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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Trump On Epstein Letter: "It's Nonsense;" Interview With Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA); Israel Strikes Hamas In Qatar; Parents Of Texas Campers Killed By Flash Floods Turn Their Grief Into Action; Mark Moore's MANA Nutrition Helps Save Starving Children. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired September 09, 2025 - 20:00   ET

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

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: And she married Danny Sugerman, who, of course, was the manager of "The Doors." My goodness gracious!

So she has married folks from Hollywood. Now, she's marrying somebody from Washington, D.C. And of course, our fine Ronald Reagan administration as well. So, but as I said, all that goes around comes around once again and now she is back with Oli North.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: All right, that's amazing. All right, I'm sorry it's a story. Harry, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BURNETT: Thanks so much to all of you. Anderson starts now.

[20:00:32]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Tonight on 360, is the President changing his tune, now that the Jeffrey Epstein birthday greeting he once called non-existing is out there signed. It sure looks like by him.

Also tonight, Israel goes after Hamas' leaders in Doha, Qatar. Was the White House told about it? And what does this mean for the war in Gaza? The civilians being told to evacuate and the hostages being held.

Later, the parents of Leonie McCann, killed in the Camp Mystic floods speak out about the daughter they lost and what they and other grieving parents have done to make sure this never happens again to other kids in camps in Texas.

Good evening, thanks for joining us.

So, when it comes to the Jeffrey Epstein birthday letter, the one you're seeing on the screen signed Donald in what appears to be the President's familiar hand. The White House weighed in today and just moments ago, so did the President. Apologies for the low quality audio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's not my signature and it's not the way I speak. And anybody that's covered me for a long time know that's not my language. It's nonsense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, that, in a nutshell, is the line today. Both he and his Press Secretary all but asking, who are you going to believe, us or your lying eyes?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The President did not write this letter. He did not sign this letter. And that's why the President's external legal team is aggressively pursuing litigation against "The Wall Street Journal" and they will continue to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, this has been brewing since the 17th of July, when "The Wall Street Journal" first reported on the existence of a book of well wishes from Jeffrey Epstein's famous friends put together for his 50th birthday back in 2003, twenty-two years ago.

Now, in "The Journal" story, the President said, and I quote, "I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women." He continued, saying, "It's not my language. It's not my words," as he just said again today.

Well, since then, pictures that he has drawn have surfaced. This is one of them. He even wrote about it in a 2008 book of his, quoting, "That now," he wrote, "It takes me a few minutes to draw something." In my case, it's usually a building or a skyscraper or a cityscape of skyscrapers, and then sign my name."

Then yesterday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee put out the Trump-Epstein birthday tribute letter, followed by the full committee releasing the entire birthday book and other material obtained by subpoena from the Epstein estate.

And that last bit is an important fact to underscore. This book came from Epstein's own belongings, not from some outside source. So if this was forged, as the President seems to be claiming, then it was done way back when the entire birthday book was put together in 2003, which seems odd that someone would have back then forged a letter from someone who actually was then friendly with Jeffrey Epstein.

Not only has the President said his tribute to Epstein did not exist, he's been saying that the continuation of the calls for transparency regarding Epstein is a hoax, even though the Department of Justice, in his own administration just a few months ago estimated that Epstein victimized more than a thousand women, still --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I call it the Epstein hoax. It takes a lot of time and effort. Instead of talking about the great achievements we've had.

I know it's a hoax. It's started by Democrats. It's all been a hoax that's perpetrated by the Democrats and some stupid Republicans --

Because it's a Democrat hoax. It's just a hoax. The whole Epstein thing is a hoax.

So this is a Democrat hoax that never ends. It's really a Democrat hoax because they're trying to get people to talk about something that's totally irrelevant to the success that we've had as a nation since I've been President.

All run by Democrats or for the most part, run by Democrats.

So, what they're trying to do with the Epstein hoax is get people to talk about that instead of speaking about the tremendous success, like ending seven wars. That's what we should be talking about, not the Epstein hoax.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: So, that's the President's response last week before getting to more of what The White House is saying. Now, though, I just want to walk you through this letter in question within the outlines of a woman's torso. This is from the birthday book, they're calling it, within the outlines of the woman's torso is the following bit of imagined dialogue.

Voiceover: There must be more to life than having everything.

