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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Trump Signs Executive Order Creating "Specialized Units" Of National Guard to Deal With Public Order Issues; Interview With Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) Chicago; Days After FBI Searches John Bolton Office And Home, Trump Threatens To Reopen Investigation Into Chris Christie; House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Epstein Estate For "Birthday Book" And Other Documents; Study: Mediterranean Diet Can Lower Risk Of Dementia; Medvedev Loses, Smashes Racket After Man Walks Onto Court. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired August 25, 2025 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And, Erin, even if the U.S. doesn't have the firepower in the region to actually invade Venezuela, clearly the Trump administration is hoping that the added pressure on Maduro will force him from power. The only problem with that is that many of the people around Maduro, his inner circle, are also wanted by the U.S. for drug trafficking -- Erin.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: That's incredible. Such an incredible report. Patrick, thank you very much, joining us tonight from Havana in Cuba and thanks so much to all of you for being with us. "AC360" begins now.
[20:00:37]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Tonight on 360, National Guard troops at Washington now carry weapons as the President orders a major expansion of the guard's role and talks about sending troops to Chicago next. Chicago's mayor joins us tonight.
Also, he railed against weaponization of law enforcement, but now the Presidents Republican critics are targeted. John Bolton last week is former New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie next.
And, some good news tonight about Alzheimer's, stunning new evidence about how effective a Mediterranean diet is and preventing Alzheimer's in those whose genes put them at highest risk.
Good evening, thanks for joining us. We begin tonight keeping them honest, with the President of the United States expanding his vision for sending American troops into more American cities and getting those forces more involved in local law enforcement. It's happening with Guard troops in Washington now under orders to carry their sidearms or for some, their M-4 rifles. And though a joint task force spokesperson said they'll be authorized only to use them for personal protection and not policing, the Presidents words and actions today suggest that could change.
He signed an Executive Order tasking Defense Secretary Hegseth with setting up specialized National Guard units that will be, in the words of the order, specifically trained and equipped to deal with public order issues, which sounds a lot like policing enough so to ring alarm bells for one former Guard major general.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJOR GEN. RANDY MARINER (RET): FORMER ACTING VICE CHAIR, NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU: The average American they might know about infantry units, armored units, transportation units, signal units. And now they're going to create what -- occupation forces that are going to be trained to go in and to occupy a city. This is so un-American, it just makes me sick. This is not something that is what America is about. This is about creating literally military units to monitor our people and this is actually very disparaging. I'm actually in shock.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Now, whether or not you agree with the Major General's assessment about the implications, the Executive Order certainly expands the capability for the military to do what he envisions and it's not happening in a vacuum. The President has already sent Guard troops and active duty Marines onto the streets of Los Angeles over the wishes of L.A.'s mayor and California's governor.
Today, he suggested that Chicago's next, with or without state and local cooperation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We may or may not, we may just go in and do it, which is probably what we should do. The problem is, it's not nice when you go in and do it and somebody else is standing there saying, as we give great results, say, well, we don't want the military. They need help badly, Chicago desperately needs help. Just look at the crime statistics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, keeping them honest, as it is in Washington, any city across the country, crime is a serious problem in Chicago. That said, according to police figures, murder is down 31 percent over this time last year, down 37 percent over this time two years ago, and fully half of what it was four years ago. That's something Chicago's mayor, who joins us shortly, pointed out today, as did Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who said the President so far has not to his knowledge, consulted any of the appropriate officials about sending troops into Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): We found out what Donald Trump was planning, the same way that all of you did. We read a story in "The Washington Post."
If this was really about fighting crime and making the streets safe, what possible justification could The White House have for planning such an exceptional action without any conversations or consultations with the governor, the mayor, or the police?
Donald Trump wants to use the military to occupy a U.S. city, punish his dissidents and score political points. If this were happening in any other country, we would have no trouble calling it what it is, a dangerous power grab.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Now, the Governor also warned other state governors against sending their guard troops into Chicago to, as he put it, cater to the ego of a dictator. For his part, the President earlier today, before the governors reaction, called him, "some slob." He also talked about those who equate sending troops into cities with creeping dictatorship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And they say, we don't need no freedom! Freedom! He is a dictator. He's a dictator.
