Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

CENTCOM Launches Third Consecutive Night Of Strikes On Iran; South Carolina Taps Lindsey Graham's Sister As Interim U.S. Senator; Instagram Creator Sues Vance, Alleges First Amendment Violation; Trump Is Cracking Down On Press Freedoms. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired July 13, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

REPORTER: Do you think that Iran has agreed to a deal and then walked away from it?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Yes.

REPORTER: Have you reached the conclusion that a negotiated settlement won't be able to happen?

TRUMP: No, I never reached that conclusion, but we're hitting them very heavy tonight, as you know. We're hitting them. We have tremendous amounts of ammunition. We have numbers that we haven't had in years, and we're hitting them very hard, and it'll continue, and we'll see what happens. But we're knocking out all of their offensive capability and we're controlling the straits. We're putting the blockade back, and it's a blockade, not for anybody but Iran. In other words, anybody doing business with Iran can't go through. Everyone else will be able to go through. So, it's a blockade. It's a very strong blockade.

The blockade was probably more effective even than hitting them, but I think the combination is the thing that really does it.

REPORTER: But do you think a deal is still possible? Do you think they'll return to the negotiating table?

TRUMP: Yes, I think a deal is possible. Sure, I do.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT:: But, Mr. President, you noted the United States is bombing Iran again. I mean, you've been bombing Iran for months now. Is this just the new normal for the American people?

TRUMP: No. Well, you know, we were in Vietnam for 19 years. We're here for four months. So, I think we've done a lot. We've knocked out their navy in a period of one month. We knocked out their air force. Their air force is nonexistent. We knocked out most of their missiles, most of their drones. We knocked out their drone manufacturing capability, about 92 percent. Their missile capability for manufacturing, we knocked out 89 percent. And they have a little capability, but they don't have any capability for us. This is almost a military skirmish. Now, with all of that being said, you have to get people that want to make something. We had a deal with them two days ago, and then they said, oh, we can't make that deal. We have to negotiate it further. And this is what they've done for 47 years. The difference is nobody negotiated like I do. And this should have been done by Bush and Obama and Biden and people before them, frankly. It's 47 years they've been ripping off everybody and really hurting and killing thousands of people.

So, they killed 52,000 protesters, but they killed many, many people with Soleimani, who I killed in the first term. Soleimani killed many people, many, many people. And not only killed, when you see a young former soldier walking around with no legs, no arms, a face that's been horribly, horribly hurt, that was done by Iran. That was done by Soleimani, who was a person that was very evil. He was an evil genius. He was looking to take out a lot of our military installations in Iraq and Iran, and I got him before he got us. So, we have to do what we're doing.

And the strait is open. It will be open. We've cut down their capability very substantially, but, you know, they're going to fight for a while. Our military has done a fantastic job. And, you know, the bottom line, though, and I say it to everybody, and I say it as much as they want to listen, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. If we didn't bomb them with the B-2 bomber, it's that plane right there, if we didn't bomb them, they would have had a nuclear weapon long ago, one month -- within one month from the day we bombed them, they would've had it. If we didn't do it, they would've had a nuclear weapon.

If they had a nuclear weapon, Israel would no longer be with us. The Middle East probably would no longer be with us because you saw they sent missiles to five different countries that never even knew they were involved because they're stone-cold crazy. They are crazy.

COLLINS: And you (INAUDIBLE) to get reimbursed, right?

TRUMP: And we're not going to put it up. Yes, I want to be reimbursed because we're protecting a very rich portion of the world. We're spending money. And so what we've done is we are going to be reimbursed for protection. We're protecting by the countries that we're helping. For instance, you look at the five countries. You have Saudi Arabia, you have UAE, you have Qatar, or Qatar, as I always say. You have Qatar, Bahrain. And, by the way, you have others. You have Kuwait, and you have others.

And they will do very well, but we think it's appropriate that we're -- we don't need them. You know, we have more oil than any other country in the world. When you add Venezuela, which has been amazing, when you -- which has tremendous amounts of oil that we control. When you add Venezuela and everything else, we have more than 50 percent of the world's supply. We don't need it, but we need it from the standpoint of protecting allies, et cetera, et cetera, including Israel, including Saudi Arabia, including Qatar, including UAE. We're protecting all of them, and we've done a very effective job. So, four months ago, these people had military that was very strong, by far the strongest probably in the Middle East. They were called the bully of the Middle East. Now they don't have a navy. They have 159 ships underwater. They had a total of 159 ships, now every one of them is underwater. They had 230 airplanes, attack planes. They're all gone. They're all -- they're gone.

