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Congress To Send Epstein Bill To Trump After Near-Unanimous Approval; Walshe Pleads Guilty To Disposing Of Wife's Body, Trial Continues; NATO Scrambles Fighter Jets After Russian Strikes On Western Ukraine. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired November 19, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:30:35]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking news this morning. The bill to force the Justice Department to release all its Jeffrey Epstein files -- it has passed both houses of Congress and will become law when the president signs it. Now he says he will but when and how unclear.

Now he does like public signings. This year we've seen him hold signing ceremonies for such things as restoring the presidential fitness test. That's right there. He did a signing ceremony for the GENIUS Act, a cryptocurrency regulation law. He's signed a slew of executive orders on camera on Inauguration Day, of course, including a pardon for the January 6 rioters.

So can we expect the same kind of public display when he signs the Epstein bill? Let's see.

With us now, CNN political commentators Bakari Sellers and Scott Jennings. Scott is also the author of the brand new book -- I mean, like, out yesterday --

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, AUTHOR, "A REVOLUTION OF COMMON SENSE: HOW DONALD TRUMP STORMED WASHINGTON AND FOUGHT FOR WESTERN CIVILIZATION: Yes, sir.

BERMAN: -- "A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization."

Soon-to-be best-selling author Scott Jennings, I'll go first to you. Will the president storm into a signing ceremony for this Epstein law? Do we expect the same kind of public attention that he's given to the fitness act?

JENNINGS: Yeah, great question. I don't know. I personally wouldn't expect a lot of fanfare. I mean, it feels to me like they're in a just OK, fine -- let's get this over this mode. And so -- but I don't really know. I haven't asked them and I haven't heard.

BERMAN: Why just get over it? Why not embrace it as something to shine the light on what all these women we saw yesterday were calling for?

JENNINGS: Well look, he -- I think there's two things going on here. They deserve all of the justice and attention that they should want or should get because of what happened to them. I still am a little puzzled why they and the members of the Congress that they've been working with haven't just told the public, you know, what they know about who was involved in this, but that's their prerogative.

But at the same time Trump -- look, he thinks all of this has been ginned up to create a narrative about him that isn't true. The Democrats want people to believe he had something to do with this when he had nothing to do with it.

And at the same time we are finding out that even after Trump excommunicated Jeffrey Epstein from his life Democrats continue to remain close to Jeffrey Epstein. But in Trump's mind the narrative is he is somehow involved in this --

BERMAN: Right.

JENNINGS: -- even though we have Democrats fundraising with Epstein. We have Epstein programming congressional Democrats like Stacey Plaskett, and on and on and on. So I think it's become a source of frustration on the political narrative.

BERMAN: But it was the Trump administration, in July, that decided not to release this after, of course, they said they were going to and after President Trump was informed that his name was in the Epstein files.

Bakari Sellers, to you. Also, Bakari, I should say, an author of I think at least three books at this point, including one children's book and two grown-up books. Great to have so many fantastic authors on the show this morning.

What do you expect the president now to do with this either publicly, and what do you expect will happen in the Justice Department in the coming days?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, (D) FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA STATE REPRESENTATIVE (via Webex by Cisco): First of all, congratulations, Scott, on your book coming out. That's always an amazing day for authors around the country when that occurs.

But getting back to Jeffrey Epstein, I don't anticipate the president doing this with much fanfare. In fact, I am concerned about the prerogative given to the Department of Justice to scrub the files and not be fully transparent. We do know that there's no daylight between Pam Bondi and the wishes of Donald Trump. And so I don't expect the full reckoning of the Epstein files.

The irony is that -- there are two pieces of irony.

The first is that the person who asked for the full release of the Epstein files on the political stage was Donald Trump back in 2015. Second, you know, you hear the Republican talking points about Jeffrey

Epstein and fundraising with Democrats and communicating with his member of Congress in Stacey Plaskett during a -- during a conference hearing.

But that's vastly different and Republicans are conflating the issue on that point and they're hoping to muddy the water because the question is and surrounds the untoward activity Jeffrey Epstein had with his guests on Epstein island. The untoward activity that others may have participated in. The fact that he was or is the most notorious child sex offender we've had come across the political stage in a very long period of time and people want to know the relationships about him and with him during that time period.

It's not about who he was giving money to, although that's a problem. And it's not about him communicating with a member of Congress. It's a little bit deeper than that and they just want to muddy the water.

