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Trump Fires Attorney General Pam Bondi; Attorney General Fired 12 Days Before Epstein Deposition; Trump: U.S. to Hit Iran "Extremely Hard" Over Next 2 to 3 Weeks; Police Release Video from Tiger Woods' Latest Rollover Crash; 3-3:30p ET

Aired April 02, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: ... federal government's pausing of lab testing comes in the wake of dramatic downsizing of the CDC in the last year. According to the National Public Health Coalition, an organization of former and current CDC workers that formed in the wake of the downsizing, the pox virus and rabies labs have lost half of their prior staffs.

And notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy, has now officially been tied to the killing of a Utah teenager more than 50 years ago. Seventeen- year-old Laura Ann Aime disappeared Halloween night in 1974 and was found in the woods, badly beaten less than a month later. Utah authorities credit new DNA technology for the break in the case. Bundy has been linked to at least 30 deaths of women and girls in several states. He was executed back in 1989.

And a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Our breaking news this afternoon, the Attorney General of the United States has just been fired. President Donald Trump announcing a short time ago that Pam Bondi will be, quote, "transitioning out of the top job at DOJ to the private sector." Sources say the President had been frustrated with her on multiple fronts, including her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and her failure to do more against his political opponents, despite the fact that the Justice Department under Bondi launched multiple investigations of them. Let's go straight to the White House with CNN's Kristen Holmes.

Kristen, give us the latest.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, and we're hearing that on top of Pam Bondi being out, that right now they don't have a firm replacement to be attorney general. But the Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, will be filling the role of Acting Attorney General. And just a reminder, Todd Blanche was President Trump's personal attorney. Then, he shifted into this role. Now, he'll be in charge, at least for the interim time.

And there have been a number of names floated for this permanent position of attorney general. One of them and seemed to be the front runner is Lee Zeldin, who currently runs the EPA. Though sources say that nothing is final as of this moment.

Now, this comes, as you noted, President Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with the Attorney General. It was a long time coming in terms of the Epstein files. There have been a lot of issues with her handling, starting with her going on Fox News and saying she had the Epstein files sitting on her desk and would be releasing them shortly, only to then say there were no actual Epstein files and they wouldn't be releasing more information.

This just continued throughout her tenure. And of course, as you mentioned, President Trump growing more frustrated that more of his political enemies weren't being prosecuted by the Department of Justice. Although if you ask Democrats, Pam Bondi was doing every single thing President Trump wanted her to be doing.

But this comes just days after President Trump had started phoning around to allies asking if he should replace her, with whom he should replace her. Now, they had a tough conversation last night. We are told it didn't end quite in the firing. But obviously, today, he doubled down and decided he would be firing her and Todd Blanche would be taking over in that role.

KEILAR: All right, Kristen Holmes, thank you so much.

Now, in 12 days, the House Oversight Committee is set to depose Pam Bondi about the Jeffrey Epstein case, even still. And at least one Republican believes Bondi's ouster should not impact that plan. Oversight member or member of the Oversight Committee, Congresswoman Nancy Mace, said in a statement, quote, "My subpoena still stands. When the Committee moved to subpoena Bondi, I did it by name, not by or not as the sitting Attorney General of the U.S. RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES."

We're joined now by Sarah Fitzpatrick, staff writer at The Atlantic. She has reported extensively on the Epstein files in the Epstein case over the years. And we're also joined by former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori. He is now a senior writer for Politico.

Ankush, to you first.

What is the legacy of Pam Bondi's tenure at DOJ as you see it?

ANKUSH KHARDORI, SENIOR WRITER, POLITICO MAGAZINE: Oh, boy. Well, look, people are -- are -- are going to be very upset about a variety of different things, including Epstein, her handling of the Epstein. For me, though, I think her actual substantive legacy is about the deterioration of the department's substantive capacities, its ability to respond to domestic and international threats, and really the hollowing out of a whole bunch of core functions.

Under Bondi, we saw this remarkable shift of resources from all sorts of other crimes to largely immigration cases. And what that has displaced is it's -- it's displaced white collar crime prosecutions, financial fraud, child exploitation cases, and the like.

[15:05:03] And in the meantime, you know, whole areas of sort of internal prosecutorial capacity, like public corruption, have basically evaporated. So, I think substantively, that's her legacy. I think politically, visually, I mean, her legacy is yelling at the House Judiciary Committee, you know, earlier this year. It perfectly encapsulates her style, her ad hominem sort of substance-less way of interacting with folks, and her disdain for answering questions. And that appearance was an absolute debacle, and it's now her last, I guess, real prominent public appearance in this role.

