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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Sources: Trump Furious With Pirro, Blindsided By Pool Filing; First Blanche Vote Tomorrow As GOP Holdouts Drop Opposition; Interview With Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT); Trump's Threats And Reversals On Iran Under Scrutiny; Sources: U.S. Military Asks Troops For Ideas On Punishing Iran; Sources: Allies Pushing Trump To Call On Miller To End Race; GOP Rep. Max Miller Denies Abuse Allegations, Vows To Stay In Race; Washington State Battling 17 Major Wildfires. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired August 03, 2026 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM SELLECK, EMMY AWARD-WINNING ACTOR: I have no idea, but that's always the way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: We're looking forward to his next project, "Revolutionary America," that film that he narrated is available to stream right now for free on YouTube. We'll have more with Selleck tonight on "The Story Is" at midnight Eastern, 9:00 P.M. Pacific, including a look at what he thinks his legacy is in movies -- Briana.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We'll be looking for that. What a treat, Elex, thank you so much for that, Elex Michaelson. And thank you for joining us. AC360 starts now.
[20:00:34]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Good evening, Jeanine Pirro, check your messages. New reporting that President Trump is furious with the U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., who also happens to be a longtime friend and former Fox personality. So furious that her days might be numbered.
John Berman here in for Anderson.
The ire of the President, according to sources, centers on her office's determination that the issues at the reflecting pool, a favorite pet project of the President's, stemmed from a flawed renovation rather than vandalism. The President was asked about that conclusion today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Jeanine Pirro made a mistake. It was vandalism.
The judge was extremely unfriendly to Jeanine, and frankly, I think she choked because the judge was really vicious. Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department.
And I guess she choked, I don't know what the hell happened. I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro, really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro. She folded like an umbrella.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Folded like an umbrella, now, two hours later, Jeanine Pirro was spotted arriving at The White House for a meeting with the President. The case at the center of this controversy goes back to early July, when former Olympic canoeist, David Hearn was charged with felony property destruction, which carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. At the time, Pirro said the evidence was clear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANINE PIRRO, WASHINGTON D.C. U.S. ATTORNEY: 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 a thousand dollars.
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 have been, you know, all these videos.
PIRRO: Well, good. I'm glad you got that evidence. Come on in the grand jury, you can testify next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: That was then, now, this past Friday, Pirro's office dropped the case against Hearn in a filing that said, "damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism." The same filing said that the DOI, the Department of Interior, provided less than fulsome information at the outset of this case. Now, on Saturday, Trump and Pirro spoke by phone, and it, "wasn't pretty." That's according to a source, with Pirro blaming one of the career officials in her office for the filing.
Another source added that based on President Trump's criticism of her, it is, "highly likely she is removed from her job." Now, if she is, her tenure as U.S. Attorney would be a short one. This is President Trump, the day after Jeanine Pirro was confirmed by the Senate last August.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Jeanine Pirro is going to be amazing. And I will swear in as soon as we can swear her in, we need her. She's going to be amazing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: "She's going to be amazing," oh, what a difference a Reflecting Pool can make. Late today, cameras caught Pirro leaving the White House, this time wheeling a briefcase in large white box behind her.
With us now, CNN chief White House correspondent, anchor of "The Source" Kaitlan Collins. So, Kaitlan, where does Jeanine Pirro stand at this hour?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN'S CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT AND THE ANCHOR OF "THE SOURCE": I mean, it's still not fully clear. Our understanding right now is that she was not fired today when she was at the White House. She was there for what could have potentially been an awkward meeting because she was in the room with President Trump. And so was the interior secretary, Doug Burgum, whose department Pirro's office blasted in that filing on Friday where they said, you know, it wasn't vandalism, that what happened at the reflecting pool was a result of that hasty and botched renovation, where they blamed the contractor that the Interior Department hired.
And so, we do know that this meeting happened. We saw Jeanine Pirro going in and out of The White House after the President said, you know, she folded like an umbrella and that she had choked, which for President Trump is probably the harshest criticism that he can offer to someone is to say that they choked.
And so, it's just a remarkable turn in their relationship in this moment, and also shows what happens when, you know, top staffers of his are not willing to basically get behind and get in line with his version of events as clearly her office has gotten in the middle of this year.
