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Musk Joins Trump In Oval Office To Defend Aggressive Government Overhaul; Trump Claims U.S. Authority To Own Gaza, We're Going To Take It; U.S. Teacher Just Released By Russia Expected at White House Tonight; Tonight; Tech Tycoons At War: Sam Altman Fires Back At Elon Musk, Saying He's Not "A Happy Person"; FBI Uncovers Thousands Of Records On JFK Assassination. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 11, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news, Elon Musk joins President Trump in the Oval Office to defend their aggressive overhaul of the federal government and to complain about judges and other people standing in their way. We're breaking down key moments of their very unusual photo op.

Also tonight, President Trump claims the U.S. has authority to take over Gaza, taking his push to, quote, own the territory to a new level during talks with the king of Jordan. CNN is in the Middle East where the fragile, very fragile, Israel-Hamas ceasefire could be nearing a breaking point right now.

Plus, just hours after Russia released American Teacher Marc Fogel, he's expected to be at the White House later tonight. The Trump administration saying there was some kind of unspecified exchange with Moscow to bring Fogel home.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.

We begin with the breaking news over at the White House, Elon Musk taking center stage with President Trump for an extended Q&A with reporters, as their extreme government makeover is under intense scrutiny.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is following all these developments for us. Jeff, the optics of the Oval Office moment with Musk were unprecedented.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it was an extraordinary sight, seeing President Trump sitting at the Resolute Desk and Elon Musk standing just a few feet away, going on at great length about the work he's been doing over the last three weeks or so inside the government. Of course, it was also part of a public relations campaign.

As judges across the country, even some members of Congress, obviously are raising deep questions about this. Elon Musk was talking for the first time about what he's finding inside the government. Not many opportunities to actually press him for details and actually check some of the facts there. He said there are fraudsters inside the government, and he also talked about the unelected bureaucracy that drives Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY: If the people cannot vote, then half their will be decided by their elected representatives in the form of the president and the Senate and the House, then we don't live in a democracy, we live in a bureaucracy. So, it's incredibly important that we close that feedback loop, we fix that feedback loop, and that the public's elected representatives, the president, the House, and the Senate, decide what happens, as opposed to a large, unelected bureaucracy.

All of our actions are fully public. So, if you see anything, you say like, wait a second, hey, you know what, that doesn't, that seems like -- maybe that's -- you know, there's a conflict there, it's not like people are going to be shy about saying that. They'll say it immediately, you know?

REPORTER: Including you, yourself?

MUSK: Yes. Transparency is what builds trust.

I fully expect to be scrutinized and get, you know, a daily proctology exam, basically. I might as well just camp out there. So, it's not like I think I can get away with something. I'll be scrutinized nonstop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Now, we talked about a proctology exam in his words. But one thing that Elon Musk is not doing is filing a financial disclosure form. He is what is known as a special government employee. Most administrations have them. They bring in experts from a variety of sources, and that's the auspices under which he's working. But he is not going to release his own financial disclosures. Of course, he has billions of dollars in contracts with the government. Of course, that is at the heart of these questions about the conflict of interest.

But, Wolf, never mind all of that. I mean, when you take together what has happened over the first three weeks as we head into the fourth week here of this new Trump administration, it's extraordinary the breadth at which things have been happening. One, the president fired all the inspector generals at agencies around Washington, and they are to be the government watchdogs. They do not work for either party. They are the ones who scrutinize spending. Also, Congress has an oversight role. So, it's not like that these exact oversight has not been happening.

But Elon Musk standing there taking questions for the very first time with his four-year-old son, as you can see, standing at his feet. Wolf?

BLITZER: Yes, it was a very dramatic moment indeed. All right, Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much. Looks like nice snow coming down behind you over at the White House.

Meanwhile, President Trump also weighed in on the slew of federal judges blocking key parts of his agenda.