KEILAR: Yes, it really stood out, that appearance that she made before members of Congress. And Sarah, this handling of the Epstein files, it was, by any standard, poor, how she handled it. But Todd Blanche is also responsible for how some of this went down. He's going to at least be filling this role, at least temporarily. But now that she's out, he's there temporarily. What is it going to mean for the Epstein case?

SARAH FITZPATRICK, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Well, I think there's a couple of things to be important here. One is that I don't think the focus, the public focus on this case, and the public -- and the focus by Congress and their oversight capacity, that's not going anywhere. That's just going to continue and probably go into overdrive. Because Bondi was actually -- I think this is a misconception -- yes, she absolutely was the top person, and she made some significant miss -- kind of missteps on the Epstein case. The files are on my desk. Choosing not to meet with Epstein victims, who really considered her an ally.

But Blanche is the person who actually ran the group that did oversaw this release of the documents and the, quote unquote, "investigation." Of course, we know that there has been little to no actual investigative work. So, I think this actually puts the Justice Department in an even worse position politically, because now the person who has been closest to the Epstein files is in the top job filling in. That's going to be a fascinating thing to follow through on.

KEILAR: That's a really interesting point. We had Arick Fudali, victim lawyer, on last hour, and we were asking him, she's going to sit for this deposition anyway, even though she's not an attorney general anymore, how did he think it was going to impact things? And he was sort of saying, maybe she will be unencumbered by the fact that she's no longer the AG, although he wasn't holding out too much hope. I wonder how you think it might impact things.

FITZPATRICK: I think it's going to be fascinating to see. I doubt that the unencumberedness -- I mean, it depends -- we haven't seen -- this is such a public firing. This is someone who was so loyal to the President, who went above and beyond to do everything in her power to really fulfill. It's just that she had the most requests on her desk from Donald Trump of any other cabinet secretary.

But I think in terms of how this will play out is she is still very loyal to the President, and the President is still very loyal to her, in theory. I think we're going to have to see, does he bring her out onto the White House lawn and do a kind of dignified goodbye in the same way he did with Alex Acosta, another cabinet secretary that had to leave over their handling of the Epstein matter or is this a kind of very public pushout?

Right now, this looks like a very public, very painful pushout. That could change the dynamics here. But I don't anticipate anything major.

KEILAR: Really interesting.

Ankush, right now, the person who is being talked about the most as a possible replacement is Lee Zeldin, EPA administrator, former member of Congress. How do you think that he would helm the Department of Justice?

KHARDORI: Well, look, I mean, I think he lacks the one thing that the department needs right now, which is some distance from the President and somebody who can actually successfully resist the President. I don't think Zeldin or any of the other folks who've been bandied about fit that profile. And I assume that's by design.

I mean, Trump wants to maintain his control over the department. If it is the case that he is upset that he has not succeeded in prosecuting more of his Democratic adversaries, then what we're really talking about is him trying to find an attorney general who will be even more willing to indulge his theories and potentially engage in even more abuses of power.

So, I -- you know, and Blanche fits that bill as well. I mean, Sarah was exactly right. Blanche has actually been the person managing the Epstein stuff, as well as many, many other areas that haven't drawn, you know, intense public scrutiny because he's been the second in command. But he has really been lockstep with Bondi on pretty much everything, both rhetorically and substantively. It was just a -- you know, a few days ago that he was bragging at CPAC about how they've fired all of the prosecutors and agents who had worked on the Trump prosecutions.

So, the people whose names are being bandied about, I mean, I think by design, Trump wants it only to get worse in terms of the pressure on his political adversaries.

KEILAR: I want to end this by asking you how the victims are feeling when it comes to the files, where things are. Just looking back, I think on the time of Pam Bondi sort of being at the helm of DOJ through the Epstein files.

[15:10:07]

They've been through a lot. They put a lot of faith in the process. They've talked about how it's let them down and in the ways that they've been glad that some information has come out. Where are they today?

FITZPATRICK: I think anytime there's a development like this, it's a mix of, you know, belief that things can be better, belief that the democratic process can work, belief that a few individuals in the United States can truly change the course of action. And so, I think there's some feeling of, okay, this is progress. But ultimately, it's a huge sorrow.

Many of these women voted for Trump. And when Bondi came in, they saw her as someone who might be able to move the -- the needle here -- and she didn't. And so, I think it's just another example, as we see that these behind the scenes, it is the political power. It is doing the work of the President. It is covering things up, perhaps, for the President that is at play here. And it just is another example of our justice system not truly working as it was designed.

