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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Blanche Rescinds Anti-Weaponization Fund; Trump Faces Criticism on Iran; Democrats Divided. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 03, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

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KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: All right, thanks so much to my panel. Really appreciate you all being here. Thanks to you at home for watching as well. Of course, don't go anywhere, Jake Tapper is standing by for "The Lead." Hi, Jake. Happy Monday.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN LEAD WASHINGTON ANCHOR: Thank you so much, Kasie. We will look for more tomorrow in "The Arena."

HUNT: See you soon.

TAPPER: Is Trump's anti-weaponization fund actually dead? We're looking into the fine print. "The Lead" starts right now.

What's really in the deal that has the two Republican Senate holdoffs ready to sign off on Todd Blanche as attorney general now that he gave them what they wanted, assurance in writing that the anti- weaponization fund is dead or is it? Lawyers are lining up to call out what they see as red flags. We'll explain. Plus, is President Trump about to fire Jeanine Pirro as the U.S. attorney for D.C.?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think she choked. She folded like an umbrella.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What sources tell CNN about Trump's fury after Pirro dropped charges against the Olympian accused of vandalizing the reflecting pool. And winds pushing wildfire smoke across all of Washington State. Did politics get in the way of preventing these fires?

Welcome to "The Lead." I'm Jake Tapper. We're going to begin in our "Politics Lead." The Justice Department now says its controversial $1.776 billion so-called anti-weaponization fund is officially dead. But there are legal experts reading the fine print, and they're saying not so fast.

So, here's what's going on. All that has been standing between Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche officially becoming the next official attorney general were two Republican senators, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Both of them opposed that anti- weaponization fund, which could have theoretically been used to pay off violent January 6th rioters and other Trump allies. The fund itself was created as part of a settlement of Trump's lawsuit for $10 billion against the IRS and the Treasury Department over the unlawful disclosure of his tax returns during the first Trump administration. Now, senators Cornyn and Tillis warned they would not vote for Blanche's confirmation in the Judiciary Committee unless the Justice Department formally abandoned the fund in writing and clarified some other provisions of the underlying settlement.

President Trump over the weekend countered by saying that if Cornyn and Tillis would not approve Todd Blanche's attorney general, he would -- quote -- "keep Todd as acting attorney general and push hard to get the anti-weaponization bill, which takes care of those who have been so badly treated by the crooked Joe Biden and Obama administration, I get nothing although I was treated horribly, passed. Trump was floating the idea of having this fund introduced into legislation and then passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by him.

But then, late last night on X or Twitter, Blanche dropped two documents saying that the Justice Department has rescinded its anti- weaponization order and that -- quote -- "this order establishes beyond any doubt that there is no fund" -- unquote. And this was enough to wipe away the worries of senators Cornyn and Tillis, who now say they look forward to advancing Blanche's nomination out of the Judiciary Committee to the full Senate tomorrow.

But for those taking a closer look, they say the original parties to this agreement that set up this fund, this slush fund or anti- weaponization fund, were the federal government and Donald Trump as a private individual. The settlement agreement itself, which is what matters legally here, states that this agreement may be modified only with the written agreement of the parties, plural, and the documents DOJ dropped last night are not a new agreement signed by all the parties. They're signed by the Justice Department, but not by President Trump.

This is essentially political cover for Blanche as he maneuvers his way to becoming the next attorney general. Blanche, on behalf of the federal government, already testified under oath that he considers the fund dead. Senators Cornyn and Tillis said they wanted that in writing.

But these new Justice Department documents, we should note, they have no legal impact beyond what Blanche has already said under oath. Remember, Trump is the other party here. He has not signed anything. He has not agreed in any formal sense to kiss the fund goodbye. So, there is a legal pathway for Trump to go back to court and say, we had a deal, we don't want to let the Justice Department out of the deal.

[17:05:00]

In fact, during Blanche's confirmation hearing, Senator Cornyn asked about this exact scenario.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: Just to be clear, the president of the United States, who is a plaintiff in this lawsuit, has not agreed in writing to delete the weaponization fund. And there's no guarantee that he or one of the other plaintiffs might raise that issue by way of a lawsuit, a breach of contract lawsuit in the future.

TODD BLANCHE, ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, senator, the plaintiffs have no power over the fund. I suppose they could bring a lawsuit, and then we would litigate it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: With all that wiggle room, there's no question why senators Cornyn and Tillis wanted this reassurance in writing. The only question now is why they are agreeing to a form of writing that offers no real legal difference from where things now stand. Although it is a political difference, it could be the Trump administration saying, trust me.

