Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Justice Department Releases New Batch of Epstein Documents; Russia Launches Massive Aerial Attack on Ukraine; 60 Minutes Report Pulled in U.S. Still Seen After Streaming in Canada. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired December 23, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking News, an enormous batch of Epstein files just released, the new mentions of President Trump and his alleged travels on Jeffrey Epstein's private jet. But thousands of documents still remain sealed, and Epstein survivors are demanding answers. One of them, Haley Robson, joins us.

Plus, tragedy in Texas, five killed after a plane transporting burn victims crashes into a bay. The urgent search for one still missing.

And super flu surge, a brutal flu season is sweeping the U.S. hospitals restricting visitors as cases climb. What you need to know to stay safe this holiday season.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Pamela Brown, Wolf Blitzer is off, and you are in The Situation Room.

And breaking overnight, the Justice Department releasing a new batch of documents in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, including this chilling new evidence some viewers may find disturbing. This is a jailhouse letter that Epstein sent to another infamous sex offender, Larry Nassar, the disgraced one-time U.S. gymnastics team doctor convicted on child pornography charges. More than 150 women and girls publicly told a court he sexually abused them.

Well, this letter from Epstein and Nassar appears to include a reference to President Trump. You should know President Trump is not accused of any criminal wrongdoing.

Let's go live now to Crime and Justice Correspondent Katelyn Polantz, who has been very busy sifting through all these new documents. What are you learning here, Katelyn?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, there are three documents of note already that we have gone through and looked at and tried to understand more, all of which tie back to Donald Trump. This is in a way that the first batch of the Epstein records that were released on Friday just didn't.

And in these new records that we're getting now, there is one from a prosecutor who was working on the case against Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in 2020 while Trump was president, flagging to people somewhere in the Trump administration or the Justice Department that Donald Trump rode on Epstein's private jet more times than had previously been known to the Justice Department, eight times total, including alone with Epstein and with passengers who were women who could be possible witnesses against Ghislaine Maxwell in that case. That's a pretty notable development.

The other notable development here is what appears to be a letter, a handwritten letter signed by a J. Epstein and sent from the Metropolitan Correctional detention Center in New York where Epstein died. It was postmarked three days after Epstein's suicide in 2019, written to another convicted pedophile, Larry Nassar. And Epstein writes in this handwritten note, or at least it appears to be Epstein, writing that, quote, our president also shares our love of young, new bio girls, a disturbing message sent through the federal detention system from the New York Jail where Epstein was to Nassar in federal prison in Arizona at a moment where Epstein was dying, where he -- right around the time he died.

The third thing that we have just seen as well in these documents is a 2021 subpoena to Trump's club, Mar-a-Lago, a place where Epstein had frequented that Trump apparently kicked him out at some point, cutting ties with him. And this subpoena, it was coming in the closing days of the investigation of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was eventually convicted at trial for sex trafficking of minors alongside Jeffrey Epstein.

The subpoena, it was from 2021 and asking for any and all employment records relating to a person who is not named in the filing. And it's not clear if Mar-a-Lago or anyone in the Trump world, ownership of Mar-a-Lago, would've complied with this subpoena. But it was asking for records after an accuser, Virginia Giuffre, had said that before she passed away that she had said that she had been recruited from Mar-a-Lago working there to work for Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

[10:05:08]

So, a lot of different pieces here.

The Justice Department as well has clearly understood at this point that Trump is all over these documents and that they want to address it. So, they're putting out a statement on social media, a very unusual statement for this Justice Department or for the Justice Department generally, saying that, quote, some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false. And if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.

So, these documents, they are coming out from the documents the Justice Department already has, and the Justice Department is publicly going to bat to say that these allegations against Trump may be false, but they are records you can see for themselves now in the Epstein library.

BROWN: But I just want to note for our viewers, Friday was the 30-day deadline, right, to release files like this.

POLANTZ: Yes.

BROWN: I mean, this would not have been. Protected by the law, and yet it's coming out several days after that 30-day deadline, right?

