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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Scales Back Military Drills With South Korea Because Of "Very Good Relationship" With Kim Jong-un; Hayden Panettiere Dies At 36; Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), Is Interviewed About House Democrats Hold Field Hearing On Deadly Shooting In Maine; High School Journalists Take On Epstein Files; NAACP Joins Legal Team Representing Nolan Wells' Family. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 17, 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]

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Don't forget, you can now stream "The Arena" live. You can catch up whenever you want to. It's all in the CNN All Access up. You just scan the Q.R. code below. You can also catch up this Q.R. code. It's for our podcast or you can follow us on X and Instagram. We are @thearenacnn. But as always, don't go anywhere because Jake Tapper is standing by for "The Lead." Hi, Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN LEAD WASHINGTON ANCHOR: You are the queen of Q.R. codes, the queen.

HUNT: One day, you're going to scan one of them.

TAPPER: I do it every day.

(LAUGHTER)

All right, we'll see you back in "The Arena" tomorrow.

HUNT: See you soon.

TAPPER: There's no deal with Iran, but at least the White House is talking to North Korea? "The Lead" starts right now.

President Trump's deadline to make a deal with Iran has come and gone, and all he's got to show for it are $4 gas, attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, and U.S. troops on record-setting deployments. So, naturally, now, the president is turning his focus to a different murderous regime, telling reporters today he recently communicated with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un as the president denounced he's scaling back military exercises with close ally South Korea.

Plus, the coroner's office releasing new details tonight as it investigates the death of Hayden Panettiere. The actress best known for her roles in "Heroes" and "Nashville" was found unresponsive in cardiac arrest yesterday. She was only 36 years old. What the actress said in the months leading up to her death about starting a new chapter of her life after years of struggles. And the U.S. Supreme Court handing President Trump a big loss today, a

loss to the tune of $5.6 million. The justices rejecting the president's last-ditch effort to avoid having to pay E. Jean Carroll after a jury found that he sexually abused and defamed her. So, is this legal battle finally over?

Welcome to "The Lead." I'm Jake Tapper. We begin with breaking news in our "World Lead." The Trump White House today juggling a barrage of major foreign policy issues that are reaching inflection points, starting with North Korea. President Trump today acknowledging that he and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un have recently had contact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Why hasn't Kim Jong-un responded to your request to have a conversation?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: How do you know he hasn't responded?

UNKNOWN: Has he?

TRUMP: Yes, he has.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: This follows Trump's yesterday Truth Social, his way to a wild new policy, saying that the Pentagon is going to scale back joint U.S. military drills with close U.S. ally South Korea. These drills have been conducted for more than 70 years. It's an effort to deter North Korean aggression. Why the change? President Trump says it's -- quote -- "based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong-un of North Korea" -- unquote.

Trump also pointedly claimed that he asked South Korea to join the U.S. in its quest to denuclearize Iran and South Korea declined, saying, the U.S. can't help every country, especially if they don't help us.

Then there's another big front, of course, the war with Iran. The deadline to end the war between Iran and the U.S. expired today. Just back in June, both countries signed that memorandum of understanding, you might remember, agreeing to reach a final deal in a maximum 60 days through negotiations. The memo did leave some wiggle room, saying if no deal was reached, they could extend the deadline with mutual consent. So, now, all eyes turn toward the Strait of Hormuz.

Talks between Iran and Oman, which could open up further avenues for negotiation, are going on, even though just this morning President Trump threatened to -- quote -- "bomb the shit out of Oman," Oman, of course, a U.S. ally, if Oman interferes with U.S. efforts in the Strait of Hormuz.

But even within these last 60 days that were meant for figuring out management of the strait, deciding the future of frozen Iranian funds and reining in Iran's nuclear program, we still continue to see chaos, upheaval in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran striking other Gulf nations, the U.S. and Iran trading strikes. One Iranian strike on a U.S. base in Jordan even killed U.S. service members First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, Private Isabella Gonzales, and Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad. Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton was also killed in action during a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone in Iraq. So, if this is what 60 days of supposed peace looks like, it's difficult to imagine where things go from here.

Also, in limbo and in need of resuscitation is the Trump-backed Gaza ceasefire plan. After meeting with Hamas members in Egypt today, Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is in Israel, meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who reportedly told Kushner that Israel will not withdraw any of its forces in Gaza or allow reconstruction to begin until the complete disarmament of Hamas.