[18:05:00]

They had tremendous radar. It's all gone. They had tremendous anti- aircraft. It's all gone. Sadly, their leadership is all gone. They had -- their first-tier leaders are all dead. Their second-tier leaders are all dead. Their third-tier leaders, who we're dealing with, more or less, some of them are already gone.

And then you read fake news, like your network, CNN, which is fake news, you read them, you have them say, well, actually, aren't they doing quite well? Let me just say, they have now inflation of over 300 percent. Four months ago, they had inflation of five percent. Now, they're at over 300, could be 350 percent.

They made a deal, they broke it, probably ten times. And they killed a lot of people. They killed our people. But the protesters, what they've done to the protesters, 52,000 -- have you ever seen any of the burial lots where they're doing, where they're burying the protesters? They killed 52,000 protesters, and on my watch, they can't do any of that.

So, we have them in a position that they don't have any military. There's not a thing they can do about it. All they have is fake news because they have the fake news would rather see us lose the war than win the war, which is really treasonous, which is really treasonous in a certain way.

So, we're doing another very major attack tonight. They want to make a deal. They came back. We made a deal two days ago, and they want to make a deal. They've been negotiating for 47 years, but nobody's ever hit them militarily. We're hitting them very hard.

Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you very much.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead.

I'm Jake Tapper, we've been listening to President Trump in the Oval Office confirming that the U.S. military launched yet another round of strikes against Iran. Trump said the U.S. is hitting Iran very hard. He said Iran broke off a planned deal. Earlier, the president also warned the U.S would strike again tomorrow. This all comes as we're learning Trump has formally notified Congress that U.S military action has resumed in Iran, all of this following a weekend full of intense strikes, and the U.S. military preparing to reinstate its blockade on Iranian ports tomorrow in the Strait of Hormuz on the president's orders.

Also, countries near Iran have found themselves caught in the middle again this morning. Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, all reporting that they responded to aerial threats.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is at the White House. And Kristen, before I come to you, I just want to say everything the president just said about CNN is completely false. Nobody at CNN is saying that Iran is doing well. And nobody at CNN is rooting for Iran to win this war. I don't know why the president continues to say these things. I don't know if he believes them, but they're all lies.

Anyway, Kristen, your reaction.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, it was clear during that, that he's frustrated and that he was trying to filibuster to not take any more questions about Iran. He said most of what we've heard him say before, that they have, they being the United States, have decimated Iran's military, that Iran wants to make a deal, that they have tried to come to the table, but that President Trump is going to continue to hit them, saying no one's ever hit them as hard as the United States is currently hitting them.

I do think, of course, as we've learned in the last couple of hours, it is notable that President Trump said that there is a new wave of attacks in Iran, and we are told by U.S. officials this is likely to go on for several days. And it goes really to what we heard last week, that a lot of this is a form of punishment. It's not just defensive strikes. It is their reaction to Iran breaking the ceasefire on multiple occasions by firing at commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, notably, he talked about this form of reimbursement, saying that these countries around Iran that use the Strait of Hormuz should be reimbursing the United States to the form of 20 percent. It should be noted that U.S. officials, including Marco Rubio, have said that any sort of toll would be very hard to impose. And at one point, U.S. officials said they wouldn't impose any kind of fee or toll on this global waterway because it is an international waterway.

So, how this would actually work, that, of course, is a question itself. And one of the things that you noted, all of the countries that you mentioned that have found them self in the middle of this war between Iran and the United States, those are also apparently the countries that President Trump says that he wants to pay a charge to get their ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

TAPPER: Kristen Holmes at the White House, thanks so much.

Joining us now to discuss, Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. He's a U.S. Army veteran, is the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Senator, good to see you, sir.

What's your reaction to the U.S. military reinstating its blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, another round of U.S strikes against Iran, the president formally declaring that military operations are back on?

SEN. JACK REED (D-RI): Well, this is one of multiple times which the president has said we have settled the fighting, and to announce a few days later that we're fighting again.

[18:10:09]

This whole situation is beyond, I think, his control at the moment in terms of some either diplomatic or military solution. We can strike and we are striking effectively Iranian targets but they still have the capability of striking targets, particularly the targets in the Persian Gulf that will be very critical to oil production and oil exportation.

