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Laura Coates Live
Epstein Accomplice Moved To Lower-Security Prison; Trump Fires Senior Level Official Overseeing Jobs Data After Dismal Report; Trump Weighs In On Potential Diddy Pardon. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired August 01, 2025 - 23:00 ET
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[23:00:00]
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All right, everyone, thank you very much, and thank you for watching "NewsNight." You can catch me any time on your favorite social media, X, Instagram, and TikTok. "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, tonight, we don't know whether Todd Blanche was moved by anything Ghislaine Maxwell had to say to him, but she sure was moved to a minimum- security prison camp, one some call pretty cushy. But why? Well, the president didn't like the numbers, and he fired the number cruncher. But economists are warning the red flags, those are real. And as prosecutors are pushing for more time behind bars for Diddy, Trump has asked straight up if he will pardon him. Tonight on "Laura Coates Live." Well, goodbye, razor wire. Hello, Club Fed. Prison life for Jeffrey Epstein accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, just got a whole lot more comfortable. That's because she has been moved to a lower security federal prison camp in Texas. And no, I'm not being shady by the word "camp." That's actually the official term, camp. And where she's now, it looks more like summer camp than where she was before. Fencing, well, that's minimal. Inmates get to roam relatively freely.
The timing of the move, well, it's impossible to ignore, isn't it? Since it was just last week that Maxwell sat down, presumably across, from Todd Blanche. That's President Trump's number two at the DOJ.
And just to remind you all, she is serving a 20-year sentence for sex crimes. She was found guilty of recruiting, of grooming underage girls for Epstein. She was convicted on five charges, including the sex trafficking of minors.
Needless to say, Epstein and Maxwell accusers are not happy about any of this, including the family of Virginia Giuffre. They put out this blistering statement, saying the administration should not credit a word she says and that the move smacks of a cover up.
And tonight, Trump was asked when the American people will know what Ghislaine Maxwell told Todd Blanche.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, I don't know because I haven't spoken about it. But he's a very talented guy, Todd Blanche, and -- and a very straight shooter.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Yeah.
TRUMP: And I think he probably wanted to know, you know, just to get a feeling of it, because we'd like to release everything, but we don't want people to get hurt, that shouldn't be hurt.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Yeah.
TRUMP: And I would assume that was why he was there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: So, he hasn't spoken with Blanche about that meeting? The one involving a key figure tied to what is now the biggest controversy of his second term? It seems strange.
And here's what makes it stranger. We don't actually have sitting here today an official public reason for Maxwell's transfer. But a move like this is -- it's not common. I mean, it would have required a kind of a waiver because people convicted of sex crimes are usually put in low-security prisons. This is where she was before in Florida, not minimum- security prison camps, where she is now.
In just a moment, I'll talk with someone who knows exactly what life is like inside the camp that Maxwell now calls home. But you know, it begs the question, how did this all happen? Was this some kind of a quid pro quo for information? How did she land there? Who signed off on it? And what will the government get now? It's not going to quiet down the
controversy surrounding the information that people believe is out there.
And tonight, there's actually new CNN reporting about how Trump can't make this story go away. There are sources that say his administration has been intensely monitoring the coverage. One White House official put it this bluntly: "Either we release more documents and it's a confirmation of suspicions, or there's some gap between what people think and what we actually have. And you have to address it directly."
With me now, James Marsh, the attorney representing two of Epstein's alleged victims, Maria and Annie Farmer.
[23:05:00]
James, you know, I don't -- I don't want to lose sight of how all of the attention and focus on Ghislaine Maxwell detracts from the experience and the feelings of the survivors. So, I want to know from you, when you are speaking with your clients, how are they feeling about not only the focus, but about the fact that she has now been moved to a prison camp, essentially, a week after meeting with the number two at DOJ?
JAMES MARSH, ATTORNEY, REPRESENTS ACCUSERS OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN: Thank you, Laura. Yeah, this is par for the course and what the victims have experienced over the course of this case, over 20 years. And in the case of my client, Virginia -- excuse me -- Maria Farmer, that she has experienced for 30 years.
COATES: Hmm.
MARSH: And what we've seen through the course of this case time and time again was major litigation in Florida about the victims not receiving notification that Jeffrey Epstein was charged. And that resulted in a series of cases all the way up to the 11th Circuit --
COATES: Uh-hmm.
MARSH: -- on the failure for victim notification. That was over a decade ago, 15 years ago, the victims were complaining on not being part of the process.
COATES: Were you told here about her being moved to the prison?