A lot of people are saying, maybe we like a dictator. I don't like a dictator. I'm not a dictator. I'm a man with great common sense and I'm a smart person. And when I see what's happening to our cities, and then you send in troops instead of being praised, they're saying you're trying to take over the Republic. These people are sick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:05:14]
COOPER: This is the second time in recent days that he said something like this. Here he is after sending troops into D.C.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Already they're saying he's a dictator. The place is going to hell and we've got to stop it. So, instead of saying, he's a dictator, they should say were going to join him and make Washington safe. But they say, he's a dictator.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, name calling aside, except in the direst of actual national emergencies, this is not what presidents normally do. And it's not all that this President has done either. He has and continues to target those he doesn't like for retribution, purge entire agencies and government departments of perceived enemies.
He's imposed his personal view of history of the Smithsonian taking control of the Kennedy Center and his strong arming universities and law firms. This President has sued one T.V. network and just yesterday threatened the broadcast licenses of two others. He's assembled a large force of masked federal agents to round up people across the country, signed an Executive Order just today criminalizing flag burning despite a clear Supreme Court ruling, distasteful as it may be, saying that it is free speech. There's more, of course, and some may defend all or parts of these
actions as necessary, even welcome. That said, it's hard to say they add up to nothing. We're going to start off at the White House with CNN chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny. So what is the President's thinking behind all this? What are you hearing from sources?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, it's been clear throughout the month of August and authoritarianism streak really has been the through line for the President, at least on domestic concerns. I mean, he called himself the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, and that is a hat he is wearing very proudly for a variety of reasons.
One, he campaigned on this. His advisers will say that he talked about law and order throughout the campaign, which is true. But this recent development in the last couple of weeks is coming as he is facing challenges in other regards. In the month of August, he is barely mentioned his legislative achievements, his accomplishments. He certainly has not been out selling it or talking about it like some Republicans would like him to do. Instead, he's talking about these law enforcement changes.
But, Anderson, these are serious changes. The Executive Order that he signed, one of them in the in the Oval Office today would be the largest change in the National Guard in terms of blending its role with the law enforcement agencies that we have ever seen. And of course, some National Guard officials have raised concerns, but others have not. I mean, he realizes that crime is an issue that has worked for him in the past, at least politically speaking. And he was taking some great credit for what he believes are some advancements here in Washington.
He was talking about how there has not been a homicide in 11 days, he said that hasn't happened in decades. In fact, it was March the last time there was a stretch of no homicide. So, it's unclear the lasting effect of this, but the change in the National Guard is absolutely a major step. And it's something that he is taking a great pleasure in doing. And he is also eager to have this as an issue with the Democratic governors. That's why he has picked Chicago, Baltimore, and of course, California.
COOPER: And also, obviously, the issue of flag burning, which is obviously, you know, distasteful, but something that the Supreme Court has certainly ruled on in the past. Is teasing, sending the National Guard in Chicago? I mean, is there a timeline for that?
ZELENY: There's not a timeline that the President indicated. He said, I may do it, I may not do it, but certainly by even mentioning it and mentioning Baltimore as well, it's something that he's thinking about. And this is something when you sort of piece together from Los Angeles to here in Washington to Chicago and Baltimore. Even the threat is something that works for him politically. But in terms of a timeline, he left that open, there's no doubt about that -- Anderson.
COOPER: Jeff Zeleny, thanks. I'm joined now by the Mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson. Mayor,
appreciate you being with us. The President obviously has a long history of attacking your city. Today, he referred to it as a killing field. What's your message to the President now that Chicago has been singled out as the next potential target for this kind of action?
MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON (D), CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Well, first of all, you know what the President is proposing is a military occupation of the city of Chicago and cities across America. Our city is not calling for that. In fact, I don't know of any cities in America that are calling for federal troops to occupy their cities.
This is clearly unconstitutional. It's illegal, and it's costly. The fact of the matter is, is that we're doing really a good work in the city of Chicago. Community safety is my top priority, and that's why I've worked hard to bring people together to drive violence down in Chicago.
Homicides are down nearly 32 percent. Shootings and shooting victims are down nearly 40 percent. Robberies are down 35 percent, carjackings are down significantly. Is there more work to be done? Of course it is. Is sending military troops into cities a way to actually drive community safety? Absolutely not.
COOPER: I want to just play something else, he said recently about you and your city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Chicago's a mess. You have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent, and we'll straighten that one out probably next. That'll be our next one after this and it won't even be tough.
