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After Comey, Trump Targeting Other Political Adversaries; Hurricane Humberto Could Become Category 5 by Monday; Des Moines School Superintendent Detained by ICE; Netanyahu: Countries "Buckled" Recognizing Palestinian State; Trump Blasts United Nation, Tells Leaders "Your Countries Are Going To Hell"; Former FBI Director Charged With Making False Statement, Obstruction; CNN Speaks With Wife Of Man Injured In Shooting At ICE Facility; T.V. Assistant Director Helps Feed Those In Need. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired September 27, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:36]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

And we begin with President Trump opening new fronts in his attack on political adversaries. Just days after the controversial indictment of former FBI director James Comey, the president has now turned his attention to two new targets.

The first, Lisa Monaco, who served as deputy attorney general under President Biden, where she oversaw investigations into Trump and his associates. She is now Microsoft's president of global affairs and President Trump is demanding she be fired from a private company.

The second is Fani Willis, the Georgia district attorney who charged President Trump in a sweeping election interference case. "The New York Times" reporting the Department of Justice has issued a subpoena for records related to her travel history.

Let's bring in CNN's Kevin Liptak from the White House right now. And Kevin, the president's demands toward Lisa Monaco, really just the latest example that we're seeing of him using this power of the presidency to both pressure private companies and then more broadly, with the DOJ and James Comey to prosecute his political adversaries.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. That's right. And his sort of gripes against Lisa Monaco seem to stem from her role as the deputy attorney general in the Biden administration when the Justice Department and a special counsel were investigating Trump's role in mishandling of classified documents in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

And it is those investigations that are really at the heart of the president's campaign for retribution. You know, you heard him talk about this just yesterday, saying that they did it to me for four years, essentially justifying what he said. It was a campaign of weaponization and saying that this was now his efforts to essentially repay that.

And the president, I think, pretty -- being pretty explicit here in what he's seeking to achieve. He says that Lisa Monaco is a menace to U.S. national security. He's not talking about indicting her like he did with James Comey, but he's saying that it's necessary for Microsoft to terminate her employment, saying that he's banned her from federal properties. He already stripped her of her access to classified information back in February.

And I think one, it just goes to show how much pressure the president is putting in the corporate world against his perceived enemies. You've seen him do this in the past. It's sort of an unprecedented sort of foray into corporate affairs, whether it's at Disney, whether it's at Intel, now at Microsoft.

I also think it's interesting who is claiming credit for bringing this to the president's radar. It's Laura Loomer. She's the far-right activist.

She said that she alerted Trump to the fact that Monaco had been hired at Microsoft. And she's saying to the CEO, are you going to comply?

And so you see all of these things coming together. You know, I asked the president yesterday who is next on this list in his campaign of retribution. He claimed that there wasn't a list that he's working on, but he was pretty explicit that there will be others. He says, "I hope there will be others", making pretty clear that this is sort of a center now of his presidency.

DEAN: Yes. All right. Kevin Liptak with the latest there from the White House. Thank you so much for that.

And as the president says that to Kevin, that there will be others, it all comes after, of course, this indictment of James Comey.

Prosecutors accusing the former FBI director of making a false statement to Congress about an anonymous leak. And a source familiar with the incident telling CNN, this person, Comey, allegedly authorized to leak, referred to as, quote, "Person 3", is his longtime friend and Columbia Law School professor Daniel Richmond. Richmond was a special government employee at the FBI at the time.

Let's bring in CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig. He's a former federal and state prosecutor. He's also the author of a new book out this month, "When You Come at the King: Inside DOJ's pursuit of the President from Nixon to Trump".

Elie, I do want to talk about your book in just a moment. But let's start first with this latest news.

"Person 3" -- what does this tell you about the strength of the government's case here and how they're working through this?

[17:04:50]

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Jess this new reporting gives us in the public some specificity that's not actually contained in the indictment itself. So it is really important to know that "Person 3" is this person, Daniel Richmond and the allegation is that Jim Comey authorized him to leak, but then lied to Congress about that.