MARSH: No. No -- nobody was told about this. And that -- you know, typically -- typically, the defendants that I deal with, in my clients' cases, they are in sex offender treatment programs at Butler. They are in medium security facilities
COATES: Uh-hmm.
MARSH: They are rarely placed in low security facilities. And I have never in thousand cases seen somebody placed in a camp, which is -- is -- is the lowest level of -- of a federal prison. And these largely involve child pornography, possession, distribution, trafficking. You know, a crime like this does not -- does -- I've never seen it in a camp. And so --
COATES: Well, to be clear, you're saying that crimes that involve child pornography and the like, even those defendants are not housed in camps.
MARSH: Never.
COATES: Not that it's any less, but as someone convicted of the types of charges that she was, that makes it even more shocking. Do you have any idea why she would have been moved? Because, again, I mean, the timing of this, she meets with the deputy attorney general number two in the DOJ last week. This week, she's now moved to a prison camp. Do you have any sense as to why that would be?
MARSH: Just the most unfortunate series of random coincidences. You'd think the Trump administration was the most unlucky administration in history to have all of these things just suddenly happen without any involvement of the district, the DOJ, which the Bureau of Prisons is under the Department of Justice. So, this is not like they're a separate agency, not like they're an independent agency. they are within the Department of Justice.
And so, you don't need to be wild conspiracy theorist to imagine that people at the Department of Justice were not only aware of this, but had to approve it and possibly instigated it.
COATES: But your clients never involved. James Marsh, thank you for joining.
MARSH: Thank you, Laura. Thank you for continuing to cover this. It's really important to the victims that there be accountability and transparency. And given, like I said, the history of this case over 20, 30 years, that's something that has been sorely missing from my client and so many others. Virginia Giuffre Guthrie died without ever --
COATES: Ahh.
MARSH: -- achieving that kind of closure.
COATES: Stunning, and it continues to be. James, thank you.
MARSH: Thank you.
COATES: So, what does a day inside Ghislaine Maxwell's new minimum- security prison camp really feel like, look like? How unusual was this move for a convicted sex trafficker? You have to wonder who -- who's really holding the cards here.
Well, it's hard to people who might know, Justin Paperny, who's here. Also, he's a prison consultant who served more than a year in federal prison for investor fraud and conspiracy. Also here, former federal prosecutor Berit Berger. Glad to have all of you here today. I'm going begin with you, Berit, because, listen, you know, according to the Bureau of Prisons regulations, they're, of course, who is in control of the inmates in these facilities, sex offenders are supposed to be held in prisons like the one that Maxwell was previously held at in Tallahassee, Florida. What do you think is behind the fact that she was moved and is it temporary?
BERIT BERGER, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I think the short answer is we need more information. So, Bureau of Prisons moves can happen for a number of reasons. They can happen because somebody is sick and they need to be at a facility that can better, you know, accommodate their needs.
COATES: Uh-hmm.
BERGER: You can be moved because there's a security threat against you. The times that I saw people moved post-conviction were if they decided that they were going to become a cooperating witness, that the government signed them up, and they needed to be moved to a facility that could accommodate them as a cooperating witness. Right?
[23:10:03]
This means keeping them away from other cooperating witnesses in the case, keeping them away from people that may do them harm. We just don't know enough right now to know whether that's what's driving this move or if it was simply an administrative move.
COATES: I should mention, I mean, she has been pursuing charges, changes in prison conditions for quite some time because she has said for years --inciting safety concerns. Who knows if that's the case here or whether that was a motivating factor.
But Justin, this prison camp is minimal security. I mean, really minimal fencing. It also sits kind of right in the middle of a residential area. People have described it as cushy, and the word "camp" is also in there. Can you compare her living conditions at this new place with what she had previously been and describe that new reality? What's it like in a place like that?
JUSTIN PAPERNY, FEDERAL PRISON CONSULTANT: In many ways, it's like going to Disneyland. When you live in this different environment, where you're truly fenced in, then you're in a minimum-security camp. It looks like a junior college or corporate office park, some perimeter fencing, but you're around people who have 10 years or less white-collar crimes like Elizabeth Holmes, Jennifer Shah, so you're not going to have bad violence, Pilates, yoga. I know that upsets people, specifically the victims.
I would remind people, she didn't create the system of corrections in this country. She didn't build it. And I have no doubt her lawyers before she interviewed said, she'll speak, but we can never send her back to that prison due to the violence threat. So, in order for her to speak, you have to move her to this camp.
I would tell you, in the 16 years I've been in this game, I've never seen a sex offender spend time in a camp. I've never seen it. And there are many sex offenders in lower medium security prisons who have cooperated and not had the benefit to go down to a camp.
