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Hamas Releases American Hostage; Trump Administration Welcomes Group of White African Migrants; Qatar Attempting to Bribe President Trump?. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired May 12, 2025 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:01]

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: But one thing to be clear on, the president has been fixated on wanting a new and improved Air Force One for several years now, even back during his first term.

But, currently, that's kind of been caught up in production. So this is a way, I think, that the Trump administration sees to getting around that. Other notable moments, though, from his remarks just there was that he said he does not plan to use that plane once he leaves office. Instead, he would donate it to the presidential library.

We also heard from the press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, this morning, who said that they're still working out some of the legal details around accepting this type of gift from Qatar. We also know that the Secret Service, some people within the Secret Service have told CNN that they view this move as a security nightmare.

One of them said that essentially the U.S. Air Force would have to tear it apart, looking for different potential surveillance devices before putting it back together and they can -- before it can be used as an Air Force One for the president.

So, still a lot of questions around this, but, again, the president there really making clear that he doesn't think this is an issue -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: All right, Alayna Treene reporting for us from the White House.

We just saw just a few moments ago the president boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews just outside of Washington, Pamela. He's getting ready for his trip to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, an important trip to the Middle East. He's not going to Israel on the same trip, even though he will be in the neighborhood.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Yes, which has really concerned officials in Israel that he's not actually going there.

But he is -- it is -- well, he is going to Qatar, the country that is trying to gift him this Boeing. So let's get more on that story. Join us now is the assistant dean and

lecturer and law at The George Washington University, Jessica Tillipman.

All right, Jessica, what legal concerns does this raise for you?

JESSICA TILLIPMAN, THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: A lot. And thank you for having me.

Really, you have to look at this through two different lenses, the legal and the ethical. From a legal perspective, this is somewhat murky. We know that presidents are exempt from the ethics rules that are basically governing all other federal executive branch employees.

We also know that there are decades of Supreme Court precedent or Supreme Court cases that have effectively made it harder to prosecute officials for bribery and even made it harder to prosecute a sitting president.

And, here, we have alleged cover potentially from the president's own attorney general. But there is a foreign Emoluments Clause in the United States Constitution, which requires congressional approval before he can accept a gift of this nature. And, to be clear, there's no media reports or evidence that he's either tried to get that congressional approval or if he even wants to do so in the future.

But you have to separate that from the ethical component. And from the ethics perspective. This is problematic. The president has never made any attempt to separate himself from his financial interests. And, in fact, we saw this not only during his first administration, but this administration as well, whether it's selling a meme coin or even prior administrations offering to host the G7 at one of his own properties.

This commingling of his personal financial interests and his presidency has created some issues. And there's a reason why past presidents have either divested those interests or put them in a blind trust, because it creates those concerns that a president may be acting for his own private gain over public interest.

BLITZER: And, as you point out, Jessica, the U.S. Supreme Court has actually made it much harder to prosecute public officials for what's described as bribery.

Do you think that's factoring into the Trump administration's decision-making?

TILLIPMAN: Oh, absolutely.

I think any type of public official has been relying on, again, decades of the easing of anti-bribery rules associated with the prosecution of public officials for accepting improper gifts. And it's definitely something we have seen. We actually -- based on media reports, Attorney General Bondi has claimed that there's no official act in exchange for this gift.

And that hearkens back to the McDonnell case, which basically requires that the government prove that there was some sort of official act in exchange for that quid or exchange for a gift or thing of value. And, here, yes, we know there's a gift, but there's a long way to go in this Trump presidency to see whether there could be some sort of official act taken in exchange for that.

And that's why there's so much concern here.

BROWN: And, on that note, I want to go to the sound from the president earlier this morning defending this decision. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I think it was a gesture because of the fact that we helped -- have helped and continue to -- we will continue to -- all of those countries, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and others. We keep them safe. If it wasn't for us, they probably wouldn't exist right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:35:01]

BROWN: So what do you think about that?

TILLIPMAN: Well, I mean, I think it gets back to the ethical concerns, on top of the legal ones that we have already discussed, that we're wondering exactly why the president is taking this action or why he's accepting this gift.

