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The Lead with Jake Tapper

DOJ Drops Case Against Olympian Accused Of Damaging Reflecting Pool; Officials Say, U.S. Planning Strikes On Iran As Soon As This Weekend; Wall Street Journal Details Trump's Quest For Cash To Fund Certain Projects; Record-Breaking Temps Forecast Across The Western U.S.; FBI: Cyberattack Targeted Water Systems In Several U.S. States. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired July 31, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: And welcome to The Lead. I'm Pamela Brown in for Jake Tapper.

And we are following breaking news tonight. Moments ago, the Justice Department moved to drop the criminal charges against the former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. Prosecutors admitted the $14 million installation was rushed and flawed.

[18:00:03]

Joining us now is CNN's Katelyn Polantz and CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig.

Katelyn, let's start with you. This is a big admission by the Justice Department.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: A big admission on two fronts, Pam. One is that they are now saying that this pool liner, it was damaged because it was installed incorrectly. And the reason it was installed incorrectly was because the Trump administration was rushing for a pool liner to be placed on the bottom of the Reflecting Pool as they were awaiting the July 4th 250th celebration on the National Mall. They wanted it to be done in time. And so it was rushed, the installation was bad, and there was damage throughout that liner that the Trump administration had on the bottom of the Reflecting Pool.

The second admission that they're making -- now that was already quite a big change in posture by the administration to admit that their installation was wrong. The second thing they're doing is they are dropping a criminal case, a felony charge, against David Hearn, the former Olympic canoeist. He lives up in Maryland, very close to Washington, D.C., and he had visited the National Mall.

There were witnesses the Justice Department brought into the grand jury who were Park Police, employees of the federal government, who had said that they witnessed Hearn tearing at that Reflecting Pool. He had been charged with a felony because they said the damage was so significant, it amounted to more than $1,000 that he caused. Now, they're entirely reversing that and saying that after the Reflecting Pool was drained in recent days, the Justice Department went back to look at it. They've already indicted Hearn. They already have alleged that he was the person causing this. He was a vandal.

But then they went back to look at exactly what was the bottom of that pool looked like after there was water drained from it, after the July 4th celebration, and Pirro's office determined it looked like there was damage throughout. They didn't realize how extensive it was, and the Department of Interior then backed them up with some more information saying the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism, not Davey Hearn's fault.

We got a statement from Hearn's attorney, Norm Eisen, just a few minutes ago. He says, the Trump administration's case against Davey Hearn should never have been brought. Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong. The government's approach was ready, aim fire, and the administration owes him an apology. Pamela?

BROWN: Elie Honig, what do you make of this development?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Pam, I think you could see the problems with this case right away. I wrote a piece for New York Magazine, I said on air that there were some reasons to doubt the validity of this case. I did not expect it to unravel so quickly.

It's a real embarrassment, first of all, for the United States Justice Department. Let's remember, first they arrest David Hearn, they charge him initially by complaint with a misdemeanor, then they upgrade it to a felony. They get a grand jury to indict him for that felony, and then Jeanine Pirro holds a press conference where she's pounding the podium and talking about what a serious crime this is and how justice will be done. And now it turns out they dismissed the case voluntarily.

And what DOJ is saying in the statement that we've received is that, well, we didn't get the full information about the state of the pool from the Interior Department until after we charged. But that's no excuse at all. It's your job as a prosecutor to get the relevant information first. You don't charge first and then figure it out. You get the information first and then charge.

So, it's a true embarrassment for Jeanine Pirro, it's a true embarrassment for DOJ, and they brought it on themselves.

BROWN: So, explain more about why it matters if the pool was already damaged or not, because, the case was made before that he, you know, he reached in and pulled it up and everything. What is the relevance of the fact that now they're saying, well, this wasn't the only area where it was damaged, and so therefore we're going to drop these charges?

HONIG: So, the actual felony charge that DOJ brought here requires prosecutors to show that the defendant caused over $1,000 worth of damage. One of the points that the defense had made is if this liner was already destroyed, then it's worthless, then you can't cause $1,000 worth of damage. To make a rough analogy, if you already have a window that's already broken and then someone throws a rock through it, he hasn't damaged it anymore because it's already useless.