Let's talk about it now. Right now, we have with us in studio Jim Trusty, who represented Trump during the investigations into classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and the January 6th federal probe before resigning from the team in 2023. Also with us, former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams. So, Jim, let me start with you. President Trump was asked about the fund today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You know, it happens to be very popular among many quarters. And I don't participate in that fund. I was certainly treated badly. I don't participate, but I thought it would be very fair for people that spent years in prison, people that were treated so badly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: He clearly still believes that the fund should exist. What do you make of how binding this agreement is that Todd Blanche put out there?

JIM TRUSTY, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY, FORMER CHIEF OF ORGANIZED CRIME AND GANG SECTION AT DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, PARTNER AT IFRAH LAW: I think it's binding enough for a very practical reason. You know, at the end of the day, the reason this thing turned into a settlement -- and there's all sorts of legitimate questions about federal jurisdiction. Is there a case in controversy? You know, all that --

TAPPER: Right. Whether Trump is negotiating with Trump, et cetera, et cetera.

TRUSTY: Right. And you had a judge that was keen to that and a judge who basically said, you've got two days to send me a memo explaining how there's a real case here. That's when we had the settlement.

The last thing you want to do with a judge who's going to be aggressive is to come back and try to play this jujitsu of signatures and say, well, you know, I didn't sign off, just my agent, the attorney general or the acting attorney general did.

It's not going to play. I think the president knows that. I think this thing is moving over to the legislative world where it would at least have a better chance of being constitutional because they've got the power of the purse.

So, I don't see -- you know, I know there's a lot of excitement about whether it would be a breach of contract and litigation. I don't think anybody on the White House side of this, from looking at it from the outside, would want to litigate it with a judge who has already been very keen to the issues of this lawsuit.

TAPPER: What do you think, Elliot?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Yes. I'll echo Jim's words. It's binding enough. That doesn't mean it's binding, but to Jim's point, this is really for the judges to sort out now. There are two federal judges who have looked at this case, one in Florida, one in Virginia, that have been incredibly skeptical about everything about it from the things that we were talking about here. The president being literally on both sides of the V in the name of the case to how the fund was set up and so on.

Any of the judges who look at this and see any funny business are really going to either put them on the record in a sworn declaration declaring that this thing is done or something else here. There might be more litigation ahead of us. For now, it's probably good for these senators who wanted to get to yes. But, again, this is not on its face a legally binding document. There has to be more analysis by a judge on it.

TAPPER: And you would acknowledge that President Trump can be an unpredictable client.

TRUSTY: I don't know what you're talking about.

(LAUGHTER)

No, look, I think there's a good point that he makes out of all this --

TAPPER: Yes.

TRUSTY: -- which is I'm not getting any of this money. This is not some sort of self-service operation.

TAPPER: Right.

TRUSTY: He's thinking -- I don't think he's even thinking about necessarily the bigger names. You know, when I was down there dealing with Mar-a-Lago, you had people that were literally like maids from Peru who were being told, you're going to have to go in front of a grand jury on Friday if you don't sit down with us at the FBI. Like there's a whole bunch of people that nobody really knows about that I think in a perfect world of some sort of settlement fund make a lot of sense because their lives were torn up. They were scared. They were embarrassed. They were dragged in the grand jury for illegitimate questions.

TAPPER: Yes.

TRUSTY: Those folks, I think, deserve something.

WILLIAMS: Here's the thing. The fact that Donald Trump is not going to see any of the money is the very problem with the fund in the first place because he was not one of the parties. You know, the person who was the party to the settlement isn't the person who's going to get the money out of the fund. The whole thing stinks to holy heaven, so many aspects of it, including this one right here. That's why, again, so many of the judges who have looked at this have found big problems with this fund.

TRUSTY: Well, what a plaintiff does with the settlement fund is always their discretion. They can sit there and say, I'm going to give it all to Jake Tapper. He's going to write a book about me. I mean, they can do whatever the heck they want.

TAPPER: Right.

TRUSTY: And there's massive settlement funds for kind of class action stuff all around the country, either corporate or governmental. So, I don't think the structure is such a big problem. I think it's the process, you know, as Elliot says, of kind of self-suing --

WILLIAMS: Right.