[18:05:02]

CNN's Paula Reid has details for us. Paula, the president has been increasingly critical of those judges. Tell our viewers what he said tonight and how the courts are pushing back on Trump.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf. A short time ago, President Trump addressed these concerns that he would not abide by court orders as his policies continue to be blocked by judges across the country. Let's take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: The judge does block one of your policies, part of your agenda, will you abide by that ruling? Will you comply?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I always abide by the courts and then I'll have to appeal it. But then what he's done is he slowed down the momentum and it gives crooked people more time to cover up the books.

You know, if a person's crooked and they get caught, other people see that and all of a sudden it becomes harder later on. So, yes, the answer is I always abide by the courts, always abide by them, and will appeal. But appeals take a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: Now that question comes as Trump has attacked judges as being activist, and the administration has not abided by all of the court orders to pause or stop its policies.

Now, just last night, a federal judge blocked the administration's policy trying to cap the amount of money that research institutes can receive from the federal government, and that was just one of about five different ways the Trump administration's policies have been either paused or blocked by courts in just the last 48 hours.

But, look, a losing streak like this, losing every legal challenge, this was all very much expected. Trump lawyers told me before Trump was even sworn in that they expected his new policies would nearly all be challenged in court, challenged in jurisdictions where the challengers believed that they could win. They said that they also expected they'd lose a lot of the appellate level cases.

Their goal, though, is to get some of these questions to the Supreme Court, that conservative supermajority. Their hope is that the justices will share Trump's view of expanded executive power. So, if anyone thinks that all of these losses are going to deter them on these policies, it will not.

BLITZER: All right. Paula Reid reporting for us, Paula, thanks very much.

I want to bring in our legal and political experts right now, and, Ashley Allison, let me start with you. It was a pretty remarkable scene that we all saw over in the Oval Office, Elon Musk essentially taking over the Oval Office in the Q&A with reporters over there. What was your reaction?

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. Actually, I was surprised for a while that he spoke. It was almost silent in the room. I think having a figure like him be in the Oval Office is so drawing not just to the American people but to reporters to say like this is not normally how you would govern.

But the thing that was interesting about Elon Musk is he's like, oh, I'm not going to get them all right. Well, you need to because we're talking about people's lives here. We're not just talking about your fantasy with an electric car or Twitter or whatever. We're talking about people's Social Security checks, people's jobs. So, you need to be thorough and efficient. And he talked about, you know, cutting trillions and trillions of dollars, and it's the most transparent. I don't agree with that. He won't even be transparent with his own financial disclosures. So, how transparent is he really being what's happening in the government?

But I think that they are being thoughtful in the way they're talking about this right now. They're going on the offense to say, we're doing this for you. But when you really look at when cuts actually happen, who has impacted, it is the American people, even some of the people that voted for him.

BLITZER: You know, Bryan Lanza, we recently all saw that cover of TIME Magazine and you saw showing Elon Musk actually, behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. What was that perception? What was your reaction to that?

BRYAN LANZA, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP 2024 CAMPAIGN: Silliness. You know, my reaction is that clearly the media wants to try to trigger President Trump and engage in this conflict that there's Trump between -- that there's conflict between Trump and Musk. And the reality is there isn't. Trump is very much happy with what Elon is doing. He is a sort of have been a master weapon that he's needed to tackle the excesses of government. He's absorbing a lot of the blows, like they're simpatico.

So, you know, for me, it's funny that the media tries to create this wedge, when, internally, we all laugh about it and we're like, there is no wedge. Trump is actually very happy with the job Elon is doing. You've seen it repeated time after time and he's absorbing all the negativity. So, from our standpoint, keep it up. It's working for us.

BLITZER: Norm, I just want to actually get your thoughts. You're a former White House ethics czar. You heard Elon Musk say he's essentially policing himself right now. Is that how things are supposed to work?

NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: No, Wolf. The ethics laws are there to protect against conflicts, so people who are working for the government are serving the public interest, not their own interest. Elon Musk is slashing staff in agencies that are investigating him.

What arrangements have been made? We haven't seen his financial disclosures. Supposedly he's signed it. How is he dealing with these conflicts? Does he have waivers? Is he recused?

