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Kremlin: Trump To Call Putin Very Soon To Discuss Latest Peace Talks; DOJ May Need A "Few More Weeks" To Release Rest Of The Epstein Files; Biggest Crime And Justice Stories Of The Year. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired December 29, 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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[07:30:30]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, Russia says President Trump will call Vladimir Putin very soon to update Moscow on his critical meeting yesterday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This comes as we're learning new details about the latest peace plan. Zelenskyy telling reporters this morning the plan now proposes that the U.S. guarantees Ukraine's security for 15 years.

Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey. He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee. Thank you so much for being here this morning.

Um, look, for the first time --

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ) (via Webex by Cisco): Thank you for having me.

SIDNER: -- we're hearing from Zelenskyy saying look, I will give up territory. Ukraine will give up territory to create a demilitarized zone. He also wants these security guarantees from the U.S. to the tune of lasting at least 15 years.

What do you make of that?

GOTTHEIMER: Well listen, I think the security guarantees are critical. We -- you know, we -- everybody who has been watching this knows that Putin is not to be trusted and so he could agree to something today and then tomorrow he could be on the march again in a dictatorial move over Ukraine. And I think it's critical for our allies in the region and for the United States to, you know, offer these guarantees.

There still has to be issues worked out around land, as you pointed out, and whether you're talking about the Donbas region, which obviously Putin wants and Ukraine has a very different perspective on. But this is, if this is true, what the president is saying that we are moving in the right direction if a deal is closer than ever, that's a good thing. But as you know, Putin has made offers and claims before that haven't materialized in the end. And so the key here is keeping the pressure on, and that's what's happening right now. SIDNER: I do want to ask you about that because Trump talked to Putin before his meeting with Zelenskyy and he says he plans to talk with Putin afterwards.

Before Zelenskyy met with Trump yesterday Russia did this major attack on Kyiv, one of the longest sustained attacks it has ever done to Kyiv, hitting infrastructure -- energy infrastructure, residential apartment buildings.

Since August 15 -- that summit where Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin in Alaska -- Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukraine.

Do you have any concerns that President Putin is drawing this out and simply stringing Donald Trump along?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, you always have to be concerned about that, especially with Vladimir Putin, right? I mean, that's an expectation here and every sign indicates that he continues to go -- move forward and escalate and not de-escalate.

But listen, I think the key here is keeping the pressure on and making sure the international community keeps the pressure on. I think these security guarantees that you started the conversation with are a key part of that, right, to make sure that Putin knows that once there is an agreement that if he messes around with Ukraine he's messing around with the United States and with Europe. And I think that's a really important part of whatever the outcome is here.

SIDNER: All right. Let's move on to, speaking of pressure, President Trump is set to meet with the Israeli president today. There is an all-important phase two of this peace deal that has yet to materialize. Hamas has not disarmed, and Axios is now reporting the Trump administration thinks Netanyahu is slow-walking the peace process.

This is what the Israeli publication Haaretz says this morning, saying, "A note to Trump:" -- sending a message saying, "Netanyahu Will Delay, Delay, Delay."

How certain are you that phase two of the Trump-brokered peace plan will be implemented anytime soon, and what should that pressure look like?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, I think to your question, if that's why this meeting today is so important and keeping the pressure on all parties.

So as you said, and I think it's a very important point, you still have hostages that haven't been returned. Hamas has yet to be -- yet to disarm as was required in phase one, which is a big issue.

There is no international peacekeeping force or new government body as was required in phase one, right? Who is going to be governing -- you know, what's the governing body going to look like once Hamas is gone from a leadership perspective. What's -- who is going to keep the peace there? Those are two very important topics.

[07:35:00]

You still have the Rafah Crossing to Egypt that has not been fully opened as was required as well to let Palestinians move into Egypt if that's what they choose.

So you've got a lot of questions on the line. You've got Iran, as has been reported in Israel, mentioned this point -- but has been reported. And they did testing last week with ballistic missiles. So what's happening in Iran.