TRUSTY: -- whether as the head of the IRS and the Department of Justice, whether you can do that while you're a sitting president or whether you have a better chance if you waited three years.

[17:10:03]

TAPPER: But, you know, the other thing that's interesting about this, Elliot, is they could have -- I mean, the biggest concern was that some of this money was going to go to people accused and convicted or who pleaded guilty to violent offenses.

WILLIAMS: Sure.

TAPPER: And no one was ever -- no one in the White House, not the vice president, not the president, not the attorney general, nobody was willing to say, oh no --

WILLIAMS: Right.

TAPPER: -- no -- none of the violent offenders are going to get this money.

WILLIAMS: Right.

TAPPER: That was always one of the political issues.

WILLIAMS: Yes, it was a political issue and the standards were vague as to who would recover. And to be clear, getting back to the question of the fund, if any of these people were treated unfairly by the government, they had every right to sue and get a settlement of their own.

TAPPER: There is already a fund.

WILLIAMS: There is already a fund through which they could recover.

TAPPER: Right.

WILLIAMS: So, the idea that you needed this nebulous fund without clear standards on who would get it, that might have gone to violent people, was just problematic from the beginning, and we're seeing that now.

TAPPER: Jim Trusty, Elliot Williams, good to have you here. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Coming up next, President Trump's new ultimatum after calling off strikes against Iran yet again as a critic, a conservative critic, calls the back and forth silly and spells out what Iran really wants in all of these. And allies urging Trump to change his tune on Republican Congressman Max Miller of Ohio after describing him earlier as a good person. Miller is accused of physically abusing his ex-wife and two-year-old daughter, allegations he fervently denies, but allegations that are having an impact on his congressional reelection race.

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TAPPER: In our "World Lead," President Trump facing today criticism over his cycle of threatening to strike Iran, then backing down, which we saw again over the weekend.

Conservative radio host Erick Erickson today writing -- quote -- "The president says he is going to suspend any further strikes because Iran, he assures us, might want to deal. Might want a deal. We are well past silly here and into foolish. Iran does not want a deal. Iran wants a bomb, and just about everyone who looks at that regime with clear eyes knows it. Everyone, it seems, except the one man whose finger is on all of this. He is beclowning himself. He looks like a coward, and he is managing it at the exact moment our allies grow more and more convinced we have started a war we have no stomach to finish" -- unquote.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is at the White House for us. Kristen, what are we hearing from Trump today on the topic?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it seems as though the president was convinced or at least he says that he was convinced not to execute this escalated military action after several phone calls, including from Gulf allies, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar, who encouraged him not only to not actually go through with this military action, but also said that Iran wanted to come to the table, that they were ready to have a discussion about the denuclearization of Iran.

But this, of course, is opening the door to several questions, especially what exactly is different now that hasn't been different over the past five months. He attempted to answer that. Here's what he said when he was talking to reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: This is at least the fifth time you've turned off airstrikes against Iran since April --

TRUMP: Yes.

UNKNOWN: -- 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 them every last chance before decapitation. Very tough to do, what we have planned, still planned. We'll see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, one thing is clear, President Trump is increasingly frustrated. I do want to just pull up the post that he made earlier today before he kind of waffled both being optimistic and pessimistic about diplomacy. This was a very pessimistic post where he said, "Iranian leadership is unbelievably duplicitous. They ask 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. They then go on to give their usual blather in saying, the Strait of Hormuz will be operated powerfully by them."

Again, he has been here and down this path before where he says he's going to escalate military action, and then he steps down, saying that they are coming to the negotiating table. I will remind you that last time that happened, they ended up striking U.S. forces in a surprise attack.

TAPPER: Kristen, quickly, have we gotten any details of whatever talks there might be?

HOLMES: We don't know exactly who is having these conversations behind the scenes, although President Trump has alluded to it being Steve Witkoff, Marco Rubio, J.D. Vance, Jared Kushner. But I do want to quickly point out, one of the things he said was under discussion, that the first thing that would be happening, which is a phase, would be the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and then they would move on to what they would call the second phase of this denuclearization of Iran.

That might sound very familiar to you, Jake, because that is exactly what the memorandum of understanding laid out, the memorandum that was essentially torn up by both sides saying it wasn't good enough to be an actual placement or beginnings of a deal. But now, he's saying they're going back to that, and that's what's being discussed.