And the people in Chicago, Mr. Vice-President, are screaming for us to come. They're wearing red hats just like this one, but they're wearing red hats African-American ladies, beautiful ladies are saying, please, President Trump, come to Chicago, please.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:10:53]
COOPER: Do you believe that citizens of Chicago would welcome federal intervention?
JOHNSON: Not in this regard. Here's what the people of Chicago are calling for and we've been calling for this repeatedly. We're looking for investments into affordable housing. I'm on pace to build nearly 10,000 affordable homes by the end of my first term. We're looking for investments in workforce. We've hired 31,119 young people for summer jobs.
The people of Chicago are calling for investments in our mental health care services. I've reopened mental health clinics and expanded behavioral and mental health services across the city. We've revamped our entire Detectives Division so that we can actually solve violent crimes in the city of Chicago. We've already closed 76 percent of our cases. It's the highest clearance rate that we've had in over a decade.
The way we build safe and affordable communities across this country is by investing in them. If the President was serious about driving violence down in Chicago and in cities across America, he would return the $800 million that he took away from violence prevention back in April.
If he was serious about driving violence down in the city of Chicago, he would return Medicaid, SNAP. He would he would not defund our public education system.
This President has demonstrated that he is not willing to cooperate with cities in America to ensure that the federal government actually shows up for working people. That's what we're doing in Chicago. That's what many of our mayors are doing across this country. The President really should be working with us to develop safe communities and affordable communities.
COOPER: Mr. Mayor, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you very much, Mayor Brandon Johnson.
JOHNSON: Thank you.
COOPER: For more now on the prospect of a National Guard troops in more U.S. cities, as well as the ongoing deployment in Washington, I'm joined by former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and former federal prosecutor Carrie Cordero.
Andrew. is there anything stopping the President from replicating what he did in Washington, D.C., in Chicago or other cities around the country?
ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Anderson, as we've seen so far, there's very little stopping this President when he wants to do when, you know, from doing what he wants to do. But he'll find the legal environment and trying to replicate the same sort of surge of federal agents and the presence of National Guard troops very, very different in every city in this country that is not Washington, D.C.
Here in D.C., the environment is unique. It is not a state. It is a district that's very closely tied to the federal government and as an aspect of D.C. Home Rule, which is a law passed giving D.C. residents the right to vote for their mayor, the right to vote for their city council, the President has the authority to deploy troops on a limited basis, and to require that the local police, the Metropolitan Police Department, is kind of co-opted to perform federal services.
You can have all kinds of good arguments as to whether that whether or not that's exactly what they're doing right now. But the fact is he is in that kind of 30-day period that he gets under the law. Those exact circumstances, those legal circumstances, that legal authority really does not exist in the same way for any other state. COOPER: Carrie, I mean, you know, the officials in Chicago made it
clear there's no request for federal intervention in Chicago. Legally speaking, what are the governors options if the administration sends in National Guard troops to his state?
CARRIE CORDERO, CNN LEGAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So it's important, you know, for us to remember that normally, if the National Guard is working under what's called state active duty, that they have the governor, that is the commander-in-chief of National Guard forces. So it normally would take a President to federalize those national guard forces for them to perform some sort of federal mission, for the President to be in charge in anywhere besides the District of Columbia, as Andrew was describing.
So, we get to a situation, and I actually gamed this out in a scenario that I ran at Center for New American Security last year, where you end up litigating between a governor and the and the federal government as to the scope of the ability of the President to federalize National Guard and deploy it into a state or city over the governors objection. And that's the type of thing that we are seeing play out in California as well, based on the President's deployments there last year.
The difficulty with going the litigation route is it doesn't actually solve the problems that are trying to be solved. It doesn't necessarily change the situation on the ground from the perspective of the governor, because it has to work through litigation and a courts process, and it doesn't address the public safety issue in a longer term basis that the President is seeking to achieve.
[20:15:58]
COOPER: Andrew, I mean, I want to talk about FBI agents because they have been pulled off their regular jobs in order to round up and deport people around the country. We've seen that, and now they are in D.C., on patrol, on the streets. Who picks up the slack in those areas while FBI agents are patrolling the streets in D.C.? I mean, who's doing the counterterrorism work, the counter narcotics work -- all the work that they would normally be doing, or anti-corruption work.