She's clearly trying to engineer an outcome. She has given a little bit of information to get a little bit. Give a little, get a lot (ph). She's nurturing it well. And I would argue, to the victim's detriment, she's winning.
COATES: You know, on that point, does somebody have more contact with the outside world in a place like this? Is there more -- I mean, if she has visitors, are they able to come? Are there other benefits that being in a lower security or in a prison camp would yield for somebody who is, as Berit talked about, trying to cooperate if that's the case?
PAPERNY: Well, many sex offenders in prison will not have access to email. And I presume in the minimum-security camp, she does. She'll be able to visit. It kind of looks like an airport where you have some privacy around people --
COATES: Yeah.
PAPERNY: -- that you do not know. She'll be able to visit. There's email. There's phone. But it's a fundamentally different environment. There won't be the controlled movement. There are four dorms. She can go to the dorm, to recreation, to the library, to a Pilates class. It is a much more comfortable environment with very little violence.
The highest value in these minimum-security camps, I know because I was there, is boredom. And I presume, working on her case, trying to execute a strategy to get clemency or pardon, she's going to be very, very busy. It's a much easier environment compared to where she has been in detention and at the low security prison.
COATES: Berit, bring us the perspective of a prosecutor. What -- why would you want to do this if you are a prosecutor looking at her case or revisiting something surrounding her case? What benefit would this be? Would it make her more inclined to be forthcoming? Do they really have that level of leverage with somebody who's a current inmate?
BERGER: So, I'll just say this. As a prosecutor, we never used a prison move as a reward. This wasn't an incentive for people to cooperate. It wasn't like, okay, now, you get to go to someplace cushy. It was not part of their deal.
The reason you would move them is if it was a security threat, if there was some way that their current facility couldn't accommodate their cooperation. Right? If there were people from the same gang that were housed in the same unit as you, you couldn't have a cooperator in that unit, you would have to move them. Those were the only reasons why people were moved for cooperation or to make it easier for them to meet with their lawyer or to meet with the government.
So, in that sense, perhaps it's a temporary move while she's meeting with the government if she is continuing to have those meetings. But I can certainly say, at least during the time when I was at the Department of Justice, it was not a reward. COATES: Well, it was certainly easy for Todd Blanche to at least meet with her the first time. We'll see whether that's one of the motivations or not. A lot of unanswered questions. Justin Paperny, Berit Berger, thank you both.
Next, you're fired! Well, Trump got to say that today again. This time shooting the messenger who used this thing called data to reveal his economy may not be as perfect as he wants it to be. And ahead, the prosecution clapping back at Diddy's defense team over his sentencing as the president weighs in on a potential pardon.
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COATES: The wild drops in stock market from the spring, well, they're back. The Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq saw their worst day in months after disappointing jobs numbers were released this very morning. Now that along with strong downward revisions for May and June's job numbers, well, they set off alarm bells on Wall Street. President Trump's response? Fire the messenger, the Bureau of Labor Statistics chief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're doing so well. I believe the numbers were phony, just like they were before the election, and there were other times. So, you know what I did? I fired her. And you know what? I did the right thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Well, then the next ball dropped. Fed Governor Adriana Kugler announcing that she's resigning, opening up a coveted spot on the Fed Board of Governors, one the president now gets to fill, of course.
[23:20:01]
Trump claims she resigned with a disagreement of some sorts with the Fed chief, Powell, to lower interest rates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: She disagreed with -- too late. You know who too late is? She disagreed with too late on the interest rate. So, we'll see what happens. But we just found out that I have an open spot on the Federal Reserve Board. I'm very happy about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: I love a good nickname. Hmm. Joining me now is Courtenay Brown, she's a senior economics reporter at Axios. Michael LaRosa, he's a former special assistant to President Biden, and Bryan Lanza, he was a senior advisor for the Trump-Vance campaign. Well, Courtney, let me begin with you because the jobs numbers this morning, well, set off some concern, it seems. What happened and are these revisions that Trump is complaining about, are those actually unusual?
COURTENAY BROWN, SENIOR ECONOMICS REPORTER, AXIOS: All I can say is buy your fellow economics reporter a drink.
(LAUGHTER)
We all have a day. I think at 8:29 this morning, one minute before the jobs report came out, we thought everything was fine, economy was tugging along, everything was resilient. At 8:30 a.m., the number hits, and that narrative completely changes. The labor market added 73,000 jobs in July. Turns out that's not a great number, but it's actually a pickup --
COATES: Hmm.
