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Trump Warns That Hamas Must Disarm or We Will Disarm Them; Smith Says, Ludicrous to Think Politics Tainted Trump Prosecutions; Dad Accused of Killing Daughter's Alleged Abuser Running for Sheriff. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired October 15, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And here's a quote to start your morning. We will disarm them. President Donald Trump's fresh warning for Hamas. If they don't get rid of their weapons, the U.S. will do it for them.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Former Special Counsel Jack Smith speaking out publicly for the first time since he resigned in January and saying this about his indictments of President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK SMITH, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL: The idea that politics would play a role in big cases like this it's absolutely ludicrous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A father facing a murder charge for killing his daughter's alleged sex abuser now announces his bid for county sheriff.

I am John Berman with Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: New for you this morning, President Trump issuing a stark warning to Hamas as pressure grows on the group to return the remains of all the deceased hostages. The president telling Hamas to lay down its weapons, quote, we will disarm them. Listen to what he said at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: They know I'm not playing games.

And it'll happen quickly and perhaps violently. But they will disarm. Do you understand me?

REPORTER: Yes.

TRUMP: Because you always -- everyone says, oh, well, they won't disarm. They will disarm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: When pressed, he did not get into specifics on how exactly the U.S. would disarm Hamas, sources tell CNN the negotiations remain underway for phase two of the U.S. brokered ceasefire in Gaza.

But in Israel, anger is growing after Hamas handed over only some of the bodies of those hostages. And now the Israeli military says that one of the four bodies returned of the 28 overnight does not actually belong to an Israeli hostage. The three others have now been publicly identified.

The U.N. now saying that Israel will significantly reduce the number of aid trucks going into Gaza due to the slow release of those remains.

CNN's Alayna Treene is live at the White House this morning. Is there any more details on exactly what the president means when he says, we will disarm Hamas?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: No, it's not exactly clear, especially given, Sara, if you remember what the vice president said just days ago when he was asked directly, will there be U.S. troops on the ground? And the vice president said, no, the president is not going to be putting U.S. boots on the ground. Yes, they will be relying on troops that are already there at the CENTCOM command center in the Middle East. They said that they will be monitoring details of this, but that they will be not -- they will not be putting boots on the ground.

So, it's not clear what exactly he means, but, of course, this is the type of pressure that the president needs to continue putting on Hamas. In my conversations with people in that building behind me, Sara, they say that this is anticipated. There's going to be a lot of moments in the broader implementation of this 20-point plan where there are going to be obstacles. We're seeing one of them play out right now, of course, with the return -- whether or not Hamas is going to return all of the deceased hostages before that deadline.

And so there's a lot of. You know, pressure being applied, threats being applied, and I do think that this is, of course, the most striking rhetoric, though, we have heard from the president issuing this direct threat, saying that we will disarm Hamas for you or for them if they do not disarm on their own.

And so one other thing though I want to keep in mind, and I think in the broader context of all this is, of course, as we've been talking about for a couple days now is that, yes, what we saw on Monday was very successful, but there's so much work to be done.

There's a couple things, though, where the White House is more optimistic that this time is different than the past type of negotiations where they had a ceasefire agreement and then it quickly fell apart. One is that there is so much international backing, particularly from those leaders in the Middle East and all around the region who have been directly in talks with Hamas, trying to make sure that everyone is held accountable on this. And the other is that summit. There have been some questions of whether or not, you know, it was kind of getting ahead of things to have such a celebration on Monday, both in Israel and in Egypt, for that summit with all of the different world leaders.

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And part of what I've been told is that they believe that is another form of accountability coming out and celebrating this big moment. Everyone now really wants to make sure that this works.

But again, there are so much work to do and one of the biggest sticking points, of course, is whether or not Hamas will actually disarm. There's going to be a lot that goes into it, and these negotiations are expected to continue this week, of course, and the weeks ahead.

SIDNER: Yes. I mean, it's very clear there's already fissures in phase one of trying to implement that, never mind going on to phase two.

Alayna Treene, great reporting from you, thank you so much. John?

BERMAN: All right. New this morning for the first time since he resigned in January, we are hearing from former Special Counsel Jack Smith.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: The idea that politics would play a role in big cases like this it's absolutely ludicrous and it's totally contrary to my experience as a prosecutor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: He brought indictments in two cases against Donald Trump. Both those cases were dropped after Trump won the election. And what he talked about before this audience in London was his vehement denials that politics were involved in either case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: The problem is not prosecuting high officials who did something wrong when you do it according to the processes of law in your country, it's the retaliation, that's the problem. And that's the thing that we should be preventing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. With us now CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig. Elie is the author of When You Come at the King, Inside DOJ's Pursuit of the President, from Nixon and Trump. And, Elie, like a third of your book, I might, you know, a sixth of your book is about Jack Smith in the investigation here, and I want to read a quote from that book, because it deals really almost exactly with what Jack Smith is getting at. This is a quote from Abbe Lowell, who's a defense lawyer who said, Jack is smart, dogged, hardworking, and a true public servant. He is not biased and he's not political. But he can also be one dimensional. He can have heat seeking blinders on. I thought he was wrong in the Edwards and Menendez cases and overly aggressive, but not for any improper purpose.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: You know, Jack Smith is a complex figure, and I think Abbe Lowell's take is spot on. Abbe Lowell, so people understand, has made a career representing high- profile Democrats, including right now Letitia James and John Bolton, recently, Hunter Biden, so he's been a busy guy.