[17:05:04]

Hamas has refused to disarm unless Israel ends its near daily attacks on Gaza and the beginning of a withdrawal of Israeli forces currently occupying more than half the territory. Three difficult issues.

Let's get to CNN's Kristen Holmes at the White House. Kristen, what's the White House mood around these very unsettled foreign policy problems, Iran plus Israel and Gaza, not to mention North Korea?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, let's start with Iran. You have no guidance or we have no guidance from the White House as to what is actually happening behind the scenes, if anything at all. It feels like deja vu.

President Trump was asked specifically about this timeline lapsing, and what he said was something we've heard time and time again, which is they want to make a deal, it's not a deal that I think is going to be good. He said that he doesn't believe that there's a rush on any kind of timeline, but there is a real rush, particularly when you talk to Republicans who are running for reelection.

And I just cannot stop really pointing to this poll that we did at the end of last month that we asked voters, is the Iran war worth the U.S. lives cost and the financial cost? And 74 percent of them said no. That is weighing over the entire White House. It is clear when you are talking to White House aides and officials that they understand that this Iran war is something they can't get out from underneath. And because of that, it's going to impact President Trump's legacy down the future, but also in the immediate future, those midterm elections.

TAPPER: And you were in the Oval today, Kristen, asking questions about Trump's stance on South Korea amidst all of this. You asked a follow-up question on North Korea. He responded, as he often does with tough, smart women. Let's play a little bit of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What I'm doing is making things safer.

HOLMES: Did he -- did he ask you -- did he ask you specifically to scale back on those?

TRUMP: Quiet. You're very disrespectful in front of this young man. OK? Don't you find her disrespectful? He understands. Quiet. Who are you with?

HOLMES: I'm with CNN.

TRUMP: Fake news.

HOLMES: I just wanted to follow up on this South Korea question.

TRUMP: You're a loud -- you're a loud, boisterous person. You're fake news. Be quiet. Be quiet. Be quiet.

HOLMES: I was trying to find out if you had been talking to Kim Jong- un, if he had asked you --

TRUMP: You're a fake reporter. You report fake news.

HOLMES: -- to scale back on those military exercises.

TRUMP: Go ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, Trump eventually did. I mean, your question was a good one because he eventually made news in what he revealed about North Korea.

HOLMES: Yes. And he had said that Kim Jong-un had responded to those requests. Remember, they communicate by letter. It's unclear what kind of conversation, if any, they have had, only this idea that the North Korean leader has been in touch with the White House.

And my specific question was one that we have seen play out in multiple scenarios, whether it be him talking to Vladimir Putin and then meeting with Zelenskyy the next day and saying that they're not going to give Ukraine Patriot missiles.

You have the president saying that he spoke to the leader of North Korea around the exact same time or at least that he suggested there was an open line of communication, that he is scaling back these military exercises with our allies in South Korea. So, of course, the question is going to be whether or not that was at the request of Kim Jong-un. And we never got to the bottom of that. He wouldn't even give any kind of details as to what this kind of communication looked like.

But there are also real questions about how these plays into the war with Iran. Of course, you noted that he brought up the fact that South Korea didn't support the United States in this war against Iran. We can obviously dissect that later. There were a number of reasons that multiple countries did not get involved in this war, some of them being that they had no idea that this was happening until after the fact.

But on top of that, this idea that North Korea is a place that is stockpiling illegal nuclear weapons, what message does that send to Iran who we are trying, the United States is trying to kill any indication of a nuclear program they have, that it's OK in some cases and not in another case? And that's what we're really trying to get to the bottom of here. Why did he make this choice to essentially lash out at our allies? Was it at the behest of a dictator who is an adversary of the United States?

TAPPER: Great question. Kristen Holmes at the White House, keep up the great work per usual. Appreciate it. President Trump told the story today in the Oval Office about South Korea. Turns out none of it is true.

Let's bring in CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale. Daniel, Trump talked a lot about how much South Korea pays the U.S. for military protection. Separate the fact and the fiction, please.

DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Jake, without exaggeration, every single part of the president's story was wrong. So, Trump said that before he took office the first time, South Korea essentially wasn't paying anything to share the cost of the U.S. military presence. In fact, under the Obama administration, before Trump took office, South Korea was paying more than $800 million per year.