So, this actually doesn't even get to the point of whether David Hearn reached into the pool and ripped something up or not. Regardless, either way, they're not going to be able to show that he caused $1,000 of damage even if he did rip it up, because now according to the government's own admissions, the pool was already destroyed, the liner of the pool was already destroyed. And it doesn't really matter whether he reached in there and ripped it or reached in there and just touched it or did nothing at all. If you can't show the $1,000, you can't make your felony charge.

[18:05:01]

BROWN: But like couldn't you just go and see that it was already an issue, that it was already destroyed? Like you don't even -- I mean, I don't know. I had been down there and it didn't look so great.

HONIG: A halfway decent investigation would've done just that, Pam. There obviously was a mad rush to do this case. Jeanine Pirro obviously oversold it dramatically at that press conference, and this is the consequence of that.

BROWN: Katelyn, what else are you learning from the court documents?

POLANTZ: You know, Pamela, one of the things that's happening in these court documents is there is a recitation from the U.S. attorney's office, Janine Pirro, the U.S. attorney, the Justice Department in D.C., where they are pointing fingers at a host of other people in the government, including the government contractors that completed this work, and also the Department of Interior and others, where her office is essentially saying they just didn't realize the extent of the damage, and they didn't have documents until after they were looking at this and building this case against David Hearn.

They actually say that they received documents about the installation of this Reflecting Pool from the Department of Interior only a couple days ago, after July 17th, when they went back to Interior. Now, that's maybe two weeks after Hearn was indicted. They clearly didn't have a full record at the time they indicted him. And they then walk through all of the ways that they learned that people were realizing there were issues with this Reflecting Pool liner as it was being installed throughout the month of May.

One of the notes here was that some of this was noticed by a quality control inspector in late May, who saw blistering in finished portions of the liner, and said that it needed repairs at that time. That was well before Davey Hearn and others ever got to the mall to take a look at that liner coming up.

They also are pointing, the Justice Department is pointing to other stuff that was happening in Washington for the 250th celebration, including at one point in this filing, she's writing, or her team is writing, of prosecutors, saying that some of the equipment and the crews that were working on the Reflecting Pool, they had to be moved over to the White House grounds because of the UFC fight that Donald Trump was hosting there.

I don't know if I've ever seen an autopsy of what was happening between branches of the government like this in a filing, just putting it out there, but it is a filing where the Justice Department, once they got this sort of information, would've needed to come clean because the evidence just wasn't there to prosecute Davey Hearn for felony vandalism.

BROWN: And, Elie, you noted this, that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro came out strong when announcing the charges earlier this month with that press conference. I want to play a little bit of what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANINE PIRRO, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: There was an effort, a violent effort to rip up the sealant from the bottom of the pool.

We can state and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he caused damage, and that damage is over $1,000.

REPORTER: Keying in on that, how do you prove that $1,000 --

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've got that evidence. Come on in the grand jury, you can testify. Next.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Elie, what's your reaction?

HONIG: Okay, this is how not to prosecute 101. First of all, do not hold a press conference for a nothing, little case. Second of all, do not overstate your evidence. And, third of all, to the point that Kaitlan just made, do your work first. Do your investigation first.

It's ridiculous now that the U.S. attorney's office is saying, well, it's Interior's fault. Well, it's this person's fault. Well, it's that fault. We didn't know this. They didn't tell us that. That's your job as a prosecutor. You don't charge a person with a felony, which could have locked him up, the max here would've been ten years had he been convicted. You don't charge a person with a felony until you know what you're talking about.

And if Jeanine Pirro thinks that it's somehow taking blame off her office to say, well, there's all these other things out there that we weren't told, she's wrong. She's actually putting the blame on herself because they didn't know this stuff, they didn't figure out before they indicted. That's how they should have done it.

BROWN: Elie Honig, Katelyn Polantz, thank you both.

