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Texas Dems Block Republicans' Redistricting Effort; Ghislaine Maxwell Moved To Minimum Security Prison In Texas; Use Of U.S. THAAD Missiles Defending Israel Diminishes Supply; Ukrainian Drone Attack Sparks Fire At Sochi Oil Depot; Four People Identified Who Were Killed In MT Shooting; Small Businesses Claim They're Owed Millions By Tesla. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired August 03, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:03]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. Jessica Dean has the night off.

Tonight Texas Democrats are pushing back against their Republican colleagues who want to redraw the state's congressional map. Now members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus are leaving the state, like actually physically leaving the state. Some have just arrived in Chicago to meet with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, while others are going to New York to meet with Governor Kathy Hochul.

Their decision to leave is an effort to deny the quorum needed to advance the redistricting plan. Republicans are looking to redraw that map to gain potentially an additional five seats in Congress, which would come at the expense of Democrats.

CNN's senior reporter, Steve Contorno, is just outside Chicago.

So what can we expect as the Democrats arrive tonight?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're going to be holding a press conference right behind me in the DuPage County Democratic Party headquarters with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. And they are basically saying, look, this is not something that we wanted to do, but it is something that we felt we had to do in response to what Republicans are trying to push through in Texas.

In fact, Texas Representative Gene Wu, speaking on behalf of the Democratic caucus, saying, "This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one that we make with absolute moral clarity. Governor Abbott has turned victims of a historic tragedy into political hostages in his submission to Donald Trump." And the tragedy he is speaking to is that flooding, which is also going to be part of this legislative session that they're holding in Texas, that will be on hold while Democratic lawmakers are out of the state.

And here's what they are trying to do. In Texas you need two-thirds of each legislative body in order to have what is called a quorum and basically do any kind of legislative business. There are 150 members of the House of Representatives, 62 of them are Democrats. That means if 51 Democrats don't show up and they are out of the state, then they can't have a quorum and they could potentially not hold any business for as long as they are out of the state.

Now they are here in Illinois, as you said. They will be appearing tomorrow in -- with New York Governor Kathy Hochul as well, showing that in blue states they are finding refuge. Also states, interestingly, where Democrats have said that they may actually consider passing their own maps to counter what Republicans are trying to do in Texas -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: I mean, right as you started talking, Steve, there were folks walking up with suitcases heading into the office. So clearly things are actively happening right now.

How long can Texas Democrats actually be absent from the state to keep a quorum from being reached? Is there a time limit?

CONTORNO: Yes, that's a great question because we saw this play out a few years ago. Democrats left the state to prevent a quorum on an election related bill, and they were gone for 38 days before several Democrats defected and came back. But there really is not any set number of time period that they can be out of the state. There's no limit to how long they can be gone. Now they can be threatened with civil fines and potentially legal recourse by the Republicans and the governor of the state.

But, you know, they could be out of the state for potentially weeks on end. And it's certainly something that has happened before -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right. We will just have to see. Steve Contorno, appreciate the reporting as always.

Let's talk more about this with Larry Sabato. He is the author of "Campaign of Chaos," and the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. And overall just a good guy.

So I want to begin with the effort to redraw congressional maps in Texas. We were just talking about it with Steve there. Typically that happens after each census every 10 years. How unusual is it for this to be happening now? And what do you make of the Democrats leaving the state in order to stop that vote?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Well, Omar, it's unusual. It is certainly not unprecedented as our politics has become more and more polarized. It's becoming a little more common. I'm kind of worried it's going to become just plain common because, you know, in politics, for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction from the other party.

So it's not going to be restricted to Texas. You're going to have re- redistricting or maybe re-re-re-redistricting in a whole series of states, because they're going to try and even out the playing field. Now why does that matter to the average person? Because voters are being treated as cattle basically. You're just being moved from district to district to suit the party in power. They don't care really if you even know who your representative is. And I think it's an unhealthy process that's only going to get worse.

Just to give one example, in in Texas, to understand why Democrats are so angry about this.