The number one problem I see is if you look at the clip where Jim Comey is being questioned by Senator Ted Cruz back in 2020, the question that Ted Cruz poses to Jim Comey is not at all clear. In fact, there are three or four subparts to that question.

And then Jim Comey's response is simply, "I stand by my prior testimony." If you're going to bring a perjury prosecution and get a conviction, as a prosecutor you need to have a clean, clear question and a clean, clear false answer.

I don't see that at all with respect to that exchange. There's no mention of Daniel Richmond whatsoever. So I think prosecutors have picked themselves a tough fight here. And I think the record itself is confused.

The other thing, Jessica, just as an indicator, we learned yesterday that only 14 grand jurors out of 23 voted for this. It's a much, much lower bar in the grand jury. There's no defense lawyer present. You only need a majority, and you only need to show probable cause.

If they can only get 14 in the grand jury, good luck getting all 12 by a higher standard with a defense lawyer there at trial.

DEAN: And Trump has been quite vocal about this. Last night he posted online calling Comey, in his words, "a dirty cop", thanking the FBI and DOJ for this indictment. What does that mean for this case, as you mentioned, once they get into a courtroom?

HONIG: Yes, this is more than just atmospherics and politics. This will be part of the record because Jim Comey's defense team, in all likelihood, is going to make a motion to dismiss based on what we call either selective or vindictive prosecution.

It's really hard to win on those arguments. I've seen all sorts of defendants raise them, because you have to show that you, as a defendant, were singled out for prosecution for political or other improper purposes.

Now, ordinarily, it's really hard to show that type of motivation. Here you have Donald Trump's social media feed. I mean, almost on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times a day. He's celebrating the fact that this prosecution happened. He's obviously putting it in political terms.

So this is going to become part of the court record. This is going to become the basis for a defense motion to dismiss his indictment before it ever even gets to a trial.

DEAN: And so we're now headed for an arraignment that's set for October 9th here in just a few days, as you lay it out and I'm listening to you lay it out, it looks like this is going to be very tricky, very difficult for the government to get what they want here.

That being said, it seems probable that a lot of this is just about the chilling effect and the message that this could send to anybody like James Comey that's perceived as having done wrong by the president.

HONIG: Well, I think that's exactly why there's so much concern here. Look, I don't have any particular feelings for or against Jim Comey. I don't find him to be a sympathetic character. But the reason that I think there's a real issue and real reason to be concerned here is because of the overtly political nature of this prosecution, because of the sequence we saw play out over the last week when Donald Trump went on Truth Social and ordered his attorney general to bring this case. He named names, he named Jim Comey, he named others.

And then days later, we have the pushing out of the veteran conservative U.S. Attorney in that district. The replacement of that person with Lindsey Halligan, a completely inexperienced novice and political loyalist. And we end up with this indictment.

So I would urge people, it doesn't really matter what you think of Jim Comey, good, bad or otherwise. It's a real problem if we have the president ordering DOJ to undertake political prosecutions.

DEAN: All right. And I do want to mention your new book, "When You Come at the King", you talked to dozens of people involved in prosecuting presidents and top officials over the last 50 years -- 5- 0. And so you've gone back and really done, done the research here.

In your view, how does where what we're seeing right now and what's happening right now fit into this larger historical picture?

HONIG: It's fundamentally different what's happening now. You know, there has been a through line from Watergate to Iran-contra, to Ken Starr and Bill Clinton, all the way up through Mueller and Robert Hur and Jack Smith.

And the through line there is no president likes these investigations. What president would ever want a special prosecutor poking around in his administration?

And certainly presidents have a long and varied record of undermining and at times obstructing those cases. But up until now, every president has understood that they're necessary, that they're part of our system. They're necessary for accountability and good government.