Donald: Yes, there is, but I won't tell you what it is.

Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.

Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.

Jeffrey: Yes we do, come to think of it.

Donald: Enigmas never age. Have you noticed that?

Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you, Donald.

Donald: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy birthday. May every day be another wonderful secret.

Now, it's signed below the woman's waistline, Donald.

All just as "The Journal" reported.

[20:05:07]

As for other entries in the tribute book, there was this photo of Epstein and others whom we blanked out posing with a joke check purportedly from selling a "fully depreciated woman" to Donald Trump for $22,500.00.

There's also this showing a younger, presumably poorer Jeffrey Epstein trying to tempt three girls with balloons and a lollipop alongside a drawing of him 20 years later, lounging in the sauna as young women massage and by the looks of it, one performed some sort of sexual act on him.

Now, there's a letter from former President Clinton. It's hard to make out what exactly it says, given the handwriting, but part of it appears to say "It's reassuring, isn't it, to have lasted so long across all the years of learning and knowing adventures," and then its illegible "... and still have your childlike curiosity, the drive to make a difference, and the solace of friends."

Another entry alludes to Ghislaine Maxwell, referring to a 1970s connection with her father, the financier Robert Maxwell, and asking whether that was when Epstein first "discovered the Maxwell teenage daughter." She, you'll recall, is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in finding, grooming and abusing underage women for Epstein.

The impression you get from the book is that an awful lot of people, the President apparently included, knew about Jeffrey Epstein's proclivities and were not averse to hinting at them in print. And the White House answer well, listen to the answer that "The New York Times'" Maggie Haberman got today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAGGIE HABERMAN, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": He didn't sign the birthday card. He didn't do this. He also didn't do the check. Those were in documents from the estate. So, what is the working theory as to why he's in them?

LEAVITT: The President has one of the most famous signatures in the world, and he has for many, many years, you know that, Maggie, you've covered him for a long time, long before he assumed this office, when he was a businessman in New York. The President did not write that letter. He did not sign those documents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: In short, a forgery and as evidence, yesterday, one White House official included recent examples of the President's signature in his social media post, claiming they don't match the one on the letter to Epstein.

However, those are all on the more formal or official documents and seem all to include first and last names, not just Donald as the birthday note signature does, or as this one does. Published in "The New York Times" from Jeffrey Epstein's autographed copy of "Trump: The Art of The Deal," dated 1997, or these from 1984. In a letter to "The New York Times," in 1995 to a Palm Beach official, 1999 to the late Larry King; and 2014, in a note to Keith Olbermann, which Olbermann posted yesterday.

"The Times" published theirs in 2016. The other two are from auction sites. So, are we to believe now that all of the Donalds, from all those documents spanning several decades, are also forgeries? Are we to believe that they were all forged precisely the same way? And if so, to what end exactly? And again, are we supposed to believe that someone 22 years ago inserted a forged letter from then citizen Trump into that book, perhaps knowing somehow that Trump might one day become President.

So far beyond calling it a hoax, he has said so far about Ghislaine Maxwell, "I wish her well." As for the survivors of Epstein, Karoline Leavitt was asked about that today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Question, would the President meet with the Jeffrey Epstein victims?

LEAVITT: I don't have any meetings for you to read out on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: At today's press briefing, Leavitt also suggests the Democrats' push for more transparency in the Epstein case is purely political theater. She called out specifically California Congressman Ro Khanna by name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEAVITT: Why are the Democrats all of a sudden caring about this? It's because they are desperately trying to concoct a hoax to smear the President of the United States. We have seen this time and time again.

Ro Khanna and all of these other Democrats, they could have cared about those victims four years ago when Joe Biden was in office. They could have pushed for transparency then. Unfortunately, the Democrats are using victims as political pawns to try to -- to smear and to push a hoax against the President of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Congressman Khanna joins me now. He's a member of the House Oversight Committee that worked to get the birthday book and other Epstein documents released to the public.

Congressman, we just heard the White House press secretary accusing you and other Democrats of only caring about the Epstein case for political reasons, that you did nothing when Biden was in office. What do you say to that?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I don't mind the attacks on me. I'm used to that. I'm offended and saddened that they are attacking the survivors.

I don't know if Karoline Leavitt saw the testimonials of the survivors. They were in tears. They were talking about being assaulted and raped in junior high as 13 and 14-year-olds. They were talking about having to go and recruit other junior high and high school students to be assaulted by Jeffrey Epstein and his rich and powerful men.