We do know that there was an angry phone call this weekend between President Trump and Jeanine Pirro. Not surprising, after his post over the weekend, saying he completely disagreed with her and thought she was wrong. I'm told that during that call, at one point, Jeanine Pirro said the career officials in her office were responsible for that filing on Friday night. [20:05:26]
BERMAN: I know you haven't seen the film "Seven," so forgive me for quoting this, but Brad Pitt, to quote Brad Pitt at the end of the film, "What's in the box?"
Do we know what Jeanine Pirro was wheeling away from the White House there? Do people officials often wheel large file boxes out after meetings?
COLLINS: No, that was pretty unusual. I will say that our eagle-eyed team spotted when she was walking in, that a staffer was coming in with her and was wheeling that box in. So, it's not clear to us yet what exactly was in there. Or you know, what all that entails. But I mean, this moment in and of itself was kind of a moment where we talked to a lot of officials at The White House who were also themselves openly speculating about her future and what this looks like because of how angry the President was with her.
But today he was -- reporters attempted to ask him multiple times if he was second thinking or regretting putting her inside the D.C., U.S. Attorney's Office to lead it. He did not answer that question notably. And so, well see, obviously, a lot of times the President's view or determination about keeping someone on is decided by the coverage. And so, I think that could also play a factor here.
BERMAN: It could be an interesting night. I know you will be on a little bit later.
Please join Kaitlan Collins for "The Source" at the top there. One of your guests will be World Cup star Ferran Torres, which is kind of awesome.
COLLINS: Indeed, nothing related to Jeanine Pirro, but we are going to talk to him about that incredible game winning goal in the World Cup.
BERMAN: Yes, an attractive man, also. Kaitlan Collins, thank you very much for that.
With us now, Norm Eisen, an attorney representing David Hearn. He is also executive chair of the Democracy Defenders Fund and with us, former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Toobin.
Norm, I just want to start with you here. Where do you think this goes from here, both for Jeanine Pirro, but also importantly, your client David Hearn?
NORM EISEN, EXECUTIVE CHAIR OF THE DEMOCRACY DEFENDERS FUND, ATTORNEY FOR DAVID HEARN: Well, John, we're continuing to get confirmation of what we have said from the beginning and of what Davey has said from the beginning, he's innocent.
There was no change in the reflecting pool from before he touched it to after he touched it. And in fact, we've said that from the get go. The day after his arraignment, we filed the first of a series of motions with the court, with photographic evidence from before and after, including the government's own pictures establishing that Davey did not do damage to this reflecting pool.
Now, that's been confirmed by the government's own filing and to quote another movie, "A Few Good Men," I guess the President just can't handle the truth.
BERMAN: So, Jeffrey Toobin, we heard Kaitlan Collins reporting there that somehow in this phone conversation over the weekend, maybe Jeanine Pirro blamed a career Justice Department official for this filing. But I will note that the formally the filing literally says respectfully submitted, Jeanine Ferris Pirro. I mean, so can she plausibly distance herself from this at this point?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: No, no she can't. I mean, this is a high-profile case that she had to know what was going on. But let's focus, at least for a minute on what a disgrace that filing was, because it is the fundamental responsibility of a prosecutor that before he or she files charges, you do a complete investigation. And this idea that she somehow blaming the Department of the Interior, it was her job to check with the Department of the Interior and do a thorough investigation before she charged Mr. Hearn with felonies.
He wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't a desperate fugitive on the run. She could have taken a week or a month to do a thorough investigation, but instead she wanted to please the President right away. So, she brought this bogus case, which is a serious thing, to charge someone with felonies. And now she's suffering the embarrassment of having to withdraw it. But at least she did withdraw it because Mr. Hearn is just innocent.
BERMAN: You just heard, Norm, Jeffrey called this ridiculous. Do you and your client anticipate trying to take legal action now yourselves against the Department o/f Justice?
EISEN: John, we're focused right now on getting the case formally dismissed in response to the government's motion. I do agree with Jeff that it doesn't hold water, John, that they just figured out when they got additional information from the Department of the Interior that Davie was innocent. We filed motion after motion, making that point before they ever asked Interior for that. Our focus is get the case dismissed. But after that, all options are on the table and were very seriously evaluating that. Mr. Hearn has been told, he might have faced up to ten years in prison; despite knowing he was innocent, that's not America.
He cares about that. But he also cares about our democracy and the other people who have been similarly targeted. We can't have this. So, we're looking at all other measures once we get the case thrown out.