[18:10:00]

You have a criminal president, 34 convictions. No wonder he's happy with Elon Musk. They're violating the law right and left, and it's a lie by the president that he always abides by court orders. I was in that courtroom in New York. He broke the judge's directive again and again. He was fined and he didn't stop until the judge threatened him with jail.

BLITZER: Interesting. You know, Elliot Williams, Trump was very critical, as we all know, of judges during his remarks today over in the Oval Office, but added that he always follows their rulings. Is that how the administration has acted, indeed, during these first weeks of this second administration?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, so far, there's been at least one instance where a federal court has said that the administration has not followed its order. But to be clear, and to the president's credit, they are still appealing and still figuring out how it's going to work out.

He can mock judges all he wants. He is free to criticize the judiciary all he wants. I don't think it's a good idea if you're president of the United States, but that's your right, frankly, as a citizen. But when a court order comes down, it is your obligation as a litigant to obey that court order. And we should hold him to his word if he says that he's going to obey these orders of courts, he should do so.

Now, he will have the right, and the administration will have the right, to appeal any order they disagree with, all the way up to the United States Supreme Court, if it gets there. It remains to be seen if that'll happen, but so far, they seem to be playing along.

BLITZER: We'll see if that happens, indeed.

Ashley, Elon Musk admitted to making at least one mistake already in these early days of his Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE work. Watch this, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUSK: Some of the things that I say will be incorrect and should be corrected. So, nobody's going to bat a thousand. I mean, any -- you know, we will make mistakes, but we'll act quickly to correct any mistakes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What's your reaction to that? ALLISON: So, I often hear efficiency and people think that means you just move fast. And it's no secret that it's only been three weeks of the administration and DOGE is moving extremely fast. You can also avoid mistakes by actually being thorough. Being thorough is a part of being efficient as well. And so I think for him to just be in the Oval Office Sitting next to the leader of the free world and say I'm going to make some mistakes, yes, but, again, it impacts the American people. And he's making mistakes, cutting aid, talking about diminishing our soft power, cutting aid to research institutions where there's the research triangle in North Carolina and Ohio State, in a red state, like with their research. These are not Democratic or Republican issues. When we, when COVID hit, it hit us all. When the flu hits, it hits us all. And so by Elon Musk just saying, ah, it's one mistake, we don't have that luxury to have just one mistake.

BLITZER: Interesting. And, Bryan, I'm anxious to get your thoughts. If this was, let's say, President Biden sitting behind the Resolute Desk in the White House, in the Oval Office, as George Soros, a prominent billionaire donor to Democrats was holding court in the Oval Office with him, would that be okay with you?

LANZA: Sure. I mean, I don't think it's the image that Biden would want himself. It's not a popular image you'd see. But I think the American people know who Elon Musk is. When President Trump ran for office, he told the American people, this is the task that Elon's going to do. And so he's providing them there to be accountable. It's much different than what George Soros does when he hides behind all these nonprofits. He hides his money, he shifts it around.

It's not even a close similarity, but, yes, we would love Joe Biden and Democrats to bring Soros to the Oval Office so the American people can see who's actually been funding the Democratic Party for the last 20 years. And you can bring Elon as well, who's been a part of the Republican Party for less than a year-and-a-half. Let's have that conversation.

BLITZER: Norm, if congressional Republicans aren't interested in probing Elon Musk's activities with his new Department of Government Efficiency, are there other mechanisms to hold Musk accountable to the American people?

EISEN: There are, Wolf. I've been a part of the litigation. The courts are holding accountable. I secured a court order preventing Musk from meddling within Treasury systems. We got a court order the day after that, that the FBI agents, as part of this slashing, that they cannot be exposed. Just this week, President Trump's unconstitutional birthright citizenship, he wants to rewrite the Constitution. The courts are defending, and the American people don't like Elon Musk. The courts and the American people are the solution.

BLITZER: We'll see how that unfolds. Elliot, is it unusual, from your perspective, is it unusual for someone like Elon Musk, who hasn't been elected to any office or confirmed by the Senate, to have such broad power over the federal government?