They talked about a culture where people said that because you're rich, because you have political connections, there's no accountability. And they pleaded with Donald Trump to meet them. Some said they voted for Donald Trump and they pleaded with him to release the files.

So, you know, they're calling -- attack me, fine. But why attack those survivors?

[20:10:11]

COOPER: Well, one of the issues, I mean, back, you know, before the President was reelected, this issue, the whole Jeffrey Epstein thing, if there was a hoax, it was being pushed by a lot of right wing folks in the manosphere and online and blogs and podcasts and stuff.

And then the target were really sort of Democrats who that were alleged to have gone on the flight logs, and there were all these fake flight logs that got posted.

So, there was a push -- and it was -- there was a lot of hoaxing involved about who was at that island and fake lists of who are the flight logs which have now been put out and this whole issue of the black book.

But to the criticism that Karoline Leavitt has made of you and other Democrats, is that perhaps because the Democrats at that point were the focus, Democrats didn't really want to go into this issue. So, what do you say to actually, you know, was enough done while President Biden was in office by Democrats?

KHANNA: Well, first of all, we spoke about this in 2019 with Elijah Cummings then called for a full investigation into Epstein, and I had tweeted out back in 2019 with the Oversight Committee and looking at this, and then when President Biden was there, they were looking at it, and the judge had two releases of files.

Then what happened is that Donald Trump ran and he said, were going to release all of the files. And Pam Bondi said that there's a list and were going to release all the files.

Not one Democrat, including me, stood out and criticized Donald Trump or Pam Bondi when that was going on. We gave them the benefit of the doubt, but then she suddenly said, no, we're not going to release anything and that's when I started to speak out. That's when Thomas Massie started to speak out.

At first we thought it would be a bipartisan effort that the two of us would lead this, and Donald Trump would say, okay, let's release the files. But for whatever reason, and this is what I really don't understand, Anderson, and maybe Karoline Leavitt can answer it tomorrow, he has been resistant to releasing these files and protecting the victims. If there's nothing there, why doesn't he just release it? That will get the story to be over. And he keeps saying hoax, hoax, hoax, hoax thinking he can do the Russia hoax. That's his kind of game plan, but it's not working this time because they're not just Democrats standing.

There's Marjorie Taylor Greene standing, there's Nancy Mace standing, there's Lauren Boebert standing. There's a lot of MAGA folks who are asking for the release of this file. This is very different than the Russia case. Frankly, it's different than January 6th. Here you have the MAGA base upset at him.

COOPER: Your Republican colleague, Congressman Massie, who you mentioned, told Manu Raju today that the existence of the birthday book indicates more, "embarrassing files could come out." Do you have any idea specifically what he's referring to?

KHANNA: I do not, in terms of the speculation, but I think that anyone who looked at it, it's just so crude. There are a lot of terrible, insults of women, demeaning and it's not, you know, my focus and Massie's focus has not been Trump. There are a lot of other men implicated. And when you talk to the survivors and the survivors' lawyer, their bigger concern is not Donald Trump. Their bigger concern is that there are hundreds of people who either covered up for Jeffrey Epstein, financed Jeffrey Epstein, or were part of Jeffrey Epstein's farming operation, who have not had any accountability. And that's really what they're looking for, accountability for them. It's not personal to Donald Trump.

COOPER: Congressman Ro Khanna, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.

Joining me now is "Miami Herald" investigative reporter, Julie K. Brown, whose work exposed the extent of Epstein's alleged sex trafficking ring and led prosecutors to reopen the case. She's also the author of "Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story."

And Julie, I just want to get to the overall tone and tenor of this birthday book in a second. But first, I'm wondering what you make of the President's denial that he signed that message, drew that doodle.

JULIE K. BROWN, "MIAMI HERALD" INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: You know, I just -- I don't know what to make of it because his signature is so similar to public documents that are out there with his signature in it. One has to just wonder why he's taking this take, so to speak, that he's still denying it.

In some respects, you know, you would think that he would also take a look at this book as a whole and make some kind of comment about his name even being in this book, because it is just filled with sexual innuendo and dark passages and stories. Of course, some of them are done in jest, which in of itself is sort of scary and dark because they're making fun of women in compromising situations.