[20:10:42]
TOOBIN: Berman, can I just --
BERMAN: Yes, I mean, at this stage. At least -- go ahead. Go ahead.
TOOBIN: I'm sorry.
BERMAN: Go ahead.
TOOBIN: No, I just think it's also important to recognize where we are at this moment. Todd Blanche is about to be confirmed, or at least have a vote to be attorney general. This is only the latest of the fiascos under his watch. Prosecutors who are behaving incompetently malevolently in all over the country, something the Justice Department is not supposed to do in New York, in Virginia, in Chicago, and now, many times in Washington.
This Justice Department is sick. And the guy in charge is about to be rewarded with a permanent job as attorney general. And that's as troubling as this case is.
BERMAN: I've asked you this before, Jeffrey, but do you think there's going to be any difference in the Justice Department under Confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche, rather than Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche?
TOOBIN: I think, if anything, he's going to be emboldened in the politicization that's gone on, because after all these disasters, he still got confirmed if that's what happens this week. And so, there's no check on him at all. And all he is going to continue doing is trying to please Donald Trump, who, as this case illustrates, wants innocent people prosecuted because he regards them as his enemies.
BERMAN: And Norm, if I'm not mistaken, at least at this point, the U.S. Attorney's office was calling for the case to be dismissed without prejudice, which means they could bring it again?
EISEN: Typically, and Jeff knows this, prosecutors will start with without prejudice. This is a case that should be dismissed with prejudice, if there ever was one. And we'll have more to say about that. Our focus now is on getting this case thrown out. A confirmation of what the U.S. attorney asked for. I mean, it was such an extraordinary document. It's not only saying that the damage that they wrongly blamed Mr. Hearn for was the result of a botched installation, not vandalism. But at the end of the motion, it says that there's not enough evidence to establish Mr. Hearn's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. As jeff said earlier, the case should never be brought if you don't think you have proof beyond a reasonable doubt. So, it really is a miscarriage of justice. It goes with many others around the country, and Mr. Hearn is very focused, not only on his own situation but on the threat to our democracy. And were considering all remedies to respond to that.
BERMAN: I expect we will hear more from you soon. Norm Eisen, thank you very much, Jeffrey Toobin, thank you, as always.
Coming up, we do have breaking news in the confirmation battle over Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. What we were just speaking about how the White House was involved in the deal to advance his nomination and why it could still preserve the so-called anti-weaponization fund.
And later, Republican Congressman Max Miller is facing domestic abuse allegations. Today, President Trump called him a very good person.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:18:19]
BERMAN: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is on the cusp of becoming Attorney General Todd Blanche with a vote to advance his nomination with the Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled first thing tomorrow.
What got him there according to legal scholars might have a loophole big enough for a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund.
Last night, Blanche released two orders, one signed by him that read in part "This order establishes beyond any doubt that there is no fund." President Trump was asked about that this afternoon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: These people were treated horribly, and this fund could have given them some solace. But, you know, it happens to be very popular among many quarters.
REPORTER: Mr. President, did you sign off on Todd Blanche rescinding?
TRUMP: I didn't look at it. All I know is that Todd Blanche is great. He is going to do a great job. Everybody knows it. And I understand there has been a sign off, but I don't know what they agreed. I think Todd Blanche agreed to reconfirm things that he has already said and what he said was okay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Reminder, last week, the President threatened to pull Blanche's nomination until the two Republican holdouts on the Judiciary Committee, Senators Cornyn and Tillis were out of office.
Now, as to the deal that got both of them on board to vote to advance blanches nomination tomorrow, when the Judiciary Committee meets, we now know White House chief-of-staff Susie Wiles and the Director of Legislative Affairs, James Braid, were deeply involved in the process. That's according to one official, and that President Trump was aware of the deal, that's according to the same official.
And to the loophole, the settlement that created the fund stated that it could be, "modified only with the written agreement of the parties." One of those parties is Donald Trump. Without his consent, legal scholars say the fund is in fact, not dead.
[20:20:12]
For more on that and the other order released by Blanche regarding President Trump and the IRS, I am joined by Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democratic member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senator, good to see you. Last week, I think it was Tuesday we were talking and you said you'd
seen this movie before in terms of Republicans standing up to President Trump, Senators Cornyn and Tillis.
Now that they've ultimately agreed to his confirmation and what the changes were in the fund, do you think they got anything significant out of The White House on this?
