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Trump Defends A.G. Pam Bondi Over Handling of Epstein Investigation; Soon, Kerry County Officials Hold First Meeting Since Deadly Floods; Report Shows Mother, Daughter Killed in Kentucky Church Shooting. Aired 7-7:30a ET
Aired July 14, 2025 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:00:00]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Developing this morning, we've got new twists in the Jeffrey Epstein face-off, President Trump personally making calls to save the job of Attorney General Pam Bondi, as some of his most fervent supporters make very public calls to fire her.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And the search for the missing picks back up in Texas after operations were brought to a halt by more rain. The chance now of more thunderstorms is bringing new flooding risks. Local officials are set to meet this morning for the first time since those deadly floods.
And Democratic lawmakers calling conditions at a new immigrant detention center inhumane, what they say they saw at Alligator Alcatraz.
Sara's out today. I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman. This is CNN News Central.
BERMAN: And new this morning, CNN has learned that President Trump is personally making phone calls to try to get some of his most fervent supporters to back off their attacks on the administration over the Jeffrey Epstein case. And he was literally standing by his Attorney General Pam Bondi at a soccer game amid very public calls for her to be fired.
What is notable and most unusual in the entire political history of Donald Trump is that he feels that he has to do this. This is an extremely rare and potentially potent split from his base.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BANNON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: It is not about just a pedophile ring and all that. It is about who governs us, right? And that's why it's not going to go away.
You're going to lose 10 percent of the MAGA movement.
ANDREW SCHULZ, HOST, FLAGRANT PODCAST: It's insulting our intelligence. Like, obviously, the intelligence community is trying to cover it up. Obviously, the Trump administration is trying to cover up.
TUCKER CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS ANCHOR: The current DOJ under Pam Bondi is covering up crimes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So, this all has to do with a memo where the Justice Department said it will not release files on the Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking case, found no evidence that his death was anything but a suicide and that he had no so-called client list. This runs counter to theories and speculation that many conservative activists have trafficked in it for years.
Key questions today, what happens to Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who had reportedly been considering resigning over the DOJ handling of this case?
Let's get right to the White House. CNN's Alayna Treene is there. What are you hearing at this moment, Alayna?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Look, John, I mean, we've now seen President Donald Trump repeatedly try to tell his supporters, tell his base to move on from this. We first saw this last week when he was in his cabinet meeting next to Attorney General Pam Bondi, and he said, you know, he tried to suggest really that questions on this. He called them a desecration and try to argue that Epstein was old news. Then we saw him on Saturday posting. He said, what's going on with my boys, and in some cases, gals? He said they're all going after the attorney general and that he's still supporting her and essentially saying, knock it off.
And then we're learning, as you mentioned, John, that the president has been personally calling some of his fiercest supporters. That includes Charlie Kirk, the head, the founder of Turning Point USA, which is really where we saw all of these big MAGA personalities and conservatives kind of coalesce around this event that they held in Florida this weekend. I caught up with Donie O'Sullivan, our colleague who attended it. He said he did not speak with one person there, one Trump supporter who said that they did not want to see more information, have more revealed about the Epstein case.
And this is really -- you put it I think very eloquently, this is a major break between Donald Trump and his base that we really haven't seen particularly ever since Trump's revival. Normally, when the president tries to give them a message and tells them to move on, they tend to believe him. But what's going on here is, you know, this is kind of at odds with the president's kind of brand of being a teller of uncomfortable truths and being very transparent even about some of the most controversial topics.
But this is not something that is going away. We've now heard -- you played that clip of Steve Bannon. I've been talking with him a lot. He said, this is something that is not going away. People are very, very angry of this, both he and Laura Loomer, of course, someone who's also very influential, including on President Donald Trump. She's met personally with the president here at the White House, both of them now saying they believe that a special prosecutor should be appointed to go over what has been happening and how Attorney General Pam Bondi has actually handled these files.
[07:05:03]
All to say despite the White House and really the president himself trying to urge his supporters to move on from, this is something that is not going to go away easily. And it also comes as we know that people here in the White House themselves, this isn't just people on the outside, really feeling like the way that this was handled was mismanaged. And there's a lot of frustration here with how Pam Bondi has really tried to, you know, message all of this.