What Donald Trump is doing now is just to say, there will be no such inward-looking investigation. There's no chance of that. And as we saw on bright display this week, anyone who does even consider that or has ever investigated him will be the subject of retribution.

So it's a fundamental change from what we've seen going back as far as Watergate and beyond that.

[17:09:46] DEAN: And I think that seems to be the important thing, because we're all inundated with so many pieces of information, and this is all happening so quickly that it's easy to kind of just brush it off as another thing.

But I think putting it into that historical context is really, really important.

You also interviewed members of Robert Mueller's team who played, of course, quite a role in Trump's first term. How do you see the president having changed from that first term and what was going on then, to what we're seeing now?

HONIG: When you look back at the appointment of Robert Mueller, which happened early in Donald Trump's first term, it's a miracle that that actually happened. Nothing like that would be permitted to happen now.

But several people at the Justice Department did the right thing. Jeff Sessions properly removed himself from that case. He was the attorney general. Rod Rosenstein took over and did the right thing in appointing a special counsel.

Now, there's plenty of issue to be taken with the way Robert Mueller carried out his investigation. I spoke to members of his team. I spoke to members of Trump's team. I spoke to White House officials in the Trump White House.

And so I thought it was interesting. Some members of Mueller's team actually said they wished he had handled the case differently and been more decisive, more clear when he announced his findings. So that's part of the history records now.

But we're not going to see a Robert Mueller or anything like that over the next three years. And really, the pitch in the book that I make at the end is whoever comes next, we do need an independent DOJ. We do need a system for imposing accountability on the administration. As uncomfortable as it may be, it's a crucial part of who we are as a government.

DEAN: Yes, and it underpins in a -- in a real way, our democracy.

Elie Honig, thank you so much. We really appreciate it. Good to see you.

HONIG: Thanks, Jess. Appreciate.

DEAN: Coming up, we are tracking a dangerous combination of two tropical systems that could turn into a significant flooding threat for parts of the Carolinas.

Also, protesters in Iowa are sharing their outrage over the detainment of a school superintendent by ICE agents. We have a live report straight ahead on that.

And a little bit later, the wife of the detainee who was shot at the Dallas ICE facility speaks out about her husband's condition. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:11:47]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: We are tracking Hurricane Humberto, which is expected to intensify to a category five hurricane later tonight. Meanwhile, South Carolina issued a state of emergency ahead of a tropical system that could bring heavy rain and damaging winds to the southeastern U.S. by Monday.

Meteorologist Chris Warren is joining us now.

Chris, Humberto's winds could reach up to 150 miles per hour, and again, the Carolinas hit about a year ago very hard by Helene. What more can you tell us?

CHRIS WARREN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, there's a lot to get to. What I can tell you, though, right now, is we do have an update for you on Humberto. It has now reached to a category 5 hurricane, and well get to what is expected to be Imelda in just a moment.

But first, this -- a buzz saw looking storm out here. That is Humberto. It has winds at 160 miles an hour. This is new as of the 5:00 advisory from the National Hurricane Center. And wind gusts associated with this estimated at 195 miles an hour. It's moving to the west northwest at 10.

And when you see a storm like this, it's sort of ironic when the storms, the more symmetrical, for lack of better words, the more beautiful they look, the more dangerous, the more monstrous they actually are.

And you see almost a perfect circle right in here. And that's where those powerful winds are. Fortunately, this stays well away from the U.S. And also, fortunately, and perhaps even because it's getting stronger, it may play a role in helping to get what will be Imelda away from the U.S.

During the day today, a lot of the forecast models have been trending away. Not all of the forecast models, but a lot of them have been taking it out here. So the National Hurricane Center official forecast does reflect that.

It takes a while. It takes quite a while to move up off the east coast of Florida. So tropical storm watches are posted for parts of the east coast of Florida. Could see those conditions if it gets a little bit closer to Florida on this track.