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): They got nothing significant, John. And unfortunately, I've seen this movie before and its ended this way with Republicans showing no spine. And the reason I say they have gotten nothing is you've correctly laid it out.
This document is a sham. It is a fraud on the Senate because the party to the contract, it is an enforceable contract, Blanche said so in his confirmation hearing was Donald Trump, and you heard him just now say that he thinks that the slush fund, the $1.8 billion weaponization fund is a good idea.
So tomorrow, he could decide to enforce that contract regardless of what Todd Blanche says in that document. In fact, the document itself isn't binding on anyone. It simply withdraws an order previously issued by Blanche. He could issue the same order again and on the tax immunity issue, the President still has a shield from any audit, he and his sons and his organization worth probably about $100 million to him.
So the simple answer to your question is, these two senators got zero.
BERMAN: The IRS deal protects them from audits in the past, correct? It would not protect him from audits in the future. Is that a significant distinction?
BLUMENTHAL: It is a significant distinction, but it is one that makes very little difference to Donald Trump so far as his past liability is concerned and he was under audit, he was under investigation in connection with hundreds of millions of dollars in potential debts to the government.
Now, it is all gone. And so, yes, he can still be investigated for something he does in the future. But this is a free pass. It is a potential get out of jail free pass for liability in the past.
BERMAN: So do you think the President would try to revive this anti- weaponization fund? And what would kill it completely dead in your mind?
BLUMENTHAL: Youve heard him say numerous times that good people, mind you, these good people were the rioters who attacked and severely injured the Capitol Police. They were involved in, in fact, the death of more than one that they are entitled to some kind of compensation.
The person who really deserves compensation is David Hearn, an innocent man who was charged and put through severe cost of defense, reputational damage, emotional travail, and the rioters deserve no such kind of compensation. But Donald Trump has said repeatedly that he will try to find any
means available, and there potentially are means available, which is why it is so dangerous, so deeply harmful to approve Todd Blanche as Attorney General, because he will do whatever the President wants him to do.
He says he slipped at the confirmation hearing, saying, I am Donald Trump's lawyer, in effect, I am his lawyer, and that's his idea of the job, when in fact he should be representing the interests of you and I, the people of the United States. But in fact, he will enable this kind of lawbreaking.
BERMAN: You mentioned very quickly the case against David Hearn, which the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Washington, D.C., says it wants dismissed at this point. The President is very angry with Jeanine Pirro. Do you think she will still have her job tomorrow?
BLUMENTHAL: I think she will still have her job tomorrow because the President is a long standing friend of hers, and he knows that at the end of the day, she will be loyal to him. She is trying to blame others.
She blamed people in her office who filed Friday night. They, in turn, blame the Department of Interior, who are saying that they told the prosecutor's office that there was no evidence here. She should be fired, but not for failing to prosecute, she should be fired for her botched investigation or in fact, the absence of investigation.
[20:25:10]
Ive been in that job and the U.S. Attorney has a really solemn responsibility to do a thorough investigation, interrogating officials with knowledge, getting all the documents, knowing what they would say at trial as well as before the grand jury. And I think the President ought to be holding her responsible for this kind of failed investigation.
But in fact, he wants an innocent man to be pursued now, because it is his claim that vandalism, not botched and hasty work, resulted in this damage.
BERMAN: Senator Blumenthal from Connecticut, as always, thank you for your time tonight.
BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.
BERMAN: Up next, the new threat directed at Iran from the President after a new reversal over the weekend. We are going to look at where the conflict stands now.
Plus, embattled Congressman Max Miller told he should leave the House as he faces accusations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife. That message coming from his ex-father-in-law, a sitting senator, all of this playing out as Miller denies the charges and seeks re-election -- all of that that when 360 continues. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is the last chance. This is not something that it doesn't happen. This is the last chance for them to sign a good document.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:30:37]
BERMAN: That was President Trump today in the Oval Office warning that Iran has one last chance to make a deal. A threat. But it's worth noting the President has baxed off threats against Iran before. A lot.
Most recently over the weekend, the President canceled a plan for major new strikes saying that he agreed to request from multiple countries including Iran, quote, "to hold off on any attack in that the parameters of a deal had been agreed to." President Trump has gone through these cycles of apocalyptic, excuse me, apocalyptic warnings and reversals several times since early April when he threatened to destroy Iran's entire civilization before backing off to allow for diplomacy.