Hezbollah was supposed to disarm by the end of the year in Lebanon. That's yet to happen.

So the region is still unstable. There's still a lot of question marks. And I think you've got to keep the pressure on all parties to make sure we get to phase two, which is essential. And so, you know, those are -- there are still a lot of question marks --

SIDNER: Yeah.

GOTTHEIMER: -- but I think today's meeting is very important to keep that up.

SIDNER: I mean, there is no doubt this is one of the most complex conflicts in the world that has been going on for quite some time.

Congressman Josh Gottheimer, thank you so much. I do appreciate you coming on bright and early this morning for us.

All right -- Omar.

GOTTHEIMER: Thanks for having -- thanks for having me.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Breaking overnight, new details about the man suspected of planting two pipe bombs in Washington, D.C. on the eve of the January 6 riots. Now according to a memo newly released by the Justice Department, Brian J. Cole told investigators he believed someone needed to "speak up for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen."

Now, prosecutors say Cole confessed to placing the bombs outside the RNC and DNC ahead of the riot at the U.S. Capitol.

And according to the memo, Cole told the FBI that if people feel "something as important as voting in the federal election is being tampered with, is being relegated null and void, then, like, someone needs to speak up, right?"

Joining us now Christine Quinn, the executive committee chair of the New York State Democratic Committee. Also with us this morning Maura Gillespie, press adviser -- former press adviser to -- press adviser to former House Speaker John Boehner. Um, good to see you both. Thanks for being here.

I just want to pick up -- Maura, I'll start with you -- or excuse me -- Christine, I'll start with you just on that new reporting that we were just talking about -- about the pipe bomber's confession. He's blaming his dislike of both parties for planting the bombs. It's coming four years later in this year that has seemingly been defined by political violence here. A lot of high-profile events.

I just wonder what do you believe Republicans and Democrats need to do to push back against the rise of violence translating from political feelings?

CHRISTINE QUINN, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR, NEW YORK STATE DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, WIN, FORMER NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER: You know, what we found out about this pipe bomber and the information that's coming forward really underscores just how serious January 6 and the events around it really were and how much worse things could have been.

And everyone -- whether you're a Republican, Democrat, Independent, whatever -- should take from this information we need to turn down the volume. That doesn't mean we have to agree. It doesn't mean we have to go along with everything this elected official or that elected official says. But we have to, you know, re-entertain the idea of humanity. That we all are human beings trying to get what we believe done and we should be able to do it in a way without attacking and vilifying others.

You know, words that elected officials and leaders use have an impact and there's unstable people out there. We need to be mindful that we're in an era of violence where people have been killed and people have been gravely injured. And it's the responsibility of leaders to reunite the country; not further divide us and not further pull us apart.

JIMENEZ: And Maura, just to that point -- I mean, is there any particular effort that you believe can be successful on that front in this current environment?

MAURA GILLESPIE, PRESS ADVISER TO FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER, FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL, BLUESTACK STRATEGIES (via Webex by Cisco): Well, I think it takes each one of us to look within our own hearts and to sort out what is spurring these political violent outbursts and attacks, and things that are --

And to Christine's point, what is the rhetoric and the language that's being used. Being mindful, as she just pointed out, is super important. But I also think that the cheap -- you know, the cheap ways of going about getting a click or a tweet, a retweet, or whatever it may be -- and a lot of that, unfortunately in politics, surrounds around money. Campaigning off of what's considered clickbait and an easy grab because emotions are an easy way to get people to join in and to support.

And by playing on people's emotions, playing on their deep-seated fear, which really is what anger is and what this political violence comes from is from fear. It's fear of the unknown. Fear of being threatened in some capacity, thinking that your well-being and your rights are being taken away from you. A lot of this anger comes from fear. And so we do need leaders -- not just people who want to run for

Congress, not people who just want to run for office -- we need leadership.

JIMENEZ: You know, Christine, you've talked about, sort of -- look, these disagreements on the political front -- they're not going anywhere

QUINN: No.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, we're a few days away from 2026 now.