BROWN: -- from what happened in May and June given the revisions. The BLS made the largest revisions over the course of two months on record if you exclude the pandemic period. And it's just -- it blows my mind how much we're rethinking the state of the economy right now because of this report.
COATES: Talk to me, Michael, I mean, because Trump is claiming, of course, that the numbers are rigged --
MICHAEL LAROSA, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: Yeah.
COATES: -- that these numbers are manipulated for political reasons, that the person, the BLS administrator, was a Biden-appointee and she was trying to get Biden elected by manipulating numbers. What's your response to those claims?
LAROSA: Well, then he's really not going to like the acting replacement at first because he's a Yale-educated Obama-appointee. So, when the inflation numbers come out in two weeks, let's see what he does after that report comes out because he could fire the replacement. Who knows?
But no, this is -- these numbers have been reported this way through the same formula since 1940 under FDR when the BLS started this formula. All presidents have worked with the disclosure of employment numbers exactly this way. Over 100,000 businesses every month talk to BLS reporters. I'm sorry, they -- they actually -- what they do is fill out a survey.
COATES: Uh-hmm.
LAROSA: Right? And not all the numbers are there for the first of the month. So, the BLS goes back to those employers, updates the information twice over the month, and that's where the revisions come in.
But I will give the president credit for consistency because a year ago, I was having to explain this process to another network that was saying Biden was cooking the books on the jobs' numbers. But no, this is just how it has always been under every president, including Trump 1.
COATES: Well, you wonder how it will be going forward if people believe that somehow, it would be rigged now to show political continuity or success stories. There's always a confidence issue in people who don't necessarily understand the numbers or the processes, are wondering how it will be now.
But let me ask you this, Bryan, because Steve Bannon earlier in the day, he was musing that a MAGA choice should be at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And then, well, Trump fired her. Why?
BRYAN LANZA, FORMER DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR TRUMP 2016 CAMPAIGN: I mean, gosh, she has gone wrong for four years. I mean, this is a person who has had to revise the numbers more so than any bureau statistic person during Trump and during Obama. I mean, she's clearly a failure, getting the numbers wrong. She has gotten failure, consistently wrong during Biden. And she got it wrong this time.
I mean, at some point, you have to have accountability. If you're in the private sector and you come up with numbers like this and they get revised to this number, you don't have a job the next day.
And Trump is bringing the private sector sort of experience to this. You have a huge variation in numbers throughout her four years or three years as tenure. And that's a problem because those numbers matter.
COATES: But I thought they were -- I thought they were normal in some ways, to have revisions, though.
LANZA: But not at this. But you just said it's the largest revision, so that's not normal.
BROWN: Yeah. And so, this is something that happens with Trump. There is like a little -- a little bit of truth there, right? These revisions are exceptionally large, the BLS said so this morning. There are data collection.
LAROSA: Exceptionally large trade war across -- across the entire world.
BROWN: Right. There are big changes happening in the economy right now that make the economy more difficult to measure. One of them is President Trump's immigration policies that are, you know, messing -- messing or changing the population. Not commenting on it one way or another. It just these changes are hard for the BLS to account for.
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LANZA: These revisions took place during Biden as well, and there wasn't an immigration, you know, crackdown taking place.
BROWN: But there was COVID. Right? Another huge shock to the economy. LANZA: Sure.
LAROSA: Important to know that the administrator who he fired is not a political person. She is a longtime bureaucrat. This is a bureaucratic position, essentially.
LANZA: Deep state.
LAROSA: Well, no, not --
COATES: You said deep state.
LANZA: Yeah.
LAROSA: It's important to realize, she doesn't see the numbers until the morning, just like the president and the Council of Economic Advisers. She's not looking at the hundreds of thousands of surveys coming in over the course of a month. She's reporting them to the White House. She's seeing him at the same time they are.
COATES: Well, this person was fired. Somebody else resigned, though. Tell me the significance, of course, of the fact that somebody who is a member of the governor for the Fed is resigning, leaving a spot open for Trump to fill. How significant is this moment?
BROWN: Now, he gets a chance to shape the Fed board a few months earlier than he would have gotten the opportunity to. There has been conversation about whether President Trump would fill this seat with the person who he eventually sees as being the leader of the Fed. And does this person kind of act like a shadow Fed chair and confuse financial markets by giving certain guidance that, you know, may or may not be
consistent with what Fed Chair Powell is saying?
But it's my understanding the president wants to move quickly on this, announce a replacement for former Governor Kugler or, as of next Friday, former Governor Kugler. So, here -- this is his big moment. He has been railing the Fed for months and months and months. This is his moment to leave a mark on the Fed.