It is expected to be a tropical storm tonight or tomorrow, and then a hurricane either late Monday or into Tuesday. But it's going to be the rain and the surf that is going to be a big concern. So beach erosion and some very heavy rain along coastal areas from Georgia to South and North Carolina, because it's going to take so long, possibly lingering out here as a hurricane. Again, a lot of the models take it away from land and closer to Humberto, as it is expected to absolutely move away from the U.S., maybe get close to Bermuda. But still, we can't completely say it's all clear just yet. Still have to watch more runs come in to give us more confidence.

So, all of the different possibilities, scenarios with this still tropical depression on the table. Going into the coast, landfall is possible, not the number one choice right now. It could stall or go out to sea. That's looking more likely one of those. But again, it's not a lock. It's not done yet.

Here are the two systems. And you see how some of these lines, some of these lines of equal pressure here starting to kind of like, kind of go together a little bit. It's almost like this is helping to kind of tug it with it. And that could be part of the reason why we're seeing more of the models go away.

But Jessica, one of the big issues getting more than 10 inches of rain here at the coast likely going to lead to some flash flooding. If it gets closer, some of this heavier rain, possibly onshore as well. So do absolutely have to continue to watch this in the coming days.

[17:19:49]

DEAN: All right. Chris Warren, thank you so much.

Families in Des Moines are reeling from the news, the superintendent of their public schools has been detained by ICE. Officials say Superintendent Ian Roberts was in the country illegally and had existing weapons possession charges.

But the picture of Roberts painted by people in his community is quite different. It's of a leader who, in their words, had shown up in big ways -- in ways big and small for students and staff.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is joining us now. And, Julia, federal authorities have suggested that he was a public safety threat. What's the evidence to back that up?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're pointing Jessica to his arrest and how he had a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a fixed-blade hunting knife when he was arrested.

They also said that he tried to flee when Immigration Customs and Enforcement approached him. It is a federal -- a violation of federal law to own a firearm if you do not have legal status in the U.S. But that is unclear at this point.

We do know, according to DHS, that Roberts came to the United States in 1999 on a student visa, and that then in May 2024, he was given an order of removal by an immigration judge. Now, we don't know if he was fighting this or not.

You know, he is the head of the largest public district -- public school district in Iowa, overseeing 30,000 kids. And a former Olympian, he ran the 100-meter event for Guyana in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

And as you mentioned, this is a very different picture that ICE is -- that DHS is painting of the superintendent than the community. Now we heard those family members, parents coming to his support in a rally and other events on Friday.

We also heard from the chair of the board of the school district. Take a listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKIE NORRIS, CHAIR, DES MOINES SCHOOL BOARD: We do not have all the facts. There is much we do not know.

However, what we do know is that Dr. Roberts has been an integral part of our school community since he joined over two years ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: We also heard Jessica from the governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds, said that she was made aware of this arrest and that she was in communication with the federal agencies involved.

And we also heard from educators, the Iowa State and the Des Moines Educators Association issuing a statement backing Reynolds, saying that his leadership and compassion for all students, regardless of background, identity or family origin, are a beacon of light in one of the states most diverse school district.

It is a dark and unsettling time in our country. And this incident has created tremendous fear for Des Moines public school students, families and staff.

I will say that the school district has also noted they have not been formally notified by DHS of the arrest, and they have not been able to talk to Roberts since his arrest on Friday morning.

Now, CNN has been able finally to reach an attorney that is representing Roberts, who said that he spoke to his client this morning and that he sounded good and they had a good conversation. And they're still reviewing the documentation and couldn't comment further on this case.

Now, the school board is having a meeting today to talk about how they will move forward after this incident, Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Julia Vargas Jones with the latest coming out of Iowa tonight. Thank you so much.