[19:05:00]

On average, they get 40 percent to 45 percent of the statewide vote in Texas, which isn't all that good, but it's 40 percent to 45 percent. They're being left under this new plan with just 15 percent of the representatives. And before you think, oh, that's terrible, it is terrible. In California, it's the mirror image. Republicans normally get 40, a little more than 40 percent of the vote in California elections. And right now they have only nine of the 52 representatives in California, which is way below what they would have if we had a proportional system, which we don't have.

But that's why there's a lot of anger on both sides about this, and it's not going to lead to anything good. It's just going to lead to a lot more partisan friction and acrimony all over the country.

JIMENEZ: And this comes on top of what was already a very contentious and complicated history around, drawing of congressional maps around gerrymandering. This just adds to that fire. Some national Democrats are urging their party to fight fire with fire. Here's what Senator Cory Booker told our Manu Raju, for example.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): I'm sick of the gerrymandering. But if Donald Trump is going to push to gerrymander Texas, he's going to break the rules in order to win. He can't win by the rules they are right now. So he thinks he should break the rules. For Democrats to sit back and just say, OK, we're going to play by the queen's rules. No, I'm telling you right now, we need to win in the midterm. We need to stop him from cheating, from lying, and from stealing the election. And if they're doing something to add their congressional seats, we need to look at our ways of doing that right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: So that's a little bit of what you were just talking about. I had another congresswoman tell me that what's good for the goose is good for the gander, as they sort of explore what actually gets done in Texas and what that sort of opens the door to in Democratic states.

If we do enter this gerrymandering arms race between the two parties, I just wonder, big picture, what do you think that means for the midterms? And what do you think that means for our democracy as a whole?

SABATO: Well, the element we haven't talked about, Omar, is that we're living in such a closely divided partisan era that just a handful of seats determines the control of the House of Representatives and to some degree, the U.S. Senate as well. So it's a very, very tight margin. And that increases the stakes for every single seat. And in the end, it's just going to be, as I suggested, more partisan. There's going to be more acrimony. And I think just about everybody

would agree there's too much acrimony already. So this can't lead to any place good.

JIMENEZ: And your instincts bear out in at least some of the data we saw in the AP's new poll out today that finds overall, 4 in 10 U.S. adults have a -- have a dim view of both political parties. What do you make of the -- of the sour mood among voters, the pessimism? And is that something that you see breaking anytime in the near future?

SABATO: Well, of course people don't like politicians. They don't like politics. Unfortunately. I think it's well worth liking and it's in your interest to like it, but people don't like it. And this kind of thing increases the viewpoint that politicians just serve themselves. They pick their own voters, once they get in, it's tough to ever get them out. They make sure of that. But on the whole, I don't think that's the way the system should operate.

And both parties are not really that happy with their own people. Democrats are particularly unhappy with their party right now because they see it as weak and ineffective as that new AP poll showed. And Republicans, surprising percentage of them think that Trump and the Republicans have gone too far, although they are happier with their party leaders than Democrats are with theirs.

So it's -- in a sense it's more of the same, except the stakes are higher and the margins are closer, and we're so divided that when you push people further and further and further, it can lead to extreme results. And we've seen some violence already. We hope it always remains a minor part of politics, but it is a condition of an extreme partisan polarization.

JIMENEZ: Larry Sabato, I appreciate the insight and time as always. Thanks for being here.

SABATO: Thank you, Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right. Still to come, a lot of news we're following, including convicted sex offender and Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell transferred to a federal prison in Texas. What we know about the low security prison and why the move is outraging a lot of people. Plus an intense search for a shooting suspect in Montana now enters its third day. We've got the latest on that manhunt still ahead.

[19:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: Ghislaine Maxwell, associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is now in a minimum security federal prison camp in Texas after being moved Friday while serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida. Now, the move followed a private meeting between Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The details of which have not been made public.

I want to bring in defense attorney Shan Wu, who joins us now. He's also a former federal prosecutor.

Have you seen something like this before, a move like this?

[19:15:00]

SHAN WU, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, Omar, it's very unusual for two reasons. First, she's a convicted sex offender, sex trafficker, and that typically is not the kind of person who goes to this very low- level of security camp. Second of all, even if there is some basis to transfer her, Bureau of Prisons under the Justice Department is not saying why. Was it health issue, security? And she doesn't have a track record of being in prison long enough to even be considered for something like exemplary behavior or something like that. So it's really quite a mystery.

