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Sources: Trump "Furious" With Pirro, "Blindsided" By Pool Reversal; Rep. Max Miller Under Pressure To End Re-Election Bid Amid Abuse Claims; Iran Seeking Control Of New Strait Of Hormuz Route In Oman Talks. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired August 04, 2026 - 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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[07:31:40]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Breaking overnight an arrest has been made in connection with the wildfires in Spokane, Washington. Police say that a 37-year-old suspect was found with matches and a lighter. Right now the fire is zero percent contained.

And we want to give you a sense of the damage. I want to show you West Holyoke Avenue in Spokane. You can see this is before -- a beautiful neighborhood -- but see what happened here after the fire. You can see that same neighborhood just covered in smoke and flames. Here is just like a split view of it. Just incredible what those flames did.

We have more pictures. This is W. Pine Cliff Court. You can see again the before and then this is what it looked like after. You can see a fire truck actually on the scene trying to do some work there, but a lot of work there with everything still on fire.

One more. This is N. Park View Lane. Again, before and after. Looking at these houses just burn there. You can just see -- you can see the devastation that took place there.

Let's get right to CNN's Derek Van Dam. Derek, what does it look like for these firefighters on the ground here today?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. Unfortunately, John, that window of opportunity we talked about yesterday for the best chances of getting some ground on this fire is narrowing, and it's narrowing quickly because the temperature is going to rise over the next 72 hours. The relative humidity is going to lower and that means we are going to extend the burning periods. And we're also going to increase the fuel availability on the ground for the fires that are still zero percent contained, not to mention there is no rain in the forecast, and the winds will become more erratic going forward.

You can see just in -- unfortunately, these images that we're looking at here -- the shambles and the leftover ruins. But there's very little drift within the smoke and that tells me that the winds have been light, and that's true. And that's good because it hasn't spread the fires that much further like it did on Saturday with the explosive growth that it had.

But the Autumn Lane, Old Trails, and Fairview fires still cumulative. Over 10,000 acres have burned. But all three of these fires surrounding Spokane, zero percent containment.

The winds -- they're light with the exception of some localized gusts throughout the mountains and the canyons across this area. But notice as we head into the weekend -- the second half of this workweek -- winds pick up and they become more uniform out of the south and west. The relative humidities yesterday -- they were in the 20s. They're going to drop into the mid and lower teens.

And then on top of that, here's the temperatures rising through the course of the workweek. So that is going to make it that much harder for the firefighters on the ground. Average high temperature in the upper 80s. Will peak in the middle and upper 90s.

No rain. The rain is east of the Rockies. And, of course, a lot of smoke burning with not just the Spokane fires but the over 30 fires in Oregon and 16 active large fires across the state of Washington right now. This is degrading the quality of the air from Seattle southward to Portland, all the way to Denver where air quality alerts are in place.

Look at this. You can just see how the smoke emanates across the West Coast, maybe drifting as far south as San Francisco Bay as we head into the second half of this workweek. Some of the world's worst air pollution and air quality right now across the Pacific Northwest and it's all due to these numerous -- dozens of wildfires that continue to burn out of control -- John.

[07:35:00]

BERMAN: Yeah, and it's such a beautiful place.

And the governor wanted to make sure that everyone really understood that these fires have flattened neighborhoods, which is why we showed you those maps before. You can see the damage right in Spokane in the neighborhoods in that beautiful city.

Derek Van Dam, thank you very much for that report.

VAN DAM: OK.

BERMAN: We're going to stay on this all week.

All right. Happening now, we are standing by to see if Jeanine Pirro keeps her job -- if she shows up to work. The president had his longtime ally at the White House after lashing out at her. He's fuming over her move to dismiss felony vandalism charges against a former Olympian, saying problems with the reflecting pool were caused by flawed renovation work; not by vandalism.

This is what Pirro said just a month ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Did he have any tools or was it just his bare hands?

JEANINE PIRRO, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Right now we believe it's his bare hands -- both hands.

REPORTER: So does that indicate, in your belief, that it was probably damaged before, or do you believe that he --

PIRRO: Oh, he damaged it.