TAPPER: All right. Kristen Holmes at the White House, thanks so much. One of the most expensive and contentious U.S. Senate Democratic primaries of 2026 is going down in Michigan tomorrow. Next, what the election could say about the larger direction of the Democratic Party.

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[17:20:00]

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TAPPER: We're hearing the CNN election music for the "Politics Lead" because tomorrow, U.S. Senate Democratic primary in Michigan, once again, puts establishment Democrats up against the rising progressive wing of the party as moderate Congresswoman Haley Stevens is facing off against the left-leaning Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.

Let's bring in Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, who is not endorsed in this race. Congresswoman, this has been a very expensive, very aggressive campaign. In a toss-up contest like this one, do you think that whoever loses will unite their supporters to help the winner against the likely Republican nominee, former congressman, Mike Rogers?

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D), MICHIGAN: Jake, it's good to be with you. I can't wait until this primary is over tomorrow. But we have no choice. I think they both said that they would. And when you look at what's at stake in November, and let me be very clear, this is a competitive state, it's a purple state, the Republican could win. Republicans are going to pour millions of dollars into the state to try to make this a pick-up state.

And everybody likes to focus on the differences, but there's a lot in common. They're worried about health care, maybe a little different approach, but Republicans don't care about Americans being able to get access to health care. They're worried about Supreme Court nominees. They're worried about Medicare and Social Security and farmers.

[17:24:57]

So, we all got to pull together because if we don't keep the seat in the Democratic column in November, there's very little chance that we will pick up the Senate this year.

TAPPER: So, what I wonder is who you think would have a stronger chance against congressman -- former congressman, Mike Rogers, because here are the two different theories of the case. One is, this is what Dr. Abdul El-Sayed would argue, if I can paraphrase, we need to get Democrats and independents excited for voting, and the establishment Democrats haven't done that in Michigan, haven't been able to do that, whether it's Hillary Clinton in 2016 or Kamala Harris in 2024. That's what he would argue, his campaign offers. Supporters of Congresswoman Haley Stevens would say that he has, that El-Sayed has views that are alienating to some more moderate Democrats and independents, and thus she has a better chance of beating Mike Rogers. Who do you agree with?

DINGELL: You know what I'm going to say to you, Jake? I hate labels. I hate them. And, you know, what am I? I mean, I could -- people could put me into both of those camps because I am the lead of Medicare for All in the House and have been working on that since I walked into the Congress and, as you know, my family before that.

So, I don't think that's an aggressive issue. I don't think moderates are against it. I think if you're sick, you should be able to go to the doctor when you need to go to the doctor, get the medicine that you need. I call that a human value.

So, I think, right now, everybody is trying to pit people against each other. I think there's far more in common with everybody here and the job of all of us is to make sure that we excite everybody and talk about the importance of getting out and voting because elections have consequences.

TAPPER: Well, the thing is, it's not just El-Sayed versus Stevens, right? In Michigan's 13th congressional district, which is a Detroit- based seat with a majority Black population, incumbent congressman, Shri Thanedar, is facing a challenge from state representative, Donavan McKinney. McKinney is backed by Democratic socialists of America, leaders and candidates.

In a piece from Axios last month, House Democrats had different reactions about this challenge to Thanedar. Some said no one cares. Some said I don't think anybody would miss him at all. Someone said who. What do you think about this DSA back challenge to Congressman Thanedar?

DINGELL: You know, again, I'm neutral in that race. I think that when you're a member of Congress, it's about constituent service. It's an important part of the job. And when that candidate was thinking about running, one of the most conservative members of the state legislature, who actually happens to be one of my state reps, called me and asked me to look at him.

So, I think, again, I hate these labels and people are going to -- Republicans are going to try to use those labels, going to try to scare everybody. I heard a John James ad today that was so over the top about communism and socialism.

We got it. We can't let labels define who we are. We got to go out and talk to the voters and tell them what we are going to fight for, what we are going to deliver. And, you know, I know a lot of people voting in that race that you just talked to me about have very strong feelings, but it's based more on responsiveness, constituent service than it is a label.

TAPPER: Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, thanks so much for joining us today. Republican Congressman Max Miller of Ohio is strongly denying accusations that he physically abused his ex-wife and two-year-old child or that he once allegedly held a gun to his now ex-wife's head. How Miller is pushing back on the allegations and calls for him to resign.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MAX MILLER (R-OH): I'm not getting out of this race and I'm winning in November and I'll be back in the 120th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: A defiant Ohio Republican Congressman Max Miller there, urging voters to elect him a third time, despite allegations that he physically abused his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno, and their two-year-old daughter. In a 20-minute livestream on Sunday, Miller repeatedly denied the allegations. And that video prompted Senator Moreno, Miller's former father-in-law, to write on X, "He is a danger to my daughter and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter."