POLANTZ: Yes. You know, this was a tall task for the Justice Department to get through these files, and I've even talked to people, former officials who have been very critical of this Justice Department, who have said, I'm actually impressed that they are getting through all of this. The deputy attorney general has said that they are still working through documents. And that even though Friday was the deadline set by Congress in that law to release all the Epstein files, they were still making redactions in that morning. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche even said, we're going to have several hundred thousand more to come.

Now, the question remains, and you raise a very important question, did the Justice Department make choices intentionally knowing what would be in the first trove of documents and what would be in the second?

BROWN: Which include about Bill Clinton, we should note.

POLANTZ: That's correct. And the Justice Department was not shy about pointing out that Clinton was in those.

BROWN: Yes.

POLANTZ: But it is a question now of what choices are the Justice Department making behind the scenes about what they're redacting, what they're putting out, and when. And then on top of this, we just need to pay attention about what they keep putting on the website and releasing into the public domain that we've never seen before.

BROWN: Yes, releasing over the holidays.

POLANTZ: Yes.

BROWN: All right. Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much. I know you have your work cut out for you.

And ahead of that overnight document dump, President Trump seemed dismayed that the release of these files could harm the reputations of individuals who, quote, innocently met Epstein and said the files are a distraction from GOP accomplishments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: You probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago, many years ago, and they're, you know, highly respected bankers and lawyers and others, and they'll end up because of guys like Massie, who's a real low life, whose polls are down to about 9 percent, by the way, the great state of Kentucky, he's just being used by the Democrats. Because what this whole thing is with Epstein is a way of trying to deflect from the tremendous success that the Republican Party has. Like, for instance, today we're building the biggest ships in the world, most powerful ships in the world, and they're asking me questions about Jeffrey Epstein. I thought that was finished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: All right. Let's go live now to the senior White House reporter, Kevin Liptak, who has been traveling with the president in West Palm Beach. And I'm curious what the White House is saying this morning. And, Kevin, just remind our viewers how we got to this point and President Trump's role in that.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And the White House isn't commenting about these latest disclosures, although I think the Justice Department calling them untrue and sensational is clearly intended to preempt some of the questions about the mention of the president in these files. They also pointed out that some of them were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election, suggesting that there could be some political motive at play here.

But I do think those comments we heard from President Trump last night were pretty significant and really kind of illustrative of where his stance is in all of this. You know, he acknowledged that, yes, he appeared in the files, that his photos were in there, and that, as he said, Jeffrey Epstein was all over Palm Beach. And, of course, it is down here that the president has said that he first got to know Jeffrey Epstein before eventually kicking him out of Mar-a-Lago because, as he's put it, he was a pervert.

Now, the president also kind of decrying the reputational damage of people, included in these files, including bill Clinton, something of a surprising, almost defensive Bill Clinton who did appear in a number of images in that first release, but also alleging that this is all intended to distract from Republicans' accomplishments.

And you hear him going after Thomas Massie, who was the Republican co- sponsor of the bill that compelled these files released that President Trump and the White House had tried to fight for so long, but eventually when it became clear that many, many Republicans were going to get behind it did eventually support.

Now, Thomas Massie is out today responding to the president saying that Trump is blaming me for a bill he eventually signed while defending his banker friends, Bill Clinton and innocent visitors to rape island. He goes on to say that Bondi, the attorney general, Pam Bondi, is working fervently to redact, omit and delete Epstein files. She is legally required to release under our bill.

And remember, Pamela, Massie and his co-sponsor, Ro Khanna, have suggested that they could bring contempt charges against Pam Bondi for not complying with the letter of the law by releasing all of these files by that Friday deadline.

BROWN: Yes. It's also notable, Kevin, that the president seems to be defending Bill Clinton after a few weeks ago he had called on DOJ to investigate prominent Democrats and their alleged ties to Epstein, right?

LIPTAK: Yes. And he seems to be sort of lumping Bill Clinton in with all of the other men that, according to Trump, could face some sort of harm to their reputation by being associated with Epstein, by being photographed by Epstein, by being mentioned in these files somehow. Although he did say that Bill Clinton is -- I think he said a big boy, and that he would be able to handle this on his own.

BROWN: And, of course, no criminal wrongdoing allegations against Bill Clinton or Trump, but we are continuing to sift through these documents. There are a lot of them.