REPORTER: Further, but do you believe it had already been damaged before?

PIRRO: He damaged the pool.

REPORTER: Before he touched it.

PIRRO: He damaged this pool.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: In this filing she's now basically saying the opposite.

With us now, CNN senior legal analyst and former federal and state prosecutor Elie Honig.

So that was before. Now I think the important thing to focus on is this filing that her office made on Friday moving to dismiss the charges, saying there is a lack of evidence to prosecute this case, saying they were more or less misled by the Department of Interior.

Our Kaitlan Collins and others reporting that over the weekend Pirro may have told the president you know, look, this was career prosecutors in my office who made the determination to try to drop the charges.

What are the chances she didn't have her fingers in this?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: There's no way. In my experience there is no way that a career prosecutor, which is what I once was -- somebody who works on the line and does trials.

There is no way you would see your boss, the U.S. attorney -- in this case Jeanine Pirro -- give a nationally televised press conference and pound the podium the way she did about his case, and then on your own, without running it all the way up the line, dismissing the case.

That is impossible for me to believe -- to conceive of. It's just not the way that things work in the U.S. attorney's office. No line prosecutor would ever have the gumption or the authority to do that.

BERMAN: So she must have by that reasoning -- in your experience, must have agreed -- HONIG: Absolutely.

BERMAN: -- that there's no case here.

HONIG: Absolutely. There's just no way.

It's her name. By the way, her actual name is on the --

BERMAN: Her actual name is literally on the document.

HONIG: And the document to dismiss. That said, sometimes U.S. attorneys' names are on -- they can't see very piece of paper that goes out the door. But in a case like this she had to have known.

BERMAN: OK, so what are the options now for the people who were charged and now are hoping to have these charges dismissed officially by the judge this week?

HONIG: So the first thing that someone in David Hearn --

BERMAN: Yeah.

HONIG: -- the kayaker's position, who now has had --

BERMAN: Canoeist.

HONIG: Canoeist. Oh, right. yeah. Good distinction -- is going to do is look to formally get this thing dismissed. And they're going to ask to dismiss it with prejudice, meaning you did something wrong, prosecution, and you cannot bring it back to life.

Once that happens, whether it's dismissed with or without prejudice, the defendant -- the former defendant can absolutely bring a claim under what's called the Federal Tort Claims Act. We sort of focus so much on this slush fund, but the reality is even without the slush fund people who have been wronged by the federal government can put in legal claims and get paid.

And here you have a guy who was indicted, who was dragged through the limelight by prosecutors, and now they say we never had the evidence? He's got a very strong claim if and when he makes that claim.

BERMAN: And finally, I just want to point out that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche goes before the Senate Judiciary committee today for the confirmation vote to move it through committee to the full floor here. This and a lot else happened under his watch at the Department of Justice.

HONIG: He has been either the deputy AG or the acting AG essentially for a year and a half now -- since almost the beginning of this administration. It's been remarkable to me that so much focus has been on the slush fund, as it should, and the Epstein files, as it should, but almost none on this weaponization.

This guy is not the first. There has been a long and growing list of people who have been prosecuted, largely for political purposes, and those cases have all collapsed. That's all on Blanche but none of it seems to have stuck to him.

BERMAN: All right. We will see what happens over the next day or so.

Elie Honig, great to see you.

HONIG: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning it is decision day for Republican Congressman Max Miller. Miller has been facing mounting pressure to drop his re-election bid after his ex-wife accused him of domestic abuse. Miller needs to withdraw before tomorrow in order for a special election to be scheduled to replace him on the ballot.

Among the allegations he's facing, his ex-wife says that he held a gun to her head.

Her father is fellow Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, and he issued a brutal statement on Sunday, saying in part, this. "Max Miller needs serious psychological help. He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every time (sic) -- every minute he has custody of my granddaughter." Moreno also saying he should not serve in Congress.

Miller has all along denied any wrongdoing, accusing his ex-wife of making it all up. The allegations though not only have rocked that family very clearly but has also rocked Miller's congressional district in eastern Ohio. And Republicans there face a two-fold deadline now.