[07:35:05]

BERMAN: You guys are both good strategists and authors. And I didn't even know the books were right behind you, Bakari, when I was calling you a successful author.

But Bakari, just first to you. What is the risk if the Justice Department doesn't come right out with these files? If it tries to parse them out or none out what's the political risk for them there?

SELLERS: And first, Mr. Berman, it's two-time New York Times best- selling author. I mean, just to be completely accurate here.

But the risk is -- we've seen the risk. I think we've seen the risk. We've seen the GOP influencers just with the binder on Capitol Hill running out of the White House saying we have something, we have something, we have something. And then they didn't have jack. And I think you saw the pushback from the right wing. I think you saw the pushback from the MAGA base.

It appears the only thing that can separate MAGA from its leader is Jeffrey Epstein, which is kind of interesting on its face. They spent all these years just with conspiracy theories about Democrats in pizza parlors molesting children. They never came to fruition. And now they refuse to actually harken with the true issue of Jeffrey Epstein. It's rich.

BERMAN: Scott, very quickly, redistricting here. There was a federal court in Texas, which for the time being has blocked the Texas redistricting effort, and immediately you heard people ask is this a question of be careful what you wish for here. Because if you look at the map now -- and Republicans started it in this cycle in terms of redistricting mid-cycle -- or mid-decade in Texas. But you can see all of the other states where it's sort of happening or might happen.

I mean, right now, if -- and it's a big if because this could get to the Supreme Court and they could reverse it -- if the Texas thing falls apart Democrats could actually stand to gain seats in the redistricting efforts because of what Republicans started.

Was it worth it?

JENNINGS: Well, I guess we'll have to see how it turns out. I mean, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts every day would be Christmas. I think a court has a good chance of overturning the ruling --

BERMAN: Yeah.

JENNINGS: -- that we just saw in Texas.

To me, though, the real ballgame is still what the Supreme Court intends to do with section 2 of the Voting Rights Acts. If they toss it, then that could open the door to redistricting in a bunch of states. That could lead to 12 to 20 Republican seats.

So we're -- I think we're still a long way from knowing exactly what the playing field is going to be next year.

BERMAN: Wild West here, Bakari?

SELLERS: Very Wild West. And I think Scott hit the nail on the head because the most damning issue Democrats have to deal with is if section 2 gets tossed out not only is it 12 to 20 Republican seats but they're getting rid of 12 to 20 members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

That diversity we have in this country -- the things people fought for. My dad went to prison for and bled for. All of those things -- all of that history will be erased because Republicans are afraid to actually have to win voters who don't look like them.

BERMAN: Bakari Sellers, great to have you on this morning. Scott Jennings, thanks for being here. And again, congratulations on the publishing of a new book. It is an extraordinary thing to have written a book and be out there selling it. So thanks for being with us, and congratulations.

JENNINGS: Thanks to you both.

BERMAN: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And notably, neither John nor I have yet to -- yet to become --

BERMAN: Yet.

BOLDUAN: -- yet to become best-selling authors.

Happening today, Education Secretary Linda McMahon is set to host an event on college affordability at the White House. The goal, according to administration officials, is to discuss and lay out -- the way they're describing it is "wasteful and low value academic programs."

This comes as the administration is accelerating its effort to dismantle the Education Department entirely. This is a thing -- this is something that the president promised in the campaign and is working to follow through on.

They announced yesterday that the department is partnering now with other federal agencies in order to transfer much of that department's remaining workload to departments like labor, state, interior, and also Health and Human Services. All of this is in an effort to convince Congress to act because it would require an act of Congress to formally eliminate a department of the federal government -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

Now to a stunning turn of events in the case of a husband accused of murdering and dismembering his wife as jury selection enters day two. Brian Walshe now says he is guilty of disposing his wife Ana's body and another charge while still saying he's not guilty of killing her.

Ana Walshe was reported missing nearly three years ago. Her body has never been found.

Joining me now CNN's Jean Casarez. This is a big change here. Explain.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So he has pleaded guilty to two out of the three charges. And it was supposed to just be jury selection yesterday, and they did go on with jury selection on that one charge. But Brian Walshe pleaded guilty, first of all, to count number two, which was misleading a criminal missing person's investigation.

And on the morning of January 1, 2023, he interviewed with police four times after she was not to be found anywhere. He said that she'd gotten up New Year's Day and said there's a work emergency. I have to leave for D.C. immediately. She was a -- she was a regional manager of a very large real estate company in Washington, D.C.