Is it because he potentially wants to use it not only now, but later in his own personal capacity? Is it a private gain for it, or is it because there's some legitimate reason? It's unclear to me here. Frankly, there's very little basis for something this unprecedented, for a president to accept something of this nature.

And he's even saying, we help them out. So, right there, the question is the government providing this -- quote, unquote -- "gift" to the president because they want to continue to receive more help? And what form does that help come in?

BROWN: Right. And that's why it struck me as I was listening to it this morning and why I wanted to ask you about it, because he said, we have helped them in the past, we will continue to, and then it raises a question, well, how will you entangle any future help from this massive gift that Qatar's trying to give to the U.S. and be able to definitively say whatever help we offer isn't related to that?

Jessica Tillipman, great to see you, as always. Thank you.

TILLIPMAN: Thank you. Thank you.

BLITZER: And thanks from me as well.

Meanwhile, the first group of white refugees from South Africa arrived in the United States this morning. The Trump administration says it's just the beginning of a larger-scale relocation effort to support Afrikaners, a minority ethnic group in South Africa descended from European settlers.

Some of them want to leave what the White House is calling, and I'm quoting now, "government-sponsored race-based discrimination."

CNN's chief national security correspondent, Alex Marquardt, is here with us.

Alex, what are you learning about the Trump administration's relocation efforts for these Afrikaners?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is such an extraordinary move because the Trump administration has gone to such lengths to stop migrants and refugees from coming into this country.

This move is racially tinged, to say the least. The vast majority of migrants and refugees trying to come to the U.S. are not white, and this group of 49, we understand, is entirely white.

As you mentioned, they're known as Afrikaners. They're descendants of the Dutch who colonized South Africa. According to the Associated Press, there are 49 of them. This is the first group, so 49 today flying over in a charter plane due to land today at Washington's Dulles Airport.

This is the latest salvo in a pretty acrimonious back-and-forth between the governments of the United States and of South Africa. Back in February, President Trump issued an executive order accusing the South African government of racial discrimination, of taking land belonging to white citizens without compensation.

This is something that the South African government vigorously denies. They call this resettlement scheme that was announced by the president in February as politically motivated, and they have argued that, despite being a minority in South Africa, they are among the most economically privileged group in the country.

Back in March, the South African ambassador was kicked out of the U.S. He was declared persona non grata. And he had accused Trump of mobilizing a supremacism. And he went on to say that the administration is trying to project white victimhood as a dog whistle.

So this is highly controversial, not just because the -- many South Africans are arguing that these aren't -- this is not a group in need, but there are so many people who work with refugee groups here who argue that there are people who are -- who need to come here in a far more desperate way, Wolf.

BLITZER: Alex Marquardt, thanks very much, a very sensitive issue indeed.

And we will be right back with more news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:43:31] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROWN: And we have this breaking news coming into THE SITUATION ROOM.

An Israeli official says Hamas has handed over Edan Alexander to the Red Cross. He is the last known living American hostage held in Gaza.

BLITZER: We're watching all of this unfold.

I want to go to CNN's Jeremy Diamond. He is joining us from what's called Hostage Square in Tel Aviv.

Tell our viewers, Jeremy, what else you're learning.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, Wolf, we have been watching as people have been reacting to this news that Edan Alexander is now indeed in the arms of the Red Cross and will shortly, if he is not already, on his way to an Israeli military base, on to Israeli territory for the first time in more than 19 months.

As he arrives at that base, he will finally be able to embrace his mother, Yael Alexander, who just flew in from the United States last night. He will become the last living American hostage to be released from captivity. We should note, of course, that there are still the bodies of four other American citizens still being held in Gaza, being held as bargaining chips by Hamas.

But beyond the news and the relief that so many here are experiencing as they learn this news that Edan Alexander is now free from Hamas captivity, there are also enormous implications for what this could mean for the remaining 58 hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip and also for Gaza's two-million plus population, which has been dealing with an intensifying Israeli military campaign.

[11:45:03]

And that's because President Trump, in reaching this deal to free Edan Alexander, has made very clear that he sees this as a way to unlock a broader agreement for a cease-fire in Gaza and for the release of additional hostages.