Still to come, a foreign affairs columnist for "The Washington Post" joins us to discuss why President Trump's speech at the U.N. this weekend -- or earlier this week -- how it landed with leaders from around the world.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:23:30]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Israel taking center stage at the United Nations General Assembly this week. Dozens of delegates were seen walking out in protest before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the chamber. He defended Israel's war in Gaza, vowing to, quote, "finish the job" and eliminate Hamas before sharply criticizing countries namely France, Canada and Australia for recognizing a Palestinian state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after October 7th is like giving al Qaeda a state one mile from New York City after September 11th.

This is sheer madness. It's insane. And we won't do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Joining us now is Ishaan Tharoor, a foreign affairs columnist for "The Washington Post" and anchor of "Today's World View". Thank you so much for being here with us.

That really -- so many people we talked to before this General Assembly believed that this could be a real flashpoint in this war with all of the dynamics that we saw play out over the last week.

What did you take away from it and what -- did anything of consequence do you think come from this week when it relates to the Israel-Gaza war?

ISHAAN THAROOR, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COLUMNIST, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, it's very clear. And thanks for having me, Jessica.

It's very clear and you could see in the room with Netanyahu there the extent to which Israel's geopolitical isolation has deepened.

You saw most of the countries of the world turn their back on Netanyahu's speech. You've seen this big summit alongside the U.N. meetings, involving the U.N. where dozens of countries reaffirmed their support for a separate Palestinian state.

And you have, you know, all the while, a lot of stuff happening on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza that seems to be confirming the views of many countries in the world, that the situation is unsustainable. That in the views of some -- some countries the famine conditions, the destruction of Gaza even amounts to what many believe is a genocide.

THAROOR: And Netanyahu stands athwart all this, increasingly isolated.

[17:29:56]

DEAN: And then we -- and so we had that piece of the puzzle and then obviously the president, President Trump himself, speaking at the U.N. in what was a long and very kind of wide-ranging speech from attacks on the U.N. itself to attacking other countries handling of immigration and disparaging green energy.

You know, oftentimes, it's rare we see him speaking like this to so many nations all at once. What was your main takeaway?

THAROOR: Well, you know, I've covered every single one of his U.N. speeches, all of them in the first term, and then I was back in New York for this one. And what was really quite striking is that in the past, it was clear that he was, of course, speaking to his base in the United States, an audience that isn't particularly interested in the United Nations is suspicious of all the money the U.S. gives the United Nations.

And Trump was, again, speaking to them in much of his speech, but he was also this time quite clearly, addressing a kind of sympathetic right-wing audience in other parts of the world, especially in the West, especially in Europe, and he spent a lot of time denouncing the politics of the liberal European establishment in his speech.

And so, to a certain extent, he is -- he is really kind of embracing a larger right-wing International, and that was something quite different.

In the past, of course, a lot of his remarks would elicit laughter. There was a sense among U.N. diplomats at the time in his first term, that this was still something of an aberration in American politics.

Now, often, a lot of his statements were met with pin drop silence in New York, and a lot of diplomats you talk to just recognize that Trump is the status quo, and Trump, like politics, are here to stay.

DEAN: And that, I think, is worth underscoring, right? That, that transition from what the world, or other world leaders probably thought and diplomats, was an aberration, to what is, as you say, the status quo that he was -- he was reelected, that he, you know, that these politics are here to stay for the moment.

And it was interesting to kind of just the question of the U.N. in 2025. Obviously, the president has really gone after the U.N.'s relevance.

But there are questions even from people who very much support the U.N., but think that it needs to be reformed for this moment in time to really have more of an impact. Was there any discussion about that? Did you hear anything from people you were talking about as the -- as it pertain to the role of the U.N. in this moment we are in?

THAROOR: Absolutely. This is, of course, a huge existential moment for the U.N. The U.N. is marking its 80th anniversary this year. And it's, you know, as you said, a lot of people believe the U.N. is showing its age. A lot of its institutions are not functioning as you'd want them to do, especially the Security Council, that the body then makes a lot of important decisions.

