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New Epstein Photos Show Trump, Clinton, Gates, Branson and Others; Trump Administration Guts Civil Rights Office at Education Department; King Charles to Give an Update on Cancer Recovery Soon; Indiana Republicans Reject Trump's Redistricting Push; Redneck Christmas Parade Crowd Weighs in on Second Trump Term; FDA to Put Its Most Serious Warning on COVID Vaccines; D.C. Mission Takes Emotional Toll on National Guard. Aired 2-2:30p ET
Aired December 12, 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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[14:00:45]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": New photos, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee releasing more pictures from Jeffrey Epstein's estate. We're going to speak to a member of that committee. And sources say the FDA is planning to put the same warnings it puts on opioids on COVID vaccines. But alarmed health experts say there is no basis for this move. And perilous and potentially permanent, National Guard members in Washington, D.C. are becoming increasingly uneasy following last month's deadly shooting and signs that their deployment is only extending. We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming your way right here on "CNN News Central."
Newly released photos are showing some of the powerful people in the orbit of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. President Trump is in some of them. In one photo, he's seen smiling with six women whose faces are redacted. In another, he's standing with Epstein speaking to a woman whose face is shown. Other power players in the photos include former President Bill Clinton, billionaire philanthropists Bill Gates, and former Harvard President Larry Summers. None of the images, it's important to point out, depict any sexual misconduct nor are they believed to show underage girls.
Neither Trump nor Clinton have ever faced accusations of wrongdoing in this matter. Gates has also said in the past that Epstein never worked for him. And Summers has been clear that he regrets his relationship with Epstein. House Democrats released these photos saying the images raise more questions about Epstein's relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world. They say there are tens of thousands more images to look through, adding that the Justice Department has even more Epstein documents. Remember, a just passed law mandates that DOJ release the full records in one week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ROBERT GARCIA, (D) RANKING MEMBER, OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: If there is one man who has the power to release the files and get to the truth and bring justice to the survivors, and that's Donald Trump. There is a White House cover-up happening right now and not releasing these files, that needs to end. There are women who were now, who were raped when they were children, who just want justice. Let's release the files immediately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Let's discuss with Democratic Congressman Dave Min of California. He is on the Oversight Committee. Congressman, thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us. So again, none of these images show any sexual misconduct nor are they believed to depict underage girls. What do you think the public should take from these images?
REP. DAVE MIN, (D-CA) OVERSIGHT & GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE: Again, these are more breadcrumbs and we already knew that Jeffrey Epstein had a very powerful network of very wealthy people, very powerful people from both Democrats and Republicans. I think the intimate nature of his relationships with some of these people is illustrated in these photos. They're close up together and it just, again, illustrates how much his network encompassed people from around the world.
But we need more answers. And here's the reality that we issued a subpoena out of the Oversight Committee back in July, and we have gotten one small production from the Department of Justice since then, with no new documents released. It was all stuff that had previously been released. Everything we've gotten since that time that has made the news has come from the Epstein Estate.
But we know that the Department of Justice and FBI actually are sitting on probably terabytes of information right now. They did a lot of witness interviews. They have computer records including video that Epstein was taking of his properties, apparently in his bedrooms, that might give us a lot of information. In fact, the supervising attorney that was leading the case against Epstein said that the computer evidence was the smoking gun.
Right now, we're also seeking banking records, but we wish that the DOJ and FBI would cooperate. And as Ranking Member Robert Garcia pointed out in the clip you showed earlier, one person right now could order the release of all the files. We could get all the answers we need right away, and that's Donald Trump.
SANCHEZ: We are anticipating DOJ will comply with that discharge petition that wound up getting through Congress. That is supposed to happen in just about a week.
MIN: We'll see what happens.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. I do want to get your thoughts on one photo in particular and hope that you could give us some more detail.
[14:05:00]
This image shows a bowl of novelty condoms with a caricature of Donald Trump's face on it. Can you tell us who took this picture, when it was taken? If there's any context that you can provide about this.
MIN: I think we're still working through the details. So we're trying to learn that information as well as the identities and ages of the six women whose faces were covered up. We may not necessarily release all that information. We're trying to get those answers. But again, what I think that photo, which was clearly like a gag, saying it's huge with Donald Trump's photo on these condom packages just illustrated the very buddy-buddy nature of the relationship between Trump and Epstein.
We've seen lots of other indicators of how close they are. The question that I think a lot of Americans want to know and a lot of the survivors want to know is, was Donald Trump someone who actually broke the law? Did he rape children? And we know of course, one, girl, now a woman, filed a lawsuit accusing Donald Trump of raping her when she was 13 or 14-years-old.
