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Interview with Rep. Adam Smith: Trump Strikes Deal to Send U.S. Weapons to Ukraine Through NATO; Kerr County Officials Hold First Meeting Since Deadly Floods; 9 Killed in Fire at Massachusetts Assisted Living Facility, Dozens Injured; Trump Called Bondi Critics to Stem Epstein Memo Backlash. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired July 14, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think that James Craig allegedly poisoned his wife to clear the deck so he could be with you?

KARIN CAIN, DATED MURDER SUSPECT: There's no way I'm motive. There's been no planning a future.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): News of her poisoning and the arrest of Craig rocked this small community.

MICHAEL LUCERO, FRIEND: It just makes me sick.

KAREN LUCERO, FRIEND: It didn't seem real.

M. LUCERO: Yes.

K. LUCERO: It didn't seem like something that he could ever do to her.

CASAREZ (voice-over): But prosecutors will point to computer searches allegedly made by Craig weeks before the murder on February 27th, 2023, the day he ordered arsenic metal, and days later, potassium cyanide.

How many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human? Top five undetectable poisons that show no signs of foul play.

Craig has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder as well as other charges. His defense? He claims his wife was depressed and had been suicidal for some time. Court documents say James believed that Angela was intentionally overdosing on opioids and another unknown substance, and he was sure Angela's toxicology would come back positive. Her autopsy report showed she had lethal concentrations of cyanide and arsenic poisoning in her system.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're standing by for what President Trump has promised will be a major announcement coming on Russia and the war in Ukraine. He's meeting with the NATO Secretary General at the White House this morning. The president saying last night he's, quote, disappointed in Vladimir Putin.

And in a few hours, officials in Kerr County, Texas, will meet for the first time since those deadly floods there, with new storms in the forecast bringing the potential risk of even more flooding.

And President Trump defending his attorney general and what's becoming a real Trump-MAGA divide, the latest twist in the rights fixation on the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files.

Sara is out today. I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, developing this morning, we are waiting for what the president said would be a major announcement about Russia. The exact details are unknown, though President Trump himself said that he struck a deal with NATO to send U.S. weapons to Ukraine through the alliance. He will meet with the NATO Secretary General at the White House shortly.

The president is also voicing new frustration with Vladimir Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am very disappointed with President Putin. I thought he was somebody that meant what he said and he'll talk so beautifully and then he'll bomb people at night. We don't like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Russian drones continue to strike Ukraine. This morning, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine to Russia, Keith Kellogg, is in Ukraine to meet with President Zelenskyy. This all comes as the Senate has crafted a bipartisan bill that would impose new sanctions on Russia.

Let's get right to seeing as Alayna Treene at the White House with the latest on this. Good morning, Alayna.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Good morning, John. Yes, look, I mean, this announcement today, of course, is going to be a big shift from what we've seen the president and his posturing toward Russia be thus far. I'd remind you that I think the big picture here is throughout his campaign and even in the early months of his administration, the president has really said that he believed he could find a swift end to this war.

And part of that, of course, was predicated on this idea that he believed he alone could negotiate with Putin and really get him to come around to finding an end to this war. Well, of course, that isn't happening. And we've seen the president in recent weeks really publicly, but I know privately behind closed doors, express these growing frustrations with Vladimir Putin and really arguing that despite everything that he says in their phone calls, it's not really translating into reality.

And so instead, we're actually seeing him kind of take on a very similar posture to that of his predecessors, which is to try and arm the Ukrainians in their fight to continue to fighting off that invasion from Russia.

Now, of course, one of the big things we're looking for today is what that major announcement that the president keeps teasing will be. But we do know, of course, that the NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, he is going to be at the White House earlier this morning or later this morning.

And he's essentially going to be here, as we know, that the president said last week that he has struck a deal with NATO to arm the Ukrainians through European allies. And the president has maintained now repeatedly that it's going to be the NATO allied countries that foot the bill. Take a listen to how he put it.

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TRUMP: But we basically are going to send them various pieces of very sophisticated military and they're going to pay us 100 percent for them.

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I haven't agreed on the number yet, but they're going to have some because they do need protection. But the European Union is paying for it.

We're not paying anything for it, but we will send it. It'll be business for us and we will send them patriots which they desperately need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, the Patriot defense system that the president referred to there, that is something that the Ukrainians have repeatedly said is one of their number one priorities, and really only the United States can help them in arming them with some of these weapons to really try to fight off this war in a way that they have been unable to do so thus far.

