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The Situation Room

Interview With Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN); Wildfires Hit Plains; U.S. Attack on Iran Imminent?; Former Prince Andrew Arrested. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired February 19, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news: a stunning turn of events in the U.K., where former Prince Andrew has been arrested following new revelations from the Jeffrey Epstein files. We are live from Buckingham Palace with the latest.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And there's more breaking news right here at home, growing fire alerts. Red flag warnings are in place across the Plains, prompting more and more evacuations, as bone-dry conditions and gusty winds fuel a string of new wildfires.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: We're following the breaking news out of the U.K., where police have arrested former Prince Andrew on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

He's the most senior member of the British royal family to be arrested in more than 300 years.

BROWN: His arrest comes after the U.S. Justice Department released Jeffrey Epstein-related documents that revealed the former prince's ties to the late sex offender. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any and all wrongdoing in his dealings with Epstein.

Joining us now to further discuss is Andre Pienaar, former security adviser to the royal family.

Thanks for coming on, Andre.

I want to start by just getting your reaction to this and just the significance of it.

ANDRE PIENAAR, FORMER SECURITY ADVISER TO ROYAL FAMILY: This is a very serious turn of events.

The offense of misconduct in public office is a very serious offense, for which Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is being investigated. It's an offense that can carry a sentence of life imprisonment. And this is the first time a senior member of the British royal family has been arrested.

It is important, however, to note that, here in the U.K., an arrest is typically the beginning of a police investigation, rather than the end. And, for now, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has the presumption of innocence and he has not yet been charged with any criminal offenses.

All the rest means is that the police has detained him today for questioning for a period of time whilst the investigation continues.

BROWN: It's the first time in more than 300 years, right, for the royal family to see an arrest like this. Is that right, Andre?

PIENAAR: The last time a monarch was arrested was Charles I, who was arrested by Oliver Cromwell during the civil war in England. And he was arrested, of course, on political offenses, whilst Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on criminal offenses this morning.

BROWN: Right.

What does King Charles' statement say to you? He's supporting law enforcement here, and he doesn't even refer to the former Prince Andrew as his brother. What does that tell you about how this is impacting the royal family and just how this is all playing out both privately and publicly?

PIENAAR: I think, King Charles -- two things very clear. One is that the rule of law must apply and that no one is above the rule of law in the United Kingdom, and, secondly, that the royal family will continue to do its duty to the people of the United Kingdom whilst this investigation continues.

BROWN: You're intimately familiar with the royal family as a former security adviser. How do they navigate this going forward, in your view? And how much do you think this is shaking things up within the royal family?

PIENAAR: I think the king is taking the correct course of action. He's making it clear that the rule of law applies and that no one is above the law. There's no attempt on the part of the royal family to interfere in this police investigation.

And Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested at the king's estate in Sandringham this morning, and the royal family completely cooperated with the police. And then, secondly and most importantly, the royal family continues to do its duty to the country and to the United Kingdom and to the people and will continue with their work.

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But, clearly, everyone is very much shaken by all the revelations that have come out of the more than three million e-mails and files which the U.S. Justice Department have released.

BROWN: Yes.

PIENAAR: And the defense that Andrew is suspected of relates to his time as the special envoy on trade, for which he served from about 2002 to 2011.

He was appointed to this public role, a public office, by former Prime Minister Tony Blair at the time. And this is a role that comes with significant public responsibilities. And the offense for which he is suspected involves firstly the fact that he must have something that's an abuse of the public's trust whilst he were a public officeholder and that he must have done it deliberately.

So there are very key elements that the police will have to evidence for the Crown Prosecution Service to bring charges against him.

BROWN: Yes.

You know, this is not going away. There will likely continue to be a drip, drip. Do you think that King Charles should give a public address?

PIENAAR: I think, at this time, the statement by the king will suffice. But clearly the royal family will continue to speak directly to the British public on this issue.