WILLIAMS: This is unique in American history. I don't think we've seen someone having such proximity to the president from the outside. Now, look, there is a path for people from the private sector or entities to partner with the White House and provide advice. It happened when I was in government, and that's okay.

[18:15:00]

The important step here that's missing is those people need to, number one, declare what their conflicts of interest are, and number two, declare where they have business with the government. It does not appear that's what's happening here. But the mere idea of a president taking advice from outside, that's perfectly acceptable and has happened across American history.

BLITZER: All right. Guys, everybody, thank you very much, excellent analysis.

Just ahead, there's more breaking news up on Capitol Hill right now about the planned vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as the director of National Intelligence. We'll have a live report, that's coming up.

Plus, the delicate ceasefire in the Middle East becoming much more fragile tonight with Israel's leader threatening new military action in Gaza.

Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More breaking news tonight on a delay in key votes on two of President Trump's cabinet nominees.

CNN's Manu Raju is up on Capitol Hill for us, as he always is.

[18:20:01]

Manu, what are you learning?

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Senate Republican leaders just announcing that they plan to have votes tomorrow on Tulsi Gabbard, a final confirmation vote for her to lead the director, to be the next director of National Intelligence, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to break a Democratic-led filibuster in trying to stop his nomination to be the next Health and Human Services director -- secretary.

Now, this was supposed to happen late tonight, but it was around midnight tonight, a lot of senators were complaining about that time. Of course, we'd be hit with a heavy snowstorm right now in D.C. So, now it will happen tomorrow.

And both of these controversial nominees are on track to get confirmed. Tulsi Gabbard watched for two votes there. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader and John Curtis, a Utah freshman, both of whom have expressed some concerns about Gabbard and also RFK Jr. There are a couple of key votes to watch, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, someone to watch on the Republican side, McConnell as well, but who has not said if he's going to vote for RFK Jr.

But, Wolf, both of those have enough support at the moment to move ahead. They need four Republicans to break ranks to stop any nomination that moves along party lines. There are not four Republicans on either of those nominees, which means they plan -- they will get their positions unless something changes here in the next several hours, Wolf.

BLITZER: You're also learning -- I understand you're hearing from the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer. on the Democrats' strategy right now as a potential, yet another potential government shutdown looms.

RAJU: Yes, March 14th, a big deadline, Wolf. That's when the Congress and the White House need to agree on funding legislation to keep the government open. And this is the catch. This will be the first time Democrats have some leverage to push back against Donald Trump because their votes will be needed in both the House and the United States Senate to pass any funding bill.

So, the question is, what will they demand? And I asked Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, if they would try to go after Elon Musk, his role within the government, as part of those spending talks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: You guys are criticizing Elon Musk pretty much every day. Will you use the spending bill on the March 14th deadline to try to rein him in?

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Look, here's the bottom line. The Republicans are already shutting down good chunks of the government. Democrats don't want to shut down, but it's in Republicans' hands, it's up to them. But in terms of trying to get in the appropriations bills, undoing lots of the many things that they've done that are wrong, yes, we're certainly going to make an effort to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: He said they'd certainly make an effort. But there are some in the rank and file, Wolf, in the House and the Senate that want the Democratic leaders to take a much firmer line, to make it a red line on a whole host of other issues. But as you heard from Chuck Schumer right there, he is not eager to see a government shutdown, not eager to get blamed for one as well, which is why there is still some uncertainty about what they will do when their votes are going to be needed in just a matter of weeks to keep the government open.

BLITZER: Interesting. All right, Manu Raju, our chief Congressional correspondent, thank you very much.

Joining us now, Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon. He's written a brand new, very important book entitled, It Takes Chutzpah, there you see the cover, How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change. Senator, thanks very much for joining us, thanks for this book. We'll get to the events up on Capitol Hill, but I want to start with this remarkable scene that we all saw over at the White House with President Trump and Elon Musk behind the Resolute Desk over there earlier today. What did you make of that, this scene, between the President and the world's richest man?

