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Alicia Arden and Gloria Allred are Interviewed about the Epstein Files; A Look at Groundhog Day; Taryn Smith is Interviewed about Rowing Across the Atlantic. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired February 02, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: In the document are false and he has long denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein or any allegation of sexual misconduct.

Also in this latest batch, photos show former Prince Andrew leaning over a woman who is splayed out on the floor. It isn't clear what happened there. Neither the photographs nor newly released emails from Andrew suggest any wrongdoing in this particular scene.

Some survivors, however, are furious after being identified in the latest documents released by the DOJ. And Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has signaled there will be no new charges brought against anyone else in the Epstein case.

Attorney Gloria Allred represents more than two dozen Epstein survivors, including Alicia Arden, who also joins us now.

First to you, Alicia.

There are some really horrifying allegations against not just very, very wealthy citizens like Bill Gates, but also the president of the United States, who was accused of doing things like auctioning girls off, raping a 13-year-old. The president vehemently denying this. You've had your own personal horrible Epstein experiences. Had you ever heard of any of these other allegations?

ALICIA ARDEN, EPSTEIN ASSAULT SURVIVOR: I haven't heard of the ones that you're speaking about. I just know that all of the files are not released yet. Millions are. But there are still millions more. And then I have also heard that recently two high-profile people have been asked to testify and have not wanted to do that. So, if they don't, they could be in charge -- charged with contempt of Congress.

So, I just hope that these two profile figures do come out and want to testify and comply and realize that no one is above the law.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you also, we heard from the Justice Department and they said, even in these new three million documents there is nothing that they see that they can prosecute. What do you think of that? And also the same question to you, Gloria.

ARDEN: I mean, if any -- if anything comes out that I feel should be prosecuted, they should. I mean just in the past there have been -- there have been high profile CEOs and men that are in the files that are already recently, like the CEO of Apollo. He -- he left on his own in 2021. So, if they -- if they are in there and they feel that they're going to wait for some -- a subpoena, they should just absolutely come out and leave their jobs and resign before it gets to what it will get to.

SIDNER: Gloria, are you surprised that we have not yet seen, and may not see, the files that show why -- what the Justice Department was doing when they gave that sweetheart deal in this case. What do you make of what's happened with that?

GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY FORM MULTIPLE EPSTEIN ABUSE SURVIVORS: Well, first of all, I'm very angry. Not only, Sara, did they not release all the files on time as required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, but they dribble, dribble, dribble. Then they did a big dump. Then they -- now they've done another dump. Now they say millions more files will not be released. They claim -- well, they're arguing, apparently, work product privilege.

But the law itself does not allow them to claim that as a privilege. In plain English, this means that in answer to your question, the discussions of the United States attorneys, the prosecutors, in their office among them as to who should be prosecuted, who should not be prosecuted, who should be a witness, who should not be a witness, and why that sweetheart deal ended up being given in state court rather than a multi-count indictment in federal court, we want to know why that sweetheart deal was offered where he only got 13 months in jail. We're not being told the answer. That requirement of the law is completely violated.

I also want to say, the idea that they're saying there are not going to be any prosecutions, right away. They're saying that. It reminds me of, I've made up my mind, don't confuse me with the facts. And I'm very angry about that.

But most of all, Sara, what I'm angry about is, I represent many victims who have been Jane Doe for many, many years, who trusted the Department of Justice to keep them anonymous, to keep them private, not to reveal their emails, their texts, their photos.

[09:35:04]

All of that has come out for many of my clients. And in -- out of context. It's hurting them. It's hurting their reputation.

Meanwhile, there are reports that in the first 20, 25 minutes that the files were released, there was information about the president that came out that suddenly was redacted. So, who's being protected here? Obviously, the victims are not being protected. The survivors are not being protected. Are they being punished because they were brave enough to go to the Department of Justice and name names and give other evidence while the men, the rich, the powerful, famous men, they're the ones that are being protected. It's outrageous.

And the last thing is the -- yesterday there was a report by "The New York Times" that their naked photos of young women, they may be teenagers, they look young, naked photos of them in this Department of Justice release. That is completely outrageous. It is disgusting. I read that at the request of "The New York Times" they were suddenly removed. But people have seen them. Perhaps millions of people have seen them all over the world. How can you do this to victims?