MCCABE: Yes, Anderson, the short answer is, no one. No one is filling in those holes for the FBI. The FBI is actually a very small entity. There are only about 12,000 agents spread out around the entire country. Their mission -- the scope of their mission is enormous, as you know.
And they spend entire careers training on very specialized investigative methods like finding and investigating terrorists or finding and investigating spies -- our counterintelligence division, people who spend their entire careers doing things like white collar crime, all of those very specialized areas of investigation that the country depends upon have been short staffed now, because of this diversion of FBI law enforcement assets to things like immigration roundups and now what we're seeing in D.C..
FBI agents are not police officers. They're not trained to go out and walk a foot beat and intercede in crimes as they're happening in front of them. I mean, I'm sure they're trying to do that now in D.C. because they're good and smart and hardworking people. So, they're trying to do what they can. But it is not their background.
On the other hand, that specialized workforce to do the things that they normally do is not there. So, we are doing less counterterrorism work, less counterintelligence work, less work protecting our citizens and our fellow citizens from things like fraud and elder abuse and human trafficking and the exploitation of children.
COOPER: And Carrie, in terms of -- what are the National Security implications of taking National Guard resources away from their home states? I mean, it takes them away from training on things they may have to do overseas or in other deployments.
CORDERO: It does, so I do think, Anderson, there's some real risks involved in on a long-term basis trying to re-divert National Guard personnel to perform domestic law enforcement functions, and that can occur at the state level.
So, for example, states need to be able to call on their National Guard to respond to natural disasters, hurricanes, firefighting all sorts of things that might come up in that particular state along those lines where people are rely on the National Guard to supplement first responders, to supplement local and state personnel, to assist when the states really are in need of the special services that National Guard can provide.
And then, from a National Security perspective, we really need to be having a conversation about the fact that they are being diverted from preparing for their mission. So, there really turns out to be a military readiness challenge, because National Guard and its federal capacity is called up to assist the Department of Defense and is part of the fighting forces in our overseas missions.
COOPER: Carrie Cordero, Andrew McCabe, I appreciate it. Thank you.
Coming up next, just days after his former National Security Advisor's home and office are searched, the President singles out another former ally turned vocal critic, Chris Christie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Look, Chris is a slob, everybody knows it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: It was more than a personal attack. We'll talk about the President's suggestion that Christie, like Bolton, should be investigated and we'll speak with yet another former administration insider who's worried he will be next.
And later, the Epstein case and the additional evidence about him and Ghislaine Maxwell that House lawmakers are now demanding.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [20:24:24]
COOPER: Breaking news now, just moments ago, the President posted on his social network that he's removing a federal reserve governor. Her name is Lisa Cook. She's the first black woman to serve as a Fed governor. Cook has recently come under fire from the President and members of his administration, he's been accusing her of mortgage fraud. Even before this, it was no secret that the President spending a lot of his time in office getting even with critics and other perceived enemies.
Early on, as we reported, he pulled secret service protection from Dr. Anthony Fauci, who faced many death threats over COVID and former Trump National Security Advisor and one time U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who published a book critical of the President in 2020. He had been targeted for death by Iran. But removing protection is one thing, what's happening now is another.
The federal government's outwardly long dormant investigation of Ambassador Bolton recently apparently came back to life, and late last week, federal agents searched his home and office. Again, this is the President's own former National Security Advisor. You can add his 2017 transition chair now to the list. The man who prepared him for the 2020 debate with Joe Biden, who believes he caught COVID from the President and spent a week in the ICU. Former New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, the President erupted after governor Christie appeared on ABC's "This Week."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CHRISTIE, LAWYER AND FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: Donald Trump sees himself as the person who gets to decide everything, and he doesn't care about any separation. In fact, he absolutely rejects the idea that there should be separation between criminal investigations and the politically elected leader of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:25:52]
COOPER: Well, a short time later, the President went on social media, writing, "I just watched Sloppy Chris Christie be interviewed on a ratings challenged "News Show, This Week With George Slopadopolus," on ABC's Fake News."
That part was par for the course. Then came this. "Do you remember the way he lied about the dangerous and deadly closure of the George Washington Bridge in order to stay out of prison?" He goes on to say, "Chris refused to take responsibility for these criminal acts for the sake of justice. Perhaps we should start looking at that very serious situation again. No one is above the law." As he started doing recently. He ended with, "Thank you for your attention to this matter."
