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Interview with Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA): FBI Director Kash Patel Testifies as Trump Allies Question His Leadership, Whether He'll Meet with Epstein Victims; Summer Heat Deaths Triple in Europe; Kissing Bug Disease Poses Growing Health Risk in U.S. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 17, 2025 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: ... second day repeatedly asking him if President Trump's name is in the Jeffrey Epstein files. We'll bring you his response right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: FBI Director Kash Patel was grilled on Capitol Hill for the second day in a row today. Once again, lawmakers zeroing in on the Jeffrey Epstein case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): Were you present when the AG had the White House event when she released the binders to social media influencers?

KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: I was, yes.

[14:35:00]

MASSIE: So if you're willing to meet with social media influencers who stood to benefit from the sensational and sad stories of these victims, will you meet with the victims as well?

PATEL: The FBI will meet with anyone who has new information.

MASSIE: Will you personally meet with them?

PATEL: The FBI and the professionals who are handling the cases will.

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): Did you tell the Attorney General that Donald Trump's name is in the Epstein files? Yes or no?

PATEL: Why don't you try spelling it out?

SWALWELL: Yes or no, Director?

PATEL: Use the alphabet.

SWALWELL: Yes or no?

PATEL: No, A-B-C-E-F. SWALWELL: Director it sounds like you don't want to tell us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Patel's handling of the Charlie Kirk case even has some Trump allies beginning to question his leadership. Patel announced an arrest in the case that he later had to walk back, and in an unprecedented move, he revealed key evidence during on-air interviews -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Let's discuss further with Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley of California. He sits on the Judiciary Committee. Congressman, thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us.

We heard prosecutors in Utah say that they actively want to control the information that's put out in the investigation of Charlie Kirk's murder, they want to preserve, they say, the case that they're building. As part of his testimony, Director Patel commented that he could have been more careful in what he shared about the case, including that premature information that he later had to walk back.

I wonder if you are confident in the Director's management of information in this case and what you might counsel him to say.

REP. KEVIN KILEY (R-CA): Yes, so I'm not, I don't have a law enforcement background myself, and so I'm not well-versed in sort of what the proper protocols are, especially in high-profile investigations like this.

I will say that just sort of by coincidence, it was shortly after the attempted assassination on President Trump in Butler that we had Director Wray in for the same hearing last year, and that topic was widely discussed during that hearing. It was pretty much the sole focus of the hearing, and there were a lot of facts about the circumstances surrounding it and the suspect and so forth that were discussed there.

So I do think that when it comes to high-profile investigations like this, where there's a great amount of public interest and where really the entire country, you know, is going through this collective trauma together, I do think that there are probably different protocols in place on those sort of issues, while of course making sure that whoever is going to be charged receives a fair trial.

SANCHEZ: What do you say to critics who argue that he made those posts prematurely in part because he was trying to take credit and trying step into the limelight? I mean, would it have been better off had he not posted that a suspect was in custody when, in fact, one was not?

KILEY: You know, I don't really have the information to Monday morning quarterback there. I think the director has acknowledged that that could have been phrased differently, but, you know, you'd have to ask him. And I think he was asked at various points in today's hearing. I wasn't able to be there for the entirety of it about that specific issue.

SANCHEZ: Congressman, what about meeting with victims of Jeffrey Epstein? Do you think that Director Patel should take that meeting?

KILEY: I mean, I think that's up to the director. I know that he said at the hearing in response to questions that he absolutely believes that the professionals at the FBI, if there's new information that emerges, should. I think that, you know, whether that's something that it's good or bad or proper protocol for the director of the FBI to be involved with personally, whether that actively helps the investigation or not.

Again, I'd leave that to him and the team he has over there. But I absolutely agree that every single victim deserves to be heard and those that are coming forward should absolutely be heard by the authorities of the FBI.

SANCHEZ: Congressman, I do have a couple of First Amendment-related questions for you. What is your reaction to President Trump asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to potentially bring racketeering charges against those protesters that confronted him while he was at dinner in D.C.? It seems like all these protesters did was yell political slogans. Is that a racketeering crime?

KILEY: I don't have all of the facts there, but absolutely, if all they're doing is engaging in free speech and protest in a lawful manner, then, of course, that's protected activity under the First Amendment.