CNN's Lauren Fox has followed every step of this sad story from police recordings obtained back in June to growing pressure on Miller to leave Congress. Here's Lauren with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILLER: 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, Moreno's ex-father-in-law, Senator Bernie Moreno, is calling on Miller to step aside, writing in a statement that Miller needs, "psychological help," and that he is, "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.

Moreno's rebuke of Miller is playing out against the backdrop of MAGA politics in Ohio. And as CNN is learning, key Republicans are leaning on the White House to try and convince Miller to get out of the race. President Trump also weighing in from the Oval Office.

[17:35:03] DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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, REP. MAX MILLER'S EX-WIFE: I was just, like, scaring him a lot. And that's why I left the house and I moved out.

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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what does he do?

MORENO: Holds it on me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holds it 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, 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: And Jake, in yet another statement, Max Miller's office is telling me that he is not getting out of this race. But just to lay out the deadline for you, Max Miller would have to get out of this race by tomorrow at the end of the day if there was going to be a special primary. Now, if he waits until August 10th, that is when party leaders in the state could choose another candidate to run for this seat.

But again, that is such a narrow deadline. There aren't very many days until either of those opportunities for Miller to still get out of this race and Republicans to still have a fighting chance of keeping this seat. Jake?

TAPPER: Lauren Fox, thanks so much. And sources tell CNN the Trump allies are pushing the president to call on Republican Congressman Max Miller to drop out of his reelection race. How President Trump is responding to those calls and the latest reporting on Miller, next.

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[17:42:11]

TAPPER: And we're back with the Politics Lead. Sources telling CNN that top House Republicans want President Trump to urge embattled Congressman Max Miller to end his re-election bid. On Sunday, Miller vowed to stay in the race for his third term in Congress, representing Ohio's 7th congressional district. Despite allegations that he physically abused his ex-wife and their two-year-old daughter, which Miller denies, Miller's refusal to drop out could complicate Republicans' fight to keep control of the House because, obviously, it's a district that he might not be re-elected to.

Let's talk about this with our panel. Doug, a source tells CNN, Trump has privately told some allies he doesn't believe Miller can win the race, given the accusations. I guess there's some polling. I don't know how reliable it is, showing that he's within his opponent, his Democratic opponents, within the margin of error. What -- do you think Republicans, if they really want this, should be more vocal?

DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: One hundred percent. I tell you, I already emailed the Speaker's office a little while ago to say, I'm going to be real full board. This guy needs to go. He needs to go as quickly as possible. He's a problem not just in and of itself, and it's not just this series of accusations, which, by the way, pulling out a gun on somebody is a new one, I think, in our political lexicon. But it goes a long way.

TAPPER: I have to say, he denies all this. OK, yes.

HEYE: Just in the lexicon, that's a new one.

TAPPER: Yes, yes.

HEYE: But it's also a problem. We saw Mike Turner on CBS yesterday.

TAPPER: Fellow Ohio Republican, yes.

HEYE: It's a problem for him to talk about it. He's now fighting with the -- with one of the senators, his father-in-law. So he's not going to be able to get anything done. There's not a compelling argument for him to stay. And frankly, I throw in Cory Mills and from my home state, Chuck Edwards, at this point as well. It's a disaster.

TAPPER: So, Abby Vesoulis, your first time here, welcome. For those who don't know, you wrote an incredible investigative piece on Congressman Max Miller. First of all, just tell me about some of the things that you found that surprised you. I -- you found the woman that he allegedly pushed down a stairwell in high school. I mean, there's a lot of charges that people have not found about him.

ABBY VESOULIS, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, MOTHER JONES MAGAZINE: Yes, so I found a lot in going through the investigation into potential child abuse when Max Miller and Emily Moreno's daughter had a broken collarbone. Ultimately, the investigation there was unsubstantiated. They couldn't prove one way or another that there was neglect or abuse happening.

But within that investigation, you had Emily Moreno telling detectives that Max Miller had held a gun to her head and thrown hot water at her and shoved her against a wall and said things like, daddy's house is scary, quoting their two-year-old daughter.