SANCHEZ: I believe that that was since taken back, that that claim was --
MIN: She withdrew the lawsuit under threat. She claimed that she was being threatened, her family was being threatened. And I'm not saying that that was -- everyone in this country has the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. I am pointing out, however, that someone did file a claim in a court of law saying that Donald Trump had raped her when she was 13. I think the question that a lot of us want to know, who else is involved, how many people are involved in this network. And we know that the cover-up goes all the way to the top, it has been a high-level cover-up for decades and decades under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
SANCHEZ: Congressman, I wonder what you say to accusations that you are trying to imply guilt by association, that you've cherry-picked these photos as the White House has argued, attempting to create a false narrative and imply wrongdoing without actual evidence that there was wrongdoing. If you can't provide context around these photos, then do you strain the credulity of the argument that you're trying to make?
MIN: Again, the argument we're trying to make is not that anyone in particular is guilty or not guilty. The argument we're trying to make is that we need answers. And for that to happen, the Epstein files need to be released in their entirety. Right now, the Department of Justice and the FBI are sitting on the vast bulk of documents, including we believe the video evidence, the computer files that they had seized from multiple estates that, again, the supervising attorney described as a smoking gun that would blow the case wide open. It was never released. It was never used in any court filings.
But we want that information. And again, we just want justice for the survivors. It may implicate a lot of Democrats as we are getting some indications of, it may implicate Republicans. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter. This country is about the rule of law, one rule of law for everybody, whether you're the president or an average Joe, whether you're a billionaire or just someone struggling to get by, the same rule of law should apply to all of us. SANCHEZ: I have one more question for you, Congressman. Steve Bannon is in several of these photos, notably he confirmed to the New York Times years ago that he'd recorded some 15 hours of interviews with Epstein back in 2019 that he was planning to use for a documentary. Have you requested that footage from Bannon?
MIN: So, we have not requested that footage from Ben at this point in time. We're -- there's two efforts underway right now. Right? One is the discharge petition, which then led to a bill signed into law by Donald Trump a few weeks ago. The other is the effort that the Oversight Committee has been launching for months now, based on a subpoena that we issued back in July. And so, all the information we're getting right now is under the subpoena. Again, the FBI and DOJ have been largely non-responsive.
All the documents we're getting, including this latest tranche, are from the Epstein Estate. But we know there's a lot out there. We've talked to the survivors and I just want to circle back here. These are real people who were raped when they were children. And that's what this is about. This may have been the largest child sex trafficking ring in world history. And it's outrageous at this point that we don't have more answers, that we haven't released the documents, that we're not trying to achieve justice for the survivors. And that justice may implicate a lot of powerful people, but that shouldn't matter.
SANCHEZ: A Congressman Dave Min, we have to leave the conversation there. We look forward to the next one. Appreciate you joining us.
MIN: Hey, thanks so much for having me, Boris.
SANCHEZ: Of course. Still to come, Indiana Republicans dealing a big blow to President Trump. Is his grip on the party slipping in his second term? Plus, sources telling CNN that cases involving claims of discrimination in classrooms are going unresolved after the Trump administration guts the Civil Rights Office at the Department of Education. And just a short time from now, we are expecting to hear from King Charles sharing an update on his cancer recovery. That and much more coming your way on "CNN News Central."
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[14:14:14]
SANCHEZ: President Trump and Republicans are recalibrating a path forward after a majority of Indiana Senate Republicans rejected the president's redistricting push in that state. Despite a massive pressure campaign that included visits from the vice president and threats to have federal funds pulled, 21 of 40 Republicans voted against gerrymandering the state's congressional maps in order to pick up two Republican seats in the 2026 midterms. We're joined now by David Chalian, CNN's Political Director. David, Trump won Indiana by almost 20 points last year. Is this a sign that perhaps he's entering lame duck territory?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR AND WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Well, it's certainly a sign that he is at a moment of political weakness because if he was at a moment of political strength, if he had approval ratings being supported by a majority of the country, you could imagine the Republicans even in Indiana who were not comfortable with this pressure campaign, might have said, OK, well, we're going to take one for the team here.
[14:15:00]
Just in political terms, right? But that's not what happened here. And so, you heard from Republicans, our colleague, Eric Bradner on the ground in Indiana yesterday, doing excellent work. Like heard from these legislators that this rubbed them the wrong way. You mentioned visits from J.D. Vance, two of them, legislators were brought into the White House. Donald Trump was calling up people, Boris. This -- this was an aggressive pressure campaign that did not -- that was not welcome with open arms by Indiana Republicans.
