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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
DOJ Admits Reflecting Pool Renovation Was Flawed; Interview With Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ); Trump Lashes Out At Iran, GOP Holdout At Camp David; Sheriff's Dept. Releases Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes In Hopes Of Generating New Leads; Trump Claims Progress On Israel-Hamas Peace Deal; Hamas Agrees To Disarm, But Only When Israel Upholds Truce; Israel Says It Will Not Withdraw From Gaza Until Hamas Disarms; Sources: U.S. Planning Fresh Strikes On Iran As Soon As This Weekend; Russia's New Target: Ukrainian Gas Stations; Camp David Through The Years. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired July 31, 2026 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: You point to that polling, and I think you really see this generationally where whether it comes to how people view Israel and U.S. policy toward that country and also just the idea of being a Democratic socialist, the word socialist used to be a bad word in this country. But for a lot of young people, it's not so much anymore.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: No, it's not, it's not. Thank you very much, Donie and keep in mind that was just a little clip. Donie's full report "The Whole Story: The Left Insurgency" premiers this Sunday at 8:00. AC360 starts now.
[20:00:37]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN, CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT AND HOST: A rush job, not a crime at all. That is the Justice Department's stunning late Friday admission about damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Good evening, Jim Sciutto here sitting in again for Anderson. And if you believe the President, you would have thought that all the chunks of coating peeling up from the bottom of the landmark was the work of vandals. And as he portrayed it, nothing short of the crime of the century.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: We had vandalism --
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Oh vandals, it was all, you know, we have 100 and we have a, I think, 290 to 300 foot slit right through it, probably a box cutter or a knife of some kind.
Somebody went in with a knife and cut it. They cut it up good. And then they cut a 200, 350-foot slit in the form of lots of little slits, a real horrible stuff.
They took razors and they started cutting this, you know, very expensive stuff.
We caught some people vandalizing our beautiful reflecting pool.
They tried to destroy it.
They cut it up with a box knife and tried to destroy it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Not true, he said this for weeks, and earlier this month, former Olympic canoeist, David Hearn was actually charged with felony property destruction. Jeanine Pirro, the former Fox host and U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said the evidence was clear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANINE PIRRO, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: There was an effort, a violent effort, to rip up the sealant from the bottom of the pool. We can state and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he caused damage, and that damage is over $1,000.00.
REPORTER: Keying in on that, how do you prove that $1,000.00?
PIRRO: With an expert come to the trial?
REPORTER: Did he have any tools or was it just his bare hands?
PIRRO: Right now, we believe it's his bare hands, both hands.
REPORTER: So, does that indicate in your belief that it was probably damaged before, or do you believe that he...
PIRRO: Oh, he damaged it.
REPORTER: Further, but do you believe it had already been damaged before.
PIRRO: He damaged the pool.
REPORTER: Before he touched it...
PIRRO: He damaged this pool.
REPORTER: But there had been, you know, all these videos.
PIRRO: Well, good. I'm glad you've got that evidence. Come on in the grand jury, you can testify next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: So, that was July 2nd. Tonight, the Justice Department is saying in so many words, never mind.
CNN's Katelyn Polantz has been going through the DOJ's. remarkable court filing, she joins us now. So, Kaitlyn, when you read this court document, is the Justice Department admitting that that whole story was false?
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: They're coming very close to admitting it. They don't say it was a lie. But what they do say is that Jeanine Pirro and her prosecutors, they didn't have all of the information about how badly the renovation had gone on the reflecting pool, and that there was documentation almost a month before David Hearn was indicted for the felony of vandalism.
That documentation was an engineer looking at the pool and saying, it's peeling up around the edges. One of the things here that happens is that the Justice Department says they can't prove this in court because of this new information they've got. That, David Hearn, he just didn't do it. He didn't cause the damage. The damage was caused by a shoddy and rushed renovation effort in time for the Fourth of July and other festivities on the National Mall this summer.
Here's a quote, this is from the court filing asking to dismiss the case against David Hearn. This is Jeanine Pirro's office, The U.S. attorney, "Documents indicated a rushed and flawed installation process with repeated failures of the lining during the installation process and extensive peeling of the lining throughout the reflecting pool. A recent visual inspection showed damage throughout the reflecting pool, even in the middle of the pool, where a vandal would not likely attempt to peel the lining. Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the reflecting pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt." -- Jim.
SCIUTTO: Given that President Trump does not like to give up on things that he's claimed publicly, is there any way the DOJ might attempt to resurrect this case?
POLANTZ: Well, Jim, they didn't ask to dismiss this with what's called, with prejudice, meaning that it couldn't be tried to be brought again. But the evidence here that Pirro is collecting from the "Department of Interior" on their documentation of how the renovation was going and how there were problems with it, essentially, from the start, in May. It's going to make it really hard to bring any other cases like this.