Prince William and the princess of Wales have already made a statement, and this is the king's second or third statement on the matter. And I'm sure they are going to continue to talk to the British public about what is happening.

But I think the approach that they have taken is very clear. The rule of law must apply, and they will continue to do their duty.

BROWN: Andre Pienaar, thank you so much for coming on to offer your analysis on this.

PIENAAR: Thank you so much.

BROWN: Wolf.

BLITZER: And happening now: President Trump is holding the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace to discuss rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza. It's the first meeting since the board was formally announced just last month in Switzerland.

The White House says more than 20 countries are attending and billions of dollars are pledged, but many of America's European allies have declined invitations to join the board. And it comes amid stark new concerns in the Middle East right now.

CNN has learned the U.S. military is prepared to strike Iran possibly as soon as this weekend. President Trump, standing before his Board of Peace, says he has not yet decided. Listen.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So now we may have to take it a step further or we may not. Maybe we're going to make a deal. Well, you're going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days.

But this meeting today is proof with determined leadership nothing is impossible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And joining us now, CNN global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh. She's also a former deputy Pentagon press secretary in the Biden administration.

Sabrina, the president mentions a new time frame, possibly in the next 10 days, for a possible U.S. strike on Iran. What does that tell you?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, he's giving himself optionality and flexibility here by kind of announcing a 10- day timeline.

The reality is, is, this is all up to the president and at any moment he can make that decision. In a few days, we will have an additional carrier in the region, the USS Ford. The USS Ford is not unfamiliar with the region. It was in fact the first carrier that was dispatched under Secretary Austin on October 8, so right after the October 7 attacks.

But I think what you're seeing here is an incredible amount of firepower. And so the president, while saying -- giving the idea of 10 days, the reality is we could be ready to go as early as this weekend, but it's ultimately up to the president to decide.

BLITZER: Do you believe the president is perhaps using the threat of military action to leverage Iran into a nuclear deal, or do you think there's still a very real possibility of imminent U.S. military strikes?

SINGH: I think the president believes that military strikes are probably likely at this point. I mean, you don't move this type of capability into the region. We have more Patriots, THAAD batteries that are there to protect our bases in the region.

We have more fighter aircraft that are at different bases, including on the carriers that will be there. We have enough aircraft power in the region that we had in 2003. So you don't move that into the region unless you're going to do something.

I think at the end of the day, if -- this president likes deals. He likes negotiations. If he feels that Iran is going to come to the table and negotiate, then maybe he pulls it back. But the reality is that I think this is a way to force Iran that the United States is serious and, of course, the president was very clear on his TRUTH Social post that the U.S. is locked and loaded.

So also Iranians and, frankly, Americans too are waiting to see if he's going to follow the through on that.

BLITZER: We will see what he does.

Going back to the Board of Peace, the meeting that's under way here in Washington...

SINGH: Yes.

BLITZER: ... right now on the future of Gaza, an Israeli official says the U.S. is planning for some 20,000 soldiers to be part of the international stabilization force in Gaza.

What concerns would that create for regional security?

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SINGH: Well, I think the stabilization force, there are a lot of questions around that, including how does Hamas disarm? We have not seen Hamas disarm.

Also, on top of that, while we do have the cease-fire, Israel is continuing to conduct strikes. I think there was a report recently that nearly 600 Palestinians have died since the cease-fire went into place. So there are a few questions about how this Board of Peace is going to even implement some of the things that they want to do.

I think also what's concerning here is this Board of Peace could be supplanting the U.N., the United Nations. And you have countries like Qatar, Saudi, even Russia was extended an invitation, countries that do not have a strong human rights record.

And I think lastly what I will stay here is that peace requires consensus. And Donald Trump is the president of this board for lifetime. He has the ability to remove countries and bring countries on, kind of with no checks and balances.

So what does that mean for the longevity of this Board of Peace? I really don't know. So there are a lot of outstanding questions.