JIMENEZ: And I should mention, CNN has reached out to the Justice Department. We haven't heard back on that front, but I guess, what questions would you want to ask the Justice Department about this move? What is even being considered if you're on the prosecutorial side of things to even allow for something like this to happen?

WU: Well, it's not unusual to offer a perk or better treatment if somebody is giving very valuable cooperation. You might have more privileges, more access to a computer, more access to counsel, et cetera. Here, however, it's really quite puzzling as to what kind of value she could really offer at this point. It's been so long after her conviction where nothing else has come to light on her value.

There were grave doubts about her credibility to begin with. There were perjury charges brought that ultimately weren't prosecuted because she got convicted for the sex trafficking. And of course, now with this whole specter of the deputy attorney general talking to her, all of the public hullabaloo over Epstein, it would really call into question, you know, whether there's any real integrity to what she would be telling Todd Blanche who, of course, doesn't really know anything about the case.

I mean, normally you'd have investigators, agents, prosecutors who know the case talking to her and interviewing her, but that's not being done here.

JIMENEZ: And President Trump hasnt closed the door on the possibility of pardoning Maxwell. Obviously, this is a case, this is a sex trafficking case, an associate of a sex trafficker, the sensitivity around the victims and the people involved obviously very high. What could a pardon in this context mean for the victims?

WU: Oh, it would be a terrible blow to the victims and show an enormous amount of disrespect for them. I mean, normally pardons, commutations come when there has been many years of a sentence already been carried out, or there's something that's really improper about the prosecution. There's none of that here. I mean, if anything, there's a strong feeling from the facts we've heard publicly that there wasn't enough prosecutions brought, there wasn't enough accountability. So at this point, to give a pardon really makes no sense at all. And I

think it would be terribly insulting to the victims in this case and really to everybody's sensitivities. It makes no sense to do a pardon here.

JIMENEZ: As a prosecutor, how would you see a pardon?

WU: As a prosecutor, I'd see a pardon as really completely undercutting the entire case that was built. I mean, all the terrible crimes that there was enormous amounts of evidence of that she participated in, that Epstein did. It would tell me, your work doesn't matter here. It's for whatever the vagaries of some sort of political whim. We're just throwing the whole case out the window.

JIMENEZ: Shan Wu, appreciate the insight as always. Thanks for being here.

WU: Good to see you.

JIMENEZ: Still ahead, CNN is learning new details about how America used a huge amount of its high end missiles to help Israel against Iran. We'll talk about, though, the concerns that some defense officials are now raising after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:23:00]

JIMENEZ: A CNN investigation has found the U.S. used about a quarter of its supply of high end THAAD missile interceptors in June. THAAD is short for terminal high altitude area defense missiles. Now, sources familiar with the operation tell CNN as many as 150 THAADs were used defending Israel during the 12-day conflict with Iran. Now, the operation has exposed a supply gap in the U.S. missile defense network, raising the question, can production meet demand?

CNN's Tamara Qiblawi has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAMARA QIBLAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Each of these bright lights come from a sophisticated U.S. intercept missile system known as THAAD, being used for the first time in a war to defend Israel as Iranian ballistic missiles rained down.

A CNN investigation found that the U.S. Military cut deeply into its stockpile of THAAD missiles, launching more than $1.2 billion worth of the interceptors in just 12 days and burning through these crucial defense weapons much faster than they're able to make them.

When Israel went to war with Iran, it came under the most sustained attack of ballistic missiles in its history. Unless intercepted, those Iranian projectiles can take out entire apartment blocks. Israel shot most of these down, and the U.S. Military stepped in to help with the THAAD. As Iran launched its missiles towards Israel, THAAD, along with

Israel's Arrow-3 and the U.S. Navy's own SM-3 interceptors, sprang into action. Where other systems faltered, American troops on the ground launched THAAD, destroying the incoming missiles just outside the earth's atmosphere.

We know from sources that more than a hundred THAAD interceptors, as many as 150, were used during the war, but only 11 THAAD missiles were commissioned by the U.S. government last year, according to official budget numbers.

[19:25:10]

Twelve are being built this year, and in 2026, production is expected to ramp up to 37. Meaning it could potentially take years to replenish the stockpile used against Iran in less than two weeks. And it's not just hard to replace, it's expensive.