[20:05:10]
There are three other people that are charged not with the felony version of this charge that David Hearn faced, but with misdemeanor criminal charges. We have already seen the prosecutors go into court and ask to dismiss one of those. It's quite possible they go and ask to dismiss two others. But Pirro here, not only are they taking back the charge against Hearn and saying that this was the way the contract work had been done to renovate the reflecting pool.
They're also saying that they were misled by the Interior Department, that the Interior Department didn't tell them. They knew that the damage was so extensive at a time that the pool was filled with water, and that Hearn had visited two days after the renovation is completed,
They now know the Interior Department knew that this was so problematic. And then Jeanine Pirro herself visited the pool July 17th, after David Hearn's indictment. That's when things really went off the rails for this case at the U.S. attorney's office.
SCIUTTO: Well, you might expect lawyers for those other defendants to quote from that court filing. Katelyn Polantz, thanks so much.
So, what the White House calls the first ever televised cabinet meeting from Camp David. It's a location most Presidents enjoy, but this one avoids. Still, if there was a departure for him, one thing did not change. Cabinet members singing his praises.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF WAR SECRETARY: They will look back at Donald Trump and the build-up that he has done, and that will be the deterrence of the future will be established because of your investment.
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: You've done it again. Our founder, President of Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, could not have imagined the autonomy that we would have created. It is the envy of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Well, the President did make news on the so-called anti- weaponization fund, which would have been open to January 6th convicts. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says that deal is dead. Two Republican Senators want it in writing, however, before greenlighting his nomination as the fully confirmed attorney general.
Today, the President defended Blanche, praised the January 6th-ers and pined a bit for that fund.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: There has never been a group of people, most likely, I mean, I can think of a couple that were treated pretty badly groups, but there's essentially never been a group of people treated so badly as these people. And this fund, this fund was not for me. I probably was abused more than anybody in the history of our country, but I wasn't looking for it. But there were a lot of people. And I'll tell you something, Todd, Todd Blanche is a very, very good man, and he shouldn't be in the middle of this.
REPORTER: Do you agree, just to be clear, do you agree with the acting attorney general that the anti-weaponization fund is dead? And why not just put that in writing?
TRUMP: It's dead, but you know, I wish it weren't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Well, the President also weighed in on cyberattacks on water systems in Minnesota and six other U.S. States. U.S. officials say that Iran is a suspect. Today, the President blamed the victim. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Can you rule out that Iran is behind that cyber-attack?
TRUMP: I don't know. No, I think that Minnesota is behind it. You know who's behind it? Minnesota because they're grossly incompetent. I think the governor is behind it. I don't think there was an Iranian cyberattack. I think that Minnesota ought to get its act together. It's one of the worst run states.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Trump also had plenty to say about Iran, foreshadowing new reporting tonight about possible fresh strikes planned for this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We'll be hitting them. We'll be hitting them very hard. And, you know, at some point they're going to say we just can't take it anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: We'll see, there's a lot going on tonight. Joining us to talk about it, New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker, who sits on the Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committee. So good to have you.
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): It's really good. A lot is going on.
SCIUTTO: There is, and so, let me work through the list.
BOOKER: Okay.
SCIUTTO: Let's start on that anti-weaponization fund because to hear those words from the President I wish it weren't, wish that the anti- weaponization fund wasn't dead. Does that explain to you why your Republican colleague Thom Tillis said quote, "the President made it clear that the so-called anti-weaponization fund is still alive."
BOOKER: Yes. Well, they're not putting it in writing. They're not doing what these two Republicans are asking for, which clearly to me says that this fund is still alive. Now, I remind people that this was people who attacked our Capitol, who he was impeached for, seven Republicans voted to convict him of that impeachment in the United States Senate. And he's saying these people who beat police officers like Brian Sicknick from New Jersey, who died days later, he's saying that those were fine people.
That's disgusting, the fact that they can get money. But the bigger part of this, which I think people should really pay attention to, is not the slush fund. It is actually his tax immunity for him and his children that that that they can cheat on their taxes for the billions of dollars they're making now that he's in office grifting.
He wants to be immune from any of those tax cheating that he might do. That is a big price tag and a big statement that I'm above the law and I should get this, this freedom to cheat on my taxes, which no other American would ever --
SCIUTTO: And you believe that's what he really, truly wants?
BOOKER: I think that that is the big Kahuna for him. His avarice is clear and that is really, I think, what he's preserving in addition to the slush fund. I think that is secondary.