And at the same time, you know, Trump has come in, he's cut funding at historic levels, the entire pillar -- entire pillar of the international humanitarian system, is on its knees. The U.N. is facing big cuts across the board. So, on a practical level, the U.N. is in rough shape. And then, yes, absolutely. People are worried that the U.N. is becoming increasingly irrelevant.

Yet, at the same time, if you went to the UN, you heard all the speeches, leader after leader after leader, kept on saying, we do not want to live in a world where a superpower calls all the shots. We don't want to live in a world where might makes right. We believe in what the U.N. represents, which is countries coming together and building decisions by consensus.

And that's not something Trump particularly cares for, given that he has cut across the world stage in a very different way. Believes in making quick deals and isn't -- doesn't have time for the U.N. and its multilateral system.

So, you did get a sense of Trump pulling in one direction and the world is pulling in a different direction.

DEAN: It is. It is such an interesting inflection point. Ishaan Tharoor, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

THAROOR: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:38:32]

DEAN: There are questions around the strength of the legal case against former FBI Director James Comey. But for the president and his allies, the case against him is open and shut.

CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein is joining us now.

Ron, good to see you.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Jessica.

DEAN: Look, the president was very clear. He is -- he is always talked about political retribution. On the campaign trail, he would say, maybe he was going to do that, maybe he wouldn't have time for that. But here we are.

I guess the question is, for the average American out there, how are they looking at this?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. I mean, I think the real question is, do we want to live in a country where the president can, in effect, order the Justice Department to find a crime for someone who he dislikes or disfavors?

I mean, it was the head of Stalin's secret police who famously said, give me the man and I will find the crime. You know, I'm not a PhD in international, you know, politics, comparative politics, but I think it is probably a sign of democratic erosion and danger, if a comparison of quotes from one of Stalin's most notorious henchmen are apt. And I think, you know, that we have watched over eight months as one after another, seemingly secure constitutional safeguard has been overrun, and we are not seeing the level of alarm in any segment of society.

Too many elites are looking for ways to kind of cut their own deal, and the public has not gotten, I think, a clear message from anywhere that what we are watching is both an extreme departure from most of American history.

[17:40:09]

BROWNSTEIN: And something that takes us into a place that is much more like authoritarian countries than what we have seen in our own experience.

DEAN: And the president has said his, kind of way of thinking of this is -- I'm just doing what was done to me. They came after me when I was out of office, and they -- and even when I was in office, and that this is -- this is just doing to them what they did to me.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

DEAN: This is different, though, in your mind.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, yes. I mean, look, I mean, you know, it's interesting. Scholars of authoritarianism like Ruth Ben-Ghiat, they will point in her book strong men, she points out that often, when strong men are out of power and are prosecuted for the abuses of power they committed while they held office, they will often do as Trump did and basically said, all of that is legitimate, all of that is politics, and then use that as the justification for coming back.

If you think that what James Comey did is comparable to the evidence of the January 6th committee and Jack Smith Marshall about Trump's actions in the aftermath of the 2020 election, then, maybe this does seem like the equivalent.

But when you kind of look at the pattern that we are watching here, you know, with the deployment of National Guard and potentially active duty troops into yet another city, the firing of career prosecutors who refuse to bring cases that the -- you know, the administer -- the president has personally demanded the pressure, the strong arming on ABC and its affiliates, from the head of the Federal Communications Commission to kind of de platform a critic of the president.

You know, you are watching a series of events that really have no precedent in American history, and that, as I said, are taking us into terrain that we just don't really have the language, or even, I think, the muscle memory to debate. And as a result, there just isn't the level of coalescing. You know, ask the Fortune -- ask the Fortune 500 CEOs privately, do they want to live in a world where a crime can be manufactured against any of them if they do something the president doesn't like? I have no doubt what the answer would be, but you're not hearing that in public.

DEAN: Yes, and does it -- doesn't surprise you that we haven't seen really any pushback from Republicans in Congress? Do you think we will?