COATES: Can he seize this moment appropriately? I'm talking about the renovations as his real issue. And, of course, he can't just take away Jerome Powell. There are actual steps in place and something else besides this. Is this the right strategy?
LANZA: Yeah. I mean, look what happened recently. You had two former or two board of governors go against Chairman Powell with respect to the interest rate, you know, lack of height. So, there's clearly division, you know, within the Fed board.
And we need consistency. There's inconsistency because the vast markets throughout the world, those big economies, they're dropping interest rates. We're the only big economy that's not dropping interest rates, and it's now starting to look fishy.
And he's going to have -- President Trump is going to have a moment. I know they're focused on this. They're going to probably roll out somebody in next 10 days with respect to this. But it's a big moment for him. He is fighting for the Fed for it to actually to be, you know, consistent with what the world economy looks like.
COATES: Fishy or prudent?
LAROSA: Who appointed Jerome Powell to the Fed?
COATES: Oh, I know this one. Donald Trump.
LAROSA: Correct. I think I'll just --
COATES: There we go. I guess we'll leave it there. I got it right at Friday night. Everyone, thank you. Take that, economics professor. I know that there's missing. Everyone, thank you so much.
Hey, listen, the trial is over, but the defense and the prosecution for the Diddy trial are still duking it out. We'll tell you why after this.
Plus, a special delivery for the pope. That's right. It's a Cincinnati native hand delivering a pizza straight to the pontiff. It is live from Rome.
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[23:30:00]
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COATES: It has been nearly a month since the Diddy jury acquitted him of RICO and sex trafficking and found him guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution. The second that verdict came down, both sides began to think about how the judge might ultimately sentence him.
But the ball is in the judge's court. Maybe it's better to say it's in his calculator. He's got to input any criminal convictions and the nature of the crime into the federal sentencing guidelines chart, and then look at the range of months that it spits back out, and then decide if he agrees with that or not, and then he tells Diddy how much time he's got to go to prison for or not.
Now, the day of the verdict, the defense calculated prison time somewhere between 21 and 27 months. The prosecutors, well, they more than doubled at them, so that would be somewhere between four and five years.
But that was then. This is now. Diddy's attorney, Mark Agnifilo, told "Variety" that Diddy hadn't been outside since September. And his team asked the judge to overturn his convictions or possibly grant him a new trial or, at the very least, set him free until his sentencing date because they say he wasn't a pimp, but a John, or maybe just an amateur porn director.
The prosecution, well, they're snapping back. They argue now that they may have lowballed their original estimated calculation and that the judge should keep him in jail until he is officially sentenced because knowing he could go to prison for a longer time makes him a flight risk.
Let's see if CNN's legal analyst and primary defense attorney Joey Jackson and former federal prosecutor Berit Berger think the math is math-ing. They join me now.
I'll begin with you, Joey. Why do you think the prosecutors upped their calculations? What could have happened in the last month?
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Uh, it beats me, Laura, to know what might have happened. I would just say this is something like moving the goal post. We've heard about that before.
But I think what the argument is going to be is the following: We know that, as you just explained it adeptly, that you have these federal sentencing guidelines.
[23:35:02]
The purpose of the guideline is to shoot -- insure some uniformity. Right? Some proportionality in sentencing so that if people are convicted of similar offenses, they're not mandatory, but the judge has some way to evaluate what that is.
However, having said that, you could consider, under federal sentencing, something called relevant conduct. What does that mean? It means it's conduct not what you were convicted of, but other conduct that relates to you just being a pretty bad person and other course of conduct you engaged in. If you look at this trial in light of RICO, we saw so much of that. Right?
COATES: Uh-hmm.
JACKSON: We saw obstructing things, we saw drugs, we saw arson of cars, we saw extortion. And so, they could add that. But another thing that they may seem to do, which would be perplexing to me, is to argue that this should not be concurrent time, judge, which are these two convictions shouldn't run at the same time, but they should be considered separate. Right? Why? Because they occurred on different occasions and they related to a different course of conduct.
And that last point, Laura, will be news to me because you are good as a prosecutor talking about moving the goalpost, that this was one course of conduct by this kingpin who engage in this course of conduct over a long period of time, this was who he was, but now, it doesn't suit the prosecution, so they may argue up it was separate and apart, it wasn't the course of conduct, and we have to consider it separately. So, that's what the prosecution may be arguing right now, which would not surprise me.
COATES: Well, it's two months away, knowing that October is this sentencing date. Berit, I'm going to ask you this question, knowing, of course, that Maurene Comey, who was really the lead prosecutor in this case, she has now been fired. We're not told a reason why she was let go. People probably have their suspicions.