They are completely denied justice and they've been denied it for decades, 2008, 2019, now 2026. But I can guarantee you, they are going to have a lot to say to Congress about this. And Congress better have a lot to do to talk about why they weren't protected and how they can still protect them in the future.

SIDNER: Yes, to be clear, the Justice Department said the reason why it's taking them so long to put all of these documents out is because they were supposed to be trying to protect the victims in these cases, and clearly that is not what happened in this recent document dump.

Alicia Arden, Gloria Allred --

ARDEN: Well, I'm unhappy with that.

SIDNER: Yes.

ARDEN: I don't feel protected. It should be all out there. I don't feel protected. I feel still victimized. And I'm not happy with what they're doing.

SIDNER: Alicia, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. I know it's, again and again, having to talk about this is really, really hard. Thank you to you, Gloria, for bringing Alicia to us this morning. Appreciate it.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Other headlines we're watching this morning. Bad Bunny wins big at the Grammy's and uses the award stage to slam the administration's immigration crackdown. Next up, his next huge stage, the Super Bowl halftime show this Sunday.

And one woman's journey across the Atlantic. How she rode 3,000 miles by herself. What she encountered all along the way. She will be joining us live this morning.

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[09:41:47]

BERMAN: All right, full disclosure, there's almost no story that I disdain more than Groundhog Day. Maybe the lottery. I think it's usually an insult to our intelligence and a waste of our time.

However, however, today is the singular exception because we have a groundbreaking way to look at these rodents and what they're saying.

With us now, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

All right, Harold, I don't even -- like, I hate it so much, I don't even know if, like, it sees its shadow if it's winter or not. I mean I don't even know what that means.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Oh, you see the shadow, that means six more weeks of winter. And, you know, there's this whole idea of Punxsutawney Phil. It turns out there are a ton of rodents out there who are predicting the winter or the spring.

And what are we talking about here? Groundhog calls for an early spring. Look at this. We got Staten Island Chuck here in New York. No, We've got General Beauregard Lee down in the great state of Georgia. He says, no. How about Punxsutawney Phil? Of course, the most famous. He says, no. Later today we will, in fact, get groundhog Sam Champion out on Long Island. And we will also have Groundhog Harry, my namesake, that's actually Harold Ramis, out in Chicago, Illinois.

So, the bottom line is this, the rodents are, in fact, united on this. We are going to see six more weeks of winter, according to at least these rodents.

BERMAN: You know, it's actually interesting. I know Sam Champion. I never knew he was a groundhog.

ENTEN: He does -- he's multifaceted.

BERMAN: Of these groundhogs, who does the best job predicting?

ENTEN: OK. So, I think Punxsutawney Phil has been getting away with groundhog murder. But why do I say that? Why do I say it? It turns out his prediction, his accuracy rate, ain't too hot to trot.

Get this, groundhog forecast accuracy. Punxsutawney Phil, just 35 percent. It turns out that the two best groundhogs, if you're interested in predicting whether or not we're going to have six more weeks of winter, are General Beauregard Lee down in the great state of Georgia, and, of course, Staten Island Chuck is actually number one, 85 percent of the time he has correctly forecasted whether or not we get six more weeks of winter.

And of course, at this point, he says that, in fact, we are not going to get an early spring, therefore six more weeks of winter.

BERMAN: And Staten Island Chuck has the hardest job because his life is always in peril.

ENTEN: Yes, yes, yes.

BERMAN: Let's talk about -- and this is the reason to do this segment. All right, so you've crunched some data here.

ENTEN: I've crunched some data.

BERMAN: What is your analysis of all this data suggest?

ENTEN: OK. So, we see the accuracy rates, 85, 80, 35. I combine them with the forecast. And therefore we create an Enten's aggregate, a weighted average. And this weighted groundhog forecast. And I'm sorry to say, folks, this is why I got the mitten on today. This is why I got the long jacket on. We're looking for a long winter. Six more weeks of winter. Of course it's good news for the audience that the groundhogs, in fact, are calling for six more weeks of winter because otherwise I would have come out in my mankini instead if it was an early spring.