[20:10:31]
SCIUTTO: Okay, another topic. So, you have this cyberattack, not just on Minnesota, of course, a blue state Democratic run state, but six other states. And while assessments seem to indicate this was a cyberattack, and among the potential perpetrators or suspects is Iran in the midst of a U.S. War with Iran, President Trump, as you heard him there, he says, no, I don't I don't buy that. I think that it's Minnesota's fault. What is your, in effect, it's the President taking the side of a foreign power right over a U.S. state that's attacked.
BOOKER: It is all ridiculous, but all of these lines actually do connect that were talking about. Remember, he has cut resources and personnel from cyber security in the United States of America. He started a war that now he's in way over his head. It's an unconstitutional war. He had specific objectives; he has achieved none of them. And because of the underestimating his enemy, they have now closed the Strait of Hormuz. And we're in this crisis that very same country has a history of cyberattacks in the United States of America.
So, for him who clearly doesn't know the facts yet, to suddenly politicize this, to blame it on Democrats when it could very well be connected to the disastrous war. He continues to be a person trying to stop himself from having embarrassment.
Why is that reflecting pool important? For two reasons. One, that's how he reacts to embarrassment. This is his contractor, his supporters that he brought in in a no-bid contract. And now, by the way, they're back in to fix the problem. That's like somebody who causes the damage. Let's get the same person.
But remember, it was in the midst of that embarrassment that he tried to create this fiction, that it was being done by an American Olympian and put them through the persecution of the Justice Department. And the reason why I say this is all connected is because this is our problem. We have a Justice Department that works for Donald Trump and not for the people.
They're not fighting cybersecurity like they should. They're pursuing anything dear leader tells them to do go sue this person, go through that person. And then for bigger issues like Blanche trying to protect his get out of jail free cards, this all is a part of a man that unfortunately, is trying to put Blanche in a position with a guy that's going to choose Trump over truth is going to choose the corruption over constitution. It is really what the problem is right now going before the Senate.
SCIUTTO: The President's lawyer is opposed to the people's lawyer.
BOOKER: Right.
SCIUTTO: Another topic, because the President raised the hopes of many Ukrainians that I'm regularly in touch with. Just a little over a week ago, when he said that he was going to allow Ukraine to license to make their own patriot interceptors, which, as you know, given your role on the foreign relations committee, they're in desperate need for as Russia amps up ballistic missile attacks.
So, as it happens tonight, I'm speaking to a Ukrainian member of parliament, Helena Yanchenko, asking her for her reaction to this and this happens.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HELENA YANCHENKO, MEMBER OF UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: Because when we are talking about the -- (Explosion) -- you can probably hear the explosions in the background.
SCIUTTO: Please stay safe.
YANCHENKO: So, this is what we also talk about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: This is a daily reality for Ukrainians and Russia is in fact expanding these attacks. Is the U.S. abandoning Ukraine, in effect, to such strikes?
BOOKER: I think Donald Trump has failed the Ukrainians by stepping up like they should. I sat with other senators this week with Zelensky, where he made a plea for having patriot systems that could give missile defense so that their populations in Kyiv and all across the country don't have to suffer what they're suffering right now.
Donald Trump has not stepped up to do what the majority of the Senate wants him to do, which is to protect not just Ukraine, but Western Democracy against this Dictator Putin and his aggressions.
SCIUTTO: Just lastly, because we spoke about, Katelyn Polantz's reporting, and you made a point about how this being a broader statement regarding how this Justice Department operates, how it goes about what it chooses to target and what it chooses not to target here. But do you see in the DOJ pulling back from these charges, blaming a canoeist for what was a bad, rushed renovation of the reflecting pool? Do you see them pulling back as a sign that, well, you know, listen, even with the worst overreaches, eventually it runs into some barriers.
And in this case, the U.S. court, they realized they couldn't win this case in court.
BOOKER: Well, I'm sorry about all the people they're persecuting. This canoe has probably spent through thousands of dollars to prepare his legal defense. I think this President can be stopped. I think it's important that people continue to express their outrage.
I think one of the reasons why Blanche's nomination didn't just slide through like some of these other incompetent people, he has leading very important and very important cabinet positions, is that people are speaking out. People are showing their outrage, and I think it gives more strength and backbone to some of my Republicans, who in general, during this Trump presidency, have been complicit in so many of the awful things he's doing.
This is so important because this position, the Justice Department affects everything that affects us, not only the security of our families, but these big corporate mergers they're reviewing when it comes to our election security, I can go through all of the things. Donald Trump wants his lawyer there. We need a lawyer for the American people.
[20:15:48]
SCIUTTO: Senator Cory Booker, appreciate you joining us.
BOOKER: Thanks for having me, thank you.
SCIUTTO: Coming up next, more on the political impact of tonight's utter reversal on the reflecting pool, especially what the President might say in response to it.