THAAD launches cost around $12.7 million a pop. A THAAD interceptor missile is over 20 feet long and weighs around 1,500 pounds. Each system takes more than 95 U.S. Army specialists to operate, making it one of the most complex weapons in the U.S. arsenal.

We spoke to several former defense officials who say that the war has only deepened a problem that the Pentagon has faced for years. "Stockpiles are dropping. We need more. We need them faster than they're being built. There's not enough systems. There's not enough interceptors, and there's not enough production. And there are not enough people working on it."

Analysts say the stockpile depletion could impact U.S. air defenses where they may be critical, in the Asia Pacific region.

DR. SIDHARTH KAUSHAL, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE: The idea is that China can erect an anti-access area denial bubble to keep the U.S. Navy at arms' length in the event that it wished to intervene in, for example, Taiwan. From a narrowly military standpoint, the Chinese are absolutely the winners here.

QIBLAWI: Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said the U.S. Military is, quote, "the strongest it has been and has everything it needs to conduct any mission anywhere, anytime, all around the world."

Tamara Qiblawi, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: And thank you for that reporting.

We're joined now by former NATO Supreme Allied commander, General Wesley Clark.

So, General Clark, what are the implications of a stock depletion like this? What is your first concern in response to this news?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Well, the first concern is that we might have to repeat the protection of Israel or engage in something in the Pacific. And we don't have the stockpile to really sustain it. Could you do it and repeat the operation that just happened? Sure. Used about 25 percent of your supply. You use the other 25 percent. Yes, maybe more. But then you're really, really down on nothing. So yes, I mean, that's the problem. And it's going to take a lot of money. It's going to take a lot of investment.

And it's not just the THAADs, Omar, it's also the Patriot missiles. It's the standard missiles. It's the whole air defense array. It's just what the -- what the former Defense Department official said. Not enough systems, not enough interceptors, not enough people, not enough people working on it. Not enough budget. So it's a major area of weakness that we've discovered. And if you just think about this right now and you put it in the context of the overall situation where we're facing in Ukraine a real problem that we haven't engaged in, they are desperately in need of air defense as well.

So Europe, our European allies, are reluctant to give up their systems because they believe Russia might be coming after them. So we have to think about a two-front conflict in which we are woefully unprepared. That's a fact.

JIMENEZ: Let's talk about Russia and Ukraine, because U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in Russia in the coming days, while another envoy, Keith Kellogg is headed to Ukraine. President Trump appears to be making another push for a ceasefire before the Friday deadline he set. But when we talk about the dwindling supplies or the affected supplies of whether it's the Patriot missile systems or the THAAD missile systems, how much does -- do those dynamics factor into the diplomatic efforts to get to some sort of a deal here?

CLARK: Well, I think it would be really wonderful if we get a ceasefire immediately in place. But Mr. Putin has said that's not what's going to happen. He said he's going to continue to do what he wants to do. So you have to look at it from the overall perspective. And what I see is he's moving -- Putin is moving on three distinct directions. Number one, he's using the diplomatic to stall and forestall further efforts by the United States and the NATO countries to strengthen Ukraine militarily in hopes that maybe there will be a peace agreement.

Number two, he's got his ground forces poised and ready to go. There's a big push being prepared for Pokrovsk as the supporting attack for the autumn offensive and then going after Mykolaiv in the south and hopefully getting to Odessa. And Ukraine is having a really hard time stopping this because they don't have the artillery systems, they don't have the manpower to really hold. And then the third area that he's doing is he's building up forces to threaten the Baltics and Poland and Finland. And so, this is a sort of a holding action he's running.

[19:30:16]

So, he's got three major areas of endeavor. So, when Steve Witkoff goes, I wish him all the best. I hope its he's going to be successful. But we have to look at the realities of Mr. Putin, what his determination is and what's likely to occur and what's likely to occur is more talk and more fighting, and what we need to really make that diplomacy work is a dedicated, strong effort to reinforce Ukraine's military right now, right away, not just with air defense, but with the ground systems they need to hold the line and even push the Russians back a little.