[07:40:05]

She took an Uber or a Lyft. She went to Logan Airport. She flew there. He told police that constantly.

They got out the Cohasset police. They got out other agencies to do a massive search to find her because she couldn't be found. It cost the community money; it caused an emotional toll on the officers.

He also pleaded guilty to mis-willfully conveying a body or willfully dismembering a body. And this is where the prosecution -- they were not in favor of this. This was not a plea deal, and they argued to the judge that he should not be allowed to plead guilty to these two charges.

Listen to them on willfully conveying a body.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG CONNOR, ASSISTANT NORFOLK DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The defendant's actions were willful. Ana Walshe was not a stranger to the defendant. She was the defendant's wife and mother of his three young children. The defendant conducted internet searches into disposal of bodies, researched locations of dumpsters, and then traveled to those locations. In disposing of the body of Ana Walshe, the defendant did not comply with the law.

JUDGE DIANE FRENIERE, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE FOR THE SUPERIOR COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS: Mr. Walshe, did you, in fact, willfully remove or convey the body of Ana Walshe or her remains not being lawfully authorized to do so?

BRIAN WALSHE, ACCUSED OF KILLING AND DISMEMBERING HIS WIFE: Yes, your honor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: So where will the defense go from there? They are pleading not guilty to the murder. There's only a few possibilities here. We're going to learn them when they give their opening statements when trial begins on December 1.

And this is jury selection now. Our affiliate says -- WCVB -- that they actually impaneled nine jurors yesterday. That's fast --

SIDNER: Yeah.

CASAREZ: -- and that's because the judge is going through it very quickly with individual questioning.

But here we are. It's either self-defense, tragic accident, intruder, or suicide. What else is there?

SIDNER: Yeah. I mean, wow. It is stunning to see him plead guilty on those two counts and not the killing of his wife.

We will see what happens in this case. You said -- as you said, the jury is getting close to getting the numbers they need to begin opening statements.

CASAREZ: Yeah.

SIDNER: Thank you so much. I do appreciate it, Jean. Always great to see you.

All right -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: President Trump says he is still planning to use tariff revenue to tackle the affordability crisis. His solution, at least in part, is to send out $2,000 rebate checks to Americans. It's getting a lot of discussion. That is certain. The president is talking about it as it is basically already a done deal, but there are real challenges to this idea and also growing concern of the real impact of this idea.

CNN's Matt Egan has some new reporting on this. What are you picking up? What's going on here?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well Kate, look, the president has talked about this like it's a foregone conclusion.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. EGAN: Like the checks are already in the mail. And no doubt, a lot of people could use the money right now. Unfortunately though, at this point in time, this looks unlikely -- very unlikely. Because there are some major obstacles, possibly insurmountable ones, staring with the cost here and how the math -- the numbers just don't add up.

BOLDUAN: OK.

EGAN: Now, no doubt, these tariffs are generating a lot of revenue. The Tax Foundation estimates that 2026 new tariff revenue because of the president's tariffs are going to exceed $200 billion.

Now, it's hard to say exactly how much these checks would cost because we don't really have any details, right? This is basically a glorified Truth Social post at the moment.

BOLDUAN: Right.

EGAN: But the Tax Foundation estimates that it would cost at least $280 billion if you structure these checks pretty narrowly. So that means it would exceed all of the revenue that's projected to be brought in next year. And if you wanted to maximize the impact and send this out to the most number of people it would cost over $600 billion. That's more than 2025 and 2025 combined new revenue.

Now, the other issue here is that this is not something the president can just do unilaterally, right? Congress would need to support it. And it's far from clear there are votes right now to support this, in part because Republicans just spent years blaming Biden's stimulus checks --

BOLDUAN: Right.

EGAN: -- for nine percent inflation even though that was only part of the story.

And economists -- they do tell me that there is a risk that this could backfire by raising prices because you'd be boosting demand without increasing supply.

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

EGAN: So that could just drive prices higher.

And even some Trump-friendly economists are opposed. I talked to Stephen Moore, the former Trump economic adviser, and he told me "Sending out checks to people is a bad way to stimulate the economy. Stimulus checks only stimulate inflation."

One other big obstacle is legal. The Supreme Court sounds very skeptical about the president's use of emergency powers --

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

EGAN: -- under the 1977 law IEEPA. And that's a problem because IEEPA accounts for the majority of the new tariff revenue. So if that goes away then that becomes even more impossible.

