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Rep. Miller to CNN: Trump Didn't Ask Me to Drop Reelection Bid; Bison Chases Child at Yellowstone National Park; Lindsay Clancy's Trial Resumes for Murdering Her Three Children; Clancy's Journal About Declining Mental Health Read Aloud; FBI Agent Accused of Stealing Nearly $1M in Cryptocurrency. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired August 04, 2026 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: -- to keep his seat. With us now is CNN congressional correspondent Lauren Fox. What is the latest here, Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pam, obviously he's facing a key deadline. If he does not drop out of this race by the end of today, that means that there cannot be a special primary to fill his vacancy left in that wake. Instead, he would then have until August 10th to drop out. At that point, the committee could then move forward with another candidate. But after that date, he remains on the ballot. Pam, and you can understand why for Republicans, in this safe Republican seat in Ohio, this is a big potential problem for them.

So, right now, what we know is that he did speak to the president, according to his conversation with our colleague Manu Raju last night. But he says that the president did not ask him to get out of the race. President Trump also addressed this from the Oval Office yesterday, telling reporters that he knows Max Miller, that he believes that this is something that Max Miller and Bernie Moreno's family needs to work out on their own. Obviously, Max Miller was married to Senator Bernie Moreno's daughter, Emily Moreno. So, this is an intra-party fight that's happening under the backstage of -- excuse me, under the backdrop, of course, of Ohio MAGA politics, Pam. So, this is something that we are watching really closely.

But, again, Max Miller defiancing, he is not getting out of this race, saying that he did nothing wrong and that he is going to continue defending his reputation. Pam.

BROWN: All right. I want to ask you about something else. Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards, a bipartisan House Ethics Committee, said it found, quote, "substantial evidence" that he repeatedly made unwanted advances on two female staffers. What happens now?

FOX: Yes. So, the Ethics Committee, in a extremely newsy statement yesterday, said essentially that they believe that the House of Representatives needs to censure Representative Chuck Edwards, another Republican, this time from the state of North Carolina, for his actions, which they deemed inappropriate. And they basically accused him, based on their investigation, of giving gifts, tons of gifts, to two female staffers in his office.

And I just want to read from the report. It says, a member of Congress should not single out a staffer and isolate them from other staff, make frequent comments regarding that person's appearance and weight, send messages in the middle of the night, text staff, deeply personal and seemingly romantic thoughts, intrude on personal occasions without invitation, pay for personal vacations, and spend thousands of dollars on gifts for staffers.

Now, Pam, his office continues to say that he did nothing wrong, that he didn't break the rules, that he didn't engage in any illegal behavior. But it is going to be a key question for Republicans when they return from their months-long recess as to whether or not there will be a vote to censure Chuck Edwards on the That would be the first time that the Ethics Committee has recommended this punishment since 2010. Pam.

BROWN: All right. Lauren Fox, thanks so much. And a quick programming note for you. Ohio Republican Congressman Max Miller will be on the lead with Jake Tapper today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And just ahead, a child's close call with a bison in Yellowstone National Park. And the SpaceX rocket on a collision course with the moon.

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BROWN: Happening now, growing concerns about the outbreak that's made thousands of Americans sick after two deaths in Michigan were linked to cyclospora. But health officials say both people had significant underlying health conditions.

A SpaceX rocket is about to crash into the moon. Tomorrow morning, it will slam into the lunar surface at more than 5,400 miles an hour. That is the force equal to three tons of TNT. The impact will carve out a new crater. It will be hard to see from Earth, but should create a giant dust cloud that stargazers will want to watch.

And look at this heart-stopping video of a bison charging toward a child at Yellowstone National Park.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, go back. Go back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go back. Do not go towards him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go away from him. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: How terrifying. The bison was near a pedestrian pathway when that child began to run. Thankfully, the bison stopped after a brief chase and the child is OK. I'm sure shaken up though. This is the second time that a dangerous bison run in at Yellowstone has been caught on camera in the last month. In July, you'll probably recall this, a charging bison tossing this man eight feet into the air. Wolf.