This is what he had to say when asked about that this afternoon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is at least the fifth time you've turned off airstrikes against Iran since April --
TRUMP: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- to negotiate. What is your message to the American people who are wondering what has changed this time? Why should it be any different?
TRUMP: Well, you don't know. I don't know. I think we're going to maybe get something but I want to give him every last chance before decapitation. Very tough to do what we have planned, still planned. We'll see what happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: With us now Former Deputy Director of National Intelligence Beth Sanner and Brett McGurk who has held national security positions under the last four presidents including during President Trump's first term. And Brett, I just want to start with you. The President said this is Iran's last chance. Is this a case of, you know, this time he means it? I mean do you think Iran thinks he means it?
BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I think the answer to that, John, is a resounding no. You know, earlier this summer President Trump visited Teddy Roosevelt's Presidential library and talked to an AI avatar of Teddy Roosevelt. He might want to go back and do that again because the maxim of speak softly and carry a big stick, whatever Trump is doing here, it's the opposite and it's not working.
Look, the one group in Iran you want to try to influence and deter are the Revolutionary Guards. They have the drones and the missiles as we've been discussing for months. And as we're on air here tonight, John, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center, the kind of gold standard for what's happening, is reporting another drone has just hit a ship near the Strait of Hormuz.
So Iran is still firing. There are negotiations going on between Iran and Oman. I've talked to people today. There's some progress there, but those are the guys in the ties. That's the Foreign Ministry, the people holding the drones and the missiles.
They are continuing to shoot. They have maximalist demands and they're showing no indication that they're taking these threats seriously.
BERMAN: Beth, what are these threats in this whiplash? How does it impact the U.S. allies in the region, the Gulf States, Saudi Arabia, UAE? How do they view this?
BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I think this whipsaw, as Brett described, is something that they're watching. I mean, let's just look at the past week. Iran attacked Jordan in an unprecedented, premeditated, preemptive strike, not in response to what we had done.
Right before that, they attacked seven states, municipal water systems in seven states. And then this led to the President threatening. Then he backed down. You know, now, you know, we're talking about having a negotiation. The Iranians say, we're not in a negotiation with you, and they struck a ship off the coast of Oman.
So Iran is in a totally different attitude here, and the Gulf knows Iran very, very well. They are not having problems understanding who these people are in the way that I think we are here at home. And so for that reason, they're really having difficulty knowing what to do. It's why Saudi Arabia's leader, Mohammed bin Salman, called the President and said, we want de-escalation.
But they don't, you know, they don't know what to do either. They just know that they are kind of on their own to a great degree. They know that we're not going to be there for the long run, and they're going to be stuck with Iran for the long run. And so they're going to have to figure out a modus vivendi. And so this kind of maximalist position with Iran is not suiting most of the Gulf.
BERMAN: Brett, there's some CNN exclusive reporting that according to a source, a senior official with U.S. Central Command, the intelligence branch, sent an email to this broad group of military analysts asking for, quote, "new, creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran." How unusual is something like this to sort of crowdsource war strategies?
[20:35:00] MCGURK: You can read it a couple ways. You can read it with a negative frame and say we're kind of flailing and looking for an approach. But if I have confidence in one institution here in this array, it's really CENTCOM and Brad Cooper. And I think, I mean, they do have a plan and a strike plan that would be ready to implement if President Trump were to order it.
Can't say that might -- that's the wisest course of action, but they do have a plan on the books. But to kind of ask your institution, hey, everybody working on this, what are you seeing, what are your ideas? Obviously, you don't want an email like that to be discussed on CNN like we're doing right now. But, you know, I could see the merit in that.
But it could also be read, John, to say, hey, we're kind of out of ideas here. What should we do next? Which is not a good sign.
BERMAN: It could be a little bit of both, I suppose, Beth. What do you think?
MCGURK: That's right.
SANNER: I think that, you know, if we had approached this war like we approached Venezuela, where we used all aspects of our toolkit, our statecraft toolkit, and we had applied the economic statecraft first, and we had sequenced and we had cyber and all these things worked in, that's when this kind of creative thinking is supposed to happen. It's supposed to happen at the beginning of the campaign based on what your aim is.
And then you figure out the whole array of tools you have and how to sequence them so you get there. We're now doing this, you know what, backwards. And so I appreciate that they're looking for ideas, but it is not the right phase of the process to do that. And it is a demonstration that we're stuck.