[07:40:05]

If Miller withdraws before the end of business today, a special primary would be held to fill that vacancy. If he withdraws after today, the local Republican Party chairs would choose a replacement candidate. They would have until August 10 -- yes, just days from now -- to do that, but they have a two-days' notice requirement to hold such a meeting. So you can see he's hard up on deadlines here.

Sources tell CNN top House Republicans, and many other Republicans have called the president asking him to call Miller to drop out.

Here is what the president, though, said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, it's a very sad thing. I know Max. He's a good person. I mean, I always thought he was a very good person. And I'm going to let the families figure that out. Those families -- I know they're working on it. But it's accusations and I'm going to let them figure that out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Max Miller will be on "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" later today, so much more we will hear from him. Though right now on the -- on the -- on the deadlines he faces,

joining us right now is political reporter for Axios, Stef Kight.

So, Stef, Axios also has some important reporting out this morning that President Trump did jump on the phone with Max Miller yesterday, and here is the reporting from your crew. "On the call, the president told Miller that 'things aren't looking good' and repeatedly said his re-election would be tough, three sources said." But it seems Max Miller pushed back a little bit on that.

Walk me through how important it is he make a decision one way or the other today.

STEF KIGHT, POLITICAL REPORTER, AXIOS (via Webex by Cisco): Look, as you laid out, there are deadlines here and if there's going to be a special election today is the day for Max Miller to decide whether or not he's going to stick around or bow out.

And, of course, for days now there have been, you know, Trump allies and senior House Republicans who have been asking the president to jump in to the situation. To weigh in. To tell Congressman Max Miller that, you know, it's time to get out.

It is extremely notable that the president has, at least, called Miller behind the scenes and told him, you know, it's looking tough. Our sources told us that he repeatedly told Miller that it was going to be a tough re-election fight, kind of indicating that he can't win this because of the allegations and how damaging they are.

We'll see whether that holds any weight with Miller and whether that changes his mind. He has, thus far, you know, denied the allegations and been pretty adamant that he plans to stay in his seat. To continue running for re-election there.

But it is notable there's kind of a difference between what Trump told him on the phone and what he's said publicly so far. You know, we'll be watching whether the president starts putting more public pressure on Miller to step aside. If he starts getting more nervous about losing another seat.

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

And what -- since -- as this has unfolded it just -- I'm really still shocked and astonished by what Bernie Moreno, the senator -- his former father-in-law -- his statement. I mean, it is more than he shouldn't serve. It is an absolutely gut-wrenching, horrible statement that he put out against Max Miller.

Which leads me then wonder, like, just in general, allegations -- where we are today, Stef, as you've watched this over -- you know, others facing other allegations throughout this primary season, sadly -- allegations of domestic abuse. Allegations of violence against women. And especially, after this statement from Bernie Moreno.

How and why this is even a political question when it comes to both parties, from Max Miller's race to Graham Platner's candidacy on the Democratic side. I mean, just the state of affairs of politics today.

KIGHT: I mean, really, it's sad. It has been one case after another. The cycle of allegations of abuse of various kinds of violence against women, as you pointed out. There's clearly an issue in the House of Representatives, in Congress, where people feel comfortable and are able to run and win races with this kind of, you know, baggage behind them.

And, you know, we are seeing though a response. We have seen, you know, discussions about expulsion in the House. We have seen members being forced to step aside. You know, that's another element that we're watching at Axios is whether we start seeing some of these early rumblings and rumors about an expulsion vote -- whether those are to pick up. In the Max Miller case, of course, many have said they want to see more of an investigation.

But yeah. But I also was struck by Sen. Moreno's comment statement against Max Miller. Of course, there are questions about why we didn't know some of this earlier. There are, of course, family members involved that probably made that a more complicated --

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

KIGHT: -- situation. It's obviously a very personal situation for the senator.

But he did not pull any punches with that particular statement and Moreno does have sway. He has a good relationship with the White House. He has a good relationship in Congress. And so it does matter when he speaks out on these things.