BROWNSTEIN: You know, the only time we did was on the Jimmy Kimmel, when it was the was first amendment and free speech, you saw some pushback from some of Trump's, you know, ordinary allies, including, you know, people in the -- in the blogs, Joe Rogan. Not to mention Ted Cruz. That was something that I think was so uncomfortable for Republicans who have complained about what they call cancel culture for so many years.

But ultimately, we are not seeing this. And you know, the -- across the board, I think you are seeing from many institutions in society the idea that you can cut your own deal, get what you want out of this administration and kind of whistle past the stuff that is so alarming.

I still think the most important article written in the second Trump term was the op-ed piece in The New York Times by Joe Biden's ambassador to Hungary, who said, basically, what we are watching in the U.S. is what he saw in Hungary. Everyone, too many powerful institutions thought they could cut their own deal rather than locking arms, to push back against the overall erosion of civil rights and civil liberties.

And I think, you know, Republicans are basically even the ones who I think are uncomfortable and recognize that once you start unraveling the rule of law, that it can easily come back to bite you as well. I mean, I think, their view is that they are, you know, Trump is the core of their coalition. He has a stronger hold on their voters than they do, and there is a positive. He turns out voters who helps them win, and they are simply not willing to make a principle stand on these core issues that we have really not had to debate very often in American history.

DEAN: It is, yes. All right. Ron Brownstein, good to see you. Thank you so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:48:43]

DEAN: We are learning more about the victims of this week's shooting in Dallas, where one detainee was killed, two more were injured at an ICE facility. One of those injured was a father whose wife is expecting another child, and CNN's Ed Lavandera spoke with her about his injuries and what they are facing. ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, we have heard very little about the victims of the shooting at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility here in Dallas. But we sat down with the wife of one of those victims.

31-year-old, Miguel Angel Garcia, was brought to the U.S. by his family as a 13-year-old. He spent almost 20 years working as a painter and in construction, and his wife tells us he is fighting for his life, and that nurses have told him they believe he was struck by as many as eight of the bullets shot by a gunman, Wednesday morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANY GAUFFENY, WIFE OF DETAINEE SHOT AT DALLAS ICE FACILITY: I just want everyone to know he was a human being, you know, besides the fact you know where he was born, he is a good father, good husband, hard worker. Wanted to do things the right way.

LAVANDERA: How did you find out what had happened Wednesday morning at that ICE facility?

GAUFFENY: I did receive a call from an ICE deputy officer or someone. All they told me was, all I can tell you is, he is alive.

[17:50:00]

You know, right now, we did have to do CPR on him, and he is in the hospital. So, you need to get down there.

LAVANDERA: When you saw him for the first time, can you describe that emotion?

GAUFFENY: It's the worst feeling ever. You know, you never imagine you're going to see anyone like that. She left my husband all swollen, staples on his head, you know, tubes, a bunch of tubes going down his throat. I just started crying immediately as I walked into the room.

LAVANDERA: You told me that he was handcuffed to the hospital bed?

GAUFFENY: So, his -- both his arms were restrained to the bed. I don't know if that was a hospital or ICE doing that. But his -- both his feet were handcuffed together.

They had handcuffs on them. You know, him being unconscious and can't move, can't talk, and still treated like a criminal. I made a comment like, sound like he is going to get up and walk away, you know. Just seeing him like that, you know, all tubed up and unconscious, and but, you know, handcuffs on him, it did make me feel upset.

He does have them off now, so, I'm happy about that, but I feel it was only because I made a comment.

LAVANDERA: You don't get a lot of time with him, from what I understand.

GAUFFENY: No. They allow me two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon.

LAVANDERA: Why is that?

GAUFFENY: I believe, due to ICE's policies. You know, and right when I walk in, they start counting the time, and they tell me, OK, your time is up or it's time to leave.

LAVANDERA: So, he's still technically in ICE custody.

GAUFFENY: Yes. ICE is in there 24/7 with him in the room.