So, this is something that we're in a constant sort of downward spiral despite the president claiming periodically that it's all -- he's got the deal done, et cetera. And this is causing tremendous havoc in the world economy, particularly oil markets.

So, you know, again, how many times we've heard him say, I've settled this, no one else could settle it like I did, et cetera, he has no concept, I think, of how you effectively end the fighting and also maintain the Strait of Hormuz as an international waterway.

This whole claim that he's going to charge a fee is detrimental to the whole concept of the international right of passage through waterways without local countries charging fees. And, in fact, as been pointed out, Marco Rubio essentially said, you know, we can't do that. In fact, one of the reasons we're fighting is to prevent the Iranians from doing that.

TAPPER: When CNN's Pamela Brown was aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea last week, she spoke with Captain Daniel Keeler about the role that the ship played in the initial blockade and the challenges it faced. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. DANIEL KEELER, COMMANDING OFFICER, USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN: The challenges with it is it's a lot of space. And to execute a blockade properly, you need a lot of ships. And we had quite a few destroyers. What the air wing can do to help is to find the ships. And so we did support all of the surface ships with reconnaissance flights, and then when necessary could execute some procedures to try and get the ships to turn around.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: And if you -- or disable the ship if it doesn't, and --

KEELER: Yes, in a few rare circumstances when vessels would not comply with the direction to turn around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: You're the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. How concerned are you about this blockade in terms of the strain it's putting on U.S. military resources, U.S. military personnel, and our budget in the United States?

REED: No, this is a tremendous impact on our readiness across the globe, on our posture across the globe. We have taken equipment, particularly precision weapons, out of the Pacific, which is something the Chinese seem to like. And we've also done that from South Korea. We're in a very precarious position in terms of rebuilding our stocks. And it looks now as if there'll be a continued drawdown on critical weapons systems. This is a very expensive operation, and it's detracting from other positions we have in the world.

TAPPER: Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, thank you, and thank you for your service, as always.

We're going to continue to follow the latest from the White House tonight, the U.S. launching more strikes against Iran.

Plus, just hours ago, late Senator Lindsey Graham's sister, Darline, was tapped to temporarily fill his Senate seat. The unfinished work she's going to take over, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, the newest senator from South Carolina will be the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham. Her name is Darline Graham Nordone.

Here she is this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARLINE GRAHAM NORDONE, LINDSEY GRAHAM'S SISTER: It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important work, and I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother.

Now, to Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words, but I'm going to do this. I got it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Nordone will serve in the interim role until the end of the year. Her brother's sudden passing at the age of 71 this weekend kicks off a sprint primary election to replace him on the November ballot.

And joining us now, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is also the Republican nominee for governor of South Carolina. Attorney General Wilson, good to see you.

You say the choice to appoint Nordone was a deeply meaningful one by Governor McMaster. Who do you hope represents South Carolina in the Senate next year?

ALAN WILSON (R), SOUTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, that is the decision for the people of South Carolina to make over the next four weeks as we get ready to enter a special election season that will obviously conclude on either August the 11th or August 25th. Right now, I'm going to focus on the legacy and the life of Lindsey Graham, who was a giant, a towering political figure here in South Carolina. And the further we are removed from his passing, the more impactful people are going to realize he was for the state of South Carolina.

I'm also grateful that Governor McMaster chose Darline, his sister, who I think it's very poignant, rather, that he raised her when she was a young child and was there for her when she needed him, and now she's going to be here to wrap up and his legacy and support him in his legacy as she takes the seat in the Senate that he once held.

TAPPER: Yes. For people who don't know the story, Lindsey Graham was, I think, roughly 20 or so when his parents died within 15, 16 months of each other. And Darline was about 13 or 14, and he took care of her, he raised her, he adopted her, even, became her legal guardian.

[18:20:04]

I want to talk about Senator Graham in a second, but I do want to note you know another person whose name was floated as a potential interim replacement. Your father is South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson, who posted on Twitter that he spoke with President Trump, but, quote, I assured him my goal is to remain in the House to keep his two-vote majority for the American people.

He did not rule out running for the seat in November. Is your father considering running?

WILSON: Absolutely not. I talked to dad. I saw that rumor on social media, and I called him. He was traveling back from overseas, and I caught him on a layover, and he is so thrilled to have received nearly 75 percent of the vote his last primary election, and I think he's very excited about serving the people of the Second Congressional District. He loves his job, has zero intention on running for the U.S. Senate.