[07:45:00]

BOLDUAN: Yeah. I mean, it's just as a father and a husband, Moreno wrote. It's the last two years he talks about being pure hell. I mean, it's just -- you can see. You have to feel for a family that's having to go through this in private and in public.

Stef, it's good to see you. Thank you so much.

A programming note. The congressman that we're talking about right here, Max Miller -- he will be on the "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" at 5:00 p.m. Eastern today -- John.

BERMAN: All right. We are watching that closely.

All right. Breaking this morning, a cargo vessel reported being struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz. You can see where it happened right there just north of Oman. It lost power, forcing the vessel to request immediate assistance. The status of the crew at this point unknown.

As far as oil prices, they are a little bit down this morning. I'm trying to get a sense of -- up a little bit now. If we just stay here, they'll go down again. We just watched them move. But right now more or less flat as we begin the day. CNN senior business reporter David Goldman is with us now. Just in general here it's still a somewhat tenuous situation.

DAVID GOLDMAN CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, here we go again, right? And, you know, it's interesting because you mentioned oil prices are down, they're up, they're down, they're up. Eight times since the beginning of the war, President Trump has done this. He has said you know what, I'm going to call of this massive attack. We're going back to the negotiating table, and oil has plunged.

And it's interesting even after that ship was struck, you're not really seeing oil up that much. WTI (American oil) is down. Why is this going on? It's like the president who cried peace, right?

Well, let me take you through the foggy mist of time, John, back to June. The Red Sox were 14 games under 500, and oil was down below its pre-war level. This is the same phenomenon that the oil market recognizes, right?

As much as Trump is saying over and over and over the same exact thing, they recognize that it doesn't take much to get oil all the way back down to $70 a barrel again because might in the same situation where oil starts coming through the strait and then all of a sudden there's way too much oil and not the situation that we're in right now where we're trying to get oil through the strait.

They don't want to be left holding the bag. That's the situation.

BERMAN: It really is interesting though that why they would think this time is different than the one before or the one before or the one before or the one before.

GOLDMAN: That's it. Right, exactly. I mean, it's kind of like fool me eight times, shame on me. But this is the thing that they're concerned about is that he only needs to be right once. He was right in June.

BERMAN: Yeah.

GOLDMAN: Oil fell through the floor. And they don't want to be caught in that same situation again if they're long oil. If they think that oil is going to up.

BERMAN: That's a really good way of putting it. He only needs to be right once here.

David Goldman, thank you very much for that analysis. And we like the trade?

GOLDMAN: I think we like the trade. I'm excited about this.

BERMAN: Adley Rutscham, new catcher for the Boston Red Sox.

Thank you very much.

GOLDMAN: Thanks John.

BERMAN: Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

President Trump warning that Iran has "a last chance" to sign a deal with the U.S. to end the war. But he also says there are no time constraints on negotiations, as you just heard from David and John there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: This is at least the fifth time you've turned off airstrikes against Iran since April --

TRUMP: Yeah.

REPORTER: -- to negotiate. What is your message to the American people of when and what has changed this time? Why should it be any different?

TRUMP: Well, you know, I don't know. I don't know. I think we're going to maybe get something, but I want to give them every last chance before decapitation. Very tough to do what I -- what we have planned -- still planned. We'll see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Iran says it is only focused on negotiations with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz and that its goal in these talks is to establish a safe, temporary route for vessels through the critical waterway, which Iran would control.

CNN's Leila Gharagozlou joining me now from London.

What are you learning as you watch these negotiations where you have President Trump saying hey, we have plenty of time here, but Iran is going its own way, seeming to sort of walk away from the U.S. and head towards Oman.

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. So Iran has said that they are specifically only speaking to Oman to ty to find another route for these vessels that have been stuck in the strait to be able to safely cross. We actually heard from one Iran's negotiators just today saying that they were looking to set temporary arrangements lasting about one to three months to try to get things moving.

Now, many of the analysts that I've spoken to over the course of today have said that for anything to get put together between Iran and Oman, the U.S. would also have to have buy-in. So it's unlikely that we see a deal that really wholly sets the U.S. aside. But it could help kind of ease the pain that we've seen on these shipping vessels, on the oil markets, as David just pointed out earlier. So it is something that could really help.