[17:10:00]

Those cost-sharing agreements date back to 1991, so decades. But Trump said that after he took office, he got South Korea to agree to pay $3 billion a year and then subsequent increases the year after that and the year after that. In fact, he did secure a one-year increase of 8.2 percent, but that only brought the total to less than $1 billion, nowhere close to $3 billion, and there were no increases agreed to in the two subsequent years.

And then he told the story about South Korea calling up President Joe Biden and telling him that Trump was probably a bad person and getting Biden to agree to immediately rescind the $3 billion payment that South Korea supposedly agreed to. Biden did not rescind any Trump-era cost-sharing deal. In fact, there was no cost-sharing deal in place under Biden because negotiations on a new one had stalled amid Trump's exorbitant demands in 2020. What Biden did do was get South Korea to agree to two increases. So, a 13.9 percent increase in the 2021 deal, an 8.3 percent increase in the 2024 deal. So, just wrongness upon wrongness upon wrongness, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Daniel Dale, thanks so much for the fact check. Let's discuss this all with Beth Sander, former deputy director of National Intelligence. So, Beth, let's start with Iran.

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes.

TAPPER: The deadline expiring today. Do you think that that's a hurdle that will impact negotiations or no?

SANNER: Here's the hurdle: President Trump says we're not in a hurry and we're just going to wait and we'll keep this blockade up. But it takes two to tango just to kind of keep things stable. And I think that, you know, really where we are with Iran right now is they are ready to escalate. They've made very explicit threats today that if the MOU that we signed and is now expired is not fully implemented, that they will launch an attack to get us back to the negotiating table and to the terms.

So, of course, I don't agree with Iran, but here we are, right? So, you know, thinking that we can just steady state this until our economic sanctions have an effect is really misreading, again, where the Iranian mindset is. The Iranian mindset is a very strategically different place where they are ready to go on the offensive and they are ready to risk their much, you know, more constrained military capabilities than we are.

TAPPER: What kind of attack might they -- I mean, we know that they conduct attacks all the time, cyberattacks on the United States. Their proxies attack U.S. allies and Americans themselves, ourselves. And then, of course, since the beginning of this war, they've been attacking Gulf nations, allies of ours.

SANNER: And as you mentioned in the opening, those five ballistic missiles that they sent at our base in Jordan right after we stopped 13 days of consecutive bombing. We thought we were back at the negotiating table and Iran was, like, not so fast. So, I think that we could see any number of a combination of those things. They're all on the table.

TAPPER: So, President Trump warned that the U.S. would attack Oman, Oman, a U.S. ally, if it gets in the way of efforts in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump had previously threatened Oman in May. Oman is a not great ally in many ways. I understand why he might be frustrated with them. But they're still a U.S. ally. We still have a trade agreement with them and everything. What's the strategy here?

SANNER: Well, I mean, I just keep having this image of J.D. Vance in Geneva proudly negotiating with the Iranians, sitting at a laptop and typing out the terms of the laptop, negotiating the actual terms. And number five of those terms said that Iran was supposed to work with Gulf allies to determine the fate, you know, the control, how it would be administered, the Strait of Hormuz.

So, to Iran, again, I disagree but, you know, it was written this way, I think, purposely by Iran. So, you know, I was kind of hoping that we would get some agreement between Iran and Oman that would give the administration a way to get out of this. By saying that, it actually closes down, you know, what we're allowing to be an outcome and putting it back in the maximalist category. Iran is not going to be negotiating on those terms.

TAPPER: I could list so many things that North Korea does to the United States and our allies that prove that they are a hostile country.

SANNER: Yes.

TAPPER: But President Trump --

SANNER: They are not respectful.

TAPPER: President Trump says -- including helping Iran, by the way, but President Trump says he has a good relationship with Kim Jong-un and that he's going to scale back these joint exercises, joint military drills with South Korea which, you know, are intended to be a deterrent to North Korea. Does this make sense in any way?

SANNER: Well, it's deja vu. This is exactly what he did in the first term. He demanded that exercises with South Korea get scaled back and, you know, would only be like, you know, very limited computer-based kind of things. And, you know, it didn't really happen. I mean, we still continued, but at a lower scale.

[17:15:00]

It doesn't make sense in a lot of ways. And here's another reason: Who else wants us not to be doing military exercises in that region?

TAPPER: China.