So the amount of allegations within that police report alone, I think, were shocking. And then just looking at the broader picture, this is a congressman who has a history of other allegations against him. "Politico" in 2021 reported about the staircase alleged incident in which Max Miller allegedly pushed a woman down a set of stairs. She hasn't said anything to the media.

[17:45:17]

The "Politico" story cited three witnesses. But when I reached her for comment, she said, I really don't want to talk about this. This was a long time ago, but it's still one of the most traumatizing nights of my life. And so you have people like the girl from high school and Emily Moreno. And, you know, there are allegations that he abused Stephanie Grisham as well. So to me, this represents a pattern of allegations.

TAPPER: Yes. And Sabrina, and I guess an attempt to clear his name. This is one of the things that Max Miller said in his live stream on Sunday. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLER: Only weeks later did the story of February 1st assault appear. So ask yourself, if I had assaulted her, would she had offered to cook me dinner six days later?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So do you want to comment on that? I mean, I think we all are steeped in enough in like patterns of domestic violence.

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yes.

TAPPER: Alleged domestic violence that, go ahead. SINGH: It's just it's so gross to like say like, oh, and, you know, a few days later she made me dinner. I mean, you know, I think like you said, there's patterns of domestic violence. I think this is incredibly disturbing. I think what Doug said totally stands. I mean, the -- whether it's Max Miller, Cori Bush, whoever you want to talk about in the Republican Party. These are people that don't deserve to represent their --

TAPPER: Cori Mills.

SINGH: Sorry, Cori Mills. I'm so sorry. Cori Mills. Cori Mills. These are not people that are representing or doing a good service for their constituents in their districts. And I think Republicans are so afraid of losing power right now. I mean, in 2018, Sherrod Brown, he was running, did win this district by five points.

In 2024, he lost this district by two points. So it is competitive. Republicans know this. And it's just disappointing that they just want to hold on to power because they want to hold the House.

TAPPER: So Trump previously endorsed Miller. He was asked about him today, and he said this.

(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. But it's accusations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So Miller's ex-wife, as you noted, is not the only woman to accuse him of abuse. Former White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, Trump's first term press secretary, was also Miller's ex- girlfriend. She detailed an abusive relationship with an unnamed White House staffer in her memoir. Later, that was identified as Max Miller. Miller also denies these allegations. Stephanie Grisham was on The Lead in 2021 talking about that relationship. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE GRISHAM, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I had an ex that I dated and there was abuse in every way there. And that's something I actually told the President and the First Lady about. And they did nothing.

TAPPER: The person you're talking about, you don't name him in the book, but his name is Max Miller. He is running for Congress. And it's not just that President Trump, then President Trump, didn't do anything about it. Trump is now backing this guy for Congress.

GRISHAM: I'm not going to lie. It was like a gut punch when I saw that he endorsed him.

(END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: Now, in response to Grisham's book, then Trump said that Grisham shouldn't be taken seriously because she was, "very angry and bitter after the breakup." So the idea that President Trump is standing by a guy accused of some horrific behavior, abusive behavior, is not new.

HEYE: No, it's not new. And we've seen a long pattern of this with Trump. And Trump often feels that he's the victim and subject of false allegations and so forth. But I watched that video and, one, bad communications politically 101.

He looked like somebody on an episode of SVU where you're like, oh, he definitely did it. This is not how you want to communicate to your constituents. It's why the best thing to do would be to drop him now so you can replace him.

And ultimately, as Republicans, you know, we stood really tall against Graham Plattner on all the awful things that have been alleged about him. And he, thank God. Yes. And they got out. Let's do the right thing on our side now at this point.

TAPPER: Any last thoughts?

VESOULIS: Just that even this week or last week, Emily Moreno's lawyer also said that Congressman Miller put his hands on him. So that's yet another allegation of abuse by Congressman Miller.

TAPPER: I will retweet your story out. But for those looking forward, it's Mother Jones and the author is Abby Vesoulis. Thanks, everyone, for being here. Really appreciate it.

[17:49:39]

Moments ago, our eagle-eyed camera spotted Jeanine Pirro showing up at the White House. Sources tell CNN Trump's considering firing her as U.S. attorney for D.C. All about those dropped charges against the former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Reflecting Pool. An attorney for that Olympian coming up on The Lead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our Pop Culture Lead, one of the most successful, critically acclaimed series on T.V. right now is "The Pitt," which captures audiences with its raw, realistic, compelling look at life inside a busy emergency room in Pittsburgh. This one is, of course, streaming on HBO Max, and that's a sister company of CNN, we should note, but that is not why we're talking about it. We're talking about it because one of its stars is making history, actress Sepideh Moafi, is nominated for a primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. It's an incredible show, as you know, but she is also the first Iranian and the first Middle Eastern actress ever nominated in the category.