Nancy Pelosi told ABC News this week she has no doubt Hakeem Jeffries will be House Speaker after the midterms, predicting Democrats will take the majority back.

But I just wonder from your perspective who -- do the Democrats know who is leading them right now? It seems there's disagreement, sort of, on what the future direction of the Democratic Party is. And so you anticipate that uniting -- becoming more united around the midterms or fraying in more divided terms?

[07:40:10]

QUINN: Well, you know, the Democratic Party has always been a very diverse party and that's one of the things that makes our party great and makes us different than the Republican Party, which is often more of a fall in line or get off of the team kind of a party.

I agree with former Speaker Pelosi that the Democrats -- that we will take back the House after 2026. I'm very confident of that. And I also agree with her that minority leader Jeffries will become the majority leader and be the real standard-bearer of the party.

Does that mean to be a leading Democrat you have to agree with him on everything? No. But it means you all have to work together for the good of the country and put the needs of Americans who are struggling first as opposed to putting the needs of the corporations and ultra- rich, as we've seen with these terrible tax cuts that have really led to ballooning deficits and only breaks for the ultra-rich.

So Nancy is right. Hakeem will continue to be the leader and be a leader at an even more significant level, and lead in a way where we have, as it's been called, a big-tent party where people can agree and disagree in an agreeable way but all be working to make the country more affordable for all of those who are struggling so hard right now.

JIMENEZ: Well -- and Maura, look, the economy also top of mind for a lot of voters -- Republican, Democrat. And Republicans will be trying to push back against the trend of seeing the party in power lose seats in Congress.

But, you know, we've been monitoring this dynamic between what seems to be growing frustration with Speaker Mike Johnson from Republicans. One -- a few House Republicans criticizing. But mainly, I'm asking because this Johnson-Trump dynamic doesn't seem to be going away and potential decisions will have to be made that might put them at different ends.

And I wonder how significant do you see their relationship being in terms of trying to retain seats in the midterm elections, especially when you have ACA subsidies expiring?

GILLESPIE: Well, I think it's really a decision that comes down to Mike Johnson. I think as you get closer to the midterms, Republicans will need to decide -- Republicans in the House, especially, will need to decide whether or not it benefits them to continue to stay so lockstep with President Trump and by default with Mike Johnson.

Whether or not that really does help them meeting the needs of their constituents and talking to the issues that matter at home in their communities and their representation. You know, where are they supporting the people who put them in this office in the first place. And so there's going to be an opportunity for Republicans to take those off-ramps away from President Trump and from Mike Johnson.

And Mike Johnson has a decision to make about whether or not he wants to keep his gavel in terms of is he going to stay with the president despite the fact that the president is talking about things that do not impact the American people. He's talking about marble armrests and putting his name on everything that he could possibly think of, and that's not helpful. That's not lowering costs. That's not making life better here in America and it's also not what he ran on.

And so Republicans who ran on the economy -- it's why they got voted here. It's why they got voted to have the majority that they have.

Democrats don't have that -- necessarily have said what their plan is. They -- by and large, Republicans' attack against Democrats was that they put the economy as it is in the first place. But now Republicans need to show up, and they haven't been this first year. So what are they doing now to actually make life better? And this is the year that they're going to have to show that because the midterms are right around the corner.

QUINN: And there's no better example of what is going to happen than the question of do we need a new East Wing ballroom or do we need healthcare subsidies for struggling sick Americans?

JIMENEZ: Well, that's sort of -- that's sort of the split-screen that many Americans are sort of looking at as the economy still stays top of mind. It will stay top of mind, no doubt, as we head into 2026, which I can safely say now just a few days away.

Christine Quinn, Maura Gillespie, good to see you both.

QUINN: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, Omar.

The Justice Department now asking for volunteer prosecutors to help go through potentially more than a million documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. How far past the deadline is this going to go before the public sees all the documents?