TAPPER: The Senate Budget Committee, which Senator Graham was the chairman of, was in the early phases of attempting to push through part of Trump's voter I.D. bill, or the SAVE Act. As your state's attorney general, you're responsible for enforcing laws that protect voters.

You say that mail-in ballots lead to, quote, fraud and overturned election. What evidence can you provide that supports that claim?

WILSON: Well, first off, I'm proud to have supported South Carolina's first voter I.D. law and supported every voter I.D. measure you could take over the last 15 years. I've always believed that integrity of our elections is of paramount importance to the people of those respective states. I mean, if you can't guarantee that the elections are safe and secure, then people lose trust in them, and they become disengaged, disaffected, and they don't participate.

And so I don't see the harm in ensuring that people who are here legally, or that people who are voting in elections are actually here legally. Obviously, you know, we have seen over the course of elections around the country that it is possible for illegal citizens or illegal aliens to get access to the ballot box. And whether or not you can prove that it's happening in every single election, the fact that people believe that it could happen is a disincentive to people participating in the election process.

TAPPER: The biggest, most high-profile case of absentee ballot fraud that I can recall in the last decade or so is in the 2018 election in North Carolina. That was done by a Republican operative. A group of assistants were charged with illegally ballot harvesting for then- Republican Congressional Candidate Mark Harris.

But beyond that, in terms of the non-citizens voting, the right- leaning Heritage Foundation, they have a database of confirmed fraud cases, and it's fewer than 100 examples of non-citizens improperly casting ballots between 2000 and 2025. Why is this such a priority for Republicans instead of trying to make sure that as many people who are American citizens have access and can vote easily?

WILSON: Well, why are so many people opposed to it? Why is there so much skepticism and cynicism about having a law that prohibits illegal aliens from voting, even if one --

TAPPER: There is a law. But there is a law.

WILSON: Yes, but this guarantees at the federal level and continues to underscore the importance of election integrity. I don't see a problem with it. I don't see a problem with people wanting to ensure that there are safer elections.

TAPPER: South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, thank you so much, sir. I appreciate your time.

WILSON: Thank you.

TAPPER: The claws are out. The owner of a cat-themed Instagram account that regularly trolls Vice President J.D. Vance just sued the vice president and the U.S. Secret Service after she was barred from one of the V.P.'s events. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead, the Instagram creator behind the satirical account, CatsOnACouch, is suing Vice President J.D. Vance and the U.S. Secret Service. Amanda McGonigle is alleging she was banned from attending Vance's visit to Bangor, Maine, back in May. CNN has reached out to the vice president's office.

For those who have never seen CatsOnACouch videos before, here you go. You're welcome.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA MCGONIGLE, FOUNDER, CATSONACOUCH: J.D. Vance just admitted in his own book that the comments that he made about childless cat ladies was one of the dumbest things he's ever said, which if you're new here, welcome. The entire point of our Instagram account is to have more followers than J.D. Vance by the time he leaves office, to troll the (BLEEP) out of this man every single day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Amanda, let me just say, I have a cat, so I don't want you to be mad at me. Her name is Wilhelmina, and you can see her on my Instagram feed on occasion if you don't already.

So, according to the complaint, you're waiting in line to get into Vance's event in Bangor, Maine. Secret Service calls your name. They exclude you from the event, and they say, we know where you stand. What happened next?

MCGONIGLE: Yes, that is correct. I got in line just like anyone else. And from about ten paces away, five agents, including armed agents, called me out by name, said that I couldn't come in, told me that it was a private event. They knew where I stood. And at that point, I wasn't really going to argue with armed agents. And so I did get out of line and went across the street and protested with the rest of the protesters that were out there so that my voice still could be heard, even if it wasn't in the room. It was outside. And then, ultimately, my next action was to call the ACLU.

TAPPER: Did -- were you planning on disrupting the event? What chicanery was afoot if you had gotten in, if any?

MCGONIGLE: I mean, not necessarily. I was planning on being a dissenting voice, right? So, in public forums like this, even limited public forums, there is supposed to be the ability to have equal and opposite viewpoints.

[18:30:02]

And I saw plenty of people going in that would've been supporters. I wanted to be a voice of dissent. So, where other people are cheering, I'm booing, or whatever it may be. I was sporting a shirt that said, J.D. Vance cured my imposter syndrome, so like that would've been on display. But, I mean, it wasn't like a civil disobedience, anything like that. It was I wanted to be a dissenting voice in the room, as is my right.

