says it will cancel a $200 million contract with Anthropic if it refuses to remove those safeguards.
The Pentagon is also threatening to designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk, which would make it hard for the company to work with other military
contractors. And by the way, Anthropic's rival, OpenAI, says it has the same red lines as Anthropic and would also refuse to do what the Pentagon
is demanding. So, watch this base for the next couple of hours will be critical.
[14:50:03]
And still to come tonight. A convicted Stowaway passenger, well, has done it again. We'll take a look at how she got past airport security and on to
an international flight. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, it seems she's done it again. A woman previously convicted of boarding a flight to Paris without a ticket has now been detained in Italy.
Well, for the same offense. Svetlana Dali is accused of once again being an airplane stowaway.
According to law enforcement source, she snuck past airline employees at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. You can see the footage
there. She then was able to board a United flight to Milan. Sometime during the seven-hour flight, the airline staff discovered Dali was on board
without a ticket. She was detained by law enforcement when the plane landed.
Our Mark Morales joins us now from New York. And, Mark, I imagine lots of questions being asked about how exactly she did this as she passed
authorities here.
MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: Right. And all indications are at the moment that she did this exactly the same way that she had done this
in other previous situations. That being that she got to the gate, waited for the gate agent to appear distracted, and that's when she made her move.
She was able to sneak by and get through with the crowd that was filing onto the airplane. And it wasn't until midway through the flight that the
flight attendants realized that she wasn't supposed to be there. A short time after they landed, they actually realized who she was. They know that
she had done this before.
Now, as you can imagine, there is going to be a lot of legal hurdles because it's not just law enforcement here in the United States, but you're
now also dealing with immigration rules in Milan. So, there's going to be a very convoluted and tangled up situation right now that's going to involve
the State Department here in the United States, Customs and Border Patrol, and that's also dealing with immigration and laws that are happening right
now in Milan.
And all this to say that she could be in even more legal trouble than we think, because if we think back to when she was first arrested and
convicted for this, it was for her getting on to a flight and ending up in Paris. She was convicted for that. She spent seven months in federal
prison. And she was out on supervised release.
Well, this latest incident is in direct violation of that supervised release. So, she could be in even more trouble than just dealing with the
authorities for this encounter. And the last piece of this that we haven't even discussed are the mental health issues that are -- that are at play at
this situation.
SOARES: Yes.
[14:55:05]
MORALES: Her lawyer has discussed her having what they call a delusional disorder and had even asked for a psychiatric evaluation. So, how she's
going to be treated by the justice system in light of all this still remains to be seen.
SOARES: Yes, indeed. And I suppose we don't know at this stage at what point. Do we know what point -- at what point she was detected? I mean, we
saw her there, and she wouldn't have shown her passport by there. But face recognition. We've got about 50 seconds or so.
MORALES: It was -- it really comes down to that flight.
SOARES: Yes.
MORALES: Because once she got on the flight, she was able to move around that plane, which is what happened when she first got in from JFK in New
York all the way to Paris. It was at some point within that flight that a stewardess started to notice, OK, she's not in her seat. Maybe she's been
in the bathroom too long. Once they figured it out, they realized she wasn't supposed to be there. And it was not too long after that that they
realized that this was in fact the person who had done this before.
SOARES: Yes. Interesting. I'm sure the investigations will continue trying to get more answers to this specifically, like you said, Mark, it's
happened -- it happened before. Mark Morales for us there in New York. Thank you, Mark.
And that does it for us for this hour. Do stay right here. 'What We Know' with my colleague Max Foster is up next. Have a wonderful weekend. I shall
see you on Monday.
END