And a skier hits the slopes on the world's most active volcano and guess what happens?

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[07:48:00]

SIDNER: This morning the Justice Department is combing through what could be more than a million additional documents potentially related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. The DOJ put out a call last week asking prosecutors to volunteer to help comb through the newest batch of unreleased documents, putting the Epstein saga on track to stretch well into the new year.

The deadline, by law, to release all of the Epstein files was 10 days ago and so far, the delay in releasing the files has sparked backlash and frustration. Critics also saying the redactions to the files that have been released have been -- at the same time as they're heavy- handed, they've also been haphazard with at least one victim's identity having been exposed in the process. The DOJ said it is "working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims."

Joining me now, Jack Scarola, an attorney who has represented nearly 20 Epstein survivors and spent 18 years litigating cases against Epstein. He joins us now. Thank you for being here early this morning from there in Florida.

Let's just first go to these files that the Justice Department says they have recently discovered and they say it's going to take weeks, not days, to get all of these files out.

From the perspective of the victims that you represent, what has this process been like for them?

JACK SCAROLA, ATTORNEY FOR EPSTEIN SURVIVORS: Unfortunately, the slow- drip release of these files is very much like Chinese water torture for the Jeffrey Epstein victims. The survivors of this abuse suffered terribly at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein. However, what they have been suffering over the course of the last, for many of them, more than 18 years is absolutely inexcusable.

[07:50:05]

This is either terribly gross negligence on the part of the Department of Justice, or it is an intentional effort to try and hope that the attention span of the American public does not outlast this release process. I think it's highly unlikely that that's going to happen. I think there is a very strong commitment to require a full and complete release, but why that has not happened already is absolutely inexcusable.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you about what has or has not already been put out.

Virginia Giuffre's attorney says she named names to the FBI, including the name of a well-known former prime minister who raped her.

Have your clients named their abusers' names, besides Epstein, to authorities? And if so, have you seen any of those documents come out?

SCAROLA: There have been formal statements taken of some of my clients in which specific names were referenced. I have not seen those specific names included in any release so far.

And what I think is particularly significant is the fact that in 2007 -- 2007, nearly 20 years ago now, the Southern District of Florida's federal prosecutors prepared a 60-count indictment detailing the sexual abuse of minors in which Jeffrey Epstein was engaged. That 60- count indictment was supported by an 82-page prosecution memorandum detailing the evidence supporting those allegations.

Had that federal indictment been filed and prosecuted there is no doubt that Jeffrey Epstein would have been convicted back in 2007 and would have served a lengthy jail sentence that would have ended presumably the abuse that continued long after that.

The real questions that need to be answered in connection with this investigation is why that federal prosecution never occurred and instead, Jeffrey Epstein was permitted to plead guilty to a relatively minor offense in state court in Florida. He served a 13-month sentence that was spent largely on work-release, working in an office for a charity that he created specifically for the purpose of having a job to go to. And it is alleged that during the period of time that he was on work release, his abusive pattern continued.

SIDNER: Yeah.

SCAROLA: Those are the questions that need to be answered. We need to see that indictment. We need to see the 82-page prosecution memorandum. And most significantly, we need to see the internal communications within the Justice Department about why that case was not prosecuted.

Alex Acosta had direct communications with multiple members of Jeffrey Epstein's high-profile defense team. Those communications, which took place under very unusual circumstances, have to be detailed in internal memoranda and communications that have not been released. And there is no basis for failing to release those kinds of documents.

SIDNER: And those are some of the most important documents I know to some of the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein. They want to see what happened and why, and who was responsible, and if there was any pressure politically.

There are so many unanswered questions and so many more documents that still need to be released and the law is very clear. It doesn't matter if it embarrasses someone; it must be released and the names released as well.

Jack Scarola, thank you for walking us through that this morning. We do appreciate it and I'm sure we'll be talking to you again -- Omar. JIMENEZ: Well, from the conviction of Brian Kohberger to the dramatic testimony in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, CNN's Jean Casarez breaks down the top crime and justice cases that riveted the country this year.

