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Trump to Reset Fuel-economy Standards for New Cars; Sources Say Watchdog Finds Hegseth Risked Endangering Troops by Sharing Sensitive War Plans on Signal; Admiral Who Oversaw Follow-up Strike to Brief Senators Tomorrow; New ICE Operations Underway in Louisiana and Minnesota; House Democrats Release Photo, Videos From Epstein's Island. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired December 03, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:43]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": A CNN Exclusive after a months-long investigation, sources say a Pentagon Inspector General Report has found Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth risked endangering troops by sharing highly sensitive attack plans in a Signal group chat.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Plus, immigration operations have begun in New Orleans and Minneapolis. In Louisiana, Homeland Security is seeking to arrest at least 5,000 people while sources tell CNN that in the Twin Cities, officials are targeting Somali immigrants. And the Trump administration is set to roll back fuel economy standards for new vehicles. Ahead, what this could mean for gas prices and for those who are looking to buy a new car. We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

With Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth already under intense pressure, CNN is exclusively learning some new details about the months-long investigation into his controversial group chat on the Signal messaging app. According to four sources, an independent inspector general has found Hegseth potentially put American troops' lives at risk when he shared sensitive war plans concerning an attack on Houthi rebels. The sources also say Hegseth refused to sit down for an interview. The secretary was reportedly given the report yesterday. Today, lawmakers have it in their hands and tomorrow, a redacted version is set to be made public.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is live at the White House for us. Kristen, are you getting any new reaction on this?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Brianna, we're waiting to hear from the White House. But one thing that's clear, they're watching this very closely because, as you noted, this isn't happening in a vacuum. It's coming at a time where lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have really been questioning Hegseth's judgment about a completely separate issue, which is those strikes on narco terrorists. That's what the administration calls them, or on these boats coming off the coast of Venezuela. So there's already been an enormous amount of scrutiny on the Secretary of Defense.

And now, you have this classified report. We do expect the public to get an unclassified report on Thursday. So let's talk a little bit about what the main findings were, in addition to the fact that the secretary did not sit down, which I think is incredibly notable here and something to pay attention to, particularly as we start hearing these lawmakers ask to talk to Hegseth about these other strikes. But what they found was this, the bottom line is that Hegseth, when he used Signal to communicate about these Houthi -- these strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, essentially compromised sensitive military information, which could have led to endangering troops or endangering the mission as a whole.

And just a reminder of what we saw in this -- in these Signal chats, which were eventually published online when a reporter got added to this chat. One specific quote that I think sums it up here. It says, "This is when the first bombs will drop." There were incredibly specific details about this incident, which is why it drew so much concern, which ultimately led into this investigation, which of course we have these exclusive details here from our colleague, Zach Cohen and Jake Tapper. Again, they don't say that they have any indication whether or not Hegseth unclassified or declassified this information before he shared it. But right now, this is what they found, that they could have endangered those troops or the mission as a whole.

KEILAR: And Kristen, the admiral who oversaw the follow-up strike on September 2nd on that alleged drug boat in the Caribbean is going to be on the Hill tomorrow. What are we expecting?

HOLMES: Yeah. And the White House is watching that very closely too. We are expecting the admiral to get asked a lot of questions about what the Secretary of Defense himself has said about this. And I want to pull this up for you, because here's just some of what the Secretary of Defense has said about this attack, which we now know. There were two strikes on this drug vote on September 2nd. He said that he did not personally see survivors. He also said at one point that he left, he didn't see the second strike, because he had other meetings. After he had said in an interview that he watched this all unfold, he said that Admiral Frank Bradley, who of course as you note is going to talk to Senators, was ordered to follow up the strike after Hegseth left the room and that Bradley made the correct decision. There's going to be a lot of talk about timeline and who gave orders and the White House again watching this closely.

[14:05:00]

KEILAR: All right, as are we. Kristen Holmes, thank you so much. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Let's discuss with retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Rachel VanLandingham. She's a former JAG Officer, now a Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School. Thank you so much for being with us. First, help us understand the IG's findings here.

LT. COL. RACHEL VANLANDINGHAM, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Sure. So from the reporting, since we'll have the unclassified version tomorrow, the Inspector General did find that the Secretary of Defense violated department policy by using an unsecure unapproved commercial messaging system to reveal ongoing operational plans. And that -- the most egregious finding is that he put U.S. National Security and most importantly, U.S. service members' lives at risk by using a messaging app that -- to be honest, if he was in the military, the military courts marshal militarily prosecutes individuals for far less egregious mishandling of classified information because by telling, broadcasting to individuals such as a reporter he didn't know was on the chat, what time we're attacking, he's telling the enemy potentially what time we're attacking and when to shoot at our pilots.