JIMENEZ: And tactic-wise, we've seen an escalated use of drones by the Russians, but also a Ukrainian drone attack on Sochi sparked a large fire at an oil depot. The Russian Defense Ministry says it destroyed 93 Ukrainian drones overnight, even though that report doesn't specify how many were launched. But I wonder what you make of the increased drone use by both sides, and how effective they are at achieving the strategic objectives on either side?

CLARK: By the Ukrainians, this is the only means they really have right now to strike deep. So, if they're going to take the momentum away from the Russians, they've got to go after the oil resources, the munitions and the industrial production that Russia has staged across Russia deep. So, this is essential for them but it's not enough to just hit one or two refineries. You have to take out the system. So, the Russians are deprived of munitions or production of petroleum.

Now, for the Russians, what they're doing is with fiber optic drones. They're making it really difficult for the Ukrainians to hold the line. But here's the thing, Omar, if this thing, really, if the Russians really were to achieve a breakthrough, it's going to be an entirely different type of warfare again. If it goes back to mobile warfare, it's going to be really difficult to get those drones for either side into operation. It's going to be tank on, tank, infantry against tank and our mobile artillery requirements.

So, you always have to be careful in looking at something like this that you're not focused on one specific aspect, really, it takes a full dimensional capability to be assured that you can win this war. Right now, Ukraine is trying to form mobile armored groups, but they don't have the systems they need yet.

JIMENEZ: General Wesley Clark, appreciate the insight as always, thanks for being here.

CLARK: Thank you, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Up next, a CNN investigation finds Tesla, the electric car company owned by Elon Musk, is accused of owing nearly $25 million in unpaid bills to dozens of small companies. We're going to bring you what our Kyung Lah uncovered in Texas, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:37:46]

JIMENEZ: Police have released the names of the four people killed in a shooting at the Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana, Friday morning. Three men at the bar and a woman who was a bartender there were all killed. An all-out manhunt is now underway for the suspect, Michael Paul Brown, who has been on the loose more than 48 hours now. State officials say to stay alert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUSTIN KNUDSEN, MONTANA ATTORNEY GENERAL: The vehicle he ended up grabbing was loaded full of equipment. It was not his vehicle. It was a stolen vehicle. But there was camping equipment in it. We believe there was some clothing in it. So, at this point, we have every reason to believe the suspect is fully clothed, shoes on his feet, able to get around. We are acting under the assumption that he is alive, well- armed and extremely dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: CNN correspondent, Julia Vargas Jones has the latest developments on this. Julia, what more are you learning about the people that were killed?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they were just identified this afternoon, Omar. Their names are Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59 years old. Nancy Lauretta Kelley, that's the bartender you mentioned. She was 64 years old; 70-year-old David Allen Leach and 74- year-old Tony Wayne Palm. All of them were residents of the town of Anaconda, according to the Attorney General.

Here's what else he had to say about that shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KNUDSEN: We can confirm that it was a rifle. At this point, I'm not going to give out a bunch of more information about that. We do know the individual had access to firearms. We believe he was probably armed and dangerous.

From what I have gathered, it sounds like he was a regular at this establishment. He literally lived next door. I think it's likely that he knew the bartender and these patrons, which makes this even more heinous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Some chilling details there, Omar.

We're also learning that Brown is a U.S. Army veteran, and he was part of an armored vehicle crew from January 2001 to May 2005, and spent almost all of his last year in the Army deployed to Iraq from February 2004 to March 2005, and he later joined the Montana National Guard, that was in April of 2006 to March 2009, and he left the military service as a sergeant.

Now, we are also learning from speaking to his niece, Claire Boyle. She said that her uncle had struggled with mental health while he was in the Army, and that he wasn't the same after his service. She said that it got worse after the passing of his parents. She described him as very sick, but also recalled some happy moments with her uncle, such as learning how to ride a bike and going fishing with him. I'll say she also expressed remorse and heartbreak for the victims' family, saying that all five families were destroyed on Friday. Meanwhile, that search continues, Omar. Authorities have now locked down not just parts of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, but also the area around Stumptown Road that's North of Barker Lake.

This is a very difficult area for search to take place. And now, authorities are also offering a $7,500.00 reward for anyone with any information on his whereabouts.

[19:40:56]

JIMENEZ: Yes, that manhunt ongoing. Julia Vargas Jones really appreciate the reporting.