[07:55:00]

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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): At number 10, the Massey murder trial. Illinois Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson convicted of second-degree murder for shooting the 36-year-old Sonya Massey inside her home. Massey had actually called 911 to report a suspected prowler but bodycam footage shown at trial showed tensions rising after the officer confronted Massey for how she was handling a pot of hot water.

Number nine, held accountable. A jury awarded Virginia teacher Abby Zwerner $10 million after she sued the ex-assistant principal at her school for failing to act before Zwerner's 6-year-old student shot her in the chest and hand. In gripping testimony, Zwerner told the jury after being shot she was sure she was going to die.

ABBY ZWERNER, TEACHER SHOT BY 6-YEAR-OLD STUDENT: I thought I had died. I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven.

CASAREZ (voiceover): Number eight, shocking museum heist.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Let's being with breaking news our of Paris. Priceless jewels are stolen from the Louvre in an audacious daytime heist that took only seven minutes.

CASAREZ (voiceover): It all happened at the Louvre in Paris when thieves stole more than $100 million in crown jewels and slipped away in broad daylight. All eight suspects were later arrested but the jewels are still missing to this day.

Number seven, Karen Read acquitted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What say you. Is the defendant guilty or not guilty?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not guilty.

CASAREZ (voiceover): A jury found Read not guilty of hitting and killing her boyfriend, off-duty Boston police officer John O'Keefe, with her car.

KAREN READ, ACQUITTED OF MURDER OF JOHN O'KEEFE: No one has fought harder for justice for John O'Keefe than I have -- than I have and my team. Thank you.

CASAREZ (voiceover): Large crowds celebrated the decision outside the Massachusetts courthouse.

Number six, Minnesota lawmakers attacked. A man disguised as a police officer ambushed two state Democratic officials at their homes. Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed, while State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were shot but survived. Vance Boelter was arrested after a two-day statewide manhunt. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder.

Number five, deadly stabbing in North Carolina. Passengers watched in horror as 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was brutally stabbed three times in an unprovoked attack on Charlotte's light rail system.

DISPATCH: So tell me exactly what happened.

911 CALLER: I don't know. We didn't see it. There's just a lady right now on the ground with a lot of blood and everybody's screaming that she got stabbed and I don't know if anybody's called 911 yet. People are just freaking out.

CASAREZ (voiceover): The case became a political lightning rod after the public learned the suspect, 34-year-old Decarlos Brown, had an extensive criminal record.

Number four --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As to count one, the defendant, Brian Walshe, is charged with murder in the first degree. What say the jury? Is the defendant guilty or not guilty?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guilty.

CASAREZ (voiceover): Brian Walshe convicted. Jurors in Massachusetts found Walshe guilty of murdering his wife, Ana. But unbeknownst to the jury, even before the trial began, Walshe pleaded guilty to illegally disposing of Ana's body and misleading police.

Walshe's defense argued that Ana died in a sudden, unexplained death, something prosecutors told jurors defies common sense. The defense rested without Walshe testifying or even putting any evidence to back their claims. Walshe now faces years in prison. Ana's body has never been found.

Number three, Catholic schoolchildren gunned down.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: We're following breaking news of a deadly mass shooting at a Catholic school and church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

CASAREZ (voiceover): August 27, a shooter fired dozens of rounds through stained glass windows into the sanctuary of Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis. Students from the Annunciation Catholic school were gathered inside to celebrate a mass in honor of their first week of school. The attack killed two children and wounded two dozen others, as well as adults.

JESSE MERKEL, FATHER OF FLETCHER MERKEL: A coward decided to take our 8-eight-year-old son Fletcher away from us. Because of their actions we will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him, and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming.

CASAREZ (voiceover): The suspected shooter, a 23-year-old who graduated from the school in 2017, died of a self-inflicted gunshot. Sadly, this was just one of the more than 70 school shootings in the United States this year.