I think Abbe hits the nail on the head in that quote, which is that Jack Smith is not a partisan per se. He's not going into this with a D or an R behind him, but he is, to use Abbe's phrase, a heat seeking missile. And that caused him, I argue in the book, to overextend and to bend ordinary rules and procedures in order to rush the case and get Donald Trump tried artificially quickly so he could get him tried before the 2024 election. The record of that case makes it entirely clear.

Now, I'll leave it to people to decide whether rushing to get someone tried intentionally before an election is political or not. Jack Smith says his motives were pure. I don't think the record quite supports that.

BERMAN: Not partisan, right? You don't find it to be partisan.

HONIG: There's a difference between partisan and political. That's a really important point, John, that I don't believe there's an argument that Jack Smith is pro-Democrat, pro-Republican, but it's undeniable that he was thinking about and acting with the election, the 2024 election in mind, in asking the judge to change ordinary rules and procedures. And I think it's wrong for him to deny that and claim, I had no awareness of the 2024 election. I think the record belies that.

BERMAN: I will say, as this interview went on, Jack Smith spoke a lot about how -- what's happening in the Justice Department now in the second Trump administration is like nothing he has ever seen. And along that line, he has been called to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, which, of course, is run by Jim Jordan, a very close ally of President Trump. What are Jack Smith's options here?

HONIG: So, first of all, I agree with all of those other things Jack Smith said. I think he was spot on about the importance of an independent Justice Department and the danger of retaliatory prosecutions. If Jack Smith gets subpoenaed by the House Committee, he has three options. One, he can testify, two, he can take the fifth. Look, he is known to be under investigation by DOJ.

I want to say, as much as I've been critical of him, I don't see a scintilla of evidence that he committed a crime. And then third, he can contest the subpoena in court. He can go to a federal court and say, this is inappropriate, it's overbroad, there's no valid legislative purpose. So, it'll be interesting to see if he agrees to testify or if he tries to fight it in some way.

BERMAN: Based on what you know of Jack Smith, do you think he would want to sit there in front of Congress and spar with them?

HONIG: Jack Smith does not generally enjoy speaking in public. That's part of the reason that those clips are so interesting. But I also think he's not afraid or cowed by Jim Jordan or anyone else in Congress.

BERMAN: Elie Hoing, great to see you. Like I said, the book deals with many of these issues directly, When You Come at the King. Order your copy right now.

HONIG: Thanks.

BERMAN: Kate?

BOLDUAN: Still to come, should you run for sheriff if you are facing a murder charge? It is a real question being asked this morning in Arkansas.

And also new this morning, the Israeli military now says that one of the bodies returned by Hamas overnight is not that of an Israeli hostage.

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And caught on camera, how a battery and a dog's curiosity led to a major close call in North Carolina.

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SIDNER: All right. New this morning, an Arkansas father charged with killing an alleged child predator after finding the man with his 13- year-old daughter announces he's running for sheriff.

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AARON SPENCER, ANNOUNCED CANDIDACY FOR LONOKE COUNTY, ARKANSAS SHERIFF: My name is Aaron Spencer.

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Many of you know my story. I'm the father who acted to protect his daughter when the system failed. And through my own fight for justice, I have seen firsthand the failures in law enforcement and in our circuit court. And I refuse to stand by while others face these same failures.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Now, Aaron Spencer admitted to killing Michael Fosler, who was out on bond at the time. The 67-year-old is accused of grooming and sexually assaulting Spencer's teenage daughter.

CNN's Brynn Gingras is joining me now. This trial for Spencer is set to begin in January. He has admitted to this killing, but has reasons for it. And now he's running for sheriff. How is this all going to work? BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, it's a lot to unpack, but Sara, it's resonating with a lot of people. People are saying he's a folk hero, listen, this is a man who stood up for his daughter. Let's go back to last year to talk about exactly what happened here.

So, essentially, this man, Aaron Spencer, and his wife woke up in the middle of the night in Arkansas in their house, realized there were 13-year-old daughter then wasn't in her bed, started freaking out, called police. And then he took it upon himself to get in his truck and go look for her, ended up finding her along the side of a road with that 67-year-old Michael Fosler, who does have some history allegedly grooming his young daughter, again, 13 years old, was out on bond on several charges, including sexual assault. There was some sort of altercation there. And then Spencer fired his gun and shot Fosler in front of his daughter, killing him. She is the only witness to the crime.