And up next, President Trump calls her the, quote, princess of darkness, and a killer. We're diving into a new Wall Street Journal story that offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look into Trump's unprecedented fundraising operation and the woman who runs it.

[18:10:02]

Plus, President Trump meeting with his top advisers at Camp David and making it clear he doesn't think the war with Iran will end soon. We're live at the White House and in the Middle East in just moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: In the World Lead breaking news, the United States is planning fresh strikes on Iran as soon as this weekend, and this just after President Trump's spectacle of a cabinet meeting at Camp David, where he vented about the negotiators making him, quote, angry.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is at the White House and CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Jerusalem.

Kevin, I want to start with you. This is your reporting. What else have you learned about these strikes?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And the president, when he was up at Camp David today, did preview that he would be renewing these heavy strikes against Iran. Now, what we don't know right now is what the scope of these strikes will be and what the potential targets are. And I think it's important to note that the pendulum has kind of swung for President Trump between threatening escalation, between trying to get diplomacy back up and running. But it is evident that in his mind, that diplomacy is just not working at the moment.

And we know that behind the scenes, Central Command has been preparing a number of options for the president if he decides to give the final order. [18:15:08]

One is an attack on energy sites, including potentially refineries. We also know that CENTCOM has developed a two-week plan of heavy bombardment to go after Iranian missile sites. And as well we know that one of the options would be to go after Pickaxe Mountain, that suspected Iranian nuclear site where Israeli intelligence suggests centrifuges are buried under 400 feet of solid rock.

Now, the president today did try and give an indication of where precisely he thought all of this was going. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: They'll get weaker. They'll get a little stronger maybe now, but they'll get weaker and then they peter out.

We'll be hitting them very hard. And, you know, at some point, they're going to say, we just can't take it anymore.

I'm losing faith in them because they do lie and they do misrepresent.

All they do is make me angry, you know?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, those misgivings he has about the negotiations echo what I have heard from officials behind the scenes. They are worried that the Revolutionary Guard are calling the shots in Iran, not the political leaders that the U.S. has been negotiating with. That has led to concerns that this war will just be dragged on and on, and that's part of the reason why the president, in his words, is ordering up these new strikes to try and shake loose some concessions.

Now, we did just get a statement from the White House from Karoline Leavitt about new strikes over the weekend. She said that Trump would not stand by and allow this terrorist behavior to occur, and she said that Iran will continue to pay until they come to the table in what President Trump deems a meaningful way. Pam?

BROWN: And also, Kevin, Trump touched today on the war in Gaza. Hamas has agreed to give up their weapons so long as Israel upholds its end of the agreement. Tell us more about what he said.

LIPTAK: Yes. And he's framing this as a major diplomatic coup, and if it comes through, that is true, it would be that. But there are a lot of questions about both Israel's commitment to this deal and about Hamas' willingness to uphold where it stands in all of this.

Now, officials and President Trump say that they have worked in lockstep with Israel to get this deal agreed to. Here's what Trump said on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have an understanding with Israel. Israel's very happy about it.

Now, will it go through its ups and downs? It's a very complex situation over there. The people are very complex and difficult, in many cases, wonderful, in many cases, not so wonderful. But that will be a -- it's a great breakthrough. Nobody's ever thought that would -- nobody thought that would be possible to disarm Hamas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, when it comes to Israel's participation in this, American officials are making clear exactly what they expect out of Israel. What one U.S. official said was that if Israel did not meet its commitments, that President Trump would be very disappointed. And I do not think the Israelis would want to escalate things with us right now. An implicit acknowledgement of just how strained things have become between President Trump and the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

BROWN: So, Jeremy, I want to bring you in. You're actually in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu's been radio silent on this. What are your sources telling you about where he stands on this agreement?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Pam. We haven't heard anything from the Israeli prime minister about this, and a source familiar with the matter tells us that we're unlikely to hear the prime minister publicly disagree with this deal that has now emerged.