SEN. RON WYDEN (D-OR): Well, Wolf, I'd sum it up this way, just made myself a note. If the Trump and Musk henchmen defy court orders, the judges need to direct the marshals to go out and throw them in jail. The breaking of laws has to have consequences, and the marshals ought to carry that out.

BLITZER: What laws were broken?

WYDEN: Well, clearly, when you talk about spending, that's Congress' prerogative, and, in effect, Musk is just trampling all over that. You know, we haven't had any effort to debate the Musk ideas on the floor of the United States Senate. He is basically, in my view, subverting the Constitution. And the Constitution says that's the Congress' job.

BLITZER: I want to play for you, Senator, something we heard earlier today from President Trump about courts rulings against him. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Any court that would say that the President or his representatives, like secretary of the Treasury, secretary of state, whatever, doesn't have the right to go over their books and make sure everything's honest. I mean, how can you have a country -- you can't have anything that way. You can't have a business that way. You can't have a country that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: How do you respond to that, Senator?

WYDEN: I want everybody to know that we're not talking about the typical audit. The Treasury Office, the Payments Office, was very responsible over the years, are handling upwards of $5 trillion in funds, but what the Trump people are talking about, for example, is cutting off programs that they disagree with, Wolf.

[18:25:12]

They're taking away Congress's prerogative on spending issues and the president refuses to comply.

BLITZER: Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, a man you know well, is accusing FBI Nominee Kash Patel of working on a purge of agency officials before being even confirmed by the U.S. Senate. How do you think the Senate should handle this?

WYDEN: Well, certainly, we've heard the reports about enemies lists and the like. So, it seems to me what Senator Durbin is talking about raises concerns about a new issue, plus that one. BLITZER: The vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as the director of U.S. National Intelligence has been postponed, I understand, until tomorrow morning. Several key GOP senators say they will support her. They've been critical of her in the past, several of them. So, what do you say to your Republican colleagues right now about their expected votes in favor of her confirmation?

WYDEN: Well, I think they ought to look at some of the big issues. You know, I'm voting no, for example, Wolf, because I asked Ms. Gabbard about whether or not she would refuse to go along with an illegal order from the president of the United States. She's good on some issues, like privacy, but I want to know that somebody is going to put compliance with the law first.

BLITZER: Before I let you go, I want to talk about your brand new book entitled, It Takes Chutzpah, the subtitle of which is How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change. As Manu Raju just reported, you heard him. Senator Schumer now signaled that Democrats are not necessarily ready to take a hard line stance over Musk. Are Democrats fighting fearlessly right now?

WYDEN: Well, we sure as hell are. You know, that's how we protected the Medicaid, you know, portals. That's how we dealt with Bessent, the Treasury secretary, when I said he was giving people the keys to the Treasury payments. We're holding them accountable. We're stepping up the effort on whistleblowers. And I can just tell you, Wolf, that we need chutzpah more than ever to do what the country needs.

BLITZER: Senator Ron Wyden, thanks very much. The book, once again, is entitled, It Takes Chutzpah, How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change. Thanks for coming in.

WYDEN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up, the new warnings tonight in the Middle East as Israel says, fighting will resume in Gaza if more hostages aren't released.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: Tonight, President Trump is doubling down on his push to own Gaza, his word, own Gaza, now claiming that the United States has authority to take it over. Listen to the president's remarks earlier today during his White House meeting with the king of Jordan. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're not going to have to buy. We're going to have Gaza. We don't have to buy. There's nothing to buy. We will have Gaza.

REPORTER: What does that mean? TRUMP: No reason to buy. There is nothing to buy. It's Gaza. It's a war-torn area. We're going to take it. We're going to hold it. We're going to cherish it.

REPORTER: And Mr. President, take it under what authority? It is sovereign territory.

TRUMP: Under the U.S. authority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Meantime, in the Middle East, the Gaza ceasefire is in deep peril right now as both President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issue ultimatums to Hamas.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is joining us from the region. He's got more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After three weeks of emotional reunions in Israel, and at long last calm in Gaza, the Israel-Hamas ceasefire now hanging by a thread.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will return to intense fighting until Hamas is completely defeated.