SANNER: Bing. Russia, bing. Right?

TAPPER: Bing. Right. Iran.

SANNER: Iran.

TAPPER: And North Korea.

SANNER: So, like, it really doesn't help us at all. It helps our, you know, our adversaries. And, you know, if we look at North Korea, let's just say the list, right? OK, so, their nuclear fissile material and their weapons stockpile has probably more than doubled, right? That's not exactly good. They have enough fissile material for probably, you know, 90, maybe 120, something like that, weapons. It's complicated.

But they have proven that they can fly an ICBM that would strike, you know, more or less anywhere in the continental United States. They have short-range missiles that they can put nuclear or conventional on. And they have taken money from Americans by posing as IT infrastructure workers. And they're the largest crypto-stealers in the world. So, they're bad.

TAPPER: Right. Beth Sanner, thanks so much. The coroner revealing today that actress Hayden Panettiere was in cardiac arrest when first responders arrived. The 36-year-old actress died shortly thereafter. What else officials revealed today about their investigation into her tragic passing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our "Pop Culture Lead," the autopsy for actress Hayden Panettiere is now complete with the cause of her death still pending. The coroner's office says that the actress was found in cardiac arrest last night in an apartment complex in South Carolina. There were no signs of trauma that would have contributed to her death, the office said. The 36-year-old actress was known for her roles in the T.V. shows "Heroes" and "Nashville" and her extensive resume as a child actress before stepping back from public life as she battled mental health issues and addiction.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister is joining me now. Elizabeth, Hayden had a long career for somebody who was only 36. She spoke recently about her considerable battles with mental health and grief and addiction and some horrific things that happened to her. What else can you tell us?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, Hayden Panettiere, she had been in the business her entire life. Her mom actually started taking her to auditions when she was an infant. That is something that recently Hayden had said she actually resented her mother for. She said, this was not my dream, I didn't want to go to auditions.

And look, as you said, she had a huge career. She starred on "Heroes." She starred on "Nashville." She was part of the "Scream" franchise. But while she was famous and very successful to all of us at home watching her, she was really battling a lot of personal demons. She came out with a memoir earlier this year, just three months ago, Jake, in which she went into great detail about her substance abuse and addiction. She spoke about a time that she was essentially sex trafficked. She spoke about her postpartum depression. So, again, really, really dark demons there.

And I want to read you a statement that we got from her father, Skip Panettiere. He said -- quote -- "It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her and to the millions who watched her on screen."

Now, to make this even more sad, Jake, Hayden's younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, he passed away just three years ago. Hayden had said that she was beyond devastated and that he was her best friend.

Now, I mentioned this memoir that she was promoting just three months ago. So, we have seen her in the media a ton very recently. Well, one of her media stops was on Jay Shetty's podcast. She spoke to him about how, although she had all this darkness in her life, that she was really turning a new corner. Now watching it that she has died, it is so tragic. Take a look, Jake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAYDEN PANETTIERE, ACTRESS: I finally feel like I have shaken off all of this darkness and this negativity. I feel like I have a lot more life to live.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: She also did an interview with "The New York Times" earlier this year. I want to read you a quick quote. She said, I just can't believe I made it through alive. Of course, those are -- it's almost hard to speak those words now knowing what happened to her.

The system really failed her, Jake, and she deserves so much better. Of course, a ton of Hollywood tributes coming out today, including from her co-star, Connie Britton.

TAPPER: All right, Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much. Coming up next, we've got a global exclusive. CNN going where no other outlet has been, in Ukraine, as the country reveals it has pretty much run out of a key tool being used to keep civilians safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: And we're back with a global exclusive. CNN is the first news media outlet to be given access to a Patriot missile defense system on Ukrainian territory. This is one of the few weapons that can take down ballistic missiles, something Ukraine desperately needs in order to fight the onslaught of Russian attacks. There's just one major problem. Those defense systems are sitting empty with no Patriot missiles. And no guarantee that a steady supply from the U.S. or other allies is coming through.

Here's CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Out in the quiet corn, a moment of absolute desperation. Ukraine has never shown anyone these before, an American- made Patriot air defense launcher. The interceptors they fire, the only thing that can take down Russian ballistic missiles that rain down on Ukraine, are under a huge global supply shortage. But these here are sitting idle, doing nothing, when in Ukraine they could be saving lives almost nightly. Why? They're empty, out of ammo.