Kevin Liptak, thank you so much.

And breaking overnight, Russia launches a crushing bombardment of Ukraine, killing three people in wounding at least 17 others. Hours earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia would attack around Christmas. And this morning, Zelenskyy is angrily lashing out on social media, quote, Russia has been carrying out a massive attack on Ukraine, primarily targeting our energy sector and civilian infrastructure, essentially, the entire infrastructure of daily life. Over 650 drones have already been launched, an attack ahead of Christmas when people simply want to be with their families at home and safe, an attack carried out essentially in the midst of negotiations aimed at ending this war, end quote.

Well, the U.S. has led those peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, but Washington is facing escalating tensions of its own.

Joining us now is retired Air Force Colonel and CNN Military Analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton. Great to have you on. What do you make of the attacks overnight as these talks are ongoing?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, Pamela, good to be with you. This is basically a Russian pressure tactic. And what they're doing is they're using these attacks to pressure things on the negotiating table, on the negotiating front, and they're trying to really make it clear that they control the skies. That's how they're basically doing this.

Now, there are some holes in the Russian construct here, but they're using the dramatic effects of their attacks, those over 650 drones and the 30 missiles. Those kinds of things are going to be, you know, part of the Russian playbook. And the Russian playbook is basically to pressure Ukraine, hit the civilian infrastructure, make life as miserable as possible for the Ukrainians, and basically force them to capitulate.

So, that's the Russian goal. Now, whether or not they can achieve that is, is another story, but that's basically what the Russians are doing.

BROWN: Also new this morning, I'm curious what your thoughts are on this, the U.S. military has struck another suspected drug smuggling boat this time in the Eastern Pacific. What do you think? Is this pressure campaign on Venezuela working? LEIGHTON: Well, one of the problems with striking boats in the Eastern Pacific is that Venezuela does not border the Eastern Pacific. So, you're talking about Colombian or Ecuadorian or possibly Peruvian narco-traffickers, if they are narco-traffickers, using those routes.

Now, nothing wrong absolutely with interdicting drug traffickers, but this is really part of an administration policy that is, in essence, trying to find its way here, and they are going after people that may or may not be narco-traffickers. They are also basically being very haphazard in their targeting.

Yes, they're accurate in a tactical sense, but in a strategic sense, they're not really tightening the noose around Venezuela with these specific attacks. The thing that does tighten the noose around Venezuela is going after the tankers, the oil tankers. But that's absolutely a different strategy and a different set of tactics than what we're seeing here.

BROWN: Yes. And we've seen them going after the oil tankers as well.

Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you so much. Happy holidays to you.

LEIGHTON: Happy holidays, Pamela, great to be with you.

BROWN: A plane carrying burn victims went down on the waters of Galveston Bay yesterday and we're about to show you video of the wreckage in the water during the search for survivors.

[10:15:03]

We want to warn you that some may find it disturbing.

Wow. That man is Sky Decker swimming right there in the wreckage, he lives nearby and he says he raced to the scene to try and help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SKY DECKER, RESCUED SURVIVOR: When I saw the wreckage, I couldn't imagine that there'd be anybody alive in there. Both of her legs were broken and she was asking about the baby, but I didn't know about the baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So sad. At least five people were killed, including that two- year-old. The plane belonged to Mexico's Navy. It was very foggy at the time of the crash and the Coast Guard says the crash is under investigation and Mexico's Navy is working with the Mexican consulate at Houston.

Well, still ahead here in The Situation Room, streaming slip-up, the 60 Minutes report that CBS pulled off the air in the U.S. and now viral online. How did the report get published?

And evacuations underway in California with millions of people on alert for flooding and landslides with a month's worth of rain expected to fall in days.

You're in The Situation Room and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:20:00]

BROWN: Happening now, powerful new storms are on a collision course with California that could bring a month's worth of rain during this holiday week. 6 million people are facing a rare high-risk flooding, rain warning for Southern California, including parts of the Los Angeles area.

The state has already been hit hard with rain that triggered evacuations and rescues like this one, you see it right here, a 72- year-old woman had to be pulled from her car by the Coast Guard after she was inundated by the floodwaters.