But that being said, we've seen across the Israeli political spectrum, and certainly within Netanyahu's own government, a concern about this agreement, a belief that it doesn't go far enough in terms of putting Hamas truly out of power and disarming Hamas. Israeli officials had previously said that they wanted to see any weapons from Hamas taken out of the Gaza Strip or destroyed entirely, not stored away under the control of a Palestinian technocratic government as is the case in this plan.

And what's important to note here is that any progress on Hamas' disarmament as agreed to in this agreement is contingent upon Israel taking steps first to move forward and allow for that disarmament to take place.

I spoke today with a senior Hamas official who told me that they're not going to begin the process of disarming until Israel first abides by its commitments under this ceasefire agreement. That includes stopping the near-daily airstrikes that we have seen in Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect nearly ten months ago, killing more than 1,200 people. It also means pulling Israeli troops back to the yellow line as agreed to in October.

As you know, Pam, over the last several months, Israel has been slowly taking over more territory inside of Gaza. And in the latest indication of how difficult this process is going to be moving forward, one Israeli official telling us today that Israeli troops will not move in Gaza, will not withdraw away from the current version of the yellow line until Hamas disarms. [18:20:16]

That's putting things the opposite way that Hamas says this agreement should move forward, and also, frankly, U.S. and Board of Peace officials making clear that there are a number of steps that Israel must take in order for this disarmament process to begin. Pam?

BROWN: All right. Jeremy Diamond, Kevin Liptak, thank you both.

And turning to our Politics Lead, stunning new insight into President Trump's quest for cash to fund his pet projects. The boss wants this money. Inside Trump's unprecedented fundraising operation. This is new reporting from The Wall Street Journal shedding light on President Trump's aggressive pursuit of million dollar checks from donors and major companies.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump gets his fundraiser, Meredith O'Rourke, to quote wring hundreds of millions of dollars for his projects, projects such as the White House ballroom, his planned presidential library, and much more.

So, let's get more analysis from The Wall Street Journal -- more analysis from The Wall Street Journal shows Trump has raised more than 800 million since returning to office, and Wall Street Journal Reporter Josh Dawsey, who has been part of this reporting, he joins us now.

So, Josh, you and your colleagues wrote that Trump calls O'Rourke the, quote, princess of darkness because she's such a killer with donors. Explain her role in all of this and how Trump is involved -- and how involved Trump is.

JOSH DAWSEY, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: So, Meredith O'Rourke is the president's chief fundraiser and has been raising money for all of his different entities MAGA Inc., his main political arm, the ballroom, the library, various other pet projects that he has around Washington. And she is someone who has really come to the president's inner circle. She talks to him almost every day. She attends most of his meetings at his golf courses with donors. She's in the White House nonstop.

She's someone who has played an integral role in really boosting his fundraising compared to the last term. Basically, what we wanted to do here, Pam, is explain what a staggering operation this is, how many companies are being hit up for $25, $50 million or more, how many lobbyists are being hit up and why people are giving.

I mean, frankly, people use the word unprecedented pretty often, and sometimes it's, I think, maybe not warranted. But the amount of money here being raised by a second-term president is truly unprecedented. We've never seen this amount of money for this many projects being raised from corporate America in the way that it's being raised right now.

BROWN: And there's no real limit, right, for how much money Trump himself can raise? DAWSEY: No, he can raise as much as he wants for as many committees, you know, as he wants, and that's what he's doing. He has, you know, political nonprofits. He has his political main group, MAGA Inc. He has all of his various projects. We don't even know really how much he's raised.

My colleagues and I sort of are able to total at least $800 million since the beginning of the second term. But there's a lot of money that we haven't also seen yet, so you have to imagine the total is significantly higher, and our sources tell us it is significantly higher.

BROWN: And in response to your reporting, Josh, the White House referred requests to Danielle Alvarez. She's an outside spokeswoman for Trump and O'Rourke, and she said the president is, quote, the most successful fundraiser in modern political history, and that Trump plans to use the money to help Republicans win big in the midterms, build an enduring political infrastructure, and continue advancing innovative private sector initiatives. One thing has never changed. President Trump can't be bought.