BERMAN: You know, Brett, Beth alluded to this before, but the administration, especially the President, keeps on expressing frustration about how the Iranians negotiate. He called them duplicitous. He said, "They asked for a meeting, some would say, beg, talks begin with more scheduled in the immediate future. And they say openly and proudly that they're not having any discussions."
He seems surprised at the way the Iranians do this, when I think a lot of people think it's like the first thing in the Wikipedia page about negotiating with Iran is that this is how they play ball. I mean, how surprised should this administration be by this?
MCGURK: The most frustrating thing about negotiating with Iran, which I've done, or one of their proxy groups, whether it's Hamas or some of these groups in Iraq, you are never negotiating with the decision maker. You're negotiating with, you know, kind of one or two levels below, and then they take things back to whoever the decision maker might be and you kind of wait. That's how they do it.
And that's exactly the kind of trap we've fallen into. But even worse here, because it's with mediators. Yes, this is exactly, John, what Iran does. And true, it can drive you nuts. You're not negotiating with the decision maker. I think, you know, Trump expects I'm the decision maker, let me get the decision maker on their side. Let's cut a deal.
That's not what Iran is going to do. It takes time. And they're going to goat rope this thing to buy time. I get -- whoever's in charge in Iran -- I suspect Ahmad Vahidi, the head of the Revolutionary Guards -- he's already looking beyond the Trump administration. He's going to try to squeeze for every last drop of blood from the stone until he feels a lot more pressure, which right now he's definitely not.
BERMAN: Yes, and no one should be surprised by this and the way they're going about this.
Beth Sanner, Brett McGurk, thank you both so much for being here tonight.
Up next, allies of the President pushing him to call on Congressman Max Miller to end his reelection bid as he faces accusations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife. How the Ohio Republican responded today?
And later, tens of thousands of people evacuated as wildfires burn across Washington State. Hundreds of homes destroyed. We will speak with the governor there ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:42:37]
BERMAN: Tonight CNN has new reporting that allies are pressuring President Trump to push Ohio Representative Max Miller to drop his bid for reelection. It comes as the embattled Republican is facing domestic abuse claims from his ex-wife, something that Miller strongly denies. Now, his ex-father-in-law is a senator from Ohio, Senator Bernie Moreno, who also called for him to step down this weekend.
A source tells CNN that some top House Republicans have called the White House asking for help requesting President Trump asked for Miller a drop out before the deadline for him to appear on the ballot. Another source says the President has privately said he doesn't believe Miller can win the race. Miller represents a district in eastern Ohio, a Republican stronghold. Should Republicans lose that seat, it does threaten their chances of maintaining control of the House.
CNN's Lauren Fox has been following this for months and has the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. MAX MILLER (R), OHIO: Just want to be clear, no court, no agency has ever substantiated any allegation of abuse against me. I'm not getting out of this race and I'm winning in November. LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ohio Republican Congressman Max Miller facing new calls to drop out amid allegations he abused his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, an accusation he denies. Now, for the first time, Miller's ex-father-in-law, Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, is calling on Miller to step aside, writing in a statement that Miller needs, quote, "psychological help" and that he is, quote, "a danger to my daughter."
"If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them. He should not serve in the House of Representatives." President Trump weighed in today from the Oval Office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's a very sad thing. I know Max. He's a good person. I mean, I always thought he was a very good person, and I'm going to let the families figure that out.
FOX (voice-over): Miller once served as a senior aide to the Trump campaign and married Emily Moreno at Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, New Jersey in 2022. Two years later, Senator Bernie Moreno, leaning on his close ties to Trump, won his bid for the U. S. Senate.
Miller filed for divorce in 2024. In video obtained by CNN earlier this year, Emily Moreno told police in the course of a now closed investigation into their daughter's broken collarbone that she was often frightened by Miller.
EMILY MORENO, EX-WIFE OF MAX MILLER: I was just like scared of him a lot, and that's why I left the house and I moved out.
[20:45:04]
FOX (voice-over): She also described one incident on New Year's Eve, where she alleged Miller held a gun to her head when she was changing their infant daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So when does the gun come into play?
MORENO: When I'm changing (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what does he do?
MORENO: Holds it on me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holds in on you? OK. Can you show me where he held it to you? No. Hey, it's OK. That's fine. That's fine. Like I said, I -- that's a hard thing to talk about.
FOX (voice-over): No charges were ever filed, and Miller has repeatedly denied all allegations of abuse, including to CNN in an interview in June.