BLITZER: Also happening now, court back in session for the triple murder trial of Lindsay Clancy. She's accused of killing her three young kids in their Massachusetts home back in 2023. Jurors will decide if she is criminally responsible for their deaths or if she suffered from postpartum psychosis. Yesterday, they heard testimony from doctors and nurses about her physical and mental condition in the days after the killings.

Let's go to CNN correspondent, Jean Casares. Jean, the judge began today by speaking with Clancy about a stipulation of facts. Can you explain what that means and how it impacts the trial moving forward?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Well, this is the first time we've heard Lindsay Clancy speak in court and was outside the presence of the jury. But remember, the defense is conceding that she killed her children and the defense is that she lacked the criminality. She did not comprehend what she was doing at the time. And so, there should be no legal responsibility.

Well, because of that concession and to save time, the prosecution has agreed with the defense that they will stipulate to certain elements that the prosecution may prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

[11:40:00]

In other words, the judge had to ask her if this was free and voluntarily made by her because she is conceding elements of the crime itself. Listen to the judge and Lindsay Clancy as the defendant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE WILLIAM SULLIVAN, PLYMOUTH COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT: Do you understand that by signing the stipulation, you agree that the commonwealth does not have to prove these certain facts that are contained in the stipulation? Do you understand that?

LINDSAY CLANCY, DEFENDANT: Yes, your honor.

WILLIAM: All right. And do you understand by signing or going along with that stipulation, you are basically relieving the commonwealth of its burden to prove those certain facts? Do you understand that?

CLANCY: Yes, your honor.

WILLIAM: Is that what you want to do at this point?

CLANCY: Yes. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And one thing, this will really speed up the trial, both sides said. Now, Lieutenant Rabbitt, Joseph Rabbitt, took the stand shortly after that and he went to the home very close in time to when this all happened. They had to get the search warrant from the judge. He was there in the early morning hours following the evening of the event that transpired.

He walked in and he went into the kitchen and we heard Patrick Clancy say that he had gotten takeout. He'd gone to the CVS. And there on the kitchen table, he documented a photo of that CVS bag, also the takeout bag, showing conceivably where Patrick Clancy had dropped it. That's the kitchen table right there. That's the bag right there.

Patrick Clancy said he heard silence. He didn't know where anybody was. And he just dropped the food, dropped the CVS bag to search for them. And then the lieutenant talked about the kitchen cabinet, finding prescription bottles in the kitchen cabinet on the top shelf. And he said there were about four of them there, but he took them down, documented all of this was included in the search warrant.

He then testified that on February 6th, so a little over a week later, Patrick Clancy himself came to the police department with a brown paper bag full of prescription bottles. He was accompanied by his attorney. Listen to this exchange in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANAN BUCKINGHAM, PROSECUTOR: Did somebody come into the state police office at the district attorney's office with some information or evidence?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They did, yes.

BUCKINGHAM: Who was that that came in?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Patrick Clancy.

BUCKINGHAM: And was he with an attorney, somebody by the name of David Meyer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BUCKINGHAM: And what did they bring to the state police?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bottles of medication.

BUCKINGHAM: How was it transported to the state police or how did you receive it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a CVS bag.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And so, he went through the bottles. And the consensus was that there were many, many pills left in those bottles. Of course, the defense cross-examined him on these were not only the medications, he may not have been taking those at the time, but the prosecution trying to make a point that a lot of the medication was still right there in the bottle as prescribed.

BLITZER: All right. Jeanne Cazares, as usual, thank you very, very much. Pamela.

BROWN: Well, Wolf, Clancy's triple murder trial is putting a spotlight on women's mental health struggles, specifically around childbirth. You may be familiar with mothers experiencing postpartum depression or anxiety. The condition relevant to this trial is postpartum psychosis, which affects around one out of 1,000 women, according to the NIH.

And so, since this trial has taken center stage, there's been so many questions about postpartum psychosis, since that is the defense that Clancy's team is using. Our next guest says the U.S. is in the Middle Ages when it comes to understanding and researching this severe disorder.