SANCHEZ: Calling lawmakers out on social media, suggesting that they were rhinos and other terms. It struck me that some of the lawmakers gave very personal justifications for voting against this. So it wasn't just about politics.
CHALIAN: Yeah, I mean, well, first of all, we've known there's been some personal security issues, some swatting incidents once the president was going on social media or identifying these people publicly. Again, our colleague, Eric Bradner, reported one of the state Senator's 76-year-old grandmother, Jean Leising, talking about going to visit her grandson in school, her eighth grade grandson, and that he got all these text messages that were all negative about her. And she just thought, this is wrong. And this is somebody who voted for Donald Trump three times.
Now listen, this was the part of a larger pattern where Donald Trump and his allies were trying to change the map to hang onto their majority in the House of Representatives. As you noted in the message, they could have picked up potentially two seats, in Indiana if they were to redraw it. And these Indiana Republicans, whether it was a federalism issue like you, federal government stay out of the state, or just these bully tactics are not how we do business here in Indiana. It did not work. And I think it -- I think it may be the most public political rebuke from his own party that we've seen Donald Trump endure.
SANCHEZ: And it could potentially spill consequences for some of these lawmakers in the form of primaries, even though --
CHALIAN: He has promised them.
SANCHEZ: The Heritage Foundation threatening to pull federal funds. I mean, do you think the administration would follow through?
CHALIAN: I mean, potentially, Donald Trump has threatened pulling federal funds for projects around the country based on his political opposition and if he sees Indiana as part of his political opposition, even inside his own party, possibly. But there is no doubt, this is part of a larger area of concern for Republicans now, which is, how much is Donald Trump's sort of ownership of the Republican Party beginning to fray as we enter the midterm year?
SANCHEZ: And at the end of the day, those two seats, how much of a difference could have they represented going into the midterms?
CHALIAN: You know, every seat matters and when you're dealing with margins this small. So the whole design starting with Texas that Republicans had in place here is, let's redraw these maps mid-decade to squeeze out as many Republican friendly seats as we can, knowing it's going to be a really tough year. Now at the end of the day, Democrats swung back in California, they may do it in Virginia. The net gain at the end of the day for the Republican Party on redistricting may not be enough to sort of withstand what may be a tough political environment for them.
SANCHEZ: And just history on midterm elections --
CHALIAN: Yeah, exactly.
SANCHEZ: -- and incumbents. David Chalian, thank you so much.
CHALIAN: Thanks, Boris.
SANCHEZ: Appreciate it. Next, CNN returns to the Redneck Christmas Parade to see how Trump supporters feel one year into his second term. Hear what they think about his immigration crackdown, tariffs, and the new ballroom at the White House.
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ELLE REEVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What grade would you give Trump after a year in office?
THERESA DELRIO, PARADE PARTICIPANT: Probably a seven.
REEVE: Seven?
DELRIO: One to 10, maybe a seven.
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[14:22:54]
SANCHEZ: Hundreds of holiday revelers gather every year in Bawcomville, Louisiana for what's known as the Redneck Christmas Parade. CNN's Elle Reeve went to the event two years ago when voters were hopeful about then candidate Donald Trump. She recently went back to ask them how they feel about him now.
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REEVE (voice-over): This is the Redneck Christmas Parade in Bawcomville, Louisiana. It's a holiday toy drive and a celebration of country culture. DELRIO: Plungers through the years have been the most favorite thing for people to receive. They just dance all over the place when they get a plunger.
(LAUGH)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like, they go crazy over Ramen noodles. They love them.
REEVE (voice-over): We came to this parade two years ago to talk about the then upcoming 2024 election. Lots of people told us they were excited for Donald Trump to come back to the White House, to lower prices and fix the economy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're ready for Trump to get back in. Can't wait.
REEVE (voice-over): This time, people support for Trump was more muted.
TOMMY WILTCHER, PARADE PARTICIPANT: To me, the tariffs that Trump started, I think is a joke. The American people are paying for it.
REEVE: Right.
WILTCHER: And that's what I don't like.
REEVE: Now, he pledged to lower prices. Do you think he's been able to pull that off?
WILTCHER: No.
REEVE: Do you think he should have promised it?
WILTCHER: Well, he's a politician, so I meant, politicians promise the world --
REEVE: Right.
WILTCHER: -- when they want to get elected.
REEVE: Well, do you support him, President Trump?
WILTCHER: Yes. I support him. I'm not happy with him all the time. I think it's a joke about creating the big ballroom --
REEVE: Yeah.
WILTCHER: -- up there and wanting to inlay it with all the gold fixtures.