And I do think we need to be very careful here about how we go about some of these things, because I've actually introduced legislation called the No Tax Dollars for Riots Act, which seeks to defund organizations that actively participate in unlawful riots, but there is a specific nexus to organizations that have an officer who has actually been convicted of a crime as it's defined in statute. And so I think that, you know, when we have very heated moments like this, there's certainly a compulsion to do everything possible to protect the safety of the American people, but that is a very important line.

If it's peaceful protest, if it's pure speech, if it's making your view heard, no matter how repellent or vile that view might be, that is protected First Amendment activity. But when you cross the line into committing or encouraging or aiding and abetting violence, that's an entirely different story.

[14:40:00]

But when you cross the line into committing or encouraging or aiding and abetting violence, that's an entirely different story.

SANCHEZ: So how do you feel about Attorney General Bondi facing backlash, bipartisan backlash, over her comments about going after anyone committing hate speech? She sort of rectified that to say that she means threats of violence. What do you make of those comments?

KILEY: Yes, so I think that her clarification was important there because hate speech, however repellent it might be, is not one of the very narrowly defined exceptions that the Supreme Court has put in place to the First Amendment. You know, those exceptions are things like genuine harassment or incitement to violence. And so I think that her clarification made that very clear that we need to maintain that line rigorously.

That's one of the things that has made the United State the country that we are. And frankly at a time when free speech is under assault in other parts of the world. And I don't just mean, you know, sort of authoritarian regimes like China and Russia. I also mean some of our allies in Europe have been treating the issue of free speech in a very different way than the United States has.

And so I think it's very important right now that we stand up for the principle of free speech while at the same time making it very, very clear that those who are engaged in criminal activity, those that are encouraging acts of violence, those that are organizing violence, particularly against our law enforcement officials or individuals in public office. They will absolutely face consequences because that's what we need to do to keep the public safe.

SANCHEZ: Sure. So you would disagree with President Trump who, when pressed by a reporter about Bondi's comments, said that he would probably go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly. It's hate. He's describing a reporter's questions as hate.

KILEY: I didn't hear the president's comments on that. But obviously, if we're talking about purely expressive activity. No matter how much one might disagree with it, the First Amendment exists precisely to protect people of differing viewpoints from being able to air their views.

SANCHEZ: Congressman, I do want to ask you about the measure that was passed yesterday by House Republicans to limit Congress's ability to challenge the president's tariff authority until next March. You were one of only three Republicans that opposed it. Why?

KILEY: I had a couple problems with it. Number one is it's become sort of a pattern where we're having these votes on rules, and that's kind of an inside-the-beltway term. But what a rule is is it's kind of a measure by which you bring a bill to the floor for consideration.

And that's really all it's supposed to do. But we start -- we've had several rules lately that sneak in these unrelated provisions that actually affect substantive policy, and in this case, kind of creating an exception to our own House rules on an ad hoc basis.

I think that we should abide by our own rules, whether or not they're convenient for us at any given moment. I was in the state legislature in California where I was in the super-minority there, and I didn't like it when the majority in that body didn't abide by its own rules, and I don't like it here now that I'm in the majority.

And more broadly, I do think it is important for Congress to guard its Article I prerogatives, and I think that, you know, that's something that is probably going to be an item of further debate. And I think a lot of our members feel the same way.

SANCHEZ: Congressman Kevin Kiley, we have to leave the conversation there. Appreciate you sharing your time and your perspective.

KILEY: You bet. Thanks for having me.

SANCHEZ: Thanks.

Up next, proof that climate change isn't just fueling extreme heat, but becoming more deadly.

Plus, an update on the nearly two-decade-old case of missing British girl Madeleine McCann. We'll be right back.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: A new study shows that climate change not only fueled extreme heat in Europe this summer, but more than tripled the death toll there. The numbers are disturbing and only represent a snapshot of a growing problem. Meteorologist Chris Warren walks us through what is happening.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The study conducted by Imperial College London and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine focused on heat deaths across more than 800 European cities representing about 30 percent of Europe's population. It estimated about 24,000 heat deaths, and they found that climate change was responsible for an overwhelming majority of those deaths.

Looking at a map of Europe showing climate change's impact, the temperature impact, seeing an increase, a larger increase in temperatures more than two degrees Celsius with some of the darker red, showing where already hot areas getting even hotter because of climate change.

And it was a very hot summer. Europe's deadly summer heat, June, July, August was the fourth warmest on record. Western Europe had its hottest June on record, and Southeast Europe recorded July heat waves and extreme fires. The Mediterranean region absolutely baked through much of August. Spain recorded its most intense heat wave on record.