BERMAN: That's -- I qualify that as great news.

ENTEN: That's great news.

BERMAN: Don't undersell it.

ENTEN: Great news for the audience.

BERMAN: Don't undersell it.

All right, so we are now in February. You know, what are the chances that we're going to see a lot more snow because we've had enough already.

ENTEN: We've had enough already. Now, of course, the key question is, is it just going to be cold and dry, or is it going to be cold and snowy? Well, according to the prediction markets, at least the chance that New York City gets over six inches of snow in the month of February, we're talking 51 percent chance.

[09:45:07]

So, hey, it could just be cold and dry, and that would actually be less if we only got six inches than the 8.8 inches that we average here in Central Park, New York City.

BERMAN: Harold, this was informative. Thank you very much for that.

ENTEN: Thank you. Go Bills.

BERMAN: A lot -- yes, good -- good luck. Good -- let's see how they do next weekend.

All right, we got -- we got a lot of news.

ENTEN: Oh -- oh. Mean. Mean.

BERMAN: We'll be right back. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: This morning, the "Today" show opened with truly saddening and concerning news about anchor Savannah Guthrie's family. Her mother is missing. Nancy Guthrie, you see her image right there, she apparently disappeared from her home near Tucson on Saturday night. Deputies say that the scene at the house when they were called there and arrived raised serious concerns, and crews are now searching with volunteers, canine units and helicopters. Also earlier this morning, the sheriff told reporters that the situation is "certainly of grave concern to us." The "Today" show shared a message on behalf of Savannah. I'll read this for you. Savannah said in part, "on behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers and messages of support. Right now our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom."

And we do send our sincerest, sincerest love to Savannah and the family right now.

Also, it was a history making night at the Grammy's. Bad Bunny became the first Spanish language artist to win the highly coveted award for album of the year.

[09:50:02]

Also making history, Kendrick Lamar took home five Grammy's, which means he now surpasses Jay-z as the most awarded rapper in Grammy's history. And another milestone for Steven Spielberg, who won for best music film, putting him into the rarefied air of EGOTs, the acronym for people who've won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. I mean, who's bragging there? Beyond the history, though, several stars used the Grammy stage to protest the government's immigration crackdown. And we saw that from their words, as well as wearing "ICE out" pins for several artists, as you see there.

And a teenager from New Zealand is -- 16 year old Sam Ruth. He -- there's something wrong here with the teleprompter, guys, and I'm not going to be able to read this, but he did some amazing running. And -- he did a three minute 48 and, wait, what does that say? Three minutes, 48 and 88/100 --

SIDNER: Of a second.

BOLDUAN: Of a second to do one mile. That's crazy.

SIDNER: Too many numbers.

BOLDUAN: But apparently, though, you can still always do better. Apparently, Berman was saying, like, I wasn't a fan of this or amazed by it. But I'm officially now amazed, guys. Amazing considering mine, we won't even hear (ph) it.

SIDNER: Come into my square, Berman.

BOLDUAN: Berman, the runner. What do you think, Mr. Berman?

SIDNER: Berman was like, 3:48. I can do it in 3:40.

BERMAN: I just said -- we were impressed. Kate was like, ah.

BOLDUAN: That is not even true. I had clearly had not even read about it until now because I can't even read it in the prompter.

SIDNER: It's incredible. Like, I cannot walk that fast. Oh, wait.

BOLDUAN: How about boating that fast? May I join you now?

SIDNER: I can't drive that fast. I'm just saying, it's incredible.

All right, alone in a rowboat, just you and the elements for 3,000 miles across the entire Atlantic Ocean. A 25-year-old woman from Omaha, Nebraska, did just that. Taryn Smith decided to take on the seemingly impossible before she even knew how to row. She spent three years getting ready. Then she began her trip from La Gomera, Spain, facing extreme conditions, including huge waves, little sleep and total isolation. She made it all the way to Antigua in 46 days. And she vlogged along the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TARYN SMITH, ROWED SOLO ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN: It is day 32 of my solo Atlantic row. And at the moment I am being a coward. It is raining very heavily and I have had just the most wonderful, peaceful day and I don't feel like rowing in the rain. So I'm in here and I'm about to watch "legally Blonde."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: She's watching "Legally Blonde," and we love that for her. After all of that, Taryn is with us now. Taryn is with us now to share her journey.