So, just to underscore, that is the President of the United States responding to someone's accusation. He is targeting a perceived enemy for prosecution by apparently threatening to target him for retribution. Here's what he said today when asked about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Look, Chris is a slob, everybody knows it. I know Chris better than anybody in the room. I always felt he was guilty. But what he did is he took the George Washington Bridge -- it was very serious. He closed down the George Washington Bridge. So, no, I don't know if they want to look at it. It's not for me. If they want to look at it, they can. You could ask Pam. I think we have other things to do, but I always thought he got away with murder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So, after openly suggesting, "perhaps we should start looking at that very serious situation" again, he's now saying you can always ask Pam, meaning Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has shown no signs so far of not doing what the President wants.
As for him, even the conservative "Wall Street Journal" editorial board has noticed, Friday they weighed in under the headline: "Trump's vendetta campaign targets John Bolton. This FBI raid makes clear that second term success for the President includes retribution. The editorial board writes, the real offender here is a President who seems to think he can use the powers of his office to run vendettas. We said this was one of the risks of a second Trump term, and its turning out to be worse than we imagined."
Joining us now, journalist and Lift Our Voices co-founder Gretchen Carlson. Also, Miles Taylor, who served as DHS chief of staff in the first Trump administration and author of "Blowback: A Warning To Save Democracy From Trump's Revenge." With us as well, another best-selling author, former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Toobin.
So, Jeff, "The Wall Street Journal" editorial board also wrote that it's hard to see the Bolton search as anything other than vindictive. How unprecedented is all of this?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, this criminal crusade against political adversaries is completely unprecedented in all of American history. I really think that's true.
Now, when the Bolton matter, I think in fairness to the Justice Department, it needs to be pointed out that those search warrants were approved by an independent magistrate, both in Washington and Maryland. So, there was at least some check observed.
But when you look at the full range of criminal investigations, whether its Senator Adam Schiff or New York Attorney General Tish James or Lisa Cook, the Fed governor, who the President attempted to fire today, whether that's legal is a separate question -- Miles Taylor, who's on tonight -- all of these are political adversaries under criminal investigation. And I should add to that list, Barack Obama, whom the President said committed treason and is now under investigation. This kind of crusade against enemies is absolutely unprecedented.
COOPER: Miles, how concerned are -- what happened to Bolton could happen to you?
MILES TAYLOR, SERVED AS DHS CHIEF-OF-STAFF IN THE FIRST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Anderson, we think it's likely. I mean, we think that there's a decent chance. I mean, if you know, past is any indicator of what the President's done, we think this is certainly possible. But one of the things I want to point out is I think people can get a little disassociated from this whole thing when they focus on the elites who are being targeted.
Maybe it worries the average American that John Bolton or Chris Christie or Senator Schiff or Miles Taylor is being targeted, but they don't think it really affects them. That's where I think people are wrong. This is affecting them.
In the United States of America you don't need a permission slip to criticize the President of the United States. But now, through his retributive actions, the President is making it as such and he's warping every institution in our society.
His revenge against the media affects the news you consume, his revenge against educational institutions, affects where you send your kids to school, his revenge against legal institutions might make it harder for you to get a lawyer. Heck, he's sending troops into your cities. I mean, this campaign is going to touch every single American.
And by the way, if you think none of those things matter to you, did you ever like a tweet that was critical of Donald Trump? Have you ever friended someone on Facebook that's critical of him? Well, next time there's a tornado or a flood in your community, your aid, your disaster aid could be tied to that. That may sound crazy, but the President himself has said, he will start making aid decisions in the office of the President and we've already seen he wants to reward allies and punish enemies. This doesn't just affect elites. This revenge campaign affects everyone.
[20:30:57]
COOPER: Gretchen, The Wall Street Journal wrote that vengeance is a large part, maybe the largest part of how President Trump will define success in his second term. Do you agree with that, and do you think he's serious about Chris Christie, or is he just kind of trolling him?
GRETCHEN CARLSON, JOURNALIST: Oh, yes. He's definitely serious about John Bolton and Chris Christie, and the 48 other people who are on the Gangster government list of Kash Patel, the FBI Director's 2023 book in the appendix. So he called them all dangerous to democracy.
Kash Patel and Trump warned us that this was going to happen. We talked about this a lot leading up to the election, that there was this enemies list, and that he for sure was going to come after them because of what happened to Donald Trump, and the cases about Mar-a- Lago, and the Hush Money case with Stormy Daniels, and the Fulton County case in Georgia with election interference.