DIAMOND: The Israeli prime minister piggybacking off this ultimatum from President Trump.

TRUMP: As far as I'm concerned, if all of the hostages aren't returned by Saturday at 12:00, I think it's an appropriate time, I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out.

DIAMOND: After convening his security cabinet, Netanyahu not going quite as far, with an Israeli official telling CNN Israel is demanding Hamas release nine living hostages in the coming days.

Hamas threatening not to release any hostages this weekend, accusing Israel of multiple ceasefire violations. The Palestinian Ministry of Health says Israel has killed 92 people and wounded another 822 in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire. Israel has acknowledged several incidents during the ceasefire in which troops opened fire, saying Palestinians approached IDF positions in Gaza.

Humanitarian aid has surged into Gaza. But Palestinian officials say Israel is blocking the entry of some shelters, leaving many here exposed to the wind and rain. Israel called Hamas' accusations completely false.

The back and forth could not come at a more sensitive time in Israel after the release of three emaciated hostages shocked the nation.

Those images driving a new wave of protests, demanding the government reach a deal to release all 76 hostages as several families learned more about the conditions their loved ones are enduring. [18:35:03]

ZIV ABUD, GIRLFRIEND OF HOSTAGE ELIYA COHEN: We heard that he was wounded. We heard that he was tortured and that he didn't get medical care, and that he was starving.

DIAMOND: In Israel's parliament, heated confrontations. Slaughtered and forgotten, disgusting, this woman shouts at former Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is among those calling for returning to war.

In Gaza, fear and anxiety about that potential return to war.

I pray to God the war doesn't restart. It's enough. How many victims we lost, how many homes were destroyed, this woman says. We are exhausted.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (on camera): And, Wolf, amid the fears in Gaza about the war restarting, there is also continued rejection of Trump's proposal, which he doubled down on once again today to permanently displace more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza and put them elsewhere. They insist once again they want to remain in Gaza saying it is their home. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv for us, thank you very much, Jeremy.

I want to get some more on all of this from CNN Political and Global Affairs Analyst Barak Ravid. Barak, thanks for joining us.

As you know, President Trump is claiming, and I'm quoting him now, that the U.S. authority exists already to take Gaza to take over Gaza. What's been the reaction to these comments from Trump in the region?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS: Well, I think as you can see, as you saw with the king of Jordan today with the Egyptian foreign minister yesterday in Washington, with many other governments in the region, they don't like, and they don't like it because for them such a plan will destabilize Jordan, will destabilize Egypt and will destabilize the Middle East. In Israel, on the other hand, you see the exact opposite, where Trump's Gaza takeover plan and his public ultimatum to Hamas created this, you know, a combination of a frenzy of, on the one hand, excitement, on the other hand, confusion of what might come next.

BLITZER: Hamas said today, Barak, that it remains committed to the Gaza ceasefire and hostage agreement as long as Israel is also committed to that. Now, all of this is coming after President Trump's comments about letting all hell break out if all of the hostages aren't returned, aren't freed, by this coming Saturday at 12:00 noon. So, where does all this stand right now?

RAVID: Well, it stands in a place where Donald Trump, the president of the United States, bypassed Benjamin Netanyahu and his right wing government from the right and basically box them in with it with this public ultimatum.

What is interesting is that Netanyahu did not fully adopt this ultimatum. He did not call publicly for the release of all hostages on Saturday. And Israeli officials I speak to think that if Hamas abides by the deal and release the three hostages it is supposed to release on Saturday according to the agreement, nothing will happen and the ceasefire will continue and Israel will not resume the fighting. But if Hamas doesn't release those three hostages, I think President Trump's ultimatum will basically become a reality and the ceasefire will end.

BLITZER: But correct me, Barak, if I'm wrong, President Trump says all 76 remaining hostages, including the American hostages, have to be released by noon on Saturday. And now you're suggesting -- I hear you suggesting that if three additional Israeli hostages are released, that will allow the ceasefire to continue. So, what's the latest?