So it was a very hot summer, and a big reason for that is what we call a heat dome. So it's a big area of high pressure, and with some rising air, it gets capped essentially. There's like a lid on the atmosphere, and that air is forced back down, and high pressure is sinking air, and that sinking air warms up even more by compression.

[14:50:00]

So just the heat builds on top of itself. You also have clear skies, which allows more sun in and produces more warming.

So it was an extreme summer with warmer than average temperatures. The darker red shows us where it was much warmer than average. And again, these are areas that are hot anyways. So going forward, if things don't change, if things stay the way they are, we can expect to see even more heat-related deaths, and cities are highly vulnerable to heat waves because the cities themselves can absorb more heat, retain more heat. They essentially trap the heat. And in Europe, 70 percent of people live in cities, and that number is expected to go up to 80 percent by 2050.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Our thanks to Chris Warren for that.

And now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. The prime suspect in the decades-old disappearance case of British toddler Madeleine McCann is now a free man.

Christian Bruckner was released from a German prison where he was serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman. Three-year-old Madeleine vanished while on holiday with her family in Portugal back in 2007. German police have been investigating Bruckner for years but have not turned up sufficient evidence to charge him. He has denied any involvement.

Also, almost 1,000 tourists were stranded near Peru's ancient city of Machu Picchu yesterday by rocks on the train tracks, which was part of a protest. Peru Rail said it canceled service as residents and protesters clashed with authorities and bus companies. Recently, the bus that ferries tourists from the nearby town of Aguas Calientes up to Machu Picchu lost its concession, throwing travel into disarray.

And early this morning, a car slammed into an entrance gate at the FBI office in Pittsburgh, the bureau calling this a targeted attack. The driver then took an American flag from the backseat, threw it over the gate that he had just rammed, and tried to flee on foot.

The FBI says the suspect is now in custody. He's identified as Donald Henson of nearby Penn Hills, Pennsylvania. The FBI says Henson came to the field office a few weeks ago with a complaint that didn't make a whole lot of sense -- that's a quote. No one at the FBI building was injured.

And a potentially deadly condition is spreading across the country. It's called the kissing bug disease, and experts say it's not going away. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here to break down what you need to know about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We're calling it the kissing bug disease probably doesn't sound that bad. But, you know, what we're really talking about here is something known as Chagas disease, C-H-A-G-A-S. And if you haven't heard of it, that's probably understandable because this has typically been more of a tropical disease, typically in rural Mexico and Central America and South America.

But, you know, look, as the weather starts to warm, you see increasing evidence of tropical diseases migrating their way north. So if you take a look at this map, there's at least eight states where you're seeing evidence of human cases of Chagas disease now. Again, not something we talked about very much in the past.

And endemic, basically means that people are getting infected in those states as opposed to traveling from somewhere else and bringing the disease back to the states. So that's what endemic means. And that's something that is clearly growing.

It's called kissing bug disease because these bugs -- take a look at the image there, about a half inch to an inch in size, typically tend to bite on the face. That's where it gets the name. Leaves a parasite there.

And then people scratch at the bite and that parasite sort of gets embedded in the skin. You can get something known as a Chagoma. You can see that there, sort of that raised red rash. A lot of times people rub their eyes and they'll get evidence of the infection in their eyelid, very distinctive.

For a lot of people, it's fever, it's headache, it's rash, but it can be hard to know if in fact you're dealing with Chagas or not. And for a lot of people, they may not have symptoms, but in some people, even years later, they may develop cardiac issues. They may develop gastrointestinal issues, which is why it's so important to sort of shed some light on this to make sure people can potentially be treated, such as with anti-parasitic medications.

A couple things to keep in mind. These are nocturnal bugs. They like to bite at night, something to keep in mind.

Also, they tend to enter from the outdoors to the indoors through cracks, typically around your doors. So this is a good time of year to sort of be mindful of things like that.

Also, this season, there are other pathogens spreading as well. West Nile virus, obviously Chagas we just talked about, and Lyme disease, which is a bacteria that is spread by ticks.

[14:55:00]

Incidentally, West Nile virus in this country wasn't really a thing until about 1999, not that long ago, a quarter century ago. There was a big outbreak in New York and now you find West Nile in just about every state in the country. That is how things become endemic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Maybe time for some weatherproofing. All right, our thanks to Sanjay for that. Don't forget to scan the QR code on your screen and head to CNN.com and you can send us and him your questions.

Right now, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is taking questions after cutting rates for the first time this year. We'll have that next.

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