TAPPER: And you say, the complaint says, this is not the first time you've been prevented from attending a Vice President Vance event.

MCGONIGLE: That is correct, yes. So, a few weeks prior, he had another event in Iowa, and it was publicized much like this one was. They had made a form for registration available to the public. Anyone could sign up to attend, so I did, put in all my information, waited to hear back, and as it started getting closer to the event day, I still hadn't heard anything, and so I went onto the internet to yap, as I do, and I said, you know, I still haven't gotten my confirmation that I would be allowed to attend. And that's when I started getting messages from other people in my

community who had said, oh, I got mine. I got my guest guidance. I got mine. And I was kind of like, oh, is this how I find out I'm not invited? So, that was sort of the first instance. And then, so I was honestly really surprised to get my guest guidance for Maine. But, yes, that was the second occurrence.

TAPPER: I just have to say we -- whether it's Mayor Mamdani or Congressman Brian Flood, we have repeatedly noted when politicians are willing to take hostile questions or have people who are Americans but don't necessarily agree with them at their forums. I can't believe Vice President Vance would be so frail, so brittle that he couldn't take CatsOnACouch. But Andrew McGonigle, thank you so much. I'm going to check out your Instagram feed right after this. And I hope you --

MCGONIGLE: Thank you.

TAPPER: Amanda, sorry, Amanda McGonigle. And please look at my cat, Wilhelmina, when you get a sec, and just tell me what you think of her.

MCGONIGLE: I absolutely will.

TAPPER: Okay.

MCGONIGLE: As long as you follow the account and help me meet my actual goal.

TAPPER: I will follow the account, not for political reasons, for news reasons. But I will do that.

MCGONIGLE: Okay. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

MCGONIGLE: It's good (INAUDIBLE).

TAPPER: So, we should note, we did reach out to the vice president's office. We've not heard back, and, of course, he is more than welcome to come on and talk about all the important issues, non-cat related ones.

A new video tonight from Epstein survivors trying to get the attention of every U.S. senator, they're warning just days before the confirmation hearing for the currently acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as he tries to get the permanent job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:00]

TAPPER: Our Law and Justice Lead now, New Mexico's attorney general is accusing the United States Justice Department of withholding access to unredacted files related to dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. In a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Raul Torrez argues that the lack of cooperation is making it impossible for the state of New Mexico, home to one of Epstein's properties, the so-called Zorro Ranch, to bring justice to the survivors. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez joins us now. General Torrez, thanks for joining us.

So, in your letter, you outlined six attempts from your office to reach the federal agency, but to no avail. What more can you tell us?

RAUL TORREZ (D), NEW MEXICO ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, Jake, it's been 150 days since we first sent our request to then Deputy Attorney General and now acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. We still don't have access to the unredacted and complete Epstein files. Those files are critical to the ongoing and recently reopened criminal investigation that we have underway here in New Mexico.

TAPPER: Have they given you any explanation? Have they responded at all?

TORREZ: Well, it's been a journey. We started with Main Justice. They sent us and directed us to interact with the local U.S. attorney's office. We followed that procedure and submitted what's called a Tuey letter. And, unfortunately, all we got in response from the local U.S. attorney was 31 pages of publicly released and already available material, nothing that is relevant or substantively helpful in terms of advancing our investigation.

And so what we are looking for is access from Main Justice to the entire universe of the Epstein files and the unredacted files. By their own account, some 200,000 files were redacted. We need to know what has been withheld from the public so that we can start to identify not only witnesses, but additional survivors and victims who are critical to advancing this investigation.

TAPPER: And you argue that the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, is withholding critical information. What exactly are you seeking that he is, in your words, not willing to turn over? What specifically are you looking for?

TORREZ: Well, there are thousands of references in the open source Epstein files that were disclosed pursuant to an act of Congress last year, and yet a number of those files have redactions in whole or in part that may identify not only potential suspects, but also corroborating information or potential witnesses or new leads. All of that is relevant and necessary for our investigators to build a complete picture and an accurate investigation.

TAPPER: CNN reached out to the Justice Department about this, and a spokesman responded that the DOJ reiterates that it welcomes New Mexico undertaking additional investigation of the Zorro Ranch and stands ready to provide necessary assistance with New Mexico's investigation, unquote.