RAVID: Because that's exactly it. Donald Trump is not the prime minister of Israel. He's not the person who signed on this deal. The person who signed on this deal is Benjamin Netanyahu, who has another nine live Israeli hostages in Gaza that are supposed to be released in the first phase of the deal. And Netanyahu at the end of the day wants them released, okay? He doesn't want the second phase of the deal, but he wants those nine in the first phase of the deal released.

Therefore, even though he said today that -- and you have to -- you know, you have to see. He didn't -- Netanyahu did not say all hostages regarding Saturday. He said our hostages, which leaves a lot of room for interpretation. And Israeli officials were in the cabinet meeting today that discussed exactly that said that their impression was that if Hamas releases the three hostages it's supposed to release, according to the deal, the ceasefire will continue.

BLITZER: We shall see if the ceasefire continues or if all hell breaks out in the Middle East this coming Saturday.

[18:40:04]

We'll watch it closely.

Thanks, Barak, very, very much.

RAVID: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Just ahead what Moscow did today that the White House is describing as a, quote, show of good faith to the United States from the Russians.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Right now, we're following the breaking news on Russia's release, sudden release of jailed American Marc Fogel. President Trump revealing that Fogle is expected at the White House later tonight.

CNN's Nick Payton Walsh is working the story for us. Nick, what do we know about this American's release? NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, extraordinary how confidential this negotiation was indeed kept. Steve Witkoff, a close Trump adviser and real estate mogul, it seems entering Russian airspace today in a plane affiliated with him, collecting Marc Fogel, who was jailed in 2022 for 14 years for possession of medical cannabis, a long-term teacher in Moscow.

[18:45:04]

He is now expected at the White House at 10:00 tonight. His family saying thanks to the Tonight; Tech Tycoons At War: Sam Altman Fires Back At Elon Musk, Saying He's Not "A Happy Person"; FBI Uncovers Thousands Of Records On JFK Assassination.

Also, the national security adviser Mike Waltz clearly involved in this negotiation, saying this was an act of good faith by Moscow and suggesting that potentially peace talks about Ukraine might be moving in the right direction.

Remember, this photo opportunity will see in the White House is essentially maybe a move designed by Russia to help rehabilitate its image. Now the Trump administration is in power. I think critics of this negotiation will suggest that it is getting them far too close to a country that's brutally invaded Ukraine, and Ukraine is principally backed and assisted by the United States. Others might suggest that if Trump and Putin can somehow bridge the gap between them, a better deal might be viable.

That deal is, it seems, taking shape very slowly. Trump's main envoy for Ukraine due in Germany this weekend. He'll talk to European allies there. Trump suggested on Friday he might meet Zelenskyy this week. That isn't going to happen. And he did say at the weekend that he talked to Vladimir Putin.

This is all very high level contact between Moscow and Washington. Witkoff is the highest person to visit from the United States government Moscow, since CIA then Director Bill Burns went to tell Putin's entourage not to invade Ukraine in November 2021. They're clearly moving closer together.

Whether that yields a deal, frankly, that Moscow's interested in or in Ukraine's interests, we simply don't know. But things are moving quickly and clearly a move by Putin to try and rehabilitate Russia's image in the eyes of Trump, or perhaps give Trump some kind of easy win he can use to justify any future moves -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I'm really happy that Marc Fogel has been freed, very important indeed.

Nick Paton Walsh, thanks very much for that update.

Coming up, the battle over A.I. is getting very expensive and extremely personal for two of the world's biggest names in tech.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:51:17]

BLITZER: New fallout tonight on another kind of attempted power grab by Elon Musk.

CNN's Brian Todd has more for us.

Brian, OpenAI chief Sam Altman is firing back at Musk today.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's firing back in a very personal way, Wolf, that's almost certain to get under Musk's skin. It's the latest in a nasty feud between the two men who once were the most powerful duo in Silicon Valley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELON MUSK, TECH BILLIONAIRE: Yes!