Like you said, he's admitted he did this. He's charged with second- degree murder. But he said, listen, in that campaign video, you know my story. You know, why I am doing this? I protected my daughter and now I'm trying to change law enforcement. In fact, the person he is running against is the incumbent sheriff who is in office when this crime happens.

So, it's going to get interesting when this trial -- it goes to trial, which is scheduled for January. And then the, you know, beginning -- voting begins in February. So, we'll have to see how that all plays out. Of course, if he is convicted of this crime, he can't continue running, he's not going to be able to become sheriff.

But like I said, it is resonating with a lot of people. There's a defense fund that has thousands, hundreds of thousands of signatures trying to get those charges dropped against him. So, we'll have to see. He's gaining support though and that was his official campaign video. He's off and running.

SIDNER: This is a really wild twist in this actually very terrible story.

GINGRAS: Horrible.

SIDNER: Brynn, it is so good to see you too. We got to bring you in more. We want more Brynn. Thanks. John?

BERMAN: All right. A big time announcement that could shake up the Democratic Party, a generational battle for Senate that sets up a primary fight between a sitting House member and an incumbent senator.

And we are standing by for the opening bell on Wall Street. It has been a rollercoaster in a few days, big losses, some gains, then big losses. What's driving the swings and where is it headed today? Now futures looking up again.

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[07:20:00] BERMAN: All right. There is concern this morning among baseball fans everywhere that the playoff's becoming a little predictable.

With us now, CNN's Coy Wire. Coy, I've pulled all of my baseball friends and we're a little worried that the Dodgers are just going to cruise now.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. It's looking rough for the Brew crew. Two dominant pitching performance for L.A. from Blake Snelling, game one, and now Yoshinobu Yamamoto giving the Dodgers a 2-0 series lead.

The first inning last night, though, Milwaukee's Jackson Chourio put the io in Chourio, a home run, getting the party started. But Yamamato would play party pooper the rest of the way, retiring 10 of the next 12 batters after giving up that home run, only gave up two hits the rest of the game after that.

Top of sixth L.A.'s Max Muncy, he goes yard breaking a tie with Justin Turner and Cory Sager for most post-season home runs in Dodgers' history that gave the Dodgers a 3-1 lead. Seventh inning, Shohei Ohtani finally snapping his streak of 15 straight hitless at bat, knocking in a run, that was tied for the second longest streak of his career.

Yamamoto put it away, first pitcher to throw a complete game since 2017 just three hits, one earned run, striking out seven. The Dodgers dominate 5-1.

Football teams around the world are battling to book their spots in the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. And yesterday, the U.S. men's national team beat a top 25 team, Australia, 2-1, in a friendly, in Cold Commerce City, Colorado. Haji Wright scoring twice to snap the Aussies' 12-game unbeaten streak. The U.S. are now unbeaten in three games. This was their first come from behind win since Pochettino took over as the head man.

The women's college basketball preseason rankings came out, and South Carolina is ranked number two, just behind UConn. But it is South Carolina who's favorite to win it all. That could be in large part because of a legendary coach, legendary former player, Dawn Staley. In her 18th season there, she recently interviewed for the Knicks head coaching job. She would love to become the first NBA head coach as a female. She had this to say at media days ahead of the new season.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAWN STALEY, SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH: If I'm the Knicks coach and you have a five game losing loser streak, it's not going to be about the losing streak. It's going to be about being a female coach. So you, as an organization and a franchise, you have to be prepared for that and strong enough to endure those type of instances when you're going to look for, or hire a female coach.

REPORTER: Do you think it happens? Do you think it'll happen in your lifetime where a woman is -- STALEY: No, I don't, and I hope I'm wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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WIRE: Now, John, Coach Dawn Staley, is one of the most accomplished sports figures ever, as a player and as a coach, six-time Olympic gold medalist, three as a player, three as a coach. And I talked with coach. She said, growing up in North Philly, there were two things she wanted to be when she grew up, a national champion and Olympic champion. And she said it was because she saw those things were possible, and that is exactly why she wants to become the first woman to be an NBA head coach to kind of lead the way in that regard as well.

BERMAN: I'd say, she is something. It was really remarkable to hear her talk there. The only thing I'll say is she should aim higher than the Knicks, right there? There, you know, a team that's won a championship in the last 53 or 4 years. There are many out there and she deserves something better.

Coy Wire, thank you very much for that. It was a softball. It was like lob duck to me, I had to take it.

SIDNER: John Berman never misses a chance to give a little bit of a punch in the face to any New York team. I am clocking you, sir.

BERMAN: The only thing I'll dispute is the punches that in the face. I'm you with that.

SIDNER: Thank you, John.

All right, ahead, new this morning, why the White House says there will be temporary relief for military families despite the government shutdown.

And we will give you a look at newly released video of that assassination attempt on Pennsylvania's governor.

Those stories and more ahead.

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