So, how much money is going to projects, like the White House ballroom, versus money for, say, the upcoming midterms?

DAWSEY: Well, he has more than four hundred million dollars in an account for the upcoming midterms. But you're hearing some concern among Republicans as they haven't seen a plan to spend it yet. He doesn't have to spend all of that money on the midterms. He, in fact, could not spend all of it on the midterms. He could spend it on other things.

You have more than $325, $350 million that we know of, money that's been raised, you know, for the ballroom. There's probably even more than that we don't know. And then you have, you know, the Freedom 250 as sort of tribute at the White House. We have the library that he's raising, a 50-storey building down in Florida. You have all sorts of construction projects across the city.

And what we heard was that time and time again, companies are just getting hit up repeatedly for $2 million for this, $5 million for this, $10 million for this. You know, some companies have been huge asks. Chevron, for example, was asked to give $50 million dollars.

Other companies like Meta have given $10. Some companies, SoftBank, has given $50 million to the library, $25 million from others. I mean, these are pretty big numbers. And Meredith O'Rourke and the president are going systematically around corporate America and asking money for a lot of things.

And people understand in corporate America how powerful this president has been. He's controlling every aspect of the government. He's controlling every regulatory agency different than last time.

[18:25:02]

And, you know, for some of these folks, getting in the room is important to them.

Now, that said, if Democrats win the House in November, you hear increasingly concerning, particularly from the public companies of, are we going to get subpoenaed? Are our executives going to be dragged on the Hill to testify? And there's, you know, a lot of questions on that front as well.

BROWN: Josh Dawsey, excellent reporting. Thank you so much.

Coming up, one of President Obama's top lawyers who knew Jeffrey Epstein told House lawmakers she had doubts about some of the accusations from one of Epstein's most prominent victims. We'll talk to the victim's family next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: In our Law and Justice Lead, former Obama White House Counsel and Goldman Sachs General Counsel Kathy Ruemmler told house investigators that some of Virginia Giuffre's allegations, quote, lacked inherent credibility.

[18:30:00]

Giuffre was one of Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent accusers who said she was sexually abused as a teenager. Giuffre died by suicide in 2025.

Ruemmler says she regrets her past interactions with Epstein and told lawmakers she did not know whether Giuffre was a victim while saying she was skeptical of certain claims.

Joining us now are Sky Roberts, Virginia Giuffre's brother, and Amanda Roberts, her sister-in-law. Thank you both for coming on.

Sky, first to you. How are you doing, and how do you respond to Ruemmler's comments?

SKY ROBERTS, VIRGINIA GIUFFRE'S BROTHER: Yes. Well, thank, thank you for having us. And we're doing okay. We just got back from D.C. advocating. But in terms of the response to her, it was quite surprising to actually see that come through.

I mean, the -- I don't really have to sit here and defend anything. Virginia's been proven to be a truth-teller time and time again. The files are more than damning for Ruemmler. You know, I have one literally sitting right in front of me, and so if I had to respond, I would just read her own words, which is, preparation, get her to say things she has already said, and then impeach her with a document that proves otherwise.

The age issue is perfect for that. In response, Epstein says, since V.R. gets deposed on the 3rd, how does Laura set a perjury trap? So, clearly, they were conspiring from the beginning to try to get Virginia to be you know, in one way, shape, or form, you know, discredited, yes. So, I mean, I don't think we have to sit here and defend her. I think, if anything, it's quite -- you know, it's quite gross that she would sit here and make comments about somebody that isn't here to defend herself.

BROWN: And a representative for Ruemmler said that she had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal activity with Epstein.

And, Amanda, you have said this goes beyond just a relationship with Epstein, that there was an effort by Ruemmler to undermine survivors. If you would, just expand on that. What do you want people to understand?

AMANDA ROBERTS, VIRGINIA GIUFFRE'S SISTER-IN-LAW: I think it's very clear. When we look through the files and we look through the conversations, it was very aware. Like Ruemmler was aware of the accusations against Jeffrey Epstein, and immediately went into discredit and defamation mode. It's a typical tactic that abusers use to try to discredit and defame survivors. And time and time again, when we look at the court cases that Virginia has won, it just -- it shows itself.