I mean, I've never get a little bit of privacy, you know, alone. Even if they wait outside the room, a little bit of alone time, just me and him. There is always someone there, you know, with him, 24/7.

LAVANDERA: What do you tell him when you're next to him in the hospital?

GAUFFENY: Every day that I see him, I hold his hand. I talk to him. I tell him, I know you can hear me. You know, keep fighting. You know, your kids miss you. Your kids love you. I miss you. You know, I just tell him, don't give up. You know, it's not your fault this happened.

LAVANDERA: Do you spend any time thinking about the guy who did this?

GAUFFENY: I try not to. I don't see the point of thinking about him.

Definitely, don't like to see his face all over everywhere, like I try not to open social media. So, I don't want to see his picture. You know. I don't want to see my husband, you know, he was a victim. He did nothing wrong.

Yes, he might have not been an American citizen, but he still didn't deserve this, you know. No one does.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: Jessica, the Department of Homeland Security says that Miguel Angel Garcia was targeted for deportation because he is, "a criminal, illegal alien". They say he has charges, including DWI. The family's lawyer and wife tell us that those charges stem from an arrest in August of this year -- on August 8th. And then, since then, he had been held in a nearby Tarrant County Jail. And it was Wednesday morning when he was turned over to immigration authorities.

But despite that, the family was hopeful that he would avoid deportation. The couple, Stephany and Miguel, have been married 10 years, and they were in the process of getting him legal status.

The wife was petitioning to have her son -- her husband to become a U.S. citizen, and they were in the midst of doing all of that, that legal immigration process.

But despite all of that, that future is very much up in doubt, because right now, Miguel Angel Garcia is desperately fighting for his life. Jessica? DEAN: Ed, thank you.

Hollywood productions are often fueled by gourmet meals on set. Assistant director Hillary Cohen was always disturbed that leftover food was always sitting around. So, she took action, and the result is why she is this week's CNN Hero,

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY COHEN, FOUNDER, EVERY DAY ACTION: Working on a film set with this whole team of people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cut!

COHEN: A prop department, the costume department, and electric department, and a lot of people that need to be fed.

There is just so much food that's available, steak and salads. So much good food every day. When lunch was over, they would just throw it out. It doesn't make any sense. I really was always told we can't donate the food. It's too hard if someone gets sick, it's liability.

As an assistant director, I was the logistical planner of a set.

[17:55:00]

This is just the logistical problem. I think it's so easy to solve.

Everyday action picks food up from film sets, corporate events, grocery stores to deliver the food to those in need.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's nice to meet you.

COHEN: We are the grub hub. We take it from point A to point B.

At the beginning, was just me and Sam, one of my co assistant directors in the heart of COVID. We have this big cooler from Walmart, thermal bags just picking the food up.

I would like to see what the fancy meal is of the day.

Film and T.V. set, that's like our bread and butter. All you have to do is give us a call sheet, sign liability over, and the food is ours.

STEPHEN FAUST, EXECUTIVE CHIEF AND PARTNER, MCGUFFIN CATERING: For decades, it broke my heart to throw food away. So, we are happy to do it.

It's just like clockwork. They show up.

COHEN: Hi, it's so good to see you.

FAUST: We pass off the food and we're all set.

COHEN: We pay production assistants and background artists, and then, they drive the food from place to place. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The salads. Too many fruit.

COHEN: There you go, just --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

COHEN: So, it started with encampments.

Would you like some free food?

Then, it's food pantries, nonprofits. Anyone that's struggling with food insecurity.

Here is three meals, and I'm going to get you some sides too.

Giving someone that's hungry in food is the best thing one can do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much.

COHEN: Of course.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, God bless you.

COHEN: And that's about 80,000 meals a year that we save from landfills. I feel like my skill set is like called to do this. Now, more than ever, we have to help each other.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: And to learn more about Hillary's inspiring efforts, go to CNN.COM/HEROES.

The next hour of NEWSROOM starts after this quick break.

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