And new this morning, a 60 Minutes segment that had been pulled from air in the U.S. was still seen by viewers around the world after it aired on a streaming platform in Canada. The head of CBS News said a story on Trump deportees at a notorious prison in El Salvador wasn't ready because it lacked a response from the Trump administration. But then, even though it never aired here in the U.S., it ended up going viral, essentially.

So, I want to bring in CNN Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter to walk us through how that happened exactly.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes. Networks like CBS sometimes deliver their taped shows to affiliates ahead of time. That appears to be what happened in this case. The 60 Minutes episode containing Sharyn Alfonsi's report about the prison was thought to be finished on Friday, so it was shipped off north to Canada. Then Bari Weiss on Saturday forced the 60 Minutes crew to remove the Alfonsi and remake the episode, but someone neglected to tell Canada. So, that is why this report is now viral online and it shows exactly what CBS said it would show, the testimonies of men who say they were tortured and abused inside that prison in El Salvador. We don't yet know if CBS will officially air this in the U.S., but the reporting is now out there, Pam.

BROWN: It sure is. And I just want to go back to what the crux of this is. Bari Weiss said that they needed to do more to get comment from the Trump administration, but what do we know about how much is the 60 Minutes team actually reached out asking for comment and interviews?

STELTER: There was an effort for a number of weeks, actually dates back more than a month. According to documents reviewed by CNN, the requests for comment to the administration were first submitted in November. And then those were followed up in early December. So, there were many efforts by the 60 Minutes crew to request comments and interviews from the Trump administration. It is normal, though, for the administration to decline or refuse an interview, and that's what happened apparently in this case. Toward the end of the production process last week, there were some comments provided. For example, here's what the White House said in a response to CBS, quote, Trump is committed to keeping his promises to the American people by removing dangerous criminal and terrorist Illegal aliens. 60 Minutes should spend their time and energy amplifying the stories of angel parents whose innocent American children have tragically been murdered by vicious illegal aliens.

So, that's the kind of comment you would expect from the White House. It's expressing the president's position, but it didn't add anything to the story. It probably would've been shared by CBS on the web but not added to the 60 Minutes story. So, that's the crux of the matter now, and like I said, Pam, we will see if CBS ever decides to air the report in question.

BROWN: All right. Brian Stelter, thank you so much.

STELTER: Thanks.

BROWN: And coming up, the Justice Department just released more Epstein files, but Epstein survivors want transparency now. They don't think what's been going on has been enough. Epstein survivor Haley Robson joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:00]

BROWN: Our top story this hour, the Justice Department has released a brand new batch of documents from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation days after the deadline passed for the administration to make all the files related to Epstein publicly available. Like the previous release, this set of documents is heavily redacted. Some of them are with some pages containing basically nothing visible at all.

I'm joined now by Hailey Robson, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse. Hi, Hailey. Thanks for being here with us.

I know it's been a while since you've done an interview. This is your first since the release of these documents. And I'm wondering, you know, after the document release on Friday, we know many survivors combed the files for mentions of their names and cases. I'm wondering what you did when this latest batch dropped last night and what that felt like.

HALEY ROBSON, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Well, to be quite honest with you, I have yet to sit down and deep dive in -- deep dive into all the documents. It's very overwhelming and obviously heavily redacted, unfortunately. I feel I'm not surprised and I'm not shocked. Anybody who has been paying enough attention and who has been following this knows the government, the FBI, on a state level and on a federal level, have been playing these games and doing these tactics.

And look, at the end of the day if President Donald Trump wanted to release these files, he did not need a bill to go through the Senate to do so. He had the power to do it. The fact that he is not condemning the DOJ publicly and saying, hey guys, you know, I signed this bill, this is law, you need to abide, send it all. Stop with the tactics.

BROWN: I actually want to get your response to what President Trump said. He was asked about Epstein last night when he was announcing this new class of battleships for the Navy. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What this whole thing is with Epstein is a way of trying to deflect from the tremendous success that the Republican Party has.

[10:30:01]

A lot of people are very angry that pictures are being released of other people that really had nothing to do with Epstein, but they're in a picture with him because he was at a party --