Dr. Veerle Bergink joins us now. She's the director at the Mount Sinai Women's Mental Health Center. Doctor, thank you for coming on. I think this is a really important discussion to have. Let's begin with what is postpartum psychosis?

DR. VEERLE BERGINK, DIRECTOR, MOUNT SINAI WOMEN'S MENTAL HEALTH CENTER: Postpartum psychosis is a severe psychiatric illness occurring in the first days, weeks after delivery. The first three months, the first severe symptoms begin. It's mania, it's depression with psychotic features, psychosis, sometimes a mix of these symptoms.

BROWN: When you say psychosis, what do you mean?

DR. BERGINK: Sorry?

BROWN: When you say psychosis, elaborate on that.

DR. BERGINK: Psychosis is that women have thoughts that are not correct or have hallucinations or lose reality. So, it's either psychosis or mania or both.

BROWN: So, we heard some of Clancy's journal entries read aloud yesterday in court. I want to play for you a portion of what we learned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN REDDINGTON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I now have horrible insomnia and anxiety, which is causing depression. I have no appetite. I don't know what's wrong with me. I want help. I want to be well. You saw that in there, didn't you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

[11:45:00] REDDINGTON: She wrote that, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct.

REDDINGTON: She wrote, I have crazy brain fog. I feel like I can't make a plan. I can't carry it out. Like I just live moment to moment waiting for the next nap time. I'm terrified of Cal getting overtired now because I feel I can't help him. She wrote that, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Medical experts also testified she presented normally at times and conveyed she was horrified after the killings, but also had hallucinations the night before. It also came out that she had been building a snowman with her kids before this. Does this sound like to you, a patient who could be presenting with postpartum psychosis?

DR. BERGINK: 100 percent. I've treated hundreds of patients with postpartum psychosis, and this is very typical. That symptoms fluctuate over time, that it can start with mania, and later women get depression with psychotic features. Also, the hallucinations are very typical, as well as what people describe as brain fog, that they can't think clearly, that their mind is not correct. That is all very common in postpartum psychosis. And --

BROWN: In this case -- no, I want to hear more what you have to say about that. But in this case, Clancy's defense, as I pointed out, was that she had postpartum psychosis. How widely understood is this form of postpartum mental illness? Do we have a good understanding of what causes it?

DR. BERGINK: We do not know what causes it. We need more research there. But we do know that it occurs in one out of 1,000 women that the risk of psychosis or mania is 20 times increased after delivery compared to any other period in a woman's life. And we know it's very severe. It has been there for hundreds or thousands of years among all cultures in the world. And it's a very severe mental illness not recognized enough.

BROWN: And how important is it to understand a pregnant woman's mental health history, her family history, in determining whether she could be at risk for this?

DR. BERGINK: That is very important, and especially if women have been manic or hypomanic before, because then their risk jumps from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 6 of getting postpartum psychosis and another 1 in 6 of getting severe postpartum depression. So, that is important to have --

BROWN: Hopefully we still have your connection, because this next question is very important. Women right now who have postpartum OCD are having a very hard time with this. I had postpartum OCD, where I had scary, intrusive thoughts. Help us understand the difference between the diagnosis of postpartum psychosis and postpartum OCD. DR. BERGINK: Yes. And I'm sorry to hear this. Postpartum obsessive thoughts are very common in women with postpartum OCD, but also in other women. Many women have thoughts they don't want, try to push it away, and feel embarrassed about it. That is very common. Postpartum OCD is, of course, more serious than you have it hours a day, and sometimes also compulsions.

And that is very different from postpartum psychosis, as in postpartum psychosis, someone has mania, depression with psychotic features, or psychosis. And only if someone has postpartum psychosis and those obsessive thoughts, that is reason to be very concerned about the safety of the mother and her baby. But that is not the case for all those women who have obsessive thoughts after delivery, or who have postpartum OCD, or postpartum depression.