All right, meanwhile, a CNN investigation has found that Tesla, Elon Musk's most famous company, has a pattern of not paying contractors who do work for them, even after the work is completed. Musk is the world's richest man. And while he may be known for his ruthless cost cutting approach, the company is going into business with him, aren't expecting to be left unpaid. CNN's Kyung Lah went to Texas to follow the paper trail.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): How would you characterize what Elon Musk's company did to you?

JENNIFER MEISSNER, COMPANY OWNER, PROFESSIONAL PROCESS PIPING LLC: It was devastating what they did.

LAH (voice over): They is Elon Musk's Tesla, and it had hired Jennifer Meissner's piping and welding company. But she says working for Tesla, led to her financial ruin.

A CNN investigation found dozens of small businesses, like Meissner's claim, Tesla never paid them for work they did.

LAH (on camera): Is someone like you able to fight the world's richest man?

MEISSNER: No, no. I absolutely wanted to fight him because we were in the right. No small company can litigate against Tesla. You have to take the hit.

LAH (on camera): So this is where Meissner says all her troubles began at the Tesla gigafactory here in Austin.

LAH (voice over): Independent contractors like Meissner built this sprawling factory.

LAH (on camera): Meissner says Tesla stopped paying her after she'd already done the work here owing her $1.6 million.

LAH (voice over): And she's not the only one. A CNN investigation found 97 other small businesses say Tesla owed them a total of more than $110 million in the last five years. Tesla still owes more than $24.5 million in unpaid bills to some of those businesses for work already done.

We found most of the accusations against Musk's companies here in civil court in Austin, revealed in thousands of pages of documents.

LAH (on camera): What I am looking at are a number of liens. Now, a lien is an official document that says my company is owed money for work that has been done. Most liens eventually get paid, but that's not always the case for Tesla.

LAH (voice over): A Houston fuel company claimed it is owed more than $2.6 million, saying Tesla conjures up reasons to not pay. That claim was recently resolved. Another Texas company says Tesla ignored written notices and refused to make any payments, Tesla countersued.

An Austin company says it took out short-term loans when Tesla wouldn't pay it. Nearly $600,000.00 for work it had done and filed for bankruptcy. Those companies ultimately settled with Tesla.

LAH (on camera): $108,000.00. This one's $344,000.00, more than a million dollars cited here.

MEISSNER: It's a just a way of doing business at that point. It's not a one off. It's not just the companies, it's everyone involved in that company. That's a lot of people to disappoint and hurt.

LAH (voice over): Meissner had to take out short-term loans to keep her company afloat and went bankrupt. She eventually settled with Tesla in court, and they agreed to pay her subcontractors $650,000.00. But Meissner herself wasn't fully paid.

MEISSNER: Material, rental companies -- we had up to 60 men. The men is what hurt the most because they believed in us, because we were told it was going to be paid. So, they worked for no money. For me not to be able to pay them was difficult.

LAH (on camera): So what is the red mean?

MEISSNER: Red means that we were still waiting for payment.

LAH (voice over): Court hearings and balancing her books now rules her day-to-day. She works two jobs to pay the debt and is trying to restart her company, Professional Process Piping.

Her main goal hold on to her home for her special needs daughter.

MEISSNER: The fear is losing it. The fear is having to give that up, to be able to pay debt from the fallout of the bankruptcy.

LAH (on camera): How long do you think it'll be before your whole?

MEISSNER: I don't know if I ever will truly be whole for a very long time. [19:45:32]

LAH (on camera): CNN reached out multiple times to Tesla, but the company did not respond. And we did see that during the settlement with Meissner, Tesla said that they were unhappy with their Company's work. But Meissner says she only ever received glowing reviews from Tesla before the bankruptcy.

We also compared Tesla with Apple to see how another big corporation with major construction projects in Texas compares in unpaid liens.

Apple owes contractors less than 10 percent of the amount in unpaid bills as compared to Tesla.