And later, crowdsourcing for clues in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. Authorities published two notes from the claimed kidnapers in hopes that someone, anyone, can identify them by their way, with words.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:20:22]
SCIUTTO: More now on our breaking news, the Justice Department is now dropping its felony destruction of property case against former Olympian canoeist David Hearn. The U.S. attorney's office saying in a filing that the damage to the reflecting pool that he was accused of was in fact the result of "flawed installation," for more on that and the President's cabinet meeting at Camp David, we're joined now by former deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh and former Trump campaign adviser David Urban. Sabrina, David, good to have you both.
SABRINA SINGH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Good to be with you.
DAVID URBAN, SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Jim.
SCIUTTO: So, David, given the 180 on this case and all the President's claims of a conspiracy and people with box cutters out there, et cetera. Defend this case and this whole effort, can you?
URBAN: No, you know, Jim, I would just say this, you know, I heard the President say he wished that $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund weren't dead, right. You heard him say that earlier. You know who else wishes it? You know who else wishes it weren't dead? David Hearn, who was just prosecuted, right. He would he would try to avail himself of some of that money I'm sure if that fund were to move forward.
Listen, you also heard reporting from, from I can't remember who it was earlier, one of our colleagues saying that the Interior Department knew that Atlantic Industrial Coatings had screwed up and their installation, and there were problems with it. Long before this case was brought. And there seems to be a huge miscommunication between people in the Interior Department and people in the Justice Department. I'm not sure who dropped the ball there, but it's embarrassing. And --
SCIUTTO: But it's avid, it was a it was a big--
URBAN: Theres no real excuse.
SCIUTTO: It was a no bid contract. And they've invited the same company back to fix it, right?
URBAN: Well, Jim, yes, but you know, in lots of instances, no big contracts are done in an effort to try to get things expedited and quickly, otherwise they take four years to get through the, you know, the federal acquisition, you know, requirements and, and, and look, many have tried obviously, this reflecting pool has been kind of a mess for probably going on two decades now. So, it's obviously not that easy to fix or others would have done so.
SCIUTTO: Okay, so, Sabrina, you heard David's defense there. Some might call it a deflection. What's your response to this reversal?
URBAN: It's a pivot, Jim, a pivot.
SINGH: I appreciate the pivot, the word pretzeling here. Look, this is Donald Trump. I think, and you just spoke to Senator Booker about this and I think he's right. This is him using the Justice Department for his own personal use, going after people.
And I mean, this was a shoddy job and he went after people under the guise of this being vandalism. And that's clearly not the case. And the fact that it was disclosed that this was in fact, just shoddy contracting. It's all about a weaponization of DOJ. And I think especially with that, you know, nearly $1.8 billion slush fund for January 6th rioters, you know, this is about the President going after his so-called perceived enemies and not a justice department that works for the American people.
SCIUTTO: Okay, so, David, to the topic of the anti-weaponization fund, when the President says, okay, yes, it's dead, but I wish it wasn't. Do you think that should give comfort to Tillis and Cornyn that this is indeed dead? Or might that explain why? I mean, we heard Tillis earlier in the week say he believes it's very much still alive.
URBAN: Listen, I think Senator Tillis and Senator Cornyn they've been burned by the hot stove. And I don't I don't, I have no reason for them. I think they have no reason to believe the President is, you know, is saying what he you know, you heard him he said, I wish it wasn't, but I think it is, but I wish it wasn't. And so, if I were John Cornyn, who's going out the door courtesy of Donald Trump or Thom Tillis was going out the door just because of disgust. I would want an exact written, you know, have it in writing or have it just go away, period. You know, interestingly, though, the President does make a good point about Todd Blanche. Todd Blanche is going to be the attorney general no matter what these two gentlemen do. You know, if they can hold their breath and turn purple, Todd Blanche isn't going anywhere.
So, it's a little bit unfair to kind of hold the sword of Damocles over Todd Blanche, to deny him the full title of attorney general versus acting. But, you know, Todd Blanche is going to be the attorney general for the foreseeable future for the rest of the Trump administration whether or not these two gentlemen vote for him or not.
[20:25:03]
SCIUTTO: Yes. Such as U.S. law right now with temporary appointments, 210 days and reset the clock.
So, Sabrina, I do want to talk to you because the President once again said today that the U.S. is, in his words, going to hit Iran very hard. And CNN is learning tonight that U.S. officials say fresh strikes could come as soon as this weekend.
The ultimate question here is, will that tactic of force and ratcheting up the force over time. Is there evidence in your view that that will bring Iran back to the negotiating table?
SINGH: I don't think that's the case. I mean, at the opening of this war, you'll remember when General Dan Caine went out, the chairman of the joint chiefs and briefed how there were tens of thousands of targets hit across Iran. And then just recently, just over the course of two weeks, nearly 14 days of consecutive strikes hitting Iranian military targets. And that still did not bring Iran back to the table.