Joining us now is Sepideh Moafi. Thank you so much for joining us. Your character, Dr. Al-Hashimi, has such confidence, appeared to really shake things up as a newcomer on season two, and then a serious medical situation is revealed. Let's take a little quick look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:55:00]

SEPIDEH MOAFI, ACTRESS: They tried every anti-seizure medication, but I still had episodes every few months or so. No one's ever noticed before, they just think I'm thoughtful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you driving?

MOAFI: I couldn't until laser ablation to my left temporal lobe 12 years ago. Between that and the Keppra, I've been seizure free, cleared by neurology to drive and to work as in attending.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long between the seizure you had today and the last one?

MOAFI: It's been well over a year, but I had two today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What's your experience been like to play this role?

MOAFI: Oh my gosh, it's been an immense honor, and I can't really express all the ways in which it's changed my life. First and foremost, I -- before I even watched the show, so many of my friends and colleagues abroad who are humanitarian aid workers were huge fans of the show and insisted that I watch the show. So I did, and I fell in love like the rest of the world. And then when I was cast, I knew that I wanted to pay a silent homage to these valiant healthcare workers who travel abroad and sacrifice so much to go where help is needed most.

So being able to give visibility to our humanitarian aid workers, that being one part of the many layers of this character, has been a huge honor. And on top of that, getting to join this incredible show with these incredible people and, you know, tell these stories that, on the surface, it's a show about a hospital, but it uses that setting as a lens to explore these deeper societal issues, power, grief, who gets care, who doesn't, and who we become when these systems are under strain. So it's just been an unbelievable honor and gift.

TAPPER: For fans, there's obviously good news. There's definitely going to be a season three of "The Pitt."

MOAFI: That's right.

TAPPER: Is there anything you can share with us about season three, about Dr. Al-Hashimi?

MOAFI: Yes, well, she's back.

TAPPER: That's good.

MOAFI: So that's a relief to all of us. TAPPER: Yes.

MOAFI: And, yes, you'll see we're four months into the future. Robby has gone on his sabbatical. It's his first day back. And you see that there's a different tone and temperature in the hospital, and Dr. Al- Hashimi has been working with double coverage.

And she's, you know, implemented some systemic changes that are seemingly improving the people and the way things function around her. So we get to see how Robby reacts to that and, you know, discover where it goes from there.

TAPPER: You've spoken about the importance of representation, and now you are the very first Iranian actress ever nominated for a supporting actress Emmy. You're a child of refugees. Your family fled Iran in 1979. Is there a defining moment from your journey that shaped in any way the artist that you've become or helped you find your voice in a very difficult and very competitive industry?

MOAFI: You know, it's hard for me to separate my family's experience getting to the United States as refugees, me being born into the world as a refugee, from my work as an artist, whether that's in my art with, you know, these creative endeavors or as an advocate.

And I'm haunted by the fact that if our reality had bent even slightly in a different direction, we would have remained a statistic. So I live in close proximity with that reality and the awareness that we have an unprecedented mass displacement crisis, that there are over 118 million people who are displaced from their homes. And that could have easily been me and my family.

So I hold this privilege and fortune and I don't take it lightly. And so it's always been important for me to sort of give visibility and expand the range of human experiences through my advocacy work and through my own work as an artist. And it's something that I will do for the rest of my life. I mean, just being able to hold this space as the first Iranian, first Middle Eastern or SWANA actor nominated is huge, and it's a great honor.

But again, I'm constantly reminded of this luck that I've had and many actors who are struggling in the industry don't have that luck. Many, you know, children who have bombs raining over their heads and are living in tents don't have that fortune. So I hope that this can inspire hope for all people who could potentially be in this category and might not have that fortune.

TAPPER: Well, congratulations again. Sepideh Moafi, appreciate it.

MOAFI: Thank you so much. Such a pleasure. Thank you.

[17:59:56]

TAPPER: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, should we take Todd Blanche at his word that President Trump's so called anti- weaponization fund is officially dead and will remain that way? Critics say no and that Blanche --