That's why the Israeli prime minister has now agreed to send a delegation to Doha, Qatar, tomorrow to pursue further negotiations to try and reach that broader cease-fire agreement. Make no mistake about it, there is enormous pressure being brought to bear now by the United States on Israel to work harder towards a broader cease-fire and hostage release deal, something that very much seemed out of the cards as recently as just a few days ago, as Israel instead vowed to intensify its military campaign in Gaza.

But now the momentum is truly shifting here, as we are seeing what this release of Edan Alexander could potentially unlock, and also as President Trump is set to arrive in the region this week to visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, one of the key mediators of this deal to free Edan Alexander, as well as the broader negotiations of a cease-fire and hostage release deal. But, again, you see behind me so many Israelis who have come out here

to share in this moment of joy, as Edan Alexander, an Israeli soldier taken captive on October 7, now enjoys his first moments of freedom -- Wolf.

BROWN: There have been so many -- so few moments of joy since October 7, 2023.

BLITZER: He's only 21 years old.

BROWN: He's only 21 years old. This is one of those moments of joy, though.

And you see the crowd turning out there in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, and also in New Jersey, where Edan Alexander lived.

I want to bring in chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt for more on this and the extraordinary negotiations that led to this moment, Alex.

MARQUARDT: This is a moment of hope for these families after three months. Three months ago, the cease-fire fell apart and the war resumed.

Now there is an opening for these other hostage families to welcome home their loved ones. They are rejoicing at the release of Edan Alexander. As you know, Wolf, he's a very young man. He grew up in the U.S. and then went back to Israel, where he was born, to serve in the IDF.

And I was speaking with someone who works with the hostage families earlier today who said that they hope this will be an opening to put more pressure, as Jeremy was mentioning, on Prime Minister Netanyahu to get to a deal. It is not only good news that Alexander is getting released today. We understand that he's in relatively good condition.

That, of course, is going to be the first question. But that this will give way to further talks in Doha, which has hosted so many of these talks over the past few months. Key questions will be, who is on that Israeli negotiating team? If it is the senior members of Netanyahu's government like Ron Dermer and David Barnea, the head of Mossad, then we know that Israel really is taking this seriously.

This is an incredible moment because this is a side deal, essentially, that the U.S. struck with Hamas. I was told by Steve Witkoff yesterday, the Middle East envoy, that there were not direct negotiations with Hamas, but that it was brokered, again, through Egypt and Qatar.

But it is a side deal that the U.S. and Hamas struck to get Edan Alexander home. Hamas here is clearly trying to show this as a goodwill gesture. They're not getting hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange. They're trying to...

BROWN: They're not getting any, right? MARQUARDT: No. They're trying to curry favor with the Trump administration, have the Trump administration put this pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu.

You have 58 families, the families of the 58 remaining hostages, both alive, and we know that there are 20 of them, and the remaining deceased who today are seeing the release of Alexander, sharing in the Alexander family's joy, but asking, why has Prime Minister Netanyahu not struck a deal to get our loved ones home as well?

BLITZER: I want to bring in CNN political and global affairs analyst Barak Ravid.

Barak, you're doing a lot of reporting on all of this. What else are you learning about what actually went into this deal?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I think what we know is that those negotiations started, I think, something like five days ago. Hamas has tried to resurrect some sort of a channel with the Trump administration for like three weeks.

And only five days ago this has turned into a more serious negotiation through an intermediary. And I think what White House envoy Steve Witkoff told Hamas, is you release Edan Alexander ahead of the president's trip to the region, it's going to go a long way with him. You're going to buy yourself a lot of credit with the president of the United States.

You want to do it and take a chance, do it. You don't want to do it, then, most likely, Trump is not going to do anything for you, and you will see the Israelis moving into Gaza. And I think that that was one of the main issues here, that Hamas wanted to do something to stop Israel from broadening and expanding its ground operation.

[11:50:04]

The question is if there will be any continuity, if Donald Trump today, when he spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu, whether he told him, Mr. Netanyahu, you need to get a deal and end this war. It's still not clear exactly what he told them.

BROWN: All right, let's bring in CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House for more context on the timing of this -- Alayna.

TREENE: Yes, the timing here, Pamela, is so crucial. What Barak just laid out is exactly right.