But just the fact that this book exists, I think he should comment on the fact that he was friends with Epstein during this period of time, when obviously people knew his predilection for young children.

[20:15:09]

COOPER: I mean, I would assume Ghislaine Maxwell would know about this book and have some information about how it was put together if she wasn't even involved in putting it together. BROWN: Well, it sounds like she was, because Epstein's mother wrote

something in the book that said that Ghislaine had contacted her and asked her to write this, you know, message to her son and there was a deadline of that night that she had to e-mail it right to Ghislaine. And there's a couple of other references in the book that she had specifically asked people to contribute. So, she was the one that that put it together.

And it is quite stunning in its entirety when you look at it, at how much it leans on Epstein's sex life, really. It's disturbing in a lot of ways.

COOPER: And over all these years, I mean, have his friends, former friends, whoever else contributed the book basically all just said they had no idea what was going on?

BROWN: Well, some are new friends that we didn't -- I didn't know about, so I'm sure they're getting phone calls today because some of the things that they wrote in these messages were quite vulgar. You know, I mean, really vulgar language in here. One of them, for example, was talking about Epstein's mother's private parts. I mean, who does that?

You know, this is, you know, you have to wonder who Jeffrey Epstein was that he had this kind of people surrounding him, that all they would talk about was sex and orgies and really strange fantasies involving women. I mean, the whole thing is extremely disturbing.

And think about it, this is for his 50th birthday. So one would think, if you're going to do a book about someone's life at the age of 50, you would have other things in there, you know, like how they were successful in business or how they helped the community or a million other things. But this entire thing was about his sex life and particularly about his interest in being with very young women and even girls.

So, there's a whole section in there that's labeled "children." I mean, it's heavily redacted. But it's clear, there's a photo in there of a very young girl.

COOPER: It's -- yes, it's incredible. Julie K. Brown, thank you, I appreciate it.

Coming up next, what the President said just moments ago about meeting with Epstein survivors and more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:22:14]

COOPER: Just a few moments ago, the President was asked whether he would meet with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein because the audio was even worse than the clip we played you at the top of the broadcast. I just want to read you what he said, quoting him now, "I don't know about -- nobody's suggested that," he said. He went on, "Certainly, certainly, I don't like that whole situation with respect to anybody being abused or -- but I haven't even thought about that."

Joining us now is journalist and founder of Lift Our Voices, Gretchen Carlson, also CNN senior political commentator and former Trump campaign adviser, David Urban.

David, I mean, as for the birthday book, can you say with a -- I mean, do you think the President's signature on that birthday book is fake?

DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Anderson, I'm not going to hold myself out to be a signature expert. But I agree with you back to your earlier point. It's kind of hard to imagine that someone would submit a document in whatever year it was, 2000, you know, many, many years ago, 20 plus --

COOPER: Twenty-three.

URBAN: Yes, 20 plus years ago, thinking that they'd become the President of the United States someday. So I think it's -- you know, it could be, it may not be.

I think what is relevant in this whole case and I've said this before and I'll continue to say it until I hear from these gentlemen and women in this case, are the people who prosecuted Jeffrey Epstein in the federal government. The federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida who cut a deal, a non-prosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein allowing him to evade federal charges and face far lesser state charges in Florida for the crimes that he committed. I think --

COOPER: Alexander Acosta --

URBAN: Well yes, not just for Mr. Acosta, but from all the other career prosecutors who put that case together. I think it's really important to hear from those folks, those individuals.

If we want to get to the bottom of this, I'm not concerned about what the House has or doesn't have, what they're going to turn over. I think America needs to hear from these individuals who have firsthand knowledge of what actually took place and why they didn't prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law. I'm not quite sure why everybody isn't calling for that.

COOPER: Well, Gretchen, I mean, to David's point, which I think is a is a good point, my understanding is one of those prosecutors actually did draw up like 60 charges or I mean, dozens of charges against Jeffrey Epstein and in my understanding, I think it was Acosta who overruled that person.

GRETCHEN CARLSON, CO-FOUNDER, "LIFT OUR VOICES": Yes and I think that the House Oversight Committee has said that they're open to calling him to testify about this.

I think the interesting wrinkle here, though, aside from whether or not that's Donald Trump's signature, is why does he continue to deny this, that continues to make the story relevant on a daily basis. He also said, other than denying today that that's his signature, that the story is dead. The story is dead.