SANCHEZ: So as I understand it, Secretary Hegseth does have the authority to potentially declassify some of that information. He says that he made an operational decision to share that information on the spot though that I know of, we don't have documentation of that, what does that tell you?

VANLANDINGHAM: Well, that just tells you he has incredibly poor decision making if he decided to declassify information that put our service members at risk. And that's what this report -- per the reporting actually finds that he jeopardized operational security. Why in the world would he declassify information to tell our enemies where our planes -- and where and when our planes are dropping bombs? That makes no sense. It's just a ridiculous excuse to cover up for his incompetence. The Senator should never have confirmed Secretary Hegseth. He should be impeached. If he had any honor, he would resign right now.

SANCHEZ: So Democratic Senator Mark Kelly was asked whether Hegseth actually broke the law. He said quote, "That's interesting. I mean he was in violation of some DOD regulations, but whether that's breaking the law, you've got to figure that out." How exactly is that determined?

VANLANDINGHAM: So, I mean, there would have to be a deep level analysis. And again, we don't have the report yet regarding the Espionage Act and various Espionage Act provisions, but I think this goes beyond whether or not he violated criminal law. It's whether what he should have done, right? He is charged with the responsibility, the awesome responsibility of ordering our men and women in uniform to go in harm's way. And he put those men and women in uniform at risk by his own carelessness, his own recklessness, his own complete disregard of our secure classification systems. And again, we court-martial folks for that and for that he should resign.

SANCHEZ: Well, what's your impression or assessment of his statement that the IG -- this is before today's reporting -- is politically motivated, that that office entirely needs to be remade. Had you ever experienced anything or seen anything that would give you an indication that the IG is somehow tainted?

VANLANDINGHAM: No, not at all. In fact, the inspector general system was set up, an order in reaction to various excesses, including illegality in previous years. So that it is independent, supposed to be providing independent investigations and reports, and those reports shared with Congress. If they're politically motivated, if the report is not accurate, not sound, we'll see that tomorrow when it's released.

SANCHEZ: Lt. Col. Rachel VanLandingham, thank you so much for the analysis.

VANLANDINGHAM: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, a firsthand look at Jeffrey Epstein's infamous private island. House Democrats releasing photos and videos of the island that was once the epicenter of the convicted sex offender's decades of abuse of young girls and women. Plus, an immigration lawyer telling his clients to "Quarantine like it was COVID-19" as immigration operations get underway in New Orleans. We'll take you there. And later, an Arctic blast bringing freezing temperatures to more than 200 million Americans, shattering records across the country. Your forecast next.

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[14:14:09]

KEILAR: Underway right now, dual operations in Louisiana and Minnesota. The president expanding his immigration crackdown. CNN obtained this video of ICE agents earlier today, detaining and questioning the legal status of a man at a Home Depot about 28 miles west of New Orleans in the suburb of LaPlace. These new deployments are following Trump's xenophobic remarks yesterday where he called Somali immigrants, including Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, 'garbage' and claimed that he does not want them in the U.S. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is here with an update on these operations. What more can you tell us about them?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're both underway right now according to sources that I've spoken with. So, let's unpack each of them because they're each led by a different agency and that can make a difference in terms of what people see. So in Minnesota, there's the targeting of undocumented Somali immigrants.

[14:15:00]

Now, Minnesota has the largest diaspora of Somali immigrants, but also the majority of them are U.S. citizens. The administration says they're targeting those who are undocumented and it is Immigration and Customs Enforcement that is doing it. Now, operations can always vary in scale and strategy, but ICE typically is targeting people as it goes. And that is the type of operation that we are, as of now, anticipating to see there.

Then you pivot to New Orleans. New Orleans is being led by Border Patrol and the top Border Patrol official, Gregory Bovino. His tactics are ones that we have seen in multiple cities, in Los Angeles, in Chicago, and in Charlotte. Those are more heavy handed, aggressive tactics, more sweeping arrests in various locations. And so that is what New Orleans is bracing for currently, as that operation is underway as well.