PATON WALSH: This tube being empty is a sight really that would spark fear for ordinary Ukrainians and is the product of dozens of phone calls to any ally, all sorts of deal-making, President Zelenskyy told me, to try and find the interceptors to fill this up. An extraordinary step they're taking by showing us the fact this particular Patriot battery is essentially out of action until interceptors arrive. A sign of desperation.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Chief Engineer Dmytro says it is two and a half months since this one fired and six weeks since he saw one fire at all.

DMYTRO, CHIEF ENGINEER, UKRAINE'S PATRIOT SYSTEM: You know, actually, this is a really heartbreaking sight when you have equipment but you're not able to intercept any missile. This is very sad. When you know that ballistic missiles are flying over your head and you are not able to do anything with it and you know that behind you there are citizens. [17:30:23]

WALSH: And how does that make you feel knowing that you should help but can't?

DMYTRO: Like you learn how to walk but you're not able to walk or you know how to breathe but you're not able to breathe.

WALSH (voice-over): He knew the global supply crunch was coming.

DMYTRO: When we saw how many interceptors were launched in the Middle East we predicted that we will be in trouble.

WALSH (voice-over): Ukraine has been reluctant to admit if they have zero interceptors left. President Zelenskyy telling me every morning he begs allies for more.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I do some things which I can't even share. It's not -- it doesn't mean that it's out of the law. No, but it's, I can't speak about it.

WALSH (voice-over): Kyiv is rocked by a massive ballistic attack normally once a week. Racing to the subway and shelters where before they felt protected they are not anymore. It is America first in the queue and Ukraine left to anxiety and rubble.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Our thanks to CNN's Nick Paton Walsh for that report.

House Democrats hold a shadow hearing in Maine on last month's deadly Ice shooting. Why one top House Democrat is calling the ICE killing state-sanctioned terror.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:36:13]

REP. KATHERINE CLARK (D-MA): ICE is a danger to every community in which they are active if they are not held accountable. We are witnessing state-sanctioned terror inflicted on innocent people by their own government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: In our National Lead, Congresswoman Katherine Clark slamming ICE during a shadow field hearing today from House Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee. The hearing comes in the wake of the fatal shooting of Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero last month. Duran Guerrero was killed in his car in Biddeford, Maine, by an ICE officer in front of his partner and their three-year-old daughter. He was in the country legally. He was not a target of the ICE investigation. The ICE officer said that he fired his weapon, "fearing for public safety" and claims that Duran Guerrero was attempting to flee the scene in his vehicle. Congresswoman Clark of Massachusetts joins us now. Thanks for joining us. So it's been just over a month since the tragic killing. Where does the investigation into the shooting stand as of now?

CLARK: Well, that's a very good question, Jake. Fortunately, most of the investigation seems to be with the Attorney General of Maine who put out a statement today that that is proceeding. And I'm very hopeful they have -- will have results soon. But the family of Johan Sebastian, the lawyer representing the family, they have heard nothing.

They have heard nothing from the federal government about what happened to their son. And part of what made today's hearing both so very heartbreaking and absolutely enraging was watching his parents speak of their 25-year-old child who had his whole life ahead of him, was raising a three-year-old daughter with his partner, had helped take care of his mother when she had a breast cancer diagnosis, who was a hard worker working six to seven hours a day to really provide for his extended family. And he was just going to work on a Monday morning.

As you said, he was not the target of this investigation. He had a valid work permit, was in this country legally. And yet, on his way to work within minutes after leaving his house, he was shot dead. And that is the definition of state-sanctioned terror.

TAPPER: So do you think that ICE should be ended? There are a lot of Democrats, a lot of progressive Democrats, who think that the agency should be ended. And if you do, then how would immigration enforcement happen?

CLARK: Well, listen, I think there is a role for immigration enforcement that is important to the security of the American people. And when I say that, I am talking about cyber security. I am talking about the very real role that traditionally, historically, DHS and ICE have played in making sure we're disrupting fentanyl cartels, that we are addressing human and child trafficking.

But this version of ICE that is, you know, had a tenfold increase in budget, and still can't manage to have body cameras on and operable for their ICE agents, and are just in our streets shooting people without explanation, without investigation, and not being held accountable by anyone. And that is the part of ICE that I think people are just so enraged at what they are watching. They are watching their tax dollars pay for paramilitary force in their communities. We all want secure borders. We all want homeland security. But this version of ICE provides neither.