The story is not dead. And, you know, I wish they would just hire a crisis P.R. person for the President because he is the one who is making this story continue every single day by the denials.

The other thing I would say is that he's now changed his language from calling it a Democratic hoax, to the Democrats are concocting a hoax. Now, to me, that signaled that maybe he did get a message last week when the survivors were there talking on the Hill, that he can't actually just call it a hoax. The Democrats are concocting a hoax. But the idea is that "The Wall Street Journal" is the one that's breaking these stories, and that's a conservative outlet.

[20:25:38]

COOPER: Yes, David, it's interesting that he's calling it a hoax because, I mean, he was fine when it was, you know, podcasts who were supportive of him during the election, who were pushing for, you know, on this and releasing the black book and convinced that the President would do that. He was fine kind of riding that wave because it was helpful to him. Now, that it sort of turned on him, it suddenly -- now it's suddenly a Democratic hoax.

URBAN: Yes, you know, Anderson, I'm not -- I agree with Gretchen. I'm not quite sure what's going on. I'm for radical transparency in this case. I think more sunlight the better.

Again, I -- you know, the House should call these individuals to testify and hear from them firsthand. But the problem -- here's the problem at the end of the day, no matter what we turn over, no matter what gets revealed, no matter what gets disclosed, there's always going to be a core constituency that says, well, there's more.

It's impossible to disprove a negative. And so, you know, the government has turned over millions of documents in the JFK assassination and on unidentified aerial phenomena and people still think in America that, you know, there was a giant conspiracy on both of these fronts, right?

They think that green men are being kept in Area 51, and that the CIA killed John F. Kennedy, so no matter what you turn over, we're not going to be satisfied.

COOPER: The bizarre thing, Gretchen, though, is that the folks who are calling for all of it being turned over are now running the FBI and have suddenly changed their tone.

CARLSON: Exactly, I mean, they're the ones that have been demanding more information. Now, suddenly they don't want to release any information at all. And you know, when you read the quote from the President saying that he's not really aware or doesn't know if he's going to meet with these survivors, there are people in his own party who have been encouraging him to meet with the survivors.

I think this is a blatant disrespect or empathy for what these people have gone through. And the big question is why? COOPER: Yes, Gretchen, thank you. David Urban as well. Thanks so much.

Just ahead, Israel launching a major military strike against Hamas in Doha in Qatar. This is an unprecedented move by Israel.

Later, the heartbroken parents of a little Texas girl killed in flash floods while at a summer camp, along with dozens of others. The parents are speaking out tonight about how to prevent tragedies like theirs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:32:33]

COOPER: A stunning attack today by Israel in Doha, Qatar and an Israeli strike attempting to assassinate Hamas leaders who were meeting in Qatar to negotiate a potential ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas claims the strike failed to kill its senior leaders. Qatar obviously is a critical U.S. ally.

Tonight, President Trump on his way to dinner said he was very unhappy about the strike. Qatar's Prime Minister angrily called it state terrorism. Joining us now as CNN's global affairs analyst Brett McGurk. Brett, were you surprised by this move? I mean, I don't think it's ever been done before by Israel.

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: It's unprecedented, you know, surprise is a key question, Anderson. Sometimes something could be not surprising but shocking in the manner. Let me say one thing not particularly surprised because all the leaders of Hamas have really been dead men walking since October 7th.

And I think it's worth reflecting, Khalil al-Hayya the leader that was targeted today, you know, he celebrated October 7th attack, 46 Americans were killed in that attack, you know, their time was coming. However, the manner and timing and location is shocking and I just say three things.

Number one, this is a second time the Israelis have targeted a Hamas leader really outside the Gaza theater or in Syria. The other one was in Tehran, Ismail Haniyeh, who was Khalil al-Hayya's predecessor. The Israelis actually never took credit for that attack. It happened last summer until December.

There was a clandestine operation. This one had a named operation, brazen, 10 fighter jets in the sky, standoff strikes and just second the location. I mean Hamas is in Doha, Qatar, Anderson, because the Israelis and the Americans have asked Qatar to play this role and it's something I used to do those negotiations in Doha, you know where the compound is.