BERMAN: Yes. Look, we'll see where this goes, but I don't think there's any denying at this point. It's just different. This is different than we have seen before with this president as a politician.
Alayna Treene at the White House this morning, thank you very much. Kate?
BOLDUAN: Also, this morning, very soon, leaders in Kerr County, Texas, will be meeting for the first time since those catastrophic floods devastated the region on July 4th. And the numbers, the tragic numbers, just keep rising from the devastation, now at least 132 people are confirmed dead. At least 106 of those victims were in Kerr County alone.
The search now for at least 150 people still missing was actually brought to a halt for a time yesterday as more rain brought on new flashflood risk. The crews are back at it this morning, but there is more rain still in the forecast. And as Texas officials are facing questions about their response and warnings ahead of time, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is pushing back against the reporting that cost cutting moves at FEMA slowed the federal response.
CNN's Leigh Waldman is in Central Texas for us this morning. What's the latest Leigh?
LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, it's good to be with you. The rain continues to fall here. It's been raining here in Kerrville for the entire morning. We've been out here. There's thunder and lightning overnight, just adding to the difficulty of an already difficult search and rescue effort that's been ongoing now for more than a week.
Like you mentioned, those efforts had to be temporarily suspended, the ground efforts in Kerrville, over the weekend because of the dangers flood risks that we are seeing. And that's continuing on throughout the day today.
Now, we are going to hear from the Kerr County Commissioner's Court today on their bimonthly meeting. It's happening at 9:00 A.M. local time in just a few hours. And in that meeting, they are supposed to, quote, consider, discuss, and take appropriate action following the status of those search and rescue efforts. We're going to continue to press those local leaders here for information on what happened in those critical hours leading up to when this floodwater inundated this community and communities surrounding the Texas Hill Country.
But Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, talked about the federal response this weekend. Take a listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: You know, those claims have are absolutely false. Within just an hour or two after the flooding, we had resources from the Department of Homeland Security. They're helping those individuals in Texas. It was a heartbreaking scene and I think it's been well covered about what the Coast Guard did, how they were deployed immediately and helped rescue so many individuals from those floodwaters. And we had Border Patrol down there with their tactical teams and FEMA was there just within a few hours as well.
So, those claims are false. They're from people who won't put their name behind those claims, and those call centers were fully staffed and responsive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALDMAN: Now, Secretary Noem's comments come after there was criticism that the Urban Search and Rescue crews were not deployed until Monday, 72 hours after the flood water inundated this community. There was also new reporting from The New York Times that two thirds of calls to disaster assistance lines after these floodwaters came into this area were not answered.
So, she's pushing back on those claims, on the reports from sources with knowledge of what happened here in that federal response. Kate?
BOLDUAN: Leigh, thank you so much. John?
BERMAN: All right, breaking overnight. We're getting new details in at a church shooting in Kentucky, a gunman opened fire killing a mother and a daughter. What we know about the suspect this morning.
And President Trump teases a major statement on Russia this morning with a key meeting set to happen at the White House very shortly.
And more than 700 migrants packed into cages in the sweltering heat of a Florida swamp. That's what Democrats say is happening inside the detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:10:00]
BOLDUAN: We are getting some new details right now after a man shot and killed two women yesterday at a church in Lexington, Kentucky, killed were 72-year-old Beverly Gumm and her 34-year-old daughter Christina Combs. Adding to this tragedy, the two other people who were shot and injured were their husbands.
A family member tells the Lexington Herald leader that she was in the church basement cooking lunch when the suspect arrived, and that the man came looking for one of her sisters with whom he shared three children. The man then saying someone is going to have to die then when he was told that she wasn't there, this according to the sister.
CNN's Gloria Pazmino is tracking this one for us. She joins us now. And, Gloria, there also was a state trooper who was shot in all of this. What happened here?
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate. It was a really just tragic chain of events leading up to this shooting inside this church, which police officials described yesterday as a very close knit community.
[07:15:07]
In fact, many of the church members are also family. They're related. And as you said, the two fatal victims in this incident are a mother and daughter. Their husbands were injured in this shooting.