So, I think for these victims, it -- it -- there -- there's no comfort here. It is only a desire to keep moving forward as best they can and hope, hope that the elected members of Congress, that the American public will go into their voting booths, you know, and -- and change the status quo here. Because for everyone, Republicans and Democrats and most -- many Trump, many Epstein victims are Trump voters. I think that's something that gets lost here.

KEILAR: Yes.

FITZPATRICK: You know, this is a bipartisan issue that just wants accountability.

KEILAR: Hopefully, some of the comfort is that they're moving forward together. They banded together and that's not nothing.

Sarah Fitzpatrick, thank you so much. Ankush Khardori, really appreciate it.

I do want to note that Pam Bondi is out with a statement. She says, "Over the next month, I will be working tirelessly to transition the office of attorney general to the amazing Todd Blanche before moving to an important private sector role I am thrilled about and where I will continue fighting for President Trump in this administration. Leading President Trump's historic and highly successful efforts to make America safer and more secure has been the honor of a lifetime and easily the most consequential first year of the Department of Justice in American history. Since February 2025, we have secured the lowest murder rate in 125 years, secured first ever terrorism convictions against members of Antifa, shattered domestic and transnational gangs across the country, taking custody of more than 90 key cartel figures and won 24 favorable rulings at the Supreme Court. I remain eternally grateful for the trust that President Trump placed in me to make America safe again."

That a statement from Pam Bondi, who has been ousted now as attorney general by President Trump.

Still to come, newly released body cam footage showing the moment that Tiger Woods was arrested last week for driving under the influence after a rollover crash in Florida.

And gas prices nationwide continuing to spike because of the war with Iran as President Trump struggles to communicate his plan for an end game. And then later, they're venturing further into space than any other

humans ever have before. We're tracking the Artemis II crew as they gear up for day two of their mission to the moon. We have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15: 17:42]

KEILAR: Oil prices are surging as President Trump pledges to escalate the war against Iran. Last night, during his first address to the nation since the war began, the President repeated his familiar claim that the conflict is nearly over, but he offered no clear exit strategy and vowed the U.S. will hit Iran, quote, extremely hard over the next two to three weeks.

He also made this threat, quote, "We are going to bring them back to the stone ages where they belong." Oil prices reigniting after the President's speech. U.S. gas prices now averaging $4.08 a gallon. That's more than a dollar compared to just a month ago when the war began. We're joined now by Stephen Moore. He served as an economic advisor to President Trump.

All right. So, that speech, it -- it didn't seem to be what the markets wanted to hear, oil traders especially. What did you think?

STEPHEN MOORE, FORMER TRUMP ECONOMIC ADVISER: Well, a couple of things. I mean, the only thing that really matters right now with respect to gas prices and the overall economy is getting the Strait of Hormuz open. So, you know, whether that's going to happen in three days or three weeks or months, I don't know the answer to that. But I'll -- I'm here to tell you, when that happens, we'll start to see some blessed relief at the pump that if we stay at anywhere near a hundred dollars a barrel, that's the equivalent, as you were just saying, of $4 to $4.50 a gallon. That's a -- that's a high gas price.

But once you get the -- the supply coming through the Straits, you could see that price fall as quickly as it rose. So that's the good news of the story is that relief is in sight when we get the Straits open.

KEILAR: So, the top seven states that are experiencing the biggest gas price hikes and I'm not talking about they have the highest gas price per gallon necessarily, but they've seen the biggest increases over the past month. They are all states that President Trump won ...

MOORE: Yes.

KEILAR: ... in 2024 according to AAA data that was reviewed by CNN.

You've got Utah up a buck forty-six, Arizona buck thirty-seven, Florida similar, Idaho, Kentucky, buck twenty-seven, Nevada buck twenty-four, Tennessee buck twenty-three. So, it's not just blue states that are especially paying the price of this. Folks in these states are seeing this kind of disproportionate increase. How long can people really bear that as you're talking about the Strait? Maybe it's months. How long can they actually take it?

[15:20:05]

MOORE: Well, nobody likes to pay gasoline prices and it -- it's a -- it's like a tax on the economy. So, of course, we want to see that price fall as rapidly as possible. It is true that some of these red states have seen the biggest increase, but let's not forget California is now paying close to $6 a gallon. So, California has by far the highest gas prices.