BLITZER: And Trump seems to think that this Board of Peace will replace the United Nations. We will see how that works out.

SINGH: Yes, certainly, I think it seems like he wants to do that.

BLITZER: Yes, all right, Sabrina, thank you very, very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, still ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM, we have some breaking news. Dangerous and critical weather in the Plains is contributing to dozens of new wildfires, scorching thousands of acres and forcing people to flee.

BLITZER: And governors are gathering here in Washington this week for traditionally bipartisan meetings. But President Trump says two Democratic governors are not invited to the White House. We will speak with Governor Andy Beshear about that and much more. All that coming up right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

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BROWN: Happening now: Multiple wildfires are ripping across the Plains, burning tens of thousands of acres and forcing evacuations across Oklahoma and Kansas. At one point, the fire was burning an area equal to three to four football fields every second. Today, dangerous fire weather conditions are expected to continue.

So, for more on that, let's go live to meteorologist Allison Chinchar She's in the CNN Weather Center for us this morning.

Allison, how is the weather going to impact these fires?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right, so, unfortunately it's likely going to make it worse before any of this gets any better.

And part of the reason for that is just how massive the fire is. Now, the video behind me you're seeing, this is from Oklahoma. This was on Tuesday. But the big concern we have here is -- for a lot of these areas is the wind. Even, say, a 10- or a 15-mile-per-hour wind can take some of these embers and transport them to large distances.

It can also create new fires in some instances. So this is where we are looking at the biggest area of concern for today. All the areas you see here in the red and orange area, that's where you have the elevated and the critical fire threat. And you can see it's about roughly half-a-dozen states that we are looking at, including over the same area where we've been dealing with that already large ongoing fire.

So you have the red flag warnings and the fire weather watches already in place. And basically this takes into account not only the fact that the humidity is very low, but that the ground is just -- it's all dry brush, which makes it fuel for these types of fires, and, of course, the wind.

That's going to be the biggest component, because a lot of these areas, you're looking at 30-, 40-, even as much as 50-mile-per-hour winds. And, as we mentioned, even a 15-mile-per-hour wind could continue spreading these fires.

But when you start getting higher into that 40- and 50 mile-per-hour range, it can do so at much faster rates, which makes it very difficult for the firefighters that are trying to contain these fires, especially knowing that the ground, what we just talked about. Everything is so dry in these areas.

You've got several locations under moderate drought, a few even in the severe and extreme drought category. That just means, as those fires are spreading, all of the stuff that's on the ground is just fuel for them to be able to spread even faster and also easier. It's not just today. As we transition into the next day, you'll start

to see some additional fire threats for some of the same locations. Now, one of the reasons we're having such strong winds, this low- pressure system right here is what's causing that uptick in winds. Now, you'll notice that, as it continues to slide east, we'll finally start to get at least a little bit of a reprieve in the winds as that low-pressure system increases severe chances for much of the Midwest, but starts to decrease the wind threat across the Plains.

But then you have this next low-pressure system that comes in. And while you would hope that it would bring some moisture from it, everything pretty much just dries out and in turn only just increases the wind even more.

BROWN: All right, Allison Chinchar, thank you so much -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Up next: The Trump administration is ordering FEMA to suspend new disaster deployments while the Department of Homeland Security remains shut down. Democrats won't agree to fund it without major changes to ICE.

We'll ask Republican Congressman David Kustoff about breaking the impasse and a lot more. That's coming up next.

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BLITZER: Breaking news: President Trump's newly formed Board of Peace is meeting for the first time in person right here in Washington.

We expect the group to unveil a multibillion-dollar humanitarian aid and reconstruction package for Gaza, along with a major international security commitment. The board includes nearly 30 members, but doesn't include several major U.S. allies. They declined to join President Trump's board, arguing it's an end-run around the United Nations, including authoritarian leaders, and lacks specifics for achieving its mission of peace.