Kyung Lah, CNN Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:50:47]

JIMENEZ: The final episode of the CNN Original Series "Billionaire Boys Club," follows con man Joe Hunt's legal battle as he represented himself for his suspected involvement in two murders. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The biggest thrust of Dean Carney's testimony was that Joe Hunt, in essence, made a full confession to him about the murder and it was pretty graphic and pretty gruesome.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said that he had disfigured the body with a shotgun. That at one point, Ron Levin's brain jumped out of his skull and fell on his chest. I recall him laughing when he told me about the brain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dean says, Joe and Jim went back to Ron's apartment, tidied it up, and among the precautions Joe took was to leave some documents that would set up the payment of the million-and- a-half-dollar check.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Let's talk about this a little bit with Nicole Lapin, the host of the podcast "Scams Money And Murder." So, what was it about Joe Hunt that made him so charismatic that people wanted to join his club.

NICOLE LAPIN, HOST, "SCAMS, MONEY, AND MURDER" PODCAST: He had the polish, Omar, of a CEO, but the playbook of a con artist. I mean, he spoke with such authority. He dressed the part, he sold himself as this visionary.

So, people felt like they weren't just investing money, they were investing in him. He really created a culture where questions felt like insults. He used exclusivity and jargon to shut down doubt. And that's not just a red flag. That's a strategy of a scam like this.

So, I think what people need to know when they're looking at this, is that financial confidence isn't about knowing everything, but it's about knowing when to stop and say, " Hey, hey, wait a minute. Does this actually make sense"? And if it doesn't, walk away because your questions aren't a liability, they're your protection.

JIMENEZ: Yes. I mean, from an outside perspective, the Billionaire Boys Club was supposed to look like this elite and glamorous sort of situation but Joe Hunt's web of lies eventually unraveled. But as a financial reporter, what made the story of the Billionaire Boys Club such a big story? And did it change the way financial elites were perceived by the public?

LAPIN: I mean, look, this still happens today, right? But today it's in private WhatsApp chats or influencer trading groups or crypto communities. It's the same strategy. It's just new platforms. So, the tools have changed but the psychology is identical. And I think we're drawn to stories like this because they force us to ask ourselves, could I have fallen for something like this? And could something like this still happen today? And the truth is, yes, it does. It's just in different clothing and we have the internet now.

JIMENEZ: Yes, well, yes, the internet -- look, for better or for worse, it's used for great things but also, you know, it changes the tools a little bit as you said.

Why do you think the public got so obsessed with the true crime aspect of Joe Hunts trial after the disappearance of Ron Levin, rather than the financial crimes that also happened within the investment club?

LAPIN: Because I think it's not just about money, it's about power. It's about identity. It's about how far someone will go to protect the lie they're living. This was a group of young finance pros, a subset obsessed with success. And when it started to unravel, it didn't just fall apart financially, it turned deadly, as you said.

And I cover money crimes every week on "Scams, Money and Murder." And most often they end in bankruptcy and financial ruin but not to homicides. So, I think that's the real fascination here.

JIMENEZ: And obviously you've got this new episode coming of "The Billionaire Boys Club", the CNN Original Series. Is there anything that you're looking forward to hearing or you're looking forward to people learning about this story ahead?

LAPIN: I think the real takeaway here is that real opportunities should make you feel clear, not confused, and that success that requires you to stay quiet is not actually success, it's likely a scam.

JIMENEZ: Nicole Lapin, appreciate the time, thanks for being here.

LAPIN: Thanks, Omar. JIMENEZ: And then be sure to tune in, new episode of the CNN Original Series, "Billionaire Boys Club" airs tonight at 10:00 P.M. Eastern only on CNN. But before we get there, we got a lot of news.

We are continuing to follow, including Democrats are looking ahead to 2026 midterm elections. We're going to talk to Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss on his party's uphill battle, we'll call it that for now and what he sees as the winning strategy.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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JIMENEZ: Welcome, everyone, to a new edition of CNN NEWSROOM. We are following some comments from President Trump right now. I want you to listen to what he had to say just a few moments ago.

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DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Okay, thank you very much.

We had a very good weekend in many respects. We're seeing phenomenal numbers in terms of the business we do with other countries and the business we do within our own country. I mean, really phenomenal numbers. We'll be announcing a new statistician sometime over the next three or four days.

We had no confidence, I mean, the numbers were ridiculous, what she announced, but that was just one negative number, all of the numbers seemed to be great. And so, we'll see how that comes out.

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