And look, I think the key thing here as well, when he repeatedly is talking about having the European countries pay for this, that's because we know as well, a lot of the president's supporters are not very much eager to having him take on this position and having the United States continue to send weapons and aid to Ukraine. That's part of why he keeps emphasizing that so much.

But look, what we're also looking for is whether or not the president is going to make any more movement when it comes to Russian sanctions. We know that Congress is moving closer to it. The president has said that he's very strongly considering it but has not formally said whether or not he's actually going to get behind those -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, we'll have to see there. But the fact of these weapons, these weapons being delivered, however they get there, does represent a major development. Alayna Treene at the White House this morning. Thank you very much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Joining us right now to talk about that exact thing is Democratic Congressman Adam Smith of Washington. He's the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. It's good to see again, Congressman, what does this agreement with NATO to buy U.S. weapons and send them to Ukraine, what does it mean in your view?

REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): Well, the biggest thing is the significant shift that you're seeing from President Trump. I mean the details are obviously important. How many weapons are we going to get Ukraine? What does a sanctions package look like?

But when you think about where President Trump, Vice President Vance and others were at at the start of this administration, criticizing Zelenskyy, you know, in some cases blaming Ukraine for the war, putting no pressure on Putin. This is a major shift that hopefully will put us in a better position.

Well, it will put us in a better position to get to peace, to put pressure on Putin to stop this war. President Trump had it wrong from the start, blaming Zelenskyy for not getting to a peace deal. But it sounds like belatedly the Trump administration is moving in the right direction.

The details will matter as they play out this week and beyond. But the shift in tone is a huge positive step for Ukraine.

BOLDUAN: If it is only defensive weapons that Trump is open to selling, is that enough to tip the scales and force Russia to the table?

SMITH: Probably not. But again, it's a step in the right direction. And keep in mind, you know, Congress approved, gosh, I forget exactly how much money, tens of billions of dollars for Ukraine in a variety of different weapons packages. That money is still there.

So the other big thing that we have to press the Trump administration on is will they follow, you know, the law, basically congressional intent and what the previous president signed into law and get Ukraine the weapons that we have already approved. If President Trump's position is we're just going to sell them stuff and dump all of the burden onto our European allies, that is not as strong a position as we are going to need.

And remember, this is about getting to peace in Ukraine, but it's also about blunting Putin's ambitions that threaten the U.S., Europe, threaten global peace. Putin wants to take back a lot of territory. Remember, he thought that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest tragedy of the 20th century.

We need to show that the alliance, 53-nation strong alliance that President Biden put together is going to hold together and stop Putin from those ambitions and force him to the peace table. So if we're just selling weapons to Europe, if there's no sanctions package, if U.S., if President Trump is saying we're not going to do anything more on our end, that is probably not enough. But again, at least there's a change in tone that recognizes that Putin is the one driving this war.

BOLDUAN: That's why with all of that at stake, as you laid out, that's why I continue to wonder what is the holdup? Is there any good reason that the president has not yet gotten -- he's not a yes yet on the secondary sanctions bill that Graham and Blumenthal, I mean, they have been pushing for months. They have more co-sponsors than I've seen co- sponsor anything in quite a long time because nothing is bipartisan anymore.

And Graham, I mean, Graham is calling it a sledgehammer as he's trying to make his appeal publicly on the Sunday shows. Is there any good reason that the president shouldn't be at yes yet?

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SMITH: Well, we do understand that the Trump mega world is a very strange place, as we are learning from the Epstein situation to be sure. But on the subject of Ukraine and Russia a lot of the same people who are buying into this ridiculous conspiracy theory that there's some sort of system of pedophiles primarily in the Democratic Party running the country that must be fought a lot of those same people are in favor of Putin and Russia. This is what Liz Cheney referred to as the Putin wing of the Republican Party that sees Putin as a, I don't know, a fellow white Christian nationalists battling woke-ism and that sect, if you will, is within the MAGA movement.

Now, the Republican Party itself doesn't sign up for most of that, but that tension exists within Trump's base. And I guess hard to imagine exactly. Sorry, it's hard to think exactly what Trump thinks about it, but he's managing that MAGA movement. Now, hopefully the momentum is on the side of people like Lindsey Graham, many other Republicans who recognize Putin and Russia for the threat it is.