I wonder, one, will that have any impact on how the prosecutors argued this case? But also, perhaps more importantly, Diddy's attorney told "Variety" that the Mann Act should never even applied to him because he wasn't a pimp, he was a John, that he wasn't actually financially gaining from this and was more like an amateur porn director. Will that carry any weight if he argues they never made any money off these freak-offs?
BERGER: I doubt that that will carry any weight with the judge. And the government actually addressed these very arguments in their submission to the court this week. And they pointed out that there's actually been a history of people being prosecuted for being in positions just like Diddy.
And that instead of being, you know, John, as he wants to sort of paint himself now, you know, he was really arranging all of this for his own benefit, not just once, not just twice, but hundreds of times over a very long period of time with violence associated with it, with drugs associated with it. So, I don't know that that specific argument will carry a lot of weight.
As to your first question, will it matter that Maurene Comey, who was the lead prosecutor on this case, is no longer at the Southern District of New York? I mean, it was a big prosecution team. Fortunately, she wasn't the only prosecutor. But, of course, it is a huge loss to have somebody with that kind of institutional knowledge, that person who knows everything about the case no longer there, not only for the purposes of this case, but really for everything else that the SDNY does. It's a big loss.
COATES: Well, Joey, the president of the United States, people have been wondering what his thoughts would be given that this is a federal case. He does have pardoning power. He can wield it any way he chooses. He actually was asked if he would pardon Diddy. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: When you knew someone and you were fine, and then you run for office, and he made some terrible statements. So, I don't know. It's more difficult. It makes it more -- I'm being honest. It makes it more difficult to do.
ROB FINNERTY, NEWSMAX HOST: But more likely a no for Combs, it sounds like.
TRUMP: I would say so.
FINNERTY: Okay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: So, Diddy shouldn't be counting on that pardon, Joey?
(LAUGHTER) JACKSON: You know, Laura, it looks not. But what perplexing to me is pardon should be predicated upon fairness. They should be predicated upon the interest of justice. They should be based upon whether you think the system work. And here we are the president talking about whether he said nice things or bad things, we were friends before. That's not presidential.
You got to look at the case. You have to make determination as to, hey, leave this alone, the jury did what it did, let's respect the process, or I find that there's some fundamental unfairness here in which I should intervene.
So, I just find the comments not to be appropriate to the way the judicial system supposed to function. Laura, it doesn't matter whether you like me or Berit likes me or I like you. Was Berit treated fairly or was she not? And if not, I should do something about it. Right? And if so, I should leave it alone. So, I'm disappointed by the comments that were made.
COATES: Oh, come on. We all like Joey Jackson. Joey, Berit, thank you so much.
[23:40:00]
(LAUGHTER)
Thanks, guys. Quote -- "be less crazy." That's what vice president is telling critics of the Sydney Sweeney great jeans ad. Is he right or is the ad bad? We'll talk it over after this.
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COATES: All right, it's Friday night. You know, we got to talk.
[23:44:59]
It's time for, as Wendy Williams would say, hot topics. That was a horrible impersonation. Sorry, Wendy Williams. With my funny friend, comedian Pete Dominick, he is the host of "Stand Up with Pete Dominick," and sports whiz Rachel Nichols, she is an analyst for Fox Sports. I'll try again. How you doing? That was better. Pete, okay, that was better, thank you.
Okay, Pete, let me start with you. The ad that everyone has heard about, Sydney Sweeney's 'good jeans.' J.D. Vance is now weighing in. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The lesson they have apparently taken is we're going to attack people as Nazis for thinking Sydney Sweeney is beautiful.
(LAUGHTER)
Great strategy, guys. That's how you're going to win the midterm, especially young American men.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: So, what do you think, Pete? Do people get too critical about this or is the ad just bad?
PETE DOMINICK, COMEDIAN: Well, first of all, that hallow barrel (ph) talking about political strategy is so rich. J.D. Vance acting like this is some kind of democratic strategy. People are all -- there's something for everybody here with this dumb ad. Lots of outrage and conversation, which is probably great for American Eagle, which by the way, Rachel, Laura, I mean, I haven't been there. I didn't even know it was still in store. Last time I was there, it was 1993, to buy a weaved leather belt that nobody found attractive.
(LAUGHTER)
DOMINICK: But make no mistake, there's a team of executives who've done this their entire lives. They're not stupid enough to think this is just some innocent play on words, accidentally offended people. It's inflammatory on purpose. They're stoking flames to drive brand engagement, sell clothes to teenagers and young people, especially young women in their 20s, get men to notice.