So, even though this Trump administration might widen the bandwidth of their military targets, the reality is, is that Iran has been able to evade these capabilities and has retained capabilities that these strikes are just not getting at. I think what this administration does have the upper hand in, though, is the economic pain that they can exact on the Iranian regime. We have the naval blockade in place. Iranian's economy right now is at 400 percent inflation for basic goods.
So, that is hurting the Iranian people. They have economic leverage to continue to pull whether it be sanctions. So, that might be the best way to get Iran back to the diplomatic negotiating table. I don't think either side wants to see this war go on. But I think Iran has more time and is willing to run down the clock, as they don't have midterms to worry about like this President does in November.
SCIUTTO: Yes, they might calculate they could eat more pain. Sabrina Singh, David Urban, good to have both of you.
SINGH: Thanks, Jim. SCIUTTO: Coming up next, what authorities hope to gain by releasing two ransom notes in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, now, six months ago.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:31:10]
SCIUTTO: Breaking news tonight in the search for Nancy Guthrie. Six months to the day since she was last seen, investigators have released the full contents of the ransom notes believed to be from the kidnappers. The first note sent to a local CBS affiliate on February 2nd says, in part, quote, "We will be holding her for a maximum of seven days. If payment is not received by the last deadline on Monday the 9th at 5:00 p.m., she will be killed. Your mother is aware of this, and her life is in your hands."
Just chilling words. Well, the second note sent February 6th says, in part, "We did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition. We never intended to hurt her. That was not our intention. She perished shortly after she was taken."
The Pima County Sheriff's Department says the note reveals a, quote, "unique linguistic style," unquote, that someone they hope might recognize.
Joining me now is Criminologist and Behavioral Analyst Casey Jordan and Retired FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko. Good to have you both on.
And Casey, I wonder if I could begin with you. What stands out in these notes to you? And do you believe that enough stands out that someone might recognize something in it?
CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST & BEHAVIORAL ANALYST: To answer your second question first, Jim, I think that it's most likely that the text of these communications was processed through A.I. --
SCIUTTO: Yes.
JORDAN: -- which is why -- in addition to coming from the same IP address. The idea is they sound the same because a computer generated both of them. But what stands out to me is the conversational tone. Hello, Savannah. I mean, this is not usually how professional kidnappers start.
You know, they talk about she's safe, but scared. Well, she's not safe because she's a captive. And of course, she's scared. Don't state the obvious. The biggest thing that stands out to me, Jim, is its future tense. We will, you know, be holding her for seven days.
SCIUTTO: Right.
JORDAN: You will provide us with this. This is -- kidnappers, professional kidnappers speak in concrete, present tense terms. Your mother will die at 6:00 p.m. today if you don't send the ransom. And the threat is delayed. They say at the very end, like an afterthought. Oh, but we'll kill her if we don't get the money. And the money goes up if you don't pay quickly, like they're negotiating. You know, they stated easily known facts about the smartwatch and the broken lamp that anyone could have known. So I have concluded that I don't think these communications, even if they're from the same people, are from the people who are responsible for Nancy's disappearance.
SCIUTTO: Well, Richard, if they were from the kidnappers, do you believe it was a smart move for investigators to release the notes? Could they generate leads? I mean, it's interesting, you know, if they were run through A.I., you know, does that provide the possibility of another digital signature somewhere? I'm curious what your read is.
RICHARD KOLKO, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: That's an interesting wildcard, Jim, to go back to A.I. and see if somebody developed this kind of note. Casey's exactly right. I don't understand that second note with the apologies. The kidnap cases I worked on, that certainly was out of context or no reason for them to really have included that.
But if you want to go all the way back 30 years ago to Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber up in Montana, absolutely. Somebody may recognize the method or the linguistics or how this letter was written. I think that's important. I think the fact that it's Savannah Guthrie, she's got the ability to bring this back up to the front page of the news, which she should use every tool she has.
And so now this could develop some leads. I'm sure the leads have gotten a little cold over the last couple of months. So this will push it right back to the front page.
SCIUTTO: The other thing, Casey, investigators are urging the public to do is to is to consider behavioral changes or things. Some of the behaviors they listed included changes in mood, physical experience, unexplained injuries, routine changes, sudden departures from the area, vehicle cleaning or repairs.
[20:35:02]
When you add that up, is that telling -- what would those kinds of behaviors be telling? And in your experience to folks looking for those kinds of things sometimes lead to potential suspects.
JORDAN: Absolutely, they do. And those behavioral changes to me are worth more than these communications, which may or may not be from people who have any direct knowledge. But, yes, it is extremely rare that somebody could pull something like this off and still go to work the next day and behave normally to their family, their friends.