I mean, we have 3.5 million files sitting at the Department of Justice right now with so many leads and so many survivors came forward. We really need to break through them because it's not just about Jeffrey Epstein, it's about all the enablers, people like Ruemmler who may have known, who sat down and knew the case from point A to point B, and could corroborate survivors. It's time to stop acting like we don't know what happened here, and tell the truth. Stand up for survivors. What do you have to lose? Survivors have already lost everything.

BROWN: Sky, have you spoken with other survivors since those comments came out? And what has their reaction been, if so?

S. ROBERTS: Yes. I mean, we were in D.C. It was just -- I guess I'm losing track of days, but a couple of days ago. And we were in the room with them when this comment came out. And to be honest with you, it was a bit laughable. I think everybody was like, really? Like that's what she's trying to come after? She's another person connected to Epstein trying to challenge Virginia's credibility.

I mean, there is nothing more that needs to be said for Virginia. Her legacy is intact in being a truth teller. I think the only person that needs to defend themselves at this point is Ruemmler.

BROWN: And Sky, Ruemmler told House lawmakers that Goldman Sachs looked into her association with Epstein at least three times since 2023. Earlier this year, she stepped down as general counsel, but that she still has this advisory role with the company. What do you make of that?

S. ROBERTS: Well, I don't think they looked hard enough, because there is plenty of evidence inside of there that points to Ruemmler having a very vast amount of knowledge of what Jeffrey Epstein was doing. And I'm not sitting here to accuse anybody of anything, but I think the files speak for themselves. And if Goldman Sachs really wanted to do the right thing, they should kick her off. They should do that right now.

BROWN: Right. And, again, her attorney, Jennifer Connelly, a spokesperson for Ruemmler said in a statement, as Ms. Ruemmler told the committee, she had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal activity by Epstein, and there is not a shred of evidence to suggest otherwise. So, that is what her spokesperson is saying in response to all of this.

Finally, you know, as we sit here and there are still files that have not been released, what is your message right now to the Justice Department, Amanda?

A. ROBERTS: Stop withholding justice. Stop withholding justice for the survivors. It is in your hands to do the right thing. We know that there are crimes that we can prosecute today because there is evidence in those files.

[18:35:03]

We know that. Stop withholding justice.

And let's go all the way back to the FBI and find out why. Why were these enablers, why were these other predators not prosecuted, not charged? And then let's do the right thing this time. We have an opportunity to do the right thing, provide justice for Epstein survivors, but also for survivors all over the world.

BROWN: All right, Sky and Amanda Roberts, thank you so much for your time.

A dramatic scene playing out as thousands of migrants overwhelm border police. President Trump weighing in on this crisis today, even though it's taking place on the other side of the world. What you need to know up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: In our World Lead, a crisis in a place you probably never knew existed, drawing worldwide attention, including from President Trump. Ceuta is a Spanish enclave in North Africa.

[18:40:00]

It's across the Strait of Gibraltar at the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea. It is not connected to Spain at all, but to Morocco, and normally home to about 84,000 people.

Well, yesterday alone, nearly 50,000 migrants arrived by land and sea, overwhelming border guards. And then today, authorities said most of the 50,000 have been sent back home.

As we said, President Trump noticed this border crossing and used it to make a case for border security here in the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You know, I saw Spain yesterday, and I watched the catastrophe that took place. It was a -- it looks like an invasion of a country by hundreds of thousands of people. And that same thing's going to happen to us if the Republicans don't get elected.

If we're not in office, our country will be invaded at levels that made Spain look small time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN's Nada Bashir has more on the crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This was the chaotic scene on Ceuta's coast on Thursday as tens of thousands of migrants stormed the border separating the tiny Spanish territory and Morocco.

Thousands are said to have braved the sea in a desperate attempt to reach the enclave's coastline, some even climbing through barbed wire. Many of them were young men, seen here celebrating. Two hours at sea, he says, pulling his little brother close.