I just -- I can't help but ask is why. Why did you do it?

TARYN SMITH, ROWED SOLO ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN: That is a great question. My answer was, why not? I read about ocean rowing in "Vogue," and I just thought it sounded like the most amazing adventure. And I knew I had to do it.

BERMAN: I mean, I could think of a few reasons why not, right? Sharks.

SIDNER: Your arms hurt.

BERMAN: Waves. Like days alone at sea.

BOLDUAN: Loneliness.

BERMAN: Loneliness. Despair. I mean that's just off the top of my head.

So, Sara asked the why. I'm dying to know kind of the how. Whenever I see boats like this, just tell me about this boat that you rode. I mean how was it set up?

SMITH: Yes, so my boat was 24 feet long, and then it had an enclosed cabin at the bow and the stern. And so I was able to shut the cabin hatch and get in there to sleep. And the boat has a lot of technology that you would see on a sailboat. So, it has a chartplotter and VHF radio, and that's what I used to communicate with other ships and navigate across the ocean. And so, I always say it's sort of a hybrid sport. It's like part sailing, part rowing and part camping.

BOLDUAN: I mean that -- when you put it that way, it sounds fantastic.

SIDNER: No, it sounds hard.

BERMAN: Icebergs. I just thought of another reason not to do it.

BOLDUAN: No. No. I'm a yes. I'm a yes. So, let's stay on the, this is amazing and you're fantastic aspect of this. What was your favorite part? I mean you were out -- you were there for, what was it, more than six weeks you're rowing. What was your favorite part about it? What surprised you about this journey?

SMITH: You know, I was having so much fun while I was out there. I got to be in the sunshine all day, see the most amazing sunrises and sunsets and the wildlife was spectacular. So, I had pods of dolphins that would swim with me as I rowed. I got to see a whale jump out of the water. It was amazing. I saw a couple marlin. Those were kind of scary. I saw a couple sharks as well. And it was just amazing to be in such a remote part of the world.

SIDNER: I just want to know if your arms hurt, but also, from all the rowing. You said you hadn't rowed before this. So, how did you -- how do you train for this?

SMITH: Exactly.

[09:55:00]

Luckily, my arms didn't hurt too bad. Now that I'm back on land, my calves actually hurt because I haven't walked in seven weeks. But I began training. I went to England. I learned how to row there. Then I went and lived on my boat for about seven weeks in 2025 before I went out and rowed. So, I lived on it at the marina. I would grow up and down a river, and then in the North Sea. And then I spent a lot of time in the gym. So, a lot of time lifting, a lot of time on the erg, which every day I was rowing. I just thought, I'm grateful I'm not on an erg right now.

BERMAN: I love the idea that there were comfort dolphins by you, by you, by you the whole way, you know, guiding you.

BOLDUAN: Yes, totally.

BERMAN: Listen, you did this for a nonprofit, actually a nonprofit that I love and I'm a big supporter of, which is Girls on the Run. Talk to us about why it was so important to support them.

SMITH: It felt like a really natural partnership while I was out at sea. I think the world is a better place when girls do sports. I think we need to encourage girls to do sports, even not for the sake of competition, just for learning how to be on a team, learning how to be strong, learning how to communicate. It's so, so important that we support girls in that way, and I think that sports are a really good outlet for that. And so it was wonderful to partner with Girls on the Run because they do just that, they teach girls how to be resilient through a running based curriculum.

And I grew up as a runner. I started running when I was 12. And that's always been a huge part of my life. And it's been amazing to partner with Girls on the Run and share this experience with them.

SIDNER: Taryn, we cosign on that.

BERMAN: Yes.

SIDNER: As former athletes. We love what you've done and the message that you're sending. Thank you so much. Good luck with your calves.

BOLDUAN: Girls can do tough things. That's the takeaway today, ladies and gentlemen.

Thanks so much for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM" up --

BERMAN: Next.

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