It's not a secret and it's kind of an unstated understanding. That's so long as they're there trying to facilitate an agreement something like this will not happen. So it is shocking. And if the President's right that he did not know about this and the Israelis did standoff strikes where we have one of our largest military bases and one of the largest international airports, busiest international airports in the world, it's shocking. So maybe not surprising but shocking.

COOPER: Do you believe that President Trump wasn't informed and where do hostage and ceasefire negotiations go from here?

MCGURK: I think we'll learn more from the White House here over the coming days. I mean Israel I've been part of this where sometimes they'll do an operation. They will call you just before sometimes just after sometimes a week before so we'll have to see. I suspect there was a little more coordination that we might understand now, but you asked the key question, Anderson. I'm really concerned about this.

[20:35:08]

Where does this stand in the hostage negotiations? And, you know, I'm trying to an understanding and thinking through how Hamas thinks. What -- how can they respond to Israel to this attack today? And the one thing I'm deeply concerned about they control the fate of those hostages in the tunnels, 20 hostages in those tunnels. And I think the risk to their lives has gone up. I think it's good the President was on the phone calling the mayor of Qatar today saying, hey, stay at it. Stay at it.

But this makes getting a deal significantly more difficult because who is there to negotiate with. And the guys in Qatar again as hard edge as a hard line as they are, were easier to deal with than the militant leaders inside Gaza who are the ones who always said no deal. So the path to a deal is even more complicated now.

COOPER: Do you think this was in response to the terror attack that took place in Israel just yesterday?

MCGURK: It's a good question. I mean why now there was that attack at the bus stop in Jerusalem yesterday killed a number of Israelis. Hamas put out an official statement praising the operation that might have been the trigger. I mean these types of things are planned for months. I have a lot of questions about why right now.

I think we'll learn more here over the coming days. I'm thinking about the hostages. We got to end this war. It can only end with a deal. And I think this makes the path more complicated.

COOPER: Yes. Brett McGurk, thank you for being with us. Appreciate it.

Up next, the parents of Linnie McCown who was killed in the Texas floods along with 24 other campers and two counselors, they've turned their pain into purpose, demanding and getting commonsense safety measures put into place. Lenny's father spoke before Texas legislators.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MCCOWN, FATHER OF CAMP MYSTIC VICTIM LINNIE MCCOWN: When action was finally taken it was too little too late. We did not send Linnie to a war zone, we sent her to camp. We trust that you would be safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:41:39]

COOPER: Well, turning pain into purpose. That is what the parents of eight-year-old Linnie McCown and other grieving parents whose little girls were killed at Camp Mystic in the flooding over the 4th of July weekend have done. They banded together and convinced Texas legislators Democrats and Republicans to unify and enact a new law that would make camps safer for kids from flooding and other emergencies putting in place what they call commonsense safety measures that were not in place at Camp Mystic. Linnie McCown and 24 other campers and two counselors died in those floods. Michael McCown testified with other parents before lawmakers to help get reforms in place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. MCCOWN: It didn't even cross my mind that a camp like Mystic would have -- wouldn't have a detailed emergency procedure in place. When action was finally taken, it was too little too late. We did not send Linnie to a war zone, we sent her to camp. We trust that she would be safe. No parent should ever again face what we are living through now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The law they were advocating that passed and last Friday, Michael McCown, and his wife, Callie, joined other parents and watch as Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a set of sweeping new camp safety laws. I spoke to McCown's earlier tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Callie and Michael, I'm so sorry that we are talking under these circumstances. And I want to talk to you about Linnie and her life and what you and your whole family have been through. But I do want to start with the extraordinary thing that you and a number of other families have just accomplished. You know, a lot of people talk about turning pain into purpose. You and many other families have gotten a law passed that sure sounds like commonsense.

And I don't think a lot of people maybe who initially were following what happened at Camp Mystic were aware that just some of the just safety procedures that seem common sense that weren't there. Michael, can you talk a little bit about what now will be different?

M. MCCOWN: What the legislation has done and Governor Abbott signed it last week is it sets the baseline for camp safety going forward not just for youth camps, but also for campgrounds as well in areas that are at risk for natural disasters. But it also, you know encompasses everything. It's just general emergency preparedness that youth camps need to have as their baseline.