I mean, it can happen if they're complete psychopaths, but it's relatively rare. I would be looking for somebody who quit their job and left town the next day. That's the sort of thing you would look for.
But, you know, you're right. We're at the six month mark.
SCIUTTO: Yes. JORDAN: And the further away we get from February, the less likely it is that people can remember the strange behavior. But, you know, remember Elizabeth Smart, her little sister who was there when she was abducted from her bed, remembered something nine months later, which helped solve the case. So it is entirely possible somebody will think of something that will lead us to the actual culprit who is responsible for Nancy's disappearance.
SCIUTTO: You know, Richard, authorities, they acknowledge that the people who may have information may be staying silent because they have personal relationships or maybe they're concerned for their own safety, but they're urging them to come forward. I mean, based on your experience, do people who are close to a perpetrator or perpetrators, do they often come forward, perhaps after months, you know, after thinking about it more than once?
KOLKO: I think after thinking about it, they certainly come forward. But people just aren't in this kind of circumstance. It's not like your neighbor, your buddy, your friend does kidnappings and then people die. So I think it's almost disbelief. Even if they see some of those behaviors, they just kind of not tune them out, but they almost erase them.
They can't be possible. The guy I know can't do it. They're embarrassed. They don't want to dime them out, you know, throw somebody under the bus, as they say, if they think they're innocent. They don't want to get them in trouble. They don't want to get them -- they don't want to be known as somebody who called somebody in.
So there's a variety of reasons that somebody hasn't picked up the phone and made that call. But absolutely, there's no way somebody doesn't recognize this guy. We saw that video. There's only between 100 and 300 kidnappings a year that are just zero acquaintance.
So somehow I think this suspect is somewhere in the Guthrie sphere of influence, which because of her job is a very large sphere. But somewhere the bureau and the sheriffs have sort of developed a list of potential suspects.
SCIUTTO: Well, that poor family. Goodness, they certainly deserve some closure.
Casey Jordan, Richard Kolko, we appreciate both of you joining.
Coming next, we do have more on the war in Ukraine and Russia's terrifying new target, gas stations. More than 200 struck in the past two months.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:42:02]
SCIUTTO: The President says he now has an understanding with Israel to begin implementing a peace deal in Gaza. The agreement, which he announced last night, would require Israeli forces to withdraw and crucially for Hamas to give up its weapons. Though it is more complicated than that. The President does say Israel is on board.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I do have an understanding with Israel. Israel is very happy about it. Israel helped us. And they've been very good. They've been very good about it.
Most people said that would be a deal that would be undoable. Now, will it go through its ups and downs? It's a very complex situation over there. The people are very complex and difficult. Many cases, wonderful. In many cases, not so wonderful.
But that will be a -- it's a great breakthrough. Nobody's ever thought that would -- nobody thought that would be possible to disarm Hamas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Brett McGurk joins us now. He helped lead talks in two ceasefire and hostage release agreements in Gaza. He details his experiences in a new book out later this year. It's titled, "Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages."
Brett, given your experience in negotiations just like this one, it's great to have you on tonight, do you see this as a genuine breakthrough?
BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Jim, I could poke 10 holes in this and describe all the reasons why it's going to be difficult. And -- but, look, something has changed here. So back in November, the U.N. Security Council endorsed what was President Trump's 20-point plan.
And it has now broad backing throughout the region, including Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, which has made really an influence on Hamas and Saudi Arabia, UAE, everybody. Everybody is now on the same page, Jim. And one of the fundamental preconditions of that plan endorsed by the U.N. Security Council is that Hamas has to give up power in Gaza.
It's unconditional. They have to cede power in Gaza to an interim Palestinian authority, including giving up their weapons. That's something Hamas has never even contemplated really doing.
And what you have now, what was agreed last night, is the implementation plan for this. And it's coming now because a lot of preconditions have been put in place. The plan calls for an interim technocratic Palestinian authority to take charge in Gaza. That body has been established.
It talks about an interim international security force. You now have troop contribution commitments from Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, a few other countries with Egypt and Jordan. And, of course, the U.S. would be helping with this. And you have now the road map for Hamas ceding its authority. So that is hugely significant.
And with that, Jim, is a phased process for the Israelis to withdraw from Gaza. So that's a key --
SCIUTTO: OK.
MCGURK: -- piece of this as well. And the deal talks about ultimately a pathway, and this is getting way down the road, a pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood. So this is the path. There really is no other plan. It's endorsed broadly by not only the U.N. Security Council but all the players in the region.
[20:45:03]
And, you know, I wouldn't count out those who are working so hard on this, including Nikki Mladenov (ph), who's a special representative who's kind of driving this. So, Jim, we'll see. It's not going to be linear. It's going to be hard, but it's worth a shot.