[17:40:32]

TAPPER: Congresswoman Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

A student newspaper --

CLARK: Thank you.

TAPPER: -- dug into the Epstein files. They were searching for local community ties for its assignment. What its reporters found and published? Well, that sparked a free speech fight, including a threat of legal action. Coming up next, the teens at the center of the battle, and why they refused to take down their viral post.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:45:21]

TAPPER: In our Law Justice Lead, a high school newspaper in Marin County, California took on the Epstein files and found itself in the middle of a fight over free speech. For a school assignment, a California student journalist searched the federal Epstein database for any local connections, and he posted the findings on Instagram. And the post went viral and caught the attention of a woman named in the story, the head of a local modeling agency. She threatened legal action.

School administrators urged the students to take it down, but the young reporters refused, arguing that they are protected under the law and the U.S. Constitution. And joining me now are the students behind the post, Ben Mueller and Madison Bishop. Ben, take us back to the moment you opened the Epstein files and started searching for local connections. What were you looking for? What did you find that made you think, huh, I need to report this?

BEN MUELLER, FORMER FEATURES EDITOR OF THE REDWOOD BARK: I can't say I was looking for anything specific. I would say I was mainly just looking for anything at all where Marin County, where we live, was mentioned in the Epstein files. I think I was mainly just looking for, you know, did Epstein visit Marin? If so, what did he do in Marin? Did he have any clients that lived in Marin? And if so, who were they?

TAPPER: And you wrote, "I spent five hours combing through the Epstein files. I found my first error in two minutes." What specifically did you find and what did you do after that?

MUELLER: Yes, so that was actually there was a duplicate of files that I was looking at just related to this woman just while I was doing my research to make sure I did not say anything libelous. And there was one file where almost the entire thing is redacted, say for maybe a sentence or two. And then you click on the next file and it was completely unredacted. So that left me feeling a bit shaken about the security of the people mentioned in these files.

TAPPER: And Madison, you were running the paper's social media. When the Instagram post started taking off, when did you realize this was no longer just a story for your classmates, that there was a much bigger audience checking it out?

MADISON BISHOP, FORMER SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR OF THE REDWOOD BARK: Yes, well, as the social media manager, I have access to all the analytics each post, so I could immediately see that this one in particular was jumping up higher, faster than the other ones, which was something we expected. Yes, teenagers are anything but naive when it comes to social media.

So we did understand the power of this story when we posted it, but we knew that it was done responsibly, as we heard has been took you through his process. So it was a little jarring at first, but also exciting and we knew it was impactful.

TAPPER: But one of the women named in your reporting, Ben, she threatened legal action. Did she say that anything was wrong in your reporting? And did the threat make you reconsider whether you should have done this?

MUELLER: She did say that we slandered her, but she did not mention specifically how. And it did make me reconsider a bit just whether or not naming someone in the Epstein files, what that could do to their reputation, especially if they hadn't done anything wrong. But seeing as this was a woman who had directly interacted with Jeffrey Epstein, I felt like it was an important thing to mention in our reporting.

But there are other names in the Epstein files that are just kept in there. And it might be the author of a book that Epstein read. And they unfortunately are also named in the files.

TAPPER: And Madison, your own school administrators asked you to take the post down. What exactly did they tell you? And what was your response?

BISHOP: Well, they just forwarded along the subject that was mentioned. They forwarded her complaint along. And they asked us to take the post down. And Ben and I thought about it. And we went through the post over and over again for hours. And we realized, no, this content is protected under California state law. So we met with them in person. And we were able to come to an agreement that this post legally should be staying up.

TAPPER: So you're both heading to college this fall. Did this experience, Ben and then Madison, did it make you more or less want to study journalism or be a journalist? Ben?

MUELLER: I'd say it honestly made me want to be a journalist more. I mean, now I'm starting to do some freelance work on the side, hopefully soon. And I think just seeing that the things I publish matter to people, seeing that people are willing to read what I have to say, that means a lot to me. So I think it's definitely encouraging to me to continue journalism in the future.

[17:50:01]

TAPPER: Madison?