But Trump himself is managing a very strange coalition, as we have seen.

BOLDUAN: Let's first and foremost, let's see what the announcement is this morning. Looking forward to get your reaction on next steps after that. Congressman, thank you very much -- John.

BERMAN: All right, new this morning with more rain in the forecast for Central Texas. Commissioners in Kerr County will meet very soon for the first time since the flash floods on the 4th of July.

At least 132 people died in that flooding. 106 of those were in Kerr County alone. And as Texas officials face questions about their response, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is pushing back against claims that cost cutting moves at FEMA slowed federal resources.

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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 there helping those individuals in Texas. 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.

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BERMAN: Let's get right to seeing as Leigh Waldman, who's in Kerr County this morning, where this meeting will take place today. What are the expectations around this as officials get together for the first time since this catastrophe?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, it's good to be with you this morning. So we know that flooding is at the very top of this agenda for the Kerr County commissioners. Their meeting happening in just under two hours this morning.

According to the agenda, they're planning to consider, discuss and take appropriate action following the update on the status of the recovery efforts that's been happening here for over a week now. This meeting comes after there was heavy rainfall in this area this weekend and into this morning.

And, John, I want to point out the river behind us here. The water level is higher than what we saw it at last week. It's moving a little quicker than we saw last week. We were here just a few days in this exact park.

So this is something that's at top of mind. They're also working to establish a central location to continue to help people in this community. This meeting comes as there's been growing calls for accountability.

It's something that Texas Representative Tony Gonzalez touched on this weekend. Take a listen to what he had to say.

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REP. TONY GONZALES (R-TX): The governor also mentioned that. And Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick mentioned that the Texas legislature was going to have a session and they were going to have hearings to take place to go, hey, is there technology? Like, what can we do in order to prevent this from happening again?

To me, that is a level of accountability that we need to have going forward. We can't just allow girls to drown in the middle of the night. We have to make sure we protect everyone.

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WALDMAN: And that call for accountability is not just for the county officials who are meeting today. It's for that special session, John, that's going to be happening towards the end of July on July 21st. And, John, we have new information this morning.

Also, statements posted from Camp Mystic down the road in Hunt, Texas, from where we are right now. They said that they have restored power at Camp Mystic for the primary purpose of communicating with our Mystic family.

BERMAN: All right. Leigh Waldman in Kerr County this morning. Leigh, great to have you there. Thank you -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: This morning, President Trump is coming to the defense of his attorney general after a flood of some of his biggest MAGA supporters called for her to be fired. Why this all has to do with the Jeffrey Epstein investigation still and what happens now?

And breaking news coming in this morning. Nine people are dead after a fire broke out at an assisted living facility in Massachusetts. Five firefighters were also hurt. Got more detail coming in as this is still developing.

Be right back.

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BOLDUAN: We have breaking news coming in. At least nine people are dead right now after a fire broke out at an assisted living facility in Fall River, Massachusetts. Dozens more were injured.

Also injured, and clearly it was a chaotic, chaotic situation, five firefighters were injured in this. One official is calling it, quote, an unfathomable tragedy.

Let's get right over to CNN's Gloria Pazmino. She's gathering details, and this is really all just coming in right now, Gloria. What are you picking up?

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GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate, and it's honestly, the details are just exactly the last thing you want to hear, especially if you have a loved one that lives in one of these facilities.

This fire started shortly before 10 o'clock last night. This is in the Fall River area of Massachusetts, and we understand by fire officials that 30 people were injured, nine of them sadly lost their lives. We have fire officials describing people begging for help, hanging out the window, trying to get first responders to rescue them. The fire chief spoke about the heroic effort that many of these first responders carried out in trying to get people out of the building, many of them who had mobility challenges and could not evacuate when the fire broke out.

Take a listen to the fire chief describing the situation there last night, shortly after first responders arrived to the scene.

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CHIEF JEFFREY BACON, FALL RIVER FIRE DEPARTMENT: Crews were met with heavy fire coming through the main entrance, and multiple people hanging out the windows, looking to be rescued.

MAYOR PAUL COOGAN, FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS: I just want to compliment our fire department, EMS, EMA, and the police for the job they did, containing a very dangerous situation. A lot of these people needed assistance just getting out of the building, and a five-star effort got as many people out as we could.