So I think that's why --

BOLDUAN: Oh.

EGAN: -- we're seeing very low odds on prediction markets -- on Polymarket. There's only a 15 percent chance priced in right now that the president ends up getting something like this done --

[07:45:00]

BOLDUAN: Well, wait.

EGAN: -- by the end of March.

BOLDUAN: If the economy stumbles -- really does -- is it going to make it more or less likely that this happens?

EGAN: More. I think that --

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

EGAN: -- is the clearest path to make this a reality is to make it a necessity, right? Because if the job market trouble really intensifies and you see the unemployment rate really start to move up, then Trump officials could credibly argue that there is no inflation risk --

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

EGAN: -- or a lower inflation risk, and that it's really needed. Because remember, stimulus checks, Kate -- it's really a break-the- glass kind of tool --

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

EGAN: -- that you only use in an emergency.

BOLDUAN: You really don't want those conditions even if you really do want the check.

EGAN: Exactly.

BOLDUAN: Good reporting, Matt. Thank you so much.

EGAN: Thank you, Kate.

BERMAN: A lot of conflicting motivations there to be sure.

BOLDUAN: To say the least.

BERMAN: All right. Sean Combs at the center of a new investigation. Could new charges be on the way?

And then the 5-year-old who chased down a criminal suspect who attacked his mother.

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[07:50:27]

SIDNER: Breaking overnight, NATO scrambling fighter jets in Eastern European airspace as Russia carried out a massive and deadly attack across Ukraine. The missile and drone strikes killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens more. And they mostly targeted western areas of Ukraine, which are close to the borders of Romania and Poland.

Joining me now is CNN political commentator and global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh. I do appreciate you coming this morning for us.

Look, Romania is now saying that Russian drones entered its airspace. Poland, back in September, said a Russian drone entered its airspace.

And how significant is this escalation where you see NATO scrambling fighter jets in the wake of this?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR, FORMER DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Yeah. Unfortunately, we've seen this story time and time again both of NATO allies like Poland and Romania scrambling their fighters to protect their own airspace.

I think what is meant to be seen here or what's next is what is going to be the response either from NATO or from the United States? Are there more sanctions that are going to be rolled out? I mean, essentially, what you don't want to see is this escalate into a full- blown war where NATO is drawn into this. That's what -- something that has been tried to be avoided this entire time.

But these allies do have to protect their airspace and, frankly, Russia is provoking this war by hitting targets that are not even military targets. I mean, you see on your screen there -- I think that's an apartment building where 19 people were killed. That's not something that is not only a military target but it's killing innocent civilians.

And so what is Donald Trump going to do to really bring this war to a close -- something that he said he would be able to do on day one, of course.

SIDNER: Yeah. The Trump administration was working on a peace plan here, you know, before some of these latest attacks.

I do want to ask you about Poland because they ended up having to close two main airports to protect military aviation.

I mean, how concerned are Europeans at this point that the conflict will spill over into NATO territory and start a much bigger conflict -- like a conflagration?

SINGH: I think what you're seeing is European allies being very concerned about this and the fact that Poland did have to close two of its airports. You know, you don't want to see the conflict spill over, but you do want to see the United States impress upon not only more sanctions but military support for Ukraine.

And that's why you've seen the Secretary General Mark Rutte and other leaders like the prime minister of the United Kingdom come back and forth to Washington, D.C. and really pressure this administration to not only continue sending military aid through NATO to Ukraine but also that intelligence sharing that we know is so important for Ukraine to continue their war against Russia.

At the end of the day, I mean, you know, this administration has proposed peace plans to, you know, bring the war to a close but, you know, what is Ukraine going to have to give up in return? I think that's what's still being negotiated. So rightfully, European nations are concerned about their own sovereignty and what Russia could potentially do to threaten their own airspace and civilians.

SIDNER: Look, we saw something remarkable and disturbing to a lot of folks. Trump angrily dismissing a question about the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi during his meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Let's take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him things happen. But he knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: The CIA assessment released, I think back in 2021, found that agents in the Saudi consulate in Turkey acted on bin Salman's order.

What did you think when you -- when you saw that response?

SINGH: You know, that response was, of course, incredibly shocking. I mean, you have the Trump -- Donald Trump himself in the Oval Office disputing American intelligence that directly implicated MBS in the murder of that innocent journalist who was speaking out and being critical of the kingdom. And so it was truly shocking to see.