Joining us now to discuss this and more, Republican Congressman David Kustoff of Tennessee. He's the chair of the House Knesset Parliamentary Friendship Group.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

I've covered U.S.-Israeli relations for a long time. The first I'm hearing about this Israeli -- about this U.S.-Knesset Parliamentary Group. Very briefly tell us what it does.

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REP. DAVID KUSTOFF (R-TN): Well, it was actually formed by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and by the speaker of the Knesset to build the relations between our respective legislative branches. So we have Republican and Democrat congressmen here in the United

States House of Representatives who interact with different members of the Knesset, different political parties and majority, minority, and to bridge that gap and to certainly open communications between our two legislative branches.

We have had members of the Knesset visit us in Washington recently. And, hopefully, we will return the favor soon when we have a bipartisan delegation that visits with members of the Knesset.

BLITZER: The U.S.-Israeli relationship obviously is very strong.

Does it concern you at all, Congressman, that some of America's closest allies in Europe, the closest allies throughout history, indeed, like the United Kingdom, Canada, for that matter, are not members of this Board of Peace, while other various authoritarian nations are members, including, for example, Belarus?

KUSTOFF: So, Wolf, I don't look at it that way.

And you look at what the president is trying to do this morning, along with the original intent of the creation of this Board of Peace as it relates to Gaza and as it relates to Israel, for the stabilization of that region and for the reconstruction of Gaza.

So, I am impressed that we have different members of the factions and those in the Middle East. We have got representation there from Jordan, from Qatar, from UAE, from Bahrain, from Egypt, and, to me, that's healthy as we talk about the stabilization and the reconstruction of that region.

BLITZER: Good point.

Looming over the Board of Peace, these meetings under way in Washington right now, are the U.S. tensions, enormous tensions, with Iran. We know the U.S. military is prepared to strike Iran perhaps as early as this weekend, but President Trump has yet to make a final call.

Do you think he should authorize an attack?

KUSTOFF: So, Wolf, let's talk about what we know first. We know that there's a tremendous United States military buildup in the Middle East, probably the largest in 20 years, going back to 2003.

We know that the envoys Witkoff and Jared Kushner, on behalf of the United States, have been meeting with the Iranian leadership. We don't know the results of that. I think what we do know is that the Iranian leadership right now is probably the weakest -- the weakest hold that they have since the overthrow of the shah in 1979.

And so, to me, from the president's standpoint, he's got to be concerned about three things or thinking about three things. One is halting that nuclear force in Iran, eliminating the nuclear force in Iran, and, three, toppling the regime. And so I hope that, from a diplomatic standpoint, that the Iranians

recognize what they're faced with. They know and we know that we exposed a lot of their military vulnerabilities when we attacked, that surgical attack back in June. And so the decision is really up to the Iranians how they want to conduct themselves with the United States, and if they can agree to the concessions, certainly halting their nuclear force.

BLITZER: Because that last U.S.-Israeli joint attack on the nuclear facilities in Iran, according to Trump, obliterated that opportunity.

But, apparently, there's still some rebuilding going on in Iran right now of that nuclear capability. Do you think if the U.S. were to launch in the coming days, the next few days, some sort of military strike -- two U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups are in the region right now. They're getting ready to move with a lot of aircraft, a lot of missiles, a lot of weapons.

Do you think the goal would be simply to undermine the current regime in Iran, would it be a regime change, or would it be simply to weaken Iran's military capabilities to attack U.S. targets in the Gulf and Israel as well?

KUSTOFF: Well, obviously, you have laid out this scenario. The fact of the matter is, is that part of the world, that part of the Middle East needs to be stabilized.

And Iran can decide that they want to cooperate and they want to stand down, as it will, with threats to Israel through their -- through themselves and through their proxies. I hope that they take the diplomatic course.

We have seen recently, when we struck Venezuela, that very strong but surgical attack in Venezuela, that we're able to do what we need to do as a nation and pull out.