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PAZMINO: So Kate, as you heard it there, a lot of the people who were injured just needing assistance to get out of the building while the flames were spreading across this facility.

This is Gabriel House. It has been in operation since 1999, and it had capacity for about 100 residential units. We understand about 70 residents were living there at the time of the fire, according to the local department, the fire services department.

The Massachusetts State Police is currently assisting in investigating the cause of the fire. We do not know yet exactly what led to this fire last night, but we do know that several people were injured, along with firefighters, and sadly, nine people, nine residents, losing their lives -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: It's so sad. Gloria, thank you very much for your reporting on this. We'll have much more on this throughout the show -- John.

BERMAN: All right, new this morning. Sources tell CNN that President Trump is working the phones personally, trying to convince some of his most ardent MAGA supporters to pull back on their public attacks on Attorney General Pam Bondi over the Jeffrey Epstein case.

This, as one of the president's fiercest supporters, conservative activist Laura Loomer, told Politico, quote, There should be a special counsel appointed to do an independent investigation of the handling of the Epstein files so that people can fee like this issue is being investigated and perhaps take it out of the attorney general's hands, because I don't think that she has been transparent or done a good job handling this issue.

With us now, CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig, who just so happens to be having a book about special counsels, a highly anticipated work coming out shortly. Elie, a special counsel in this case, what would that special counsel investigate? What are even the legal issues surrounding the Epstein case at this point?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, John, if there were a special counsel appointed, it would be unlike any other special counsel in our history, really, for two reasons. First of all, if you look back at the history, going back to Watergate, when it was called independent counsel and through the ensuing 50 years, the law tells us that there's not supposed to be special counsel just because there's a messy situation or just because the attorney general has done a bad job. It's supposed to be reserved for where there's a conflict of interest or other extraordinary circumstances. And historically, those conflicts of interest have always touched on the president himself or other powerful people around the president. Now, whether there is such a conflict of interest, presumably Pam Bondi might know. We wouldn't know at this moment.

The other thing is special counsel historically and under the law is not supposed to be appointed just to tell a story, just to get to the bottom of something. It's supposed to be reserved for actual prosecutorial scenarios where there's some reason to think there should be criminal charges. The FBI last week in its memo looking at the situation said there's no basis to think anyone else should be charged.

So, look, this is Pam Bondi's decision, and it's going to be a tough one.

BERMAN: What are the actual outstanding legal issues in this case when people are criticizing Pam Bondi? What is it? Is it about actual legal things?

HONIG: It's a great question, right? It's important that we separate what people are super interested in, myself included, I think a lot of us in the media included, but where there's some actual legal work to be done. And the only real legal work that could be done here by DOJ would be a criminal investigation and charges.

But again, if you look at that memo that the FBI put out last week, they said they went through three terabytes of information. That's a massive amount of information.

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And the memo says basically there's no reason to continue down this road. There's no reason to think that anyone should be criminally charged.

Now, do people credit that? Do people credit Pam Bondi? That gets into a more complex question.

BERMAN: Elie, I want to ask you quickly about this district judge who ruled that in that district that ICE needs to stop doing the roving immigration raids it has been doing based on what this judge said were race, you know, skin color, or the language being spoken by the people being raided there. The significance of this case and what will the appeal -- what grounds will the appeal be on?

HONIG: Yes, so this will go up to the Ninth Circuit this week. This was a case decided in the Central District of California where Los Angeles is located. And the interesting thing is the parties in this case actually agree on the law.

ICE does have the power to conduct immigration raids and they have to have reasonable suspicion to take someone into custody. Now, that's a low bar, but it's not nothing. And here ICE said, well, we were basing our reasonable suspicion on the totality of the circumstances. But the challenger said, and the judge agreed, no, you're using prohibited characteristics. Race, someone's skin color, the language they're speaking, where they are. And the judge said, you cannot form reasonable suspicion on those constitutionally protected factors.

So that's the question that goes up on appeal this week to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and maybe eventually, maybe on short order to the Supreme Court itself.

BERMAN: Counselor Elie Honig, great to have you here. Looking forward to reading much more about special counsels sometime soon.

HONIG: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: All right, President Trump says he is, quote, very disappointed now with Russia's Vladimir Putin as he teases what he calls a big statement coming today.

An historic lodge destroyed by wildfire right near the Grand Canyon.

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