SCIUTTO: For sure it's worth a shot. But the trouble is that you have two parties here that have to give up something that they haven't been willing to give up yet. In Israel, it is the ability to carry out further military action there, to hold on to significant pieces of territory in Gaza. And for Hamas, it's its weapons, right?
So what is the leverage? Well, what's the enforcement method and what's the leverage that both those parties do that?
MCGURK: Well, first, the phased deal is that Israel does not begin that phased withdrawal unless Hamas lives up to its commitments.
SCIUTTO: Right.
MCGURK: The sequencing is going to be tough there, Jim. There's always a sequencing issue. And, look, on the Israeli side, I mean, they have now taken out almost every Hamas leader, the Sinwar brothers, Marwan Issa, you can kind of go through them all. And Hamas has a new leader, Khalil Hayya, who was one of the counterparts in the mediation we used to do, who's a little bit more pragmatic.
But Hamas has been so battered. But let me say one big caveat here, Jim. Israel's heading into a really pivotal, decisive election on October 27th. Netanyahu is already getting hit from left to right. The extremists in his Cabinet are saying this deal is not in our interest. And Netanyahu's rivals who are running against him in the election are also criticizing the deal.
So I think it's going to be real tough before that election to really get significant traction. That election is going to be pivotal, Jim. You know, hopefully, you can get a different Israeli configuration, different Israeli government. That opens up a lot of space, political space. Until then, it's going to be hard.
SCIUTTO: Before we go, we do have CNN's new reporting tonight that the U.S. is planning fresh strikes on Iran as soon as this weekend, perhaps expanded. You know, the President has talked about hitting them really hard, although he has used similar phrasing before. Do you see a fresh round of strikes, even an expanded round of strikes, as fundamentally changing the dynamic in this war right now and breaking what has really been a stalemate?
MCGURK: You know, I'm kind of -- I've never been in favor of telegraphing or punch, so it's a little odd if we're about to do this to be talking about it on a Friday night beforehand. Look, after this war is now, we're in the fifth month, so it's hard to see how a significant escalation is going to fundamentally change things.
But, Jim, Iran is feeling pressure, too. I think the U.S. is in a very tough spot. Iran is also in a difficult spot. The bulkheads (ph) back in place. I think they really overreached. They had a good deal with the MOU, broad sanctions waivers. Now those sanctions are back in place.
And I think the White House is here signaling once again to Iran, hey, let's get to the table and do a deal. The problem you come back to is the power that has consolidated in Tehran is the Revolutionary Guard. And they do not want to do a deal with the United States.
One more thing about those guys, they don't want Hamas to do this deal either. You know, they want their so-called axes of resistance to hold very firm.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
MCGURK: And the fact that Hamas took this step, I don't want to read too much into it, but suggests Iran might be not as strong as it's projecting. We'll see. But I am -- I get concerned about a new military escalation because Iran still has cards. They've got the missiles and drones --
SCIUTTO: Right.
MCGURK: -- and they can hit --
SCIUTTO: Yes.
MCGURK: -- throughout the Gulf as we've seen. And, of course, our --
SCIUTTO: Yes.
MCGURK: -- troops are out there. Got to be thinking about it.
SCIUTTO: Our U.S. troops as well.
Brett McGurk, thanks so much.
MCGURK: Thanks.
SCIUTTO: Well, we did touch on Ukraine at the top of the broadcast and played you a clip of my interview with a lawmaker there which was punctuated by explosions just outside. It was part, we now know, of a new barrage of Russian missile strikes this week on Kyiv and other cities continuing into tonight.
Among the places destroyed, this market where antiques and second-hand goods were sold. Not exactly a military target. Russia has also been busy this summer with new -- a new and explosive target, Ukrainian gas stations. With that story, here's CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even stopping for gas in Ukraine can now be lethal. More than 200 fuel stations have been attacked by Russia since June. That's about three a day in a country where the war has shut down commercial flights, they are a lifeline with a huge role in a vast country.
The pumps now a place to listen out for the buzz of drones and know where the bomb shelter is.
PATON WALSH: In Zaporizhzhia, policeman Mykhailo ran in to help after a drone struck one station, but then he heard a second.
MYKHAILO TSYPLIAKOV, POLICE OFFICER (through translation): When I heard the drone was already descending, I saw a flash, got up and saw injuries to my arm, legs. Maybe Russia is doing this to intimidate, to sow fear and create panic.
[20:50:03]
PATON WALSH (voice-over): We verified 30 of the estimated over 200 attacks in June and July. They fall across Ukraine, but most are close to occupied areas, the cities of Kramatorsk and Kharkiv worst hit. All in reach of Russian drones and intensifying fuel trucks and containers targeted, on a simple level, impeding the war effort by making it hard to get gas, but also sowing fear far away from the front lines.