And, of course, additionally, you know, I think Saudi is walking away from that meeting feeling pretty good, potentially getting that sale of F-35s and other commitments from the United States. And yet, what is the United States diplomatically getting in return? It really remains unclear.

So, of course, that response was absolutely shocking to see play out on the screens yesterday.

[07:55:00]

SIDNER: Yeah. For a while there, long before this, the F-35s were sort of contingent on whether or not the Saudis recognize and normalize relations with Israel. That doesn't seem to have happened. We will have to see what happens going forward in this deal, but there's a lot of questions left unanswered.

Sabrina Singh, it is a pleasure. Thank you so much for joining us -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So we are learning details now about a new investigation into Sean "Diddy" Combs. Authorities in Los Angeles are investigating new sexual battery allegations against the disgraced music mogul. The accusations in this new investigation come from music producer and publicist Jonathan Hay who previously had identified himself as the John Doe -- as John Doe when he filed a civil lawsuit against Combs in July.

He says the incidents happened in 2020 and 2021 while the two were working on a project together. Among the claims that Hay is making is that Combs forced him to perform oral sex.

Diddy's already serving a more than four-year sentence in federal prison for prostitution-related crimes. Combs' legal team is denying any and all of these allegations.

Entertainment attorney Lisa Bonner joins me right now. Because this gets confusing and complicated because there's a lot of kind of cross- currents of what's going on here. You have Hay filed a civil lawsuit in July. Now you've got the L.A. Sheriff's Department handling this new investigation.

What does it mean that the L.A. County Sheriff's Department has opened a criminal investigation, Lisa? What are they going to be looking for?

LISA BONNER; ENTERTAINMENT ATTORNEY (via Webex by Cisco): Good morning.

This means that they have enough evidence -- the L.A. County Sheriff's Department has enough evidence to begin an investigation. So at this point, Kate, they will begin to interview the witnesses, including the complainant, Jonathan. They will begin to look for physical evidence and digital evidence, and they will begin to compile their case and consult with other lawyers and the -- and the complainant to decide whether or not there is enough to -- evidence there to file a formal complaint.

But it is important to remember at this point it is just an investigation. There have been no charges that have been filed. So they are beginning their investigation to determine the next steps.

BOLDUAN: If -- again, we are at a very beginning step here with this investigation, but if it would lead to charges what happens then since he is already, as I mentioned, serving a sentence on separate charges?

BONNER: Well, this is something completely different from the federal charges and this would go -- his civil case is going to proceed just along with the other cases that have been filed against him. The other civil cases that have been filed against him. Now, this case -- we will see what the investigation leads. And if so, then this -- what they can determine again whether they are going to file a complaint. First, they would take it to the grand jury. Then they would decide if there was going to be a misdemeanor charge filed, a felony charge filed, which is usually the case in a sexual battery incident. So they're going to determine and start to look at all of the information, and the witnesses, and decide the next steps.

BOLDUAN: CNN reached out to Diddy's legal team, and they gave a statement saying this, in part. I'll read it. "As Mr. Combs' legal team has repeatedly stated for over a year now, he cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a media circus. Let me make it absolutely clear, Mr. Combs categorically denies as false and defamatory all claims that he sexually abused anyone."

He is facing roughly 70 civil lawsuits. He's appealing his criminal conviction right now.

How do -- add it all up. Does that -- does this complicate any of that?

BONNER: I wouldn't say it complicates any of that. What happens when -- if they were to file a case that would -- a criminal case, that would probably stay the additional civil cases. And that is because anything that they discuss, any evidence that is gathered in the civil case can be used in the criminal case here, and vice versa.

So they would want to stop any kind of case being filed in terms of the civil cases because they do not want to muddy the waters and use -- and be able to use what Diddy has said in any type of -- in his interviews and the investigation. They would want to use that in this civil case.

So they will probably file a stay with respect to all the civil cases in order to let this play out -- the criminal case, if filed -- because that is the one that is going to take precedence over the civil cases.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. And first and foremost though, just -- right now it is just an investigation now has been launched as CNN has learned.

It's good to see you. Thank you so much, Lisa, for coming in -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Police in Ohio say a 5-year-old boy helped stop a man accused of assault and then attempted car theft. The suspect allegedly punched a woman in her jaw and grab her keys while she was with her three children. Surveillance video shows her children, led by the 5-year-old, chasing after him. The mother says her kids hit the suspect and officers took him down.

A reporter talked to the 5-year-old.