[18:40:02]

What's your response to that?

TORREZ: Well, unfortunately, the rhetoric is not matched by their actions. And, you know, the disclosure of 31 pages when they are sitting on some six million documents related to Jeffrey Epstein's conduct either in the District of New Mexico, but more importantly the Southern District of New York, which asked my predecessor to stand down his prior investigation seven years ago, those are the kinds of files that we need access to.

We've been hearing these public assurances that we're going to have full cooperation and full access. That isn't happening, and I think there needs to be a lot more urgency given to this matter. State and federal law enforcement cooperation is something that we routinely rely on, and we engage with that agency on a regular basis. This is a part of the normal course of a criminal investigation, and we hope and expect full cooperation from our federal law enforcement partners.

TAPPER: New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, thank you so much for joining us.

Relatedly in our Law and Justice Lead, with just days to go until Acting Attorney General Blanche's confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate, he's been nominated to be full-time U.S. attorney -- I mean, U.S. attorney general, he is getting some renewed attention, not the kind he necessarily wants, and not just from Attorney General Torres. These billboards are now up across the states of Texas and North Carolina and Louisiana, where there are Senate races, one might observe. They're all calling on lawmakers to vote no because of Blanche's handling or mishandling of the Epstein files.

The organization behind these billboards is a group called World Without Exploitation. It's a non-profit that's also behind this PSA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name was released.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My phone number was released.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where I went to school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where I live.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My students can now search me and read about my abuse.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am an Epstein survivor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am an Epstein survivor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am an Epstein survivor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Todd Blanche failed us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He failed victims everywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We deserve better.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our country deserves better.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vote no on Todd Blanche for Attorney General.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vote no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vote no on Todd Blanche for attorney general.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Well, viewers of The Lead probably recognize a bunch of the faces as former guests on The Lead.

Rachel Foster is with us. She's the co-founder of World Without Exploitation. She joins us now. Thanks so much for being here.

RACHEL FOSTER, PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER, WORLD WITHOUT EXPLOITATION: Thank you for having me. It's not the first time you've put up billboards or run PSAs to call attention to Epstein survivors. This is the first time you've done it saying that Todd Blanche shouldn't be confirmed as attorney general. How effective have these PSA campaigns been in the past?

FOSTER: They've been quite effective at allowing survivors to reach the public. It's often hard in certain jurisdictions to get their voices heard. They've been on your show, and they've really had help amplifying their message, which is that this is not political. These are sex crimes. There's been a travesty in justice in how files were released and how their identifying information was released that caused them grave harm, but they're not reaching all parts of this country.

And we've put these billboards in Louisiana, in North Carolina, and in Texas to reach those constituents so they could reach out to their senators and express what they believe would be a travesty of justice if Todd Blanche were to become the attorney general.

TAPPER: So, make your case as quickly as you can. Why shouldn't he be attorney general? I mean, his supporters might say, look, he's doing everything he can, he's released more than 3 million documents, yes, there were mistakes. This is me playing devil's advocate. Yes, there were mistakes in the redactions, but they were -- you know, because there were so many documents, and the other documents that haven't been released are duplicative. That's what they say.

FOSTER: Right. Well, we know that the lawyers and the survivors gave over the names of Jane Does of victims whose names needed to be redacted to protect their privacy. I was with a Jane Doe today who never would've come forward had her identifying information not been released.

Todd Blanche was in charge of overseeing the release. There's 6 million files. So, there are 3 million files not to be released. He's also said there are no investigative leads, which we factually know is untrue. We need to be able to have, in our justice system, victims of crimes able to come forward and feel like their information will be protected.

It creates a chilling effect. He's been at the helm of this. This is not merely a botched release. There's been the names of perpetrators protected, and the victims have been absolutely harmed. There were nude photos released. That's unconscionable. There were names of actual victims under one release that said, victims of Jeffrey Epstein, where there was one redaction, so we know 33 names were released and the document was touched.

[18:45:05]

There was ample opportunity to get this right, and this is a watershed moment. If he's a attorney general, it sends a message that our Justice Department, first of all, is politicized and that what we don't care about is victim safety and their ability to get accountability for crimes that happen to them And they are as a whole completely not political.

TAPPER: So I'm just a humble caveman, but it seems to me like you need 50 votes to get confirmed, right, plus one if the vice if there's a tie in the vice president although right now, they're missing McConnell because he's in the hospital Lindsey Graham died, but in any case, North Carolina retiring senator Tom Tillis Louisiana retiring Senator Bill Cassidy who was defeated not willingly return to John Cornyn.