And it -- the best way to make this actually work is to reproduce this ad over and over with a variety of celebrities from all different ethnicities and gender backgrounds and bury any of the confusion over if they mean jeans with a "J" or a "G" for guys.
COATES: Let me ask you, Rachel. Of course, I have a vision of Pete with a --
RACHEL NICHOLS, ANALYST, FOX SPORTS: I don't want to go there.
COATES: I'm going to go there. But here's what American Eagle is saying about it today. Quote -- "'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' is and always was about the jeans. Great jeans look good on everyone." What do you think? Was the ad about that J-E-A-N-S?
NICHOLS: Well, look, Pete is right. This has gotten American Eagle on the conversation in a way they never could have helped to otherwise. In fact, their stock has gone up double digits --
COATES: Hmm.
NICHOLS: -- since this ad aired.
(LAUGHTER)
And everyone is talking about them. Now, they should, to Pete's point, get another one of the most beautiful women on the planet like Rihanna to come in and do the exact same ad, and then we'll do a whole news cycle.
I did think what J.D. Vance did though was interesting and certainly good strategy from whoever is advising him. There is no Democratic politician going out and talking about this ad. It's just not happening. So, painting it on the Democrats, that somehow the Democrats are telling young-blooded American men, they shouldn't think Sydney Sweeney is hot, has nothing to do with what's actually happening. But that's American politics today, right? I mean, what has to do with what's actually happening? Let's just talk about something else.
COATES: Well, let's talk about something else. A, guess where I'm going with that, guys. Speaking of what's happening, I'm going to Canada because Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry hanging out. He was spotted at her concert singing along to Firework. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: This is going to be a new show. Concerts and cams that are actually showing the crowd from Coldplay to this. I will watch it. What are your thoughts, Pete, on the fact that he's there singing it and what everyone has made of this potential situation-ship?
DOMINICK: Well, I've got personal thoughts, those in a moment. I've got -- I've got some analysis of Justin Trudeau. He's like a lot of men. He worshiped his father, Pierre, who is also the prime minister. He is following his footsteps because Pierre Trudeau dated Barbara Streisand for 15 years. And there's a history of politicians dating celebrities. It is always male politicians dating female celebrities. You can ask whose career this is better or worse for who -- who -- what publicity, you know, people put them together.
But I also am rooting for anybody for a second start. As you know, Laura, I'm separated. You know, middle-aged people are getting separated. It's scary. Anybody out there watching, you might not be Katy Perry or Justin Trudeau or me, Pete Dominick, but you're not alone and you can be happy again.
NICHOLS: Laura, I think Pete is using this show to get dates --
(CROSSTALK)
COATES: -- left or right. I don't know what it is, but swipe away, people. Go ahead.
NICHOLS: There you go. I now have two images. I didn't need when I started this show. Pete and his woven leather belt and Justin Trudeau in an extra medium t-shirt singing to a song he should not be singing to.
But look, Pete is right, let them live. Obviously, Justin Trudeau is living his post-divorce, post-politician life, maybe trying to take a page out of Travis Kelce's book. You know, hook up with a pop star, get a little bit famous in a different way for something different. And yeah, it's not just Barbra Streisand.
[23:50:00]
Pete, you know, Justin Trudeau's mother was 22 years old when she married his father, Pierre, who was 51 years old.
DOMINICK: Oh, dear.
NICHOLS: Yes, Pierre dated Kim Cattrall also. So that probably gets us to our next topic.
COATES: Oh, my God. I -- are you -- yes, I was going with "Sex and the City," Kim Cattrall, this is mind-blowing, thank you, because I want to talk about the fact that this chapter is coming to an end. Sarah Jessica Parker acknowledging that the "Sex and the City" spinoff and just like that, is ending, writing a poem -- quote -- "She changed homes, time zones, boyfriends, her mind, her shoes, her hair, but never her love and devotion to New York City."
I have to tell you, I am -- I love the fashion, I love the new characters, I love the original show. I'm not always a big fan when people bring a show back. I wanted to stay in that wonderful place that it was. I'm not a huge fan of all spin-offs, but if I had to pick spin-offs, I'll tell you, I like the characters not to have individual ones. I mean, Ari Nicole Parker would love to have her have a new show as well. What do you think about a spin-off?
NICHOLS: Well, look, don't need another one, a spin-off to this spin- off, so this one can stay where it is, as far as I'm concerned.
(LAUGHTER)
COATES: Pete, you were an avid viewer, of all things, "Sex in the City." What are your thoughts?