MILLER: What we're dealing with, unfortunately, is something that many families go through, Lauren, which is a very nasty divorce. And in the process, allegations get made that are completely fabricated and are not true.
FOX: So you're saying this incident never happened in any form?
MILLER: Not at all.
FOX (voice-over): Miller won his primary in May with President Trump's endorsement and is slated to face off against Democratic challenger and iron worker Brian Poindexter in November.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOX (on-camera): Now, John, Max Miller has repeatedly told us in every way possible that he is staying in this race, but he has until close of business tomorrow to get out of this race if he wants to allow people in his district to have a special primary to pick a replacement candidate. Then, on August 10th, that is the next deadline for party leaders to be able to choose a candidate to run against a Democrat on the ballot.
But again, that is just a couple of days here for Max Miller to make a decision. Otherwise, he will remain on the ballot, he will remain in this race, and he will be facing off against Brian Poindexter in November. John?
BERMAN: All right, Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill. Lauren, thank you for your work on this.
With us now, CNN Political Commentator S.E. Cupp and Executive Committee Chair of the New York State Democratic Committee Christine Quinn. You know, S.E., if the President doesn't think Max Miller can win, which is our reporting, and people are urging the President to try to get Miller out of the race, why do you think he didn't come out publicly today and instead saying that Miller is a very good person?
S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, Trump has a long history of defending men and allegations like this. He's defended himself against allegations of sexual assault and rape and harassment, and he's defended men inside his own administration who have had these exact allegations against him. He's also chosen and endorsed candidates that had these allegations against them, from Herschel Walker to Roy Moore.
So I think he's been incredibly consistent in his support for men who have been accused, credibly in this case, so I believe there's multiple allegations against Max Miller, not just from his ex-wife. He has been very consistent in this. And so what he is saying privately might be a political calculation, but what he is saying publicly is what he has been saying for a very long time when men are faced with these kinds of accusations.
BERMAN: And again, obviously, the Herschel Walker case, Roy Moore, you're saying they were different. And I should note that Miller himself does deny these allegations. But as a political point, I understand the point you're making there. Christine, you know what the reaction will be, I think, from a lot of Republicans maybe out there or people who aren't even involved in politics, they would say, what about Graham Platner?
CHRISTINE QUINN, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR, NY STATE DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE: Right, right. I mean, the hypocrisy is just tremendous in this case. So many Republicans, and they were correct, came out saying, you know, the allegations against Platner, which he also denied, were enough that he should get out of the race. And they were critical of Democrats who didn't support earlier women who had come out and said things against him, particularly a Republican operative.
And they were correct to call out Democratic hypocrisy. But now you have almost the exact same situation, and they are stone cold silent at best. But in the case of the President, endorsing the man's character and standing by them, either we as a, you know, political parties and institutions are going to say violence against other people, violence against women and children is unacceptable. And these type of allegations render you unfit, or we're not.
It can't be a partisan thing, violence against women. Domestic violence in this country is a scourge. It's one of the leading factors we see driving homelessness in New York City, and across the country. And there has to be a standard and it has to be, you know, decided to be unacceptable by everyone.
The hypocrisy is just blatant. It was barely weeks ago, that there was a Republican outcry, rightfully so against Platner.
BERMAN: So why is it even a political thing? What's happened inside politics and to these political parties in with these calculations, S.E.?
CUPP: Yes, I've been concerned for a while. And I'm obviously, I think, you know, this didn't start recently. You could say it started with Trump or even before, but I feel like both parties have been framing the issue of character, as it relates to the stakes of an election.
[20:50:19]
And the higher the stakes, the less character should matter. And I saw Democrats basically hinted that during the Graham Platner, you know, story. I think they were way too late in in finally getting him out. But Christine's right, they did the right thing in the end, but it took them too long.
But I think the the way they talked about the stakes of the election, and being able to flip that seat, it was too important for an issue like character, whether it was the women's stuff or the Nazi tattoo stuff to matter. And Republicans have been doing the same, they do it on Mitch McConnell, that seats too important. So he can stay sort of in this vague, you know, non-working state where we don't know what he's doing
Ken Paxton, we're not going to ask questions about what he has been accused of because that seat is too important when the stakes become more important and character no longer matters. Well, we know what happens. Go ahead and elect people with bad character and watch them do very bad things. It's -- you cannot justify, you know, electing people who have shown you who they are, or who have been credibly accused by multiple people of something awful and justify that because politics.