But among them are also families, women and children seeking a better life in Europe. This man stops in a moment of prayer, relief mixed with exhaustion.

The crossing, while short, is far from an easy feat, and not all were successful. Many are reported to have been killed in the perilous endeavor, an all too familiar fate for migrants searching for salvation across seas. The reason behind the surge in migrants attempting to illegally cross Ceuta's border is not immediately clear, although Spain's prime minister has accused human trafficking rings of exploiting a Supreme Court ruling issued in July which prohibits Spanish authorities from immediately returning migrants who arrive by sea without due process.

I understand why they come. They're told that there's a future in Spain, that there are jobs here, this young man, a migrant already living in Spain says. And the truth is there are. But when they arrive, they're faced with the harsh reality that they have nothing and people treat them as if they were nobodies.

And it is not long before that harsh reality becomes apparent. Thousands of migrants are reported to have already made their way back into Morocco, according to the Spanish government, some returning through the border crossing under the careful watch of Spanish troops, others crawling through breached fences along the coast.

Additional troops were deployed to Ceuta, according to Spain's Interior Ministry, to help respond to the crisis. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez vowing on Friday to dedicate additional state resources to guarantee the region's security.

PEDRO SANCHEZ, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER: Ceuta is a Spanish city, and what happened yesterday deserves our full reproach, our full condemnation at the strongest possible level of rejection, condemnation, and consideration as deplorable the violation and the attack on the territorial integrity of a Spanish city, namely the city of Ceuta.

BASHIR: But the prime minister is also facing backlash for his longstanding open arms approach to immigration, allowing migrants access to all of Europe. His Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, has called for Spain to be expelled from the E.U.'s visa-free travel zone. France's interior minister, meanwhile, has pledged to strengthen the country's border with Spain.

And while the summer months have long proven a key pressure point in Europe's efforts to secure its borders, this latest crisis is further galvanizing the right in its hard line approach to tackling illegal migration.

Nada Bashir, CNN in London.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And our thanks to Nada for that report.

Well, tonight, U.S. officials are warning about hackers getting into city water systems in a massive cyber attack. It's affecting at least six states in the U.S. with one potential goal of contaminating drinking water. We are breaking down everything we know about this attack up next.

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[18:48:28]

BROWN: In our weather lead, a dangerous heat dome will roast much of the West this weekend, bringing the hottest temperatures of the summer so far and the threat of record-breaking numbers.

CNN's Derek Van Dam has more

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DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Our large and expansive heat wave continues to impact much of the western U.S. The National Weather Service has hoisted these extreme heat alerts for over 50 million Americans. Get this. We could have over a dozen U.S. states west of the Rockies that experience daytime record highs either tied or broken in the days to come.

This heat wave will peak this weekend and really continue across the Desert Southwest as we head into the early parts of next week. Notice a little bit of cooling across the Pacific Northwest. That's thanks to a weak cold front, but unfortunately that is going to help pick up the winds in some of the wildfire prone areas.

Remember, we've been talking about wildfire activity east of the Cascades across the state of Washington into Oregon. Yeah, unfortunately, we have extreme fire conditions forecast on Saturday out in advance of that cold front.

You can see temperatures. Quite a difference between Boise, Idaho, and Seattle, Washington. We'll reach the 100-degree mark easily across Idaho. Speaking of 100-degree mark, we'll top 115 for many locations across the desert southwest.

Look at Las Vegas, Phoenix to Death Valley. Head to the coast if you can. But remember, we still have a rip current risk across southern and central coastline of California. And then on Sunday, the heat spreads a little further to the east. Denver, I think will top 100 degrees quite easily, even the same on Monday to start off the workweek.

This is what we're talking about, the large and very expansive heat wave. That's not really going to spare many of our populations. Notice this heat risk map from NOAA. Those shades of purple, those are extreme heat risks, not just vulnerable populations, but all populations. If you don't have adequate access to cooling and ways to stay hydrated, that will continue right into the day. On Monday. Remember, stay hydrated, wear lightweight and light-colored clothing and avoid outdoor activities in direct sunlight if at all possible.