You know, Trump supporters say, look, you deserve this because this is what you did to Donald Trump. But this is a little bit different to what Miles said, is that what is the threat now to the average American, right? I mean, these are things that I don't think people in their daily lives are necessarily thinking about, but they should be.
COOPER: Jeff, how onerous, I mean, even if Bolton never faces criminal charges, how punishing could the process of being federally investigated be for him? I mean, not just, you know, the cost, the life disruption, everything.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, Anderson, I mean, those are really big costs. And I think it's important to recognize about the American legal system, there is no check on investigations. Someone under investigation can't say, look, this case against me is nonsense, and you, court, tell the FBI or whoever it is to stop investigating me.
Our system doesn't work that way. It relies on the good faith of federal investigators. And that means people like Miles have to hire lawyers. They are at risk in keeping the jobs they have or getting new jobs. Their reputations are damaged.
And that is something that the federal government can do without any check from any court anywhere. And that is a tremendous burden that is imposed on these people, and there's nothing that can be done about it.
COOPER: And Miles, what have you and your family dealt within -- since you've been speaking out against President Trump?
TAYLOR: Well, Anderson, I've been talking about this not so that people play the violin for us, but I think as Jeffrey was just saying, it's really important for people to understand that just being added to that blacklist, just having the President order his agencies to investigate you is enough to detonate your life.
And in our case, it has meant that we've had stalkers coming after us, stalkers threatening my wife and my one-year-old daughter. We've had to hire a team of attorneys. You know, the business that I was running was destroyed by this.
My business partners forced the dissolution of our company because they too were scared of being in Donald Trump's crosshairs if they stayed associated with me. I'm the sole income earner in my household. I mean, really, really quickly, you watch these things unravel.
You see friends, you see family members who you thought would be in the trenches run for the hills. The level of social fear, Anderson, in this second Trump administration is exponentially higher than the first. So once you're added to that blacklist, it's a wrecking ball to your life, regardless of whether they bring charges against you.
COOPER: Yes. Gretchen, we're almost out of time, but have we seen anything like this since the Nixon enemies list?
CARLSON: Well, I was a little girl back then, but I can only attest to what I'm seeing right now. And I think that this is red meat for MAGA. This is what they want. You already have influencers now in MAGA saying that if we don't see indictments, that that will be a huge disappointment. And that Bondi and Kash Patel will be fired if we don't see indictments. So I think this is all incredibly real, and I think that America needs to pay attention to this.
[20:35:16]
COOPER: Yes. Gretchen Carlson, Miles Taylor, Jeffrey Toobin, thanks very much.
Coming up next, a House committee has subpoenaed Jeffrey Epstein's estate for documents, including the now-notorious birthday book.
Also ahead, a new study with some really promising results, some good news in combating Alzheimer's and dementia with a Mediterranean diet. We'll have the details ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:40:13]
COOPER: There's breaking news tonight in the Jeffrey Epstein case. The House Oversight Committee today subpoenaed Epstein's estate for a slew of documents, among them the so-called birthday book that reportedly includes a letter from Donald Trump. The President denies writing it and has sued The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on it.
The committee is also seeking any so-called client lists and now expects to talk to former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, who oversaw the 2008 plea deal with Epstein.
Joining us now is CNN Legal Analyst Elie Honig. His book, "When You Come at the King," is out next month. Also with us, Investigative Reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick. Elie, how significant is the subpoena to Epstein's estate and also the testimony potentially of Acosta?
ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think the subpoena to the estate is a good idea, Anderson, because one of the main unanswered questions throughout this whole saga has been where did he get his money from and what did he do with it? I doubt any of it is still recoverable now, but I think it's an important part of the story.
With respect to Alexander Acosta, I think he's perhaps the number one public official who needs to answer questions. As you said, he gave this case away for next to nothing. He needs to answer why he did that, why he refused to carry on with a full federal trial of Jeffrey Epstein. And if Alexander Acosta had done his job right back in 2007, 2008, it would have avoided a lot of suffering and hurt and loss for the victims and others.
COOPER: They also misled -- the prosecutors misled victims about the status of the deal they were going to do. Sarah, the House Oversight Committee is also seeking Epstein's will, non-disclosure agreements, financial documents and more. Investigative Reporter Julie K. Brown told me last month that a big question is whether the Justice Department ever really investigated Epstein's wealth. Do you think these financial documents are a potential trove of information?