The growing range of Russian attack drones making once safe areas part of the kill zone.
YAROSLAV STAROVOITENKO, PRESIDENT, OIL AND GAS ASSOCIATION OF UKRAINE (through translation): Gas stations became these key points of refuge as people fled the war. Then Russia tried to cause an intentional blackout, cutting off electricity and heating to freeze us out in the winter.
And gas stations became the first facilities to be 100 percent equipped with generators. These were places where people could drink hot tea, fill up their cars, warm up, and even prepare milk for their babies.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): Near Kyiv that has an always worked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): There's always a risk. No one knows where the attack will strike.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I was discharged from the army after being seriously wounded. If a strike comes here, what's the difference? It didn't kill me on the frontline, so it won't kill me here.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): But many see this as a Russian response to the fuel crisis and queues imposed in Russia by Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries. Putin's escalation inflicting the same back. Russia's elite drone units make a public point of their strikes on Ukraine, releasing a video here of nine being hit.
The damage is real, unexpected, and growing. Another sign, absolutely nothing is off limits in Moscow's invasion of choice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PATON WALSH (on-camera): Jim, these gas stations hit it seems mostly with drones relatively low cost. But it is the more expensive ballistic and cruise missiles that Russia is using to devastating effect across Ukraine. July the deadliest month since April of 2022 when the invasion indeed began for Ukrainian civilians.
There had been a moment of hope for Ukraine when President Trump said he might let them make their own Patriot interceptor missiles that can take down this particular threat. In an interview with the Financial Times in the last 24 hours, he suggested he wasn't sure about that plan anymore.
Look, so much of ordinary nights in Ukraine dependent on quite where President Trump sits in this particular conflict and suggestions in recent days that he might have been moving closer to Kyiv, even giving them exactly what they want now suddenly in doubt, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much.
Coming up, the President says today's live televised Cabinet meeting at Camp David was the first of its kind. But in fact, it's not the first time that history has been made there.
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[20:57:04]
SCIUTTO: Here's Randy Kaye with a look at Camp David's long history as a presidential retreat and hot spot for diplomacy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At Camp David, Maryland, presidential retreat, the chief executive bids welcome to members of his Cabinet.
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Long before President Donald Trump gathered his own Cabinet at Camp David, other presidents did the same.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Business of state discussions are followed by an outing, a sort of informal lawn party, at which the Eisenhowers provide a relaxing period for the Cabinet staff members and their wives.
KAYE (voice-over): The former federal employee campsite had been turned into a presidential retreat by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1942 during World War II. He called it Shangri-La, but President Dwight Eisenhower renamed it Camp David after his grandson.
KAYE: Before Trump took office in 2017, he described Camp David as very rustic. That may explain why he often opted to stay at his own properties like Mar-a-Lago here in Florida. Trump visited Camp David 15 times in his first term and now just twice in his second term.
KAYE (voice-over): Around the anniversary of September 11th in 2019, President Trump tried to host controversial secret talks with Taliban and Afghan leaders at Camp David. The meeting was canceled only after a Taliban car bomb killed a U.S. soldier and 11 others. The 180-acre site i
Thurmont, Maryland, has swimming, skeet shooting, log cabins, horseback riding and more. When President John F. Kennedy visited there in the 1960s, his daughter Caroline often rode her pony. President Gerald Ford played tennis there in the 1970s and swam with his dog Liberty. Camp David has a storied political history.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kennedy found time on occasion to meet with his predecessor, former President Eisenhower.
KAYE (voice-over): President Lyndon Johnson met with his Cabinet there in 1968 to discuss the Vietnam War. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan took British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for a spin in his golf cart. President George H.W. Bush let Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev take the wheel in 1990.
Perhaps its most famous diplomatic discussion, the 1978 negotiation leading to the Camp David Accords. President Jimmy Carter spent two weeks there negotiating political agreements with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. It resulted in the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We went there as often as we possibly could.
KAYE (voice-over): CBS reported President George W. Bush made 150 visits there while in office, including 19 times with foreign leaders.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a lot of fond memories of Camp David, a lot. And, you know, again, it's a place where Laura and I invited a lot of world leaders. Tony Blair's first visit to the United States, we took him to Camp David.
KAYE (voice-over): In 2012, President Barack Obama held the largest gathering of world leaders at Camp David when he hosted the G8 Summit. Nine foreign leaders attended. The camp is fully equipped with security and assets needed to run the country.
On September 11th, it was activated for then Vice President Dick Cheney. According to the National Park Service website, Camp David's exact location isn't identified on maps for security and privacy reasons.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: A trip through history there.
The news continues. The Source starts now.