One of the things states could do, at least in the temporary short- term to bring price down, is maybe reduce some of the regulations that add to the gas prices as California's problems are sort of self- imposed. We have, you know, a dollar -- $110 a -- a barrel is a lot. There's no question about it. But I don't know if this can make people feel better or not. But you know, if you just for inflation back in the '70s, the -- the gas price was higher under Obama when we had problems in the Middle East, the price was higher and we always get through this.

So, I'm pretty confident in predicting that three months from now, we'll be back much closer to $3 to $4 a gallon, not $4 to $5.

KEILAR: Three to four dollars.

MOORE: You can take (INAUDIBLE) ...

KEILAR: Oh, that's a -- if -- if -- I mean, you've -- you've hedged your bets, I will say, with $3 to $4 there. Okay. So, in the speech last night, the President said the United States has never been better prepared economically to confront this threat. He said that we're going through the strongest economy in history. If you do look at the latest CNN polling, what you're going to see is that his approval rating when it comes to handling the economy, it's actually fallen to a new career low, 31 percent, which is down eight points overall since January. It's down 14 percent with Republicans since January. That is really a dip.

Is he risking these kind of Biden style assurances that everything is fine? I'm also -- I'm -- I'll be honest, even I'm hearing a little bit of that from you as well, that everything is fine. That it's, you know, it's going in the right direction, when that is not what people are acutely feeling.

MOORE: Yes, look, people hate inflation. I hate inflation. You do and \people watching this show, they ...

KEILAR: But let -- can we just be clear? This isn't inflation. This is a -- this is the effect of a -- a foreign policy ...

MOORE: No, of course.

KEILAR: ... decision on something that people can't avoid.

MOORE: That's true. And really the question and I can't answer this, you can't answer, it's the question the American people really have to ask themselves. Is the short-term pain of removing nuclear weapons and so on in Iran, and I'm not a foreign policy expert by any mean, are you willing to absorb that short term pain at the pump to create potentially a more prosperous and -- and freer world?

Everybody has to decide that for themselves. Let -- let's talk about this, Brianna, six months from now and see where people -- what people think. That -- are they going to say, hey, that was an exercise that cost us some money in the short term, but in the long term has made the world a better place. We can't answer that now.

But look, the economy was -- it is true, the economy was very strong before the Iran bombing started. And so, if we can get to that kind of economy that we had two months ago, I think people feel a lot better.

KEILAR: The President spoke in an Easter lunch yesterday, and there was a video that a Business Insider reporter put on social media. He said the White House put it up on its YouTube page. It's no longer visible on that YouTube page. Here's part of what the President said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I said to Russell, "Don't send any money for daycare, because the United States can't take care of daycare." That has to be up to a state. We can't take care of daycare. We're a big country. We have 50 states. We have all these other people. We're fighting wars. We're -- we can't take care of daycare,

Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things, they can do it on a state basis. You can't do it on a federal -- we have to take care of one thing, military protection. We have to guard the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOORE: Well, I've not seen that video before, but I would say I have a couple of comments. Clearly, the number one responsible of United States government is our national security. I don't think anybody would argue with that. I'm also a big federalist.

KEILAR: Medicaid, Medicare?

MOORE: I do believe we should -- we should move as many of these activities out of the corrupt federal government and the state. So, to that extent, I guess I would be in favor of what Trump is talking about.

KEILAR: All right, Stephen Moore -- do you -- can I just ask you, I'm going to ask you a follow up. We're out of time.

MOORE: Okay.

KEILAR: I'm going to push it back -- back a little bit here. He's supposed to be speaking to what people are feeling ...

MOORE: Yes.

KEILAR: ... which is that their health care costs are bananas. Their gas prices are bananas. Daycare is insane.

MOORE: Yes, (INAUDIBLE) ...

KEILAR: Is he out of touch?

MOORE: The question is whether -- it's the federal government's responsibility to deal with those problems. I'm just hoping we get back to what the economy was before this happened with the tax cuts, the pro-America drilling policies, the deregulation. Those will bring prices down.

KEILAR: All right, Stephen, thanks for being with us.

MOORE: Thank you.

KEILAR: Still ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, police releasing body cam video of the moment that led to Tiger Woods arrest after his latest rollover crash.

[15:24:56]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:29:37]

SANCHEZ: Today, officials are releasing body cam footage showing the moment that Tiger Woods was arrested last week following his rollover crash. Here's what some of the video shows just minutes after police arrived on the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: ... down on my phone, and all of a sudden, boom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to just take a look at it.

WOODS: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And go in just like -- take -- is this -- is this comfortable for you?

WOODS: Yes, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're all right? Okay.

WOODS: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cool. Cool. Cool.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, they're on the way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) ...

[15:30:09]