I mean, the Trump administration has been making clear, and specifically, of course, Steve Witkoff, that doing this right as the president is departing -- he is currently in the air heading to the Middle East -- is such a crucial step.

And the president himself, he said this first yesterday on TRUTH Social, that he sees it as -- quote -- "a step taken in good faith," and, of course, credited the Qataris and Egypt's role in mediating some of this. But then, even just moments ago, right before he left the White House

to start to get on the plane and head to the Middle East, he said that he really hopes that Hamas will continue to release hostages. He really celebrated the fact that they were going to be releasing Edan Alexander, and so noting in the moment that he sees this as sort of a goodwill gesture.

And that's really what I think Hamas had wanted here. And notable as well, I just think you have to note that the president is going to the Middle East. He's going to be visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. He is not stopping in Israel. And some of that comes from, we know, from our reporting and discussions with Trump administration officials, that the president has been frustrated with how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been handling the war right now between Israel and Hamas.

And so all of this timing is so crucial for this release, for how the president is going to be thinking about this, and really how he's going to want to be approaching the broader cease-fire and other hostage talks that are still to come.

BLITZER: Alayna, stand by.

I want to go back to CNN's Jeremy Diamond. He's over in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. I was there not that long ago. And it's a dramatic place, where Israelis come to protest and to call for the release of all the hostages, family members especially.

Tell us more about the enormous pressure within Israel right now to try to release the remaining hostages still being held in Gaza.

DIAMOND: Well, on the one hand, as you are seeing behind me, so many people here are sharing in the joy of the release of Edan Alexander, but many, including the families of hostages who I have spoken to today, are also wondering what it means for their loved ones, especially their loved ones who do not have an American passport.

And that issue of what passport these hostages have has been raised by numerous hostage families today. I spoke today, for example, with the father of Nimrod Cohen, another Israeli soldier who was taken captive by Hamas on October 7. He actually served at the same base as Edan Alexander. He is the same age as Edan Alexander, and yet Nimrod Cohen is not being released today.

And his father said he believed that, if his son had an American passport, that he would be released today. However, there is a sense of optimism that, because of this idea of this being a goodwill gesture, because of this idea of this jump-starting additional negotiations that perhaps the release of Edan Alexander, this gesture by Hamas, and this agreement that was brokered, not by the Israeli government, but by the United States, that this could perhaps unlock progress towards the release of the remaining 58 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.

And so that is going to be a point of conversation and a point of pressure all week, as the hostages, families and their allies will be protesting this week, will be making their voices loud and clear. What has also happened, Wolf, is that we see from the families of these hostages they are focusing their message on President Trump, on the U.S. government, less on the Israeli government, less on Prime Minister Netanyahu, who many of them very much feel has chosen to prioritize defeating Hamas over the release of the hostages.

BROWN: I want to bring in Alex Marquardt on this, because we know that President Trump has invited the hostage families to meet him in Qatar, even Edan Alexander and his family, and it's something that his family is actually considering if, of course, Alexander is up for it after being held hostage.

MARQUARDT: So, of course, the first question when Alexander arrives at this military base in Re'im, and then he will be taken to a hospital, is what condition he's in.

But we do understand that Trump has invited the Alexander family, as well as families of other hostages who have been held in Gaza, to meet him in Doha. This is part of that effort by these families to not just thank President Trump for his efforts, but also to put pressure on Netanyahu.

Netanyahu now has to decide, what is the bigger priority, getting those hostages home or continuing this war against Hamas?

BLITZER: Because the criticism that Netanyahu has been getting, he's more interested in trying to destroy Hamas than to free all the hostages.

MARQUARDT: Absolutely right.

Hamas has made clear, we will release all of the hostages if Israel agrees to end the war. So far, Netanyahu has said that we -- they must continue the war against Hamas in Gaza.

[11:55:11]

BROWN: All right, well, look, positive development today, though, with the release of this Israeli-American hostage, Edan Alexander.

Thank you so much, Alex, Jeremy Diamond, Alayna Treene, and Barak Ravid. We appreciate it.

BLITZER: And, to all of our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning.

BROWN: CNN coverage of this breaking news will continue on "INSIDE POLITICS WITH DANA BASH" next after a short break.