COOPER: Callie, it's been more than two months now. How -- I -- how do you get through? CALLIE MCCOWN, MOTHER OF CAMP MYSTIC VICTIM LINNIE MCCOWN: The pain is it's indescribable. I think I'm still in shock. The way it all happened, you know, we dropped her off at camp and we didn't know she wouldn't be coming back. And --

COOPER: She was looking forward to it?

C. MCCOWN: We have she was very excited for camp. It was her first time she was going with one of her best friends who was in her cabin, Abby. She was really excited about that. She kept saying that she knew she would get homesick, but we just assured her that people would be there to take care of her and she said she knew that and she just really wanted to go. We just never knew that this would happen. She really was the glue of our family. She was my best friend, our only daughter.

[20:45:08]

She was, you know, two grades below Bates (ph) at school and was his pesky little sister. And to George, she was like a mom. I mean, she loved having a little brother. So our entire family dynamic has just completely changed. And I have to say I'm so proud of our boys for how they've been handling this but it hasn't been easy. You know, we just feel there's this hole in our family and it's just -- the pain is unbearable. It's I just feel like we're never going to be the same.

COOPER: And Michael you went to the camp as fast as you could when you got word. Can you just talk about that experience?

M. MCCOWN: Sure. So the morning of July 4th, I received a text from Callie when I was going to get some coffee that morning about how there was flooding at Camp Mystic. I didn't really know what that meant because, you know, it's OK that, you know, rivers may flood but, you know, it's a camp that's been around for a hundred years. I'm sure they -- all the girls are safe.

My neighbor actually was heading down there to help out and I'm very optimistic person. I always feel like the best outcome is going to happen generally that has more text from some of these moms groups who, you know, or group by cabin started to come in. I realized that something was wrong.

And so I jumped in the truck with my neighbor and we drove down there that first night was --

COOPER: I read that you brought a blanket. Is that right?

M. MCCOWN: Yes. We stopped and I got a blanket or a towel because I thought that she was going to be wet and that we were just going to pick her up and come back and, you know, camp is over that was a good run of five days and, you know, maybe next year we could go back.

At that point we had no idea what the severity was. So we went down there and we went to the reunification center and that's what when we really understood that things were not good, you know, we received an e-mail from camp saying that if you hadn't heard from us, then your daughter is safe and that was just a general camp-wide e-mail and then it was until about 30 minutes after that that Callie received a phone call saying that Linnie was unaccounted for.

That night was a night of sheer terror, the worst night of my life. One being separated from Callie, being separated from Linnie not knowing if Linnie was out there lost in the Texas Hill Country with no way to find someone to help her, lost with her friends.

COOPER: Callie, when did you know for sure, I mean, I know you got that call, when did -- like when did you know for sure that that Linnie was gone?

C. MCCOWN: I remember Michael called me. At the end of the day on July 5th, and he said he was coming home and I said, do you think she's somewhere? Do you think she's OK? And he said I think the best case scenario is if they find her body at this point, Callie, and I just remember bursting into tears. And I think that was even though they hadn't found her body the way he sounded when he saw the river and he saw the destruction. I just had to think that finding her body was going to be good news at that point and that's just awful. And he ended up coming home and he had given a DNA test. So they found Linnie's body on the 7th. And we found out a few days after that.

COOPER: And you were able to bring her home?

C. MCCOWN: We were able to bring her home. And there's one little girl still missing seal and we're just praying that they find her soon.

COOPER: Callie, you've started the Heaven's 27 Fund with other parents and siblings of the 27 Camp Mystic children who were lost and we're putting the website. We're going to put it up on the screen. The address is saafdn.org/Heavens-27-fund. Can you just talk a little bit about how about that organization and how you plan to honor Linnie and the other kids through that?

C. MCCOWN: Yes. So each girl has their own fund that the families have set up. For Linnie, we have the love like Linnie fund. And this way we can each donate to causes that were important to our girls individually for Linnie. She had dyslexia. She really looked at it as a superpower. She was very uplifting to other children and that was just so important to her.

[20:50:00]

It was a big part of who she was. And I really think having dyslexia and overcoming the challenges of that really instilled this work ethic in her. She was very driven in dance and gymnastics. So by donating to the Heavens 27, it will get split up into each girls fund equally and it can go to causes important to each of them. The fact that we've all joined together and can honor our girls and their legacies in this way is just so important to all of us.