Back to you.

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BROWN: All right. Derek Van Dam, thanks so much. We're back in just a moment.

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[18:50:03]

BROWN: A coordinated cyberattack on U.S. water systems tops our tech lead.

U.S. officials say hackers targeted utilities in several states, prompting some to issue boil water notices and switch to manual operations. Authorities say the attacks began in Minnesota, and more than 30 water systems were targeted between Sunday night and Monday morning. Officials have not determined who is responsible, but U.S. and state officials are treating Iran as one of the suspects.

However, today, President Trump cast doubt on that possibility and blamed Minnesota officials instead.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know who's behind it? Minnesota, because they're grossly incompetent. I think the governor's behind it. I don't think there was an Iranian cyberattack. I think that Minnesota ought to get its act together.

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BROWN: Joining us now is Mayor Nate George of Braham, Minnesota, which is north of Minneapolis.

Hi, Mayor.

So, your city, Braham, was among those in Minnesota affected by this cyberattack.

You have been a very busy man. What did you make of the president's comments there?

MAYOR NATE GEORGE (R), BRAHAM, MINNESOTA: Well, he's president of the United States. He's entitled to his own opinion for sure. We are standing by and waiting for more information as to the source and the methods for -- for the attack. But we haven't heard anything definitive yet.

BROWN: So, walk us through when you first discovered that there was an issue.

GEORGE: So, we're thankful for our own internal controls that require physical inspections, like a pre-shift inspection of the water plant. That's how the issue was detected by our plant operator going in to check the water plant, finding that the water tower was calling for water, but the water or the well pump was not functioning.

And so, they started to troubleshoot, determined that it was a hack of the wireless port and shut it down and disconnected it from that connection. And we're back up and running within an hour and a half using manual operations.

BROWN: So, there's no concern right now about the water.

GEORGE: None whatsoever. No. The water tower has two days supply, approximately of water in it. And so, we weren't necessarily in danger of running out. There's no issue. They didn't impact any of the chemical input, controls or anything like that, or the treatment itself. They just shut down the well. So that was back up and running and residents and businesses did not see any interruption to water service whatsoever.

BROWN: So, what is the latest on where this investigation stands? Have you gotten an update from the state or federal government?

GEORGE: Yeah, we have heard, uh, received some notices through law enforcement channels that, you know, there's an increased risk of hacking. You know, we've heard Iran thrown around, but again, nothing has been passed on to us definitively. It's still being investigated last week that we've been in contact with the state and the FBI.

And so, we're standing by for more information from them as far as any recommendations that they have for mitigation and how to move forward.

BROWN: Are you concerned, though, that these hackers, whoever they are, will target other vulnerable infrastructure?

GEORGE: Oh, absolutely. I don't think that's been a been a secret by any means. You know, we look to the state for assistance and these kinds of things. A small municipality like ours of approximately 1,800 people, we don't have the resources to fight off, you know, potential third-party actors, especially if it's foreign state actors at that level. And so, we hope the state will take this seriously and invest more in local government resources and upgrading our I.T. infrastructure.

BROWN: Yeah. Experts say that this kind of hack, it's not very complicated because these water treatment facilities are not secure. The systems are essentially sitting online and they're vulnerable.

Do you agree with that assessment?

GEORGE: I wouldn't say that they're -- they're not secure. I mean, it certainly takes someone who knows what they're doing, to carry out the attack. You know, having removed it from the connection entirely, there's no data transmission going in or out of the water plant anymore at this point. So, that's about as secure as you can get from a technology perspective. You have to be physically present inside the water plant at this point to be able to do anything with that. So --

BROWN: All right. Thank you so much, Mayor Nate George. We appreciate it.

Well, coming up Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION", Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Republican Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio. That is Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and noon Eastern, right here on CNN.

Well, you can follow me on Instagram @PamelaBrownCNN. You can follow the show on X and Instagram @TheLeadCNN.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.