[07:50:10]

That being said, it's not the first time that we've heard that Iran and Oman are talking about potentially an alternative to the main route of the strait. It's something that's come up time and time again over the course of the last couple of months. And much like everything else in this war it's very much a time loop, Sara.

SIDNER: Yeah. I mean, when you talk about time there are two things happening here and the economy is just sort of hanging in the balance.

Give us some sense of if Iran feels like it has plenty of time to do this because it, too, is suffering the economic consequences of all this, correct?

GHARAGOZLOU: Yeah. The Iranians are feeling the pain of the blockade. They're feeling the pain of the war. You know, they started this war with an economy that already was in dire straits, so they really cannot keep going with the situation as it stands.

That being said, they have built a whole strategy around being able to withstand American sanctions and a blockage, so they have a little bit more time before, you know, they really feel the pain of this economic blockade, Sara.

SIDNER: Lelia Gharagaozlou, thank you so much for coming on from London for us today -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Today, SpaceX will release its first-ever earnings report since going public on June 12. This will give investors, of course, a much more detailed look at how Elon Musk's rocket, satellite and AI companies are doing.

Its stock soared, you'll remember, after the biggest public -- biggest initial public offering in history, but that high did not last. The stock has definitely fallen from both -- from both of those from its record high and its IPO price.

SpaceX has already said that it is losing money with reported losses of about $4.3 billion in the first quarter. Now, analysts -- they do not expect the company to turn a profit yet, but today's earnings report will give investors a better understanding of where they are and how much cash they're burning. So something to look out for this morning.

Also today, leaders from the top AI companies are headed to the White House. Up for discussion, a new framework for reviewing AI models before they launch.

And another scary bison encounter caught on camera. There's new video showing a bison chasing a child at Yellowstone National Park.

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[07:57:10]

SIDNER: The contaminated food case has now claimed two lives. Two deaths reported in Michigan due to the nation's growing cyclospora outbreak. They are the first known deaths linked to the intestinal illness, which causes dramatic stomach upset and can lead to severe dehydration. Health officials say both people had other health conditions.

But more than 18,000 cases have been identified across the country this season. Officials stress deaths from cyclospora are rare. Investigators are still tracking the source, and some Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce products have been recalled.

All right. And a new heart-stopping video. This time another bison incident. A bison charging at a child at Yellowstone National Park. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, go back. Go back! Go back! Go back!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go back!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do not go towards him!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go back!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go away from him!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Y'all are gonna learn. Don't you remember the elderly man who got thrown into the air? Well, video of the close encounter was captured by another park visitor. The bison was reportedly walking near a pedestrian pathway when a child in the passing group began to run. Thankfully, the bison stopped after a brief chase. The child OK this morning.

This is the second time, as I just mentioned, in just one month that a dangerous bison run-in at Yellowstone has been caught on camera. In July, a 65-year-old grandfather was tossed eight feet into the air. You remember this video -- it was insane -- after he got too close. And the bison -- well, he didn't like it. He charged him and threw him into the air. The man is OK -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right. He suffered serious injuries. He is recovering. And finally, hopefully --

SIDNER: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: -- this happens less and less.

Let's turn to this right now. Some of the most influential names and companies bringing about the AI era are headed to the White House today. Executives from Meta, Anthropic, Google and OpenAI will be sitting down with the Trump administration to talk about a framework essentially for testing the capabilities of advanced AI models. The government gaining access before the public.

CNN's Lisa Eadicicco has much more on this.

What is -- what are they talking about and what's expected to come from this meeting, are you hearing?

LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: So what we've been hearing is that this framework, which is part of an executive order that the president signed in June -- that framework is now complete and the discussions that are taking place today are about next steps in that framework. And so as you mentioned, under this framework the government would be able to review frontier AI models from AI companies.

Now, what we know about this so far is that this would be a voluntary system and the details of the framework won't be made public. But this is something that came up a couple of months ago.