SARAH FITZPATRICK, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Absolutely, Anderson. I think this is one of the few things in this Epstein story that actually has the potential to deliver new and important information about Epstein's wealth, about how the other people that were involved in logistically, financially enabling this trafficking scheme to have gone on for so long.
It's important to remember the state has had several settlements after Epstein's death. They did -- they've settled from hundreds of millions of dollars with victims, with the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein had a home and where some of the most horrific abuse is alleged to have taken place. And they've also settled with Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase.
And now it's really important, those settlements kept a lot of information out of public view. And it was important enough to these companies to pay huge amounts of money. So I think that these -- if these documentation, if the committee is actually able to get the full subpoena that they have asked for, it could be explosive.
However, I think this -- you bring up a really important point, which is if the Justice Department -- I mean, in theory, the Justice Department has been investigating, Epstein has had several ongoing investigations. You know, Bondi and the DOJ had said that they were uncovering new evidence and doing more investigations. It sure sounds like if the Oversight Committee needs to do this, it kind of suggests that the Justice Department had not fully investigated this.
And so I think I'll be interested to see what was already in the Department of Justice's files and what may have been a missed opportunity that could have had this out much earlier.
COOPER: Well, to Sarah's point, I mean, the committee Democrats, the Oversight Committee Democrats said that most of the documents handed over by the Justice Department were already public. I mean, why would they do that?
HONIG: Yes. So this was a portion of the total production. Apparently, the House has received around 30,000 pages of documents. The problem right now is we don't know what the total number is. So it's not surprising that DOJ might have started with sort of the least new information. But I think that's the big question here. What more are we going to learn?
And the key -- the biggest overarching issue I have with DOJ is did they fully investigate all of this? Because the only people who ever prosecuted we know are Jeffrey Epstein and then Ghislaine Maxwell. Did they investigate others? Did they look into all those financial elements of this case? Or did they keep a sort of blinders focused on their investigation?
Were they only looking very narrowly at those two people? We should find out as these documents come through from Congress. But look, DOJ is going to have to be fully transparent here. I don't think anyone's going to be satisfied with a partial disclosure or a disclosure that really doesn't tell us anything new.
COOPER: Elie Honig, Sarah Fitzpatrick, thanks so much.
Coming up, some potential good news about Alzheimer's prevention and the Mediterranean diet and how effective it is.
And a tennis player's epic temper tantrum in the U.S. Open caught on camera. We'll show you that ahead.
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[20:49:23]
COOPER: It's rare that we get to report good news about Alzheimer's, but tonight we can because of a new study. It followed 5,700 people for 34 years who had two copies of the APOE4 genes, which means they were at higher risk for developing Alzheimer's.
They followed a Mediterranean diet and found they were 35 percent less likely to develop dementia. Now, that means a diet full of vegetables and fruits, nuts, whole grains, legumes, fish and olive oil and avoiding alcohol and red meat. One expert called it a stop the press's finding. His name is Dr. Richard Isaacson. He's a noted neurologist and a Director of Research at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Florida. He joins me now.
[20:50:01]
So, Dr. Isaacson, just talk about what this study tells us about how the Mediterranean diet can lower the risk of dementia. And I mean, to you, this is a big deal.
DR. RICHARD ISAACSON, PREVENTIVE NEUROLOGIST, INSTITUTE FOR NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES: Well, yes, I mean, genes are not our destiny. We can win the tug of war against our genes. And so many people come to me upset, concerned, worried that they were told that they have a copy of a gene called APOE.
And everyone gets APOE, but you get a two or three or four, one from mom, one from dad. And if you get two copies of the APOE4 variant of this gene, it increases your risk of Alzheimer's. But it's OK, because you can win the tug of war against your genes by making the right lifestyle choices.
And in this study, it showed that by following a Mediterranean style diet, that's all. You reduced your risk by 35 percent. So when you add in exercise and all the other brain healthy things you can do, you can really just win the battle and win the war against Alzheimer's.
COOPER: So you recommend not just the Mediterranean diet, but also exercise, what, some vitamins, supplements?
ISAACSON: Well, so, you know, everyone in some ways really needs a different plan. And talk to your doctor, controlling blood pressure, controlling blood sugar, making sure, you know, cholesterol is under good control. Exercise on a regular basis, staying engaged in life, musical activities, learning something new.