BERMAN: Christine Quinn, very quickly, Michigan primaries tomorrow, you've seen a lot of contentious fights here in New York City. What happens on Wednesday? How hard would it be to bring these factions together?
QUINN: I think the factions are going to come together. We've even saw there was some statements by Stevens today to that point. I think winning the Michigan Senate seat is critical in taking back the Senate. So, you know, gloves always come off during the election or during a primary and then everybody gets together afterwards.
BERMAN: Christine Quinn, S.E. Cupp, I do appreciate speaking with both tonight on this subject. Thank you very much.
All right. Coming up, the latest from Washington State as crews battle 17 major wildfires forcing hundreds of people to leave their homes. I'm going to speak with the governor there next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:56:33]
BERMAN: We do have breaking news from the Pacific Northwest, at least 17 major wildfires burning across Washington State tonight, three of them in the Spokane area are 0 percent contained as crews race to get them under control. Officials say the fires have forced nearly 65,000 people to flee their homes since Saturday.
We want to get the latest. Joining us now is the governor of Washington, Bob Ferguson. Governor, we know you're busy. Thank you for taking a second to talk to us. What is the latest information you have on the fires right now?
GOV. BOB FERGUSON (D-WA): Thanks so much for having me, John. Look, the situation is dire. The situation in Spokane specifically, just so your viewers are aware, these are neighborhoods in the city that in large part have been just wiped out. It's been described literally as a war zone.
Hundreds of homes have been wiped down in a matter of hours. And that's just one of, as you mentioned, multiple fires across our state. So it's a very, very serious situation right now.
BERMAN: I know you were in Spokane this morning. What were you able to see?
FERGUSON: Yes, I've spent the last really 36 hours there and, you know, the images are just -- you know, they're heartbreaking and this all happened in a matter of hours. It's just a perfect storm of severe drought conditions, extreme weather and heat, but also very, very high winds.
And once this fire within the city limits started, it just swept through multiple neighborhoods and just give a sense of scale. When I stay in Spokane, I don't stay in a hotel. I stay at a friend's house, that friend's house, thankfully, I got work today, is still standing. But just less than a mile from where the fires went.
So I've walked these neighborhoods. It's just really a key part of the city. And so it's shocking, honestly, to see the devastation that happened in those neighborhoods.
BERMAN: I know you've spoken to President Trump and the Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin. You've asking for FEMA assistance. What has their response been so far?
FERGUSON: That's exactly right, John. So we've asked for initially emergency declaration from the federal government. That request got put in yesterday. And I'll just say, you know, the President was was gracious, took my call and very short notice. Secretary Mullin talked to multiple times.
So our request is in. We've heard that FEMA is already starting to mobilize and get resources to our state and we hope to get that decision in our favor of granting that emergency declaration as soon as possible. But I really will say federal folks have been nothing but helpful, responsive and we're optimistic they'll grant that right away.
We need those resources that helps with temporary housing, that helps with search and rescue, that helps with debris removal, that helps in so many ways for people on the ground. It's not just for Spokane, but for six counties and three tribal nations in the eastern part of our state that are all facing a really challenging fire situation.
BERMAN: What's the area of biggest need right now? What would be of greatest assistance immediately to the people there?
FERGUSON: Well, you can imagine just taking that Spokane fire is one of many fires, but you literally have hundreds of people who are just on a matter of hours notice gone from their homes. So we literally need assistance with feeding these folks, getting temporary shelter for those folks, medical care for those folks.
You can imagine all that goes with having in one city over 60,000 people were evacuated in a matter of hours in a city of 230,000. So your viewers can do the math on that. That's a huge part of the city that has been displaced, that is going through a traumatic experience to put it very mildly.
And so the needs are multiple search and rescue. We're still trying to determine loss of life, if any injuries, that type of thing. So it is a, you know, it's a pretty serious situation I'm going through in real time right now.
BERMAN: Yes, obviously, it just looks dire there. Unclear if they're going to get much of a break over the next few days from the weather. Governor Bob Ferguson, we do appreciate your time tonight. We are wishing you and the people there all the best. Thank you.
FERGUSON: Thank you.
BERMAN: All right. That is all for us now and I'm back on at 7:00 a.m. again tomorrow.
The news continues now. The Source of Kaitlan Collins starts now.