TODD (voice-over): As Elon Musk tries to build his empire to an even greater degree, he gets rebuffed by one of his biggest personal rivals.

SAM ALTMAN, CEO, OPENAI: It's like another one of his, you know, tactics to try to like, mess with us.

TODD: Sam Altman, the 39-year-old CEO of OpenAI, has rejected an unsolicited offer from Musk to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion. Altman says his company is not for sale, and told Bloomberg TV he thinks he knows why Musk made that offer.

ALTMAN: I think he's probably just trying to slow us down.

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: I think what you're seeing here is that Elon Musk, who has such tension with Sam Altman, could try to buy the company to squash it or integrate it into his own company, xAI.

TODD: XAI is Musk's own artificial intelligence company, founded less than two years ago. It's seen as smaller, not as advanced as Altman's OpenAI, a leading company in the innovation and marketing of artificial intelligence that wowed the public with its sophisticated, groundbreaking tool, ChatGPT.

Altman didn't just reject Musk's bid. He got harshly personal in describing the world's richest man.

ALTMAN: Probably his whole life is from a position of insecurity. I feel for the guy.

INTERVIEWER: Do you feel for him?

ALTMAN: I do actually. I don't think he's like a happy person. I do feel for him.

TODD: A far cry from a decade ago when Altman and Musk co-founded OpenAI as a charity.

ZOE SCHIFFER, WIRED MAGAZINE: Sam Altman has said that he really looked up to Elon Musk at the time.

FISCHER: When they launched OpenAI together, they were considered on top of Silicon Valley, and they were doing it as a whole.

TODD: But in 2018, Musk left OpenAI.

SCHIFFER: OpenAI's perspective is that Elon Musk wanted to take over OpenAI. He wanted to merge it with Tesla, in fact, and that when Sam Altman refused to do that and in fact took over the company himself, that's when their relationship really started to break down.

TODD: Musk has since filed multiple lawsuits against OpenAI, accusing the company of betraying its nonprofit mission by looking to make a profit with its A.I. tools, an accusation Altman denies.

Their feud spilled out in public again last month when President Trump hosted Altman and two other CEOs at the White House to launch a $500 billion A.I. infrastructure investment. Musk tried to undermine the announcement, posting, quote, they don't actually have the money.

Trump himself commented on Musk's disdain for Altman.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He hates one of the people in the deal.

FISCHER: Now, this relationship has soured so much to the fact that they're, you know, trading public barbs. It really speaks to how much the Trump relationship has really come between the two of them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Sam Altman also said he's not concerned that Elon Musk has a new and powerful position in Donald Trump's White House, but he acknowledged that he probably should be concerned about that. Spokespeople for Musk and for X did not respond to CNN's request for comment on Altman's latest remarks about Elon Musk -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Very interesting. Brian Todd reporting for us -- Brian, thank you very, very much.

And we'll be right back.

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[18:58:51]

BLITZER: The FBI just uncovered a trove of secret records on the assassination of President John F, Kennedy.

CNN's Tom Foreman is here with me in THE SITUATION ROOM.

What do we know about these new files?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There are about 2,400 of them. They were found because the FBI was consolidating old paper records over the past five years when Donald Trump ordered them to have a release of all the last records about JFK, RFK, Martin Luther King assassinations, those in the past.

They did another search and they found these were records related to it. So what's in them? We don't know but the people who are very interested in the possibility of a conspiracy are very excited about the possibilities.

BLITZER: And, Tom, this isn't necessarily the only records that are expected to be released.

FOREMAN: No. There's a tiny bit of records left that Donald Trump ordered released. There were some released during the Biden years, more than 99 percent have been released of just millions, more than 5 million documents.

Is it likely that these will be the missing key to something that everyone knows? Probably not, because mathematically, it's just not -- not likely. But for people who have been looking at this for more than 60 years, very excited to get any new information, especially information that previously they did not know even existed.

BLITZER: It will be interesting. It will be fascinating for those of us who love history as well. We'll watch it together with you.

Tom Foreman, thank you very, very much.

And to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. I'm wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.