So, you're -- are you going for those three?

FOSTER: And we have John Kennedy also.

TAPPER: John Kennedy, also, right.

FOSTER: Yeah, and that is who we're going --

TAPPER: Those are the four you're talking?

FOSTER: Those are the ones we're targeting, and that's why we picked those jurisdictions.

TAPPER: What about Susan Collins in Maine?

FOSTER: Well, I think what our understanding is as -- that the ones we've just named are the ones that we really need to focus on and who their constituents need to focus on.

We have a petition on our website, worldwithoutexploitation.org that's petition to the Senate Judiciary Committee. We have thousands of signatures. It's important that they hear from their constituents.

TAPPER: Yeah, okay. Rachel Foster, thank you so much. Good to see you.

FOSTER: Good to see you. Thank you. TAPPER: Trump's disdain for the freedom of the press just reached new heights. His latest legal crusade that you should concern any democracy loving American. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:35]

TAPPER: In our politics lead, President Trump has made some big claims about rights given us in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution the freedom of speech and yes, the freedom of the press.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We want total freedom of the press. It's very important to me. It's more important to me than anybody would believe.

If we don't have free speech, then we just don't have a free country. It's as simple as that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Well, Mr. First Amendment has turned out to be anything but. We have seen the president target free speech. Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert come to mind.

But his disdain for freedom of the press is even more direct, doesn't go through oligarchs. Friday, the Trump Justice Department took the outrageous step of subpoenaing four "New York Times" journalists after their report on safety concerns over the president's Qatari-gifted Air Force One plane.

And today, President Trump's defense secretary announced a joint task force with the Justice Department to, quote, "identify and prosecute leakers".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: To leak sensitive national defense information and secrets betrays the men and women who wear our nation's uniform. Leaked information risks lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: It's a good point.

I know of one leak that put our brave pilots at risk, Secretary Hegseth. You might want to read this Pentagon inspector general report from 2025, quote, "Evaluation of the secretary of defense's reported use of a commercially available messaging application, quote, "Secretary Hegseth actions created a risk to operational security that could have resulted in failed U.S. mission objectives and potential harm to U.S. pilots," unquote.

So, Mr. Trump, if you're concerned about leaks within your government have at it. I got it -- there's a guy right there named Hegseth.

But going after reporters, it's just downright un-American and it's just the latest in a string of deeply concerning escalations.

The White House barred "Associated Press" reporters from the Air Force One and Oval Office meetings because the "A.P" did not change their style to call the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America. Remember, the "A.P." is read all over the world and we're the only ones that called the Gulf of America.

The Pentagon tried to impose broad restrictions and reporters, barring them from the building if they didn't agree to them. Both restrictions have been challenged in court President Trump personally has filed civil lawsuits against many media organizations for reporting he says is false, including against ABC, CBS, CNN, "The New York Times," "The Wall Street Journal", the BBC. He cut funding for public radio stations NPR and for public television PBS for being, quote, "radical left monsters that are so badly hurt our country," unquote.

This January, the FBI executed a search warrant of a "Washington Post" reporter's home over a leak investigation and in May, the president called reporters treasonous for doing our jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We've had a total victory except like people like you that don't write the truth, you know? You should write. I actually think it's sort of treasonous what you write. But you and "The New York Times" and CNN I would say are the worst.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: He said that just a few minutes ago by the way in the Oval Office. Soon, senators are going to be voting on the attorney general nomination of Todd Blanche. Todd Blanche, the acting head of the Justice Department, clearly part of this assault on the press. This administration believes in pardoning January 6 extremists who beat up police officers while they subpoena journalists for doing our jobs.

Is the Senate about to sanction this crackdown?

We're watching, so is history.

My panel joins me -- joins me now.

Now, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, you are with "The New York Times", as well as we're lucky enough to have you here at CNN.

How chilling was it for you to hear about your colleagues being subpoenaed?

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's extremely chilling. I mean, the executive editor Joe Kahn of "The New York Times" said it was a naked attempt to intimidate the press.

Let's remember what it is that we are talking about here -- the public's right to know. What do we do as journalists? We report on issues that we feel the public needs to understand so they can be well-informed. And we weigh that of course against national security concerns and other concerns.