DOMINICK: I never watched it, but I reached out to my 20-year-old daughter, who is a filmmaker and writer in the city, and she sent me this statement. She said, watching a woman centered story that openly discuss sexual autonomy on screen was pivotable, and a lot of young women (INAUDIBLE), including mine, and my other city, other daughter, couldn't comment because she's in the city with her girlfriends.
COATES: Well, I'll watch it again. I'll tell you that right now. And I'd love to watch you, too. I'm going to follow along and see your new app, Pete, and see if anyone is swiping after this show. They probably will.
NICHOLS: This could be a Friday night segment, Laura. Find Pete and eat.
COATES: "Love Island" was a thing. We'll do all the thing here. Pete, Rachel, we'll talk about it later. Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
DOMINICK: Thank you.
COATES: An American woman goes all the way to Rome to hand-deliver a pizza to the pope. Who was happier about it? She'll tell me next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Yes! Who wants a pizza? Here's a pizza (ph).
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:55:00]
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COATES: Well, Pope Leo got a taste of home, a hand-delivered taste of home. Twenty-two-year-old Madeline Daley traveled all the way to Rome to give Pope Leo a personal pie from Aurelio's Pizza, straight from the pope's hometown of Chicago.
The first American pontiff spotted Daley in the crowd holding up the pizza box and pointed right at her, gladly accepting the pepperoni pie, one of his favorites. So, what's the next thing Madeline did? She joins us right here on "Laura Coates Live," of course.
Madeline Daley, welcome. What is the real moment? Describe it to me when you are thinking, I'm going to bring the pope this pizza, and you're holding this box, and he sees you.
MADELINE DALEY, DELIVERED PIZZA TO THE POPE: It was honestly wild. It almost made me kind of feel sad for him, though, because he was so excited about this pizza, and I just thought this man is not going to go home the same person he was back when he was a child eating this pizza.
(LAUGHTER)
But it made me so joyful. I got to remind him of home and got to remind him of America and what he loves back home.
COATES: And how did you pull this off? You brought it with you all the way to Rome. I -- walk me through. I'm a logistics person. Walk me through this.
DALEY: Yeah. So, my friend, Jaden Ramirez (ph), is a Catholic content creator out of Ohio, and he had this idea to come to him in person (ph) when he was thinking about his content, and he wanted to try to accomplish one of those challenges that these massive YouTubers do, but he wanted the end goal not to be about fame and success and money, but rather to edify and uplift the soul and the life of the viewer.
And so, when he wasn't able to make it to Rome for the Jubilee because he's a father of a seven-month-old and didn't want to leave his wife, he knew I was going, and so I had to get some dry ice and get through TSA. I called Italian customs and found out I could bring a pizza, and it traveled throughout Rome all the way until Wednesday audience. COATES: It was probably like you want to bring a pizza into Italy from someplace else. Sure, let's give it a try. Why not? But I'll tell you what, the pope's brother told a local Chicago affiliate that he ate every last bite. Madeline, how does it make you feel?
DALEY: That made me shocked. I was honestly a little scared for him because although it stayed frozen the whole time, I myself was, like, this pizza has traveled almost 5,000, I think more than 5,000 miles.
COATES: I mean, you traveled all the way to the Vatican to attend the Youth Jubilee. Can you tell us a little bit about that event?
DALEY: Yes. There are millions of people here. I've never been in such crowded streets. And every night, there are people with flags from different countries, rallying in the squares and singing songs. And I saw last night Irish groups and Spanish groups singing songs back and forth at each other, and I was just shocked by the diversity and the world wideness of the Catholic Church.
COATES: Wow. And now, the first American pontiff. What was it like seeing him in this role up close and personal and having that connection to the United States?
DALEY: I still am having trouble understanding the gravity of having a pope, someone -- the successor of Peter being from my country and speaking my language natively. And hearing him speak English in front of those millions of people without any accent was just shocking because I've never seen a pope be able to do that before. And I just haven't fathomed the fact that the pope is an American, and that I can relate to him on a different level than other popes.
COATES: Well, you certainly can. You're the one who brought him pizza, and he was grateful for it. Did he say anything to you?
DALEY: I didn't hear anything explicitly.
[00:00:00]
But I saw him now -- thank you so many times. He put his hands together, he gave me a thumbs up multiple times, and looked me in the eyes.
COATES: Wow! That is amazing. Madeline Daley, thank you so much. And thank you, I'm sure, from him as well. Have a good one.
DALEY: Yeah. You, too.
COATES: Hey, thank you all for watching. Go ahead and order some pizza. "Anderson Cooper 360" is next.