DAVID SALVENT, PARADE SPECTATOR: I'm not the biggest fan, but at least it's not Biden. That's my opinion. Yeah, I was just hoping for a little bit more personally. Especially with like all the stuff happening with the Epstein files and all that, that's got me really nervous as well.
REEVE: Do you want more of the Epstein files to come out?
SALVENT: Absolutely, yes. I really want it to come out. I mean, if he was there, I feel like we deserve to know that, especially if we don't want him in there.
[14:25:00]
I mean, what Epstein did was horrible. That's really bad.
REEVE: How long are you willing to give him to get the prices down?
VIVIAN JOINER, PARADE PARTICIPANT: Until his end of term.
REEVE: Yeah.
JOINER: I'm willing to stand behind him if he just keeps bringing it down.
REEVE: What do you think of the tariffs?
JOINER: Oh, now those we can do without.
REEVE: OK.
JOINER: Those we can do without job (ph), baby. We can do without those.
REEVE: So Trump's been in office about a year. How do you think he's done so far?
DELRIO: I think it's still too early to tell. I was watching the news last night down in New Orleans where the Border Control was active and some of the things, I didn't -- I was not comfortable with at all.
REEVE: (Inaudible) think about the deportations.
DELRIO: You know, I know there has to be a limit sometimes. And they fight hard for the border control because of the drug issue and things like that. But then I see some people that just seem so innocent. There was one particular girl who was born and raised here, and they chased her down the street into her house. That really upset me. There are citizens here that are being chased. And with the last name, DelRio, you know?
(LAUGH)
REEVE: Yeah.
DELRIO: I don't want anybody chasing me down the road.
(LAUGH)
REEVE: What grade would you give Trump after a year in office?
DELRIO: Probably a seven.
REEVE: Seven?
DELRIO: One to 10, maybe a seven.
REEVE (voice-over): Others loved the whole package.
REEVE: Were you excited for Trump to get back in office?
SANDRA LACOURSE, PARADE PARTICIPANT: Absolutely. He opened up Christianity again. Things were just being not as free to be a Christian.
REEVE: What do you think about deportation?
LACOURSE: It was harsh, but it probably needed to be harsh because we had so many coming in. We saw the rapes, the murders. It was just not a good situation. There was no --
REEVE: Now, some of the people who've been deported weren't criminals, you know?
LACOURSE: Yeah. That's why it's like kind of harsh sometimes.
REEVE: Do you feel like that reflected Christian values?
LACOURSE: Yes. There's a lot of prayer going on that he seek wisdom and he tries.
SCOTTY ADAMS, PARADE PARTICIPANT: I like the economy. I love the gas. We have some of the cheapest gas right now. With the gas prices coming down lower, it should transfer over to food prices and other items eventually. And I'm loving it.
EARL NEEL, PARADE PARTICIPANT: Since Trump's been in, the gas is going down, everything's getting better. He's deporting all these criminals that come over from other countries. I think is great. I think he ought to run again, if he could.
REEVE: If he could?
NEEL: Or maybe his Vice President Vance could get in there and run.
REEVE: So, OK. If he doesn't come through on all his promises, then why do you still like him?
NEEL: Because I think he's honest.
REEVE: OK.
NEEL: You know, he's got all these people against him trying to put him out and get him in jail and they're just lying about him. There's no politician that's absolutely a hundred percent do what they say. But I think he's trying to do more than anybody else says.
REEVE: Unemployment is lower.
REEVE (voice-over): We talked to Toni Boler two years ago and found her again in the same spot.
REEVE: Just give me some details.
TONI BOLER, PARADE SPECTATOR: I mean, look -- look at our pocketbooks. Yes.
REEVE: Good to see you again.
BOLER: Me too.
REEVE: Two years ago, you were talking about the economy being really tough for people.
BOLER: Right.
REEVE: Has it changed since then?
BOLER: I think it has a little, it's gotten a little better. I think things are, I mean, the gas prices have gone down. I haven't seen a lot of difference in the grocery prices. I don't know that we will, but hopefully, personally, like his policies. I think it's been less than a year, so still a lot yet to be seen. I think probably in two more years, things will be a lot better. Is it perfect? No. I mean, he's got a lot more to do, in my opinion.
REEVE (voice-over): Elle Reeve, CNN, Bawcomville, Louisiana.
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SANCHEZ: All right. Thanks to Elle for that report. When we come back, President Trump has touted his role in launching COVID vaccines and the White House says he received one during his most recent physical. But sources tell CNN, the FDA is planning to put its most serious warning, the same one it places on opioids, on COVID shots. The reasoning next. Also ahead, CNN speaking to National Guard members in the wake of the deadly D.C. shooting, they say they're growing uneasy, not only because of the most recent attack. Hear from them, next.
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