So, it's really important to make this distinction there, right? We really, as professionals, and the field is really united in this, want serious care and immediate care for postpartum psychosis. And of course, also, we want the right care for postpartum OCD and postpartum depression, but not people be overly worried, or scared to report their symptoms, or being judged if they actually have these symptoms, because it's very common.

BROWN: It is common. Another expert I spoke to said a majority of women, after they give birth, have intrusive thoughts that are unwanted. When you have OCD, you become obsessed with it. You try to reassure yourself. You feel a lot of anxiety about it, which is different from the psychosis. But are doctors, are most doctors trained to be able to diagnose, and treat, and understand this distinction between postpartum psychosis and postpartum OCD?

[11:50:00]

The difference between just having these intrusive, scary thoughts, and the psychosis, which is a different diagnosis.

DR. BERGINK: Doctors are not trained in postpartum psychosis, not at all. And that is a missed opportunity, because it's not that rare. And doctors should be able to detect mania after delivery, or psychosis after delivery. And only then, if it's in combination with psychosis, or mania, or depression with psychotic features, and those obsessive thoughts, yes, as I said, then it's riskful. So, in clinical practice, it's really very different. And in most cases, not hard to distinguish at all, honestly.

BROWN: I worry women -- and we have to wrap up, but I worry women who are having, for example, any of this, right? Postpartum psychosis or postpartum OCD won't seek help, because they're scared. They're scared of what will happen. They're scared that their children will be taken away, or whatever the case may be. What is your message to those women?

DR. BERGINK: Please seek help. And that was also the case before this trial, that women feel, you know, scared to seek help, or their environment. And I think it's really important to get this help. And again, to make this distinction between postpartum psychosis, which Lindsey Clancy had clearly 100 percent, and all kinds of other postpartum mental illness, which is more common, such as postpartum depression, postpartum OCD.

BROWN: OK. Great. And as you point out, that is her defense, the postpartum psychosis. So, important to have this conversation with you, Dr. Veerle Bergink. Thank you so much. We'll be right back.

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[11:55:00]

BLITZER: New this morning, a now former FBI agent is accused of stealing more than $900,000 in cryptocurrency. Court documents show he allegedly stole it from accounts the bureau was actually monitoring and used his internal access to transfer the holdings into his personal account.

CNN cybersecurity reporter Sean Lingus is here with me in the Situation Room. Sean, how was he allegedly able to steal this cryptocurrency in the first place?

SEAN LINGUS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Well, Wolf, this guy was assigned to a national security squad in Boston that was investigating a, quote, "adversarial nation state." They didn't know the court documents didn't name the nation state. To my trained eye, it sounds like either Russia or Iran.

But basically, he began investigating large sums of cryptocurrency that someone in that country was using. And he became frustrated in his own words that the FBI wasn't doing more to seize this or act upon it. And so, according to the affidavit, the court documents we reviewed, he took things into his own hands and he used the bureau's access.

The FBI monitors thousands, if not more, accounts of cryptocurrency accounts of criminals, state actors. But he used the pass phrases that the FBI had for those accounts to gradually transfer them into his personal account. And it's a very emotional court document. If you read through it, he allegedly admits that he messed up. He uses a different word. But he confides in one of his colleagues and says, I got something to tell you. And then that person says, you got to turn yourself in because this is not good.

So, almost a million dollars transferred. And then, you know, he thought about using those savings. He asked ChatGPT, according to the court documents, what would I do with close to a million dollars to resettle in Europe? And all of that is pretty, you know, convincing evidence. Instead, you know, we've got the quote up on the screen right now. It says, if I had a bucket of money around $1 dollars and you wanted to leave the USA and become a resident or citizen of an E.U. country, what would you do? And then ChatGPT gave him advice on his lifestyle about potentially resettling. So, that probably won't happen given he's in custody now, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Sean Lingus, good reporting as usual. Thank you very, very much. And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning. You can always keep up with us on social media, @wolf blitzer and @pamelabrowncnn.

BROWN: We'll see you back here tomorrow morning and every weekday morning at 10:00 Eastern. Inside Politics Today with our friend and colleague, Manu Raju, starts after a quick break.

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