BISHOP: Yes, definitely. I also am excited to keep experimenting with journalism, but also how it pairs with social media in this digital age, how there's a balance between those two. TAPPER: Yes, no, absolutely. Ben Mueller and Madison Bishop, thank you. You know, CNN has internships. So please stay in touch with our team for after your freshman year and have a great, great, great time in college.

BISHOP: Thank you.

MUELLER: Thank you.

TAPPER: Today, the NAACP announced it's working with Nolan Wells' family as they try to get answers as to what exactly happened before the 18-year-old died on a 4th of July trip with his friends. The head of the NAACP joins me live next to explain their first steps.

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TAPPER: A new update in the case of Mississippi teen Nolan Wells tops our National Lead. Today the NAACP announced that it is working with the family's attorneys and with Ben Crump to push for answers and accountability. It has been more than a month since Nolan's death and still no clear answers as to how he died, why he didn't come home with the people he went boating with on July 4th, or where the state's investigation stands. Nolan would have turned 19 on Wednesday.

Joining us now is NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson. Mr. Johnson, so the Wells family hired Ben Crump in early July. Why is the NAACP joining the legal team now?

DERRICK JOHNSON, CEO & PRESIDENT, NAACP: Well, we believe we can bring some expertise to support the family and the community to get answers. Our general counsel is the former head of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division with some background and experience in matters such as this. And we want to make sure we can provide the maximum amount of support possible. And this is one of the ways we are seeking to do that.

TAPPER: So Mississippi investigators had previously said that Dr. Roger Mitchell, the forensic pathologist who performed the independent autopsy, will be able to review the internal throat structures before the case goes to a grand jury. Are you hearing anything about a potential meeting or review happening this week?

JOHNSON: Well, we're hoping that local state officials will be fully cooperative and transparent with the family. Up to this point, it left a lot to be desired. And quite frankly, a lot of Mississippi residents lost confidence in whether or not this case was being taken serious. So hopefully, there are steps in the right direction so that the family can get answers and have more transparency in how the investigation is going.

TAPPER: I want to read something to you earlier this month during an interview with Sean Tindell, who is the Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner. My colleague Victor Blackwell brought up Benjamin Crump's remarks about Mississippi's history of racial tensions. Now, Tindell, who is white and he grew up in Mississippi, he said the state has changed over the decades. He said, quote, this is Sean Tindall talking. "I had a lot of black friends through high school. I went to integrated schools. The days of the past in the 40s and 50s or 60s is something that most Mississippians my age and younger don't know anything about, including my children. So we see the world a lot different than those that tainted our history as a state. And I can tell you it's a much different place than it was back then." I know you worked in Mississippi. What's your response to that?

JOHNSON: Well, action speaks louder than word. I'm still a resident of Mississippi. And the state needs to deal with the perception with some real actions. It is unfortunate we are a month out. The initial response to the case was from the sheriff who took the words of the four young men as if it was fact and had not done a true investigation. We are entering this conversation with no preconceived notions of anyone's involvement. But what we are saying is up to this point, the family has not gotten the type of support and transparency from local or state law enforcement agencies.

I don't know if the state Bureau of Investigation has gotten involved. It leaves too much to be answered. And so we're going to provide as much support as we can, both to the legal team and to the family, because we think it's important.

TAPPER: So what are the first steps as part of the legal team? What is the NAACP going to do?

JOHNSON: First steps have already taken place. We're working directly with Ben Crump and his team. We're reviewing through our general counsel some of the information they have found and they're putting together a strategy to move forward. Kristen Clarke is a skilled lawyer. She served as the head of civil rights division. She's seen cases where the FBI and others had to go into investigate. And we're hoping her expertise and our reach as an organization would add value and hopefully get this community some answers.

TAPPER: How is the family holding up?

JOHNSON: Well, as any family would, I can only imagine. I mean, you know, your child go out with a group of friends, they come back with his cell phone and he goes missing and later found unalive. I can only imagine the grief that the family is feeling, particularly the mother. And I hope individuals would hold that level of compassion because it could be any of our children. The goal here is to ensure the family, that community, get answers so we can move forward as a community across the state of Mississippi and for that matter, across the country.

TAPPER: NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson, thank you for your time today.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

TAPPER: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, the Tupac Shakur murder trial finally underway in Los Angeles nearly 30 years after the hip hop legend was killed in a drive by shooting. Duane Keffe Davis was accused of orchestrating the murder as an act of revenge. We're going to break down what the first witnesses said today on the stand.

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