So these are two still aggressive operations by the Department of Homeland Security targeting different populations. In New Orleans, they say they have -- they are -- their goal is up to 5,000 immigrants. Unclear if they get to that number. They have not been able to get to that number in other cities. We don't have a number for Minnesota as of now. But certainly, both of them have been priorities for the department today and these operations are expected to last for a few days. But certainly, New Orleans will be an interesting one to watch because it is the latest of the cities that Bovino has gone to and it's a blue city in a red state and we haven't seen that yet.

KEILAR: The administration is also cracking down more on legal immigration.

ALVAREZ: Yeah. Today really crystallizes what has been happening over the course of the last few months. But something that the Trump administration really came into office wanting to do, which is overhauling the entire U.S. immigration system. On the same day that we're talking about two aggressive operations that people can see, we're also learning that they are halting immigration applications for nationals from 19 countries of concern. Those are the travel ban list countries from the administration.

So what does that mean? That means someone that's in the process of getting a green card, getting naturalized, well, all of that is on hold now, in addition to the fact that asylum decisions have been placed on pause, they're re-examining other green card holders. They're restricting or adding restrictions to work visas and student visas. So when you take this all together, there are these levers that they have been pulling that are making these incremental changes that massively disrupt anybody that is in the U.S. immigration system.

Some of those people we'll see, others are going to be felt by people behind closed doors. But it all goes to show that the administration is having a massive impact on the system as we know it. To the point where I've been talking to immigration attorneys, who frankly do not know how to advise their clients anymore. They may advise them one thing in the early afternoon and another thing by the evening because of how much things are changing. So, this has become very difficult for both the people who are here undocumented and for the people who are here legally and trying to go through the system the right way.

And frankly, according to immigration attorneys I've spoken with, there's just no right way to go through the system anymore because all of it has been turned on its head.

KEILAR: Wow. As you put it that way, it's unbelievable. Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much for the great reporting. And ahead, a glimpse inside Jeffrey Epstein's notorious private island. House Democrats released never-before-seen photos and videos from inside his residence. Stay with us.

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[14:22:52]

SANCHEZ: Democrats on the House Oversight Committee just released new photos and videos from inside Jeffrey Epstein's luxury residence on a private Caribbean island. The image will shine a new light on what was once the epicenter of the late convicted sex offender's decades of abuse of young girls and women. It comes as the clock is also ticking for the Justice Department to release the so-called Epstein files. Let's get the latest from CNN's Arlette Saenz who is following this story for us. Arlette, these are never-before-seen images.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Boris, and Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released about 14 photos and videos detailing some of the sites at this private island, the Caribbean that was once owned by Jeffrey Epstein. It really offers a bit of a picture of what that scene was like, is that those islands and the home that he owned there were really considered to be the epicenter of his alleged sex trafficking ring.

Now, these photos and videos show the opulent grounds of this home. Democratic aides say that this was taken at Little Saint James, which is in the island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. There is also photos of the bedrooms, bathrooms. There's a chair also, a dentist chair or what appears to be a dentist chair in one room, with some masks on the wall. There is also a blackboard that listed various words like political and power. It is worth noting that some of these images do contain redactions.

A Democratic aide said that they redacted the names of any women out of an abundance of caution. But this all comes as the House Oversight Committee is continuing its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. The Ranking Member, Robert Garcia said that these images were disturbing, but that they are releasing them because they want to be transparent in their investigation. And it comes as President Trump had recently signed that bill that will compel the Justice Department to release all documents relating to the Epstein investigation. That is not something that has been done yet. It's expected at some point to come in the coming days.

[14:25:00]

But certainly, these images and videos that were released by Democrats on this committee, what they are hoping is to provide more insight into the surroundings and places that Jeffrey Epstein might have been as he was conducting the sex trafficking ring.

SANCHEZ: And House Oversight, Arlette, also received some bank records as well related to Epstein. What can you tell us about that?

SAENZ: Yeah. The House Oversight Committee has received about 5,000 records from JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank. These were financial records tied to Jeffrey Epstein that the committee has subpoenaed as they are seeking more information. Members of the committee believe that there could be a host and wealth of information that they can glean from these financial records as they continue their probe into Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring.

SANCHEZ: Arlette Saenz on Capitol Hill for us. Thank you so much. Ahead, more on CNN's exclusive reporting concerning Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth. Sources say a Pentagon watchdog has concluded that he risked endangering American troops by sharing sensitive war plans in a group chat. We have a reaction from Capitol Hill, next.

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