But at the end of the day, this is an unprecedented assault on that very important, constitutionally protected role that "The New York Times" has that we as journalists have.

TAPPER: And let's be very clear, this is about bullying us --

[18:55:01]

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah.

TAPPER: -- so that we don't report things that they don't want us to report. No one wants to get anybody killed, but this is about reporting things that the public has a right to know.

LEIGH ANN CALDWELL, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, PUCK NEWS: Yeah, absolutely. It's about intimidation. It's about trying to make reporters nervous or scared about what they report. If you write -- if you're planning to write a tough story about the administration, the emails from attorneys start coming into your inbox. They are already start the process to try to intimidate you to soften the story.

It is something that happens on a daily basis. It's something that has happened to me and it's an intimidation tactic for sure.

There's another hearing that's coming up this week of Jay Clayton to be head of the Director of National Intelligence. He is the one who signed those subpoenas for those for "New York Times" reporters. And so, the Senate will have an opportunity to question him in that hearing this week. We'll see if they do.

I'm sure Democrats will bring it up, but it's going to be up to Republicans on if he is confirmed or not.

TAPPER: And we should note, the -- remembered President Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS which ended up in this settlement. Today, a federal judge said President Trump acted in bad faith and sought to quote manipulate the judicial process because he was both suing the IRS and also runs the IRS and now the judge is ordering sanctions for the attorneys involved in the lawsuit and is ordering that her opinion be submitted to attorney disciplinary boards in New York and D.C.

What's your reaction?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I mean, essentially what this judge is saying is that the DOJ was colluding with the White House in this sort of agreement and said what I think we all kind of understood and knew which is that this 1.776, that number, that's a billion dollar fund -- that slush fund was basically a public relations sort of gambit and not a real settlement.

And so, she completely excoriated it and it comes on the back of what has been Repeated sort of setbacks for the DOJ, for the Trump administration when they come against judges and they try to push these things forward. They have been roundly rejected in many of their attempts.

TAPPER: And we should know the end that the judge's order could now undermine Trump's attempt to use the settlement as a possible defense in court, which means it's possible that a future administration could bring claims against Trump or his family or his businesses because there had been this concept of a perpetual pardon for anything they do that might violate tax laws.

CALDWELL: Yeah, what the president has tried to do is to protect himself and protect his family. He's already pardoning and protecting people who work for him who are around him has been a huge priority for this administration on all different fronts and this just falls into that and we'll see where this case goes. Getting back to the confirmation process, Todd Blanche, of course, is the interim attorney general right now.

He's -- has a confirmation hearing this week. Tom Tillis a Republican senator says that making sure that the anti weaponization fund is completely obsolete is a huge priority of his. We'll see what Todd Blanche says about all of this before the Senate on Wednesday

TAPPER: One of the things I always find says troubling about all of this is that it's almost as if Republicans don't understand That there will be a Democratic president again and the Democratic House and the Democratic Senate, who knows when? Two years, 10 years, 20 years, whatever, it will happen.

And standards eroded don't come back, you know, new powers grabbed, the next president uses them even more. I mean what's to stop a President Graham Platner from a -- bad example -- but whatever.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Bad example.

TAPPER: What's to stop the president Graham Platner, who knows what's going to happen, from -- you know, doing all of this stuff against Fox or against "The Wall Street Journal"?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I mean, this is the thing, right? It's what goes around comes around and there seems to be some amnesia about that, just some sense that they can do whatever they want. But they're being led in this by the president of the United States.

We know very clearly the president Trump is the one who called in the FBI to talk, you know, to the head of the FBI, to launch these subpoenas against "The New York Times" journalist. We know that this is -- a lot of this is being directed by President Trump and he seems to feel that he has complete impunity and so, the Republicans follow him at their peril.

TAPPER: All right. Thanks to both you appreciate it.

In the health lead, Michigan health officials say this sort of the parasite causing thousands of people to get a nasty stomach bug. That's our euphemism, maybe lettuce or salad greens. They're still worrying -- working to nail that down so far. Then only Michigan and Ohio reporting cases but they are tracking more than 3,000 of them, 46 people had to go to the hospital health officials say. The search has been complicated because the parasite can take weeks to trace and food borne illness tracking has faced recent cuts at the CDC. Nice work

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X and on the TikTok @jaketapper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram @TheLeadCNN. If you ever missed an espied of THE LEAD, you can watch the show in the CNN app.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now. Take it away, Erin.