This was 100 percent preventable and we just want to make sure that this never happens again to any innocent children and no parents should ever have to go through what we're all going through.

COOPER: Well, Callie and Michael, I'm so sorry for your loss and I'm grateful that you spent some time talking to us. Thank you.

C. MCCOWN: Thank you for having us.

M. MCCOWN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Lennie McCowan, eight years old.

Coming up, my Champion for Change, an extraordinary American I want you to meet who's dedicated his life to saving millions of kids lives with a cheap and easy food product made from American peanuts that can bring starving kids back from the brink of death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MOORE, CEO & CO-FOUNDER, MANA NUTRITION: I see children meeting their potential when before we were losing them to this useless stuff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: My Champions for Change is Mark Moore. You'll meet him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:56:09]

COOPER: Time now for Champions for Change. All this week, we're sharing stories about people who are pioneering innovative solutions to some of the world's toughest problems. My champion a man named Mark Moore has helped save millions and millions of children's lives through his company MANA Nutrition markets provided life-saving aid that can bring a malnourished or starving child back from the brink of death.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): Mark Moore's company MANA Nutrition helped save the lives of malnourished and starving children around the world. MANA Nutrition makes what's called ready-to-use therapeutic food or UTF for short. It's made with peanut butter, powdered milk, sugar and vitamins, a simple recipe that's revolutionary the fight against hunger. It can bring severely malnourished kids back from the brink of death. Mark's factories in rural Georgia, but he began working in Africa decades ago.

COOPER: When was the first time you went to Africa?

MOORE: I went in the late 80s and I was a college kid.

COOPER: What was it about Africa that changed you?

MOORE: I grew up in Flint thinking I was a poor kid, but then you go to Nairobi and you realize, you know, I was born on third base and that powerful experience just gets in your blood. COOPER (voice-over): Nearly 20 years ago, Mark was an Africa specialist in the U.S. Senate when he saw a report I did on this miraculous treatment that was saving kids lives. Back then it was made by just one French company. Their product was called Plumpy'Nut. They'd stopped eating and become listless and weak, so weak that when their mothers brought them to get Plumpy'Nut the nurse put them in a van and sent them straight to the hospital.

Three days later, however, they were smacking their lips on Plumpy'Nut almost ready to go home. Sometimes parents wait too long before bringing their child to doctors. We found Rashida Mamadou in intensive care. Just two hours later Rashida's little heart stopped beating. Mark says that story changed his life.

MOORE: I just thought, how come I've never heard of this? This is kind of too good to be true.

COOPER: That's what I thought as well.

MOORE: And then I thought, well, someone should do this in the U.S.

COOPER (voice-over): From that MANA Nutrition was born. A nonprofit built next to a peanut field in Fitzgerald, Georgia, has been producing its own RUTF since 2010.

MOORE: So this map logs the 57 countries that MANA has gone to since it started.

COOPER: How many kids have you saved, do you think?

MOORE: At least 10 million, if you look at the production numbers.

COOPER: Ten million.

MICHAEL NYENHUIS, CEO, UNICEF USA: There are a number of RUTF suppliers around the world that we're able to tap into. MANA is one of the most crucial, especially as it comes to us being able to utilize U.S. government funding. And so they're essential to the whole system. And we just couldn't do much of our work without him.

MOORE: Good to see you brother.

NYENHUIS: How are you?

COOPER: There's got to be a lot of pride in the community to --

MOORE: Very proud. Yes.

COOPER: -- to do this work.

MOORE: Yes, Great people. People are inspired and that they make a difference.

COOPER (voice-over): We first met mark in February after the State Department cancelled all of MANA's USAID contracts.

MOORE: This is too important for us to have a pity party that we got cut.

COOPER (voice-over): Mark's determination paid off those orders for RUTF have been reinstated. And in late August, they got their first new order from the U.S. government in eight months.

COOPER: This whole thing is called Champions for Change, what's the change you've seen?

MOORE: Well, I'm not sure I'm a champion, but if I were to aspire to that I would say any child deserves to meet their potential. I see children meeting their potential when before we were losing them to this useless death. These aren't our kids, but in the great human family, they are our kids.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[21:00:21]

COOPER: Mark Moore. Be sure to tune in Saturday at 10:00 p.m. Eastern for the Champions for Change one-hour special. That's it for us. The news continues The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now. I'll see you tomorrow.

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