Now, before the suspect, which has not yet been identified by police, arrived to this church, he shot a state trooper near the Kentucky airport. After he was pulled over by the trooper, he shot at him. He then fled the scene, hijacked a car and drove about 12 miles to this church. Now, as you said, it appears that the suspect had a known connection to the members of this church and was looking for a woman who he shared children with. That woman was not there, but still he opened fire inside the church, fatally striking the two women.
Now, before of all of this, officials said that police were trying to respond first to that shooting of the state trooper, and then to the shooting at the church. The people who were injured, including the state trooper, are currently receiving medical treatment along with the two other people who were injured.
So, far we have not learned anything about the motive behind the shooting other than the family members who spoke with the local newspaper saying that the suspect came looking for a woman who he shared a family with. Kate?
BOLDUAN: Yes, much more to learn here today. You can be sure of that. Gloria, thank you very much for that. She's going to have updates throughout the morning for us.
Still ahead also for us, former President Barack Obama offering up some tough talk for Democrats right now. Message, essentially, toughen up. There's new CNN reporting about what he said at this private fundraiser and what he wants to see happen now.
And heavy rains, flooding, highways, streets, underpasses in the northeast this weekend, and now more rain expected today. We have the forecast for you and the new flash flooding risk.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:20:00]
BERMAN: This morning, Jannik Sinner is a Wimbledon champion. This was quite a rematch.
CNN's Coy Wire is with us now. Good morning to you, sir.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Good to see you, John. Jannik Sinner snatching Wimbledon by taking down none other than the two-time defending champ, Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner lost the first set 4-6, but then rallied with some booming backhand sensational serves to win the next three, 6-4.
It was a clash of colossal competitors who've been giving us the greatest rivalry going in tennis right now. Sinner lost to Alcaraz, remember, in the French Open final just several weeks ago. The 23- year-old Sinner becomes the first Italian ever to win a Wimbledon singles title.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANNIK SINNER, WINS FOURTH GRAND SLAM TITLE, FIRST AT WIMBLEDON: We were talking actually before the match. We would never have thought to be in this position. Back in the days when I was young, this was only a dream, a dream of the dream, because it was so far away where I'm from. So, it's all -- I'm just living them, my dream. So, it's amazing and yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Chelsea Football Club crushing Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to claim the FIFA Club World Cup title. President Donald Trump in attendance along with the first lady, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Mr. Trump took the stage to present the trophy to Chelsea. You could see in the back there's some of the players seen wondering why the pres was hanging around so long.
To MLB and John Berman's Red Sox, a surging squad that is simply unstoppable right now, and John will tell you. Ceddanne Rafaela making a spectacular play on a sinking liner, trickled out of his glove but he quickly recovers, fires the perfect throw to third to nab the runner and end the inning. Then Rafaela crushing a crucial two-run home and putting the Red Sox firmly in control. The Red Sox beat the Rays 4-1. They extend their sensational win streak to ten games, their longest since July of 2018.
Speaking of home runs, tonight right here in Atlanta, who will be crowned the king of swat? MLB All-Star festivities in full swing tonight, it'll be full. Send the Home Run Derby featuring Seattle's Cal Raleigh, who has a league leading 38 home runs into the All-Star break. A pair of 22 year olds, James Wood and Junior Caminero, they're making their Derby debuts. But don't count out the hometown hero, Atlanta's Matt Olson, always a threat, John, to send a souvenir into the stands.
I know you watched that Red Sox game yesterday.
BERMAN: I watched all ten. I watched all ten in this winning streak. We don't want an All-Star break. Who wants an All-Star break? Play more games for the Red Sox. I'm glad you covered it because the mainstream media has been ignoring this win streak.
Coy Wire, Thank you very much for shining a light on it.
All right, developing overnight one of President Trump's huge supporters now calling for a special counsel to investigate the Justice Department handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
And we've got new reporting on people facing detention at the controversial immigration facility in the Everglades. What we know about the immigrants who have no criminal convictions or pending charges in the United States.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:25:00]
BOLDUAN: This morning, President Trump will host the NATO secretary general at the White House. And you'll recall last week the president said that he would be making a major statement on Russia and the war in Ukraine today. This is days after he announced a deal with NATO to send weapons to Ukraine, an agreement the president said will include NATO paying for U.S. weapons and sending them.