You can't eat a magic blueberry and think you're going to prevent Alzheimer's disease. But it's a little bit of this, a little bit of that. And the combination together can drastically reduce our risk.
COOPER: The other thing you focus on is sleep and making sure your sleep is healthy.
ISAACSON: Yes, because when we sleep at night, that's when the garbage gets taken out. There's a sticky protein called amyloid. If you exercise during the day, it loosens up that bad protein that builds up in the brain of a person with Alzheimer's. It's one of the most powerful things a person can do to reduce amyloid.
But if you're burning the candle at both ends and you're only sleeping for four or five, even six hours a night, that bad toxic amyloid doesn't have time to leave the bloodstream and the trash doesn't get taken out. So you have to sleep at night, make a plan for sleep. At least seven hours is the general goal.
COOPER: And it does, I mean, this -- how hard is the Mediterranean diet to maintain? And did people have to follow it incredibly strictly?
ISAACSON: Well, the more attentive you are to what you eat, the better the person will do. And it even showed that the more strict a person could follow it, you even did better than 35 percent reduction in Alzheimer's risk, which is honestly amazing. Green leafy vegetables, fatty fish like wild salmon, lake trout, mackerel, albacore tuna, sardines, really rich in brain healthy fats called omega-3 fatty acids.
Olive oil, extra virgin, plus other brain healthy fats like avocado, alcohol in moderation, or honestly, if you have one or more copies of the APOE4 variant, don't drink alcohol. Alcohol and tobacco fast forwards cognitive decline, specifically in people with that gene. You know, living a brain healthy lifestyle, it's not super easy and obviously there's some cost to it, but we all should feel empowered that we can do this.
COOPER: I mean, what's incredible about this is it's not incredibly expensive medication or a regimen, it's, you know, it's a diet and an exercise and showing real results.
Dr. Richard Isaacson, thanks so much. I appreciate it.
ISAACSON: Sure thing. Thanks for having me.
COOPER: Coming up, a major meltdown by a Russian tennis player at the U.S. Open halts play. We'll tell you what caused it next.
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[20:58:09] COOPER: There were fireworks at the U.S. Open here in New York after a photographer appeared on the court in between serves on match point. It led to the umpire giving one player an additional serve, his opponent erupting in anger, and the crowd delaying play with boos and taunts for six minutes. It was chaotic, to say the least.
Here's CNN's Don Riddell with more.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DON RIDDELL, CNN HOST, WORLD SPORT (voice-over): When they talk about slams in tennis, this is not what they mean. The Russian player Daniil Medvedev destroying his racket at the end of his first-round match at the U.S. Open on Sunday. The culmination of one of the wildest nights in recent tournament history.
DANIIL MEDVEDEV, 2021 U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: I'm getting big fine enough, so if I speak, I'm in big trouble, so I'm not going to speak.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait, please, not now. Get off the court, please.
RIDDELL (voice-over): It all began here, when a photographer inexplicably appeared on the court. At that moment, Medvedev's opponent Benjamin Bonzi was on the verge of winning, a second serve on match point. The interruption caused a delay, which prompted the umpire to give Bonzi his first serve back.
It was a correct interpretation of the rules, but Medvedev launched into a tirade, accusing the umpire of wanting to go home early and egging on the crowd to get involved. The atmosphere felt feral. And when play resumed after almost six and a half minutes, the crowd was on Medvedev's side.
MEDVEDEV: Up to that, I didn't do anything bad, no. Hard emojis, I love them, loving New York. I mean, they did the work, I didn't do anything, and they pushed me to come back into the match.
RIDDELL (voice-over): Medvedev has had a love-hate relationship with the New York fans. They booed him en route to the final in 2019, but then grew to admire him, and he was a popular champion in 2021. And with the fans now distracting his opponent, Medvedev staged an unlikely comeback, recovering from two sets down.
But he's endured a miserable season this year, and Bonzi is his bogeyman. And in the fifth set here in New York, Bonzi beat him again. And when it was finally over, Medvedev's emotions erupted to the surface. He smashed his racket to pieces and remained in his chair, looking absolutely distraught.
His tournament is over, but this won't be the last he'll have heard about it this year.
Don Riddell, CNN.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COOPER: Well, that's it for us.
The news continues. "The Source" starts now.
