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FBI Discusses "10 Co-Conspirators" After Jeffrey Epstein's Arrest; U.S. Strikes Alleged Drug Vessel In Pacific, Killing One; Ukrainian Forces Withdraw From Eastern Donetsk Town; Americans Finding Comfort And Charm In Britain's Costwolds. Aired 2-2:30a ET

Aired December 24, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:24]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, thousands more documents released from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, the references to Donald Trump and what they reveal.

Lawmakers in Australia waste no time approving sweeping new gun laws after the deadliest mass shooting there in decades.

And later, we'll take you to the Cotswolds, a new hot spot for American expats.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. We begin with confusion, outrage and more questions. That's the reaction after the Justice Department released a trove of heavily redacted Epstein files. They posted nearly 30,000 documents related to the convicted sex offender. That still isn't all of the files they're mandated by law to release.

This batch includes many more mentions of Donald Trump than the previous release, including a note that seems to have surprised a federal prosecutor. He wrote in a 2020 e-mail that flight records showed Donald Trump traveling on Jeffrey Epstein's private jet at least eight times. That's more than had been reported or that prosecutors were aware of.

Trump has not been accused of or charged with any wrong doing related to Epstein. The Justice Department claims some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against Trump, but the documents were released without explanation or context, and experts say that makes it very difficult to tell what is authentic and what isn't.

Well, the files also contained FBI references to 10 co-conspirators of Epstein's. CNN's MJ Lee has more on that angle. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Justice Department disclosing tens of thousands of pages of documents related to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Among the redactions in those documents, names of Epstein's potential coconspirators named by federal authorities around Epstein's 2019 arrest. That omission, widely criticized. Also redacted, names of some government officials, including federal prosecutors involved in some of the early criminal investigations into Epstein, leaving in the dark identities of officials who helped negotiate the highly controversial non-prosecution deal that Epstein received in 2008.

The DOJ has not explained why potential coconspirators and prosecutors names would require redactions.

And meanwhile, one document from a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Virgin Islands against Epstein's estate in 2021 making the rounds for appearing to have botched redactions. Some text that is blacked out when copied and pasted into a document revealing that Epstein's lawyer had signed checks for, quote, over $400,000 made payable to young female models and actresses.

But CNN's review of the Virgin Islands docket indicates that the botched redaction occurred years ago. The DOJ simply republished the flawed file.

Another major source of concern information about Epstein victims and survivors, whose names are unredacted and visible throughout the files. One woman, who identifies as Jane Doe, telling CNN she was mortified to see her real name appear throughout the Epstein files. She's contacted the DOJ multiple times to ask them to fix the error. As of Tuesday, her name still appears in the files, but CNN did find one document where her name is now redacted.

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: The statute also requires us to protect victims.

LEE (voice-over): But many Epstein survivors and victims and lawyers representing them expressing fury over the incomplete release and slamming what they say are abnormal and extreme redactions, with no explanation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Victim identities, national security or ongoing investigations. Those are the categories on which they are permitted to withhold but withhold -- sounds like they're withholding more than that.

LEE (voice-over): Files released overnight Tuesday morning containing multiple new references to Donald Trump, who has not been accused by law enforcement of any wrongdoing related to Epstein. Inconsistencies related to the redaction of Trump's name further fueling questions about the extent of the president's past relationship with Epstein. In one document, the DOJ redacting Trump's name, but in another posting of that same document, Trump's name is visible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:05:04]

LEE (on camera): And just to make one more note on the Donald Trump references that are found in the Epstein files, according to the DOJ, there are some untrue and sensationalist claims about Donald Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. But the department is saying that they are choosing to release these kinds of documents anyway, for the sake of transparency.

MJ Lee, CNN, Washington, D.C.

CHURCH: Liz Stein is an anti-trafficking advocate who is also a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse. She shared her reaction to the way the Trump administration is handling the Epstein files.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZ STEIN, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: We're just really, I guess, frustrated in the fact that the Department of Justice is releasing all of this information. We are seeing it when everyone else is seeing it. And, you know, we would have hoped that there would've been some consideration for us since we are the victims of this crime.

We are seeing some documents that are completely overredacted, documents that are completely blacked out, and that's really an exaggeration of what we're looking for.

We are looking for our names and our personal identifying information to be redacted, and that's all. But I will tell you that our names don't take up a hundred and some page document. And so, we're really concerned about, you know, what is being redacted and what is not.

And to your point, survivor's names have been exposed in this. And it doesn't matter if someone's name is exposed and the Justice Department corrects that. Their name is still out there. And we are -- you know, we are dealing with being re-traumatized constantly. And it's just a really difficult place to be in.

However, despite the discomfort that we're feeling, we feel very strongly that all of this information needs to come out so we can find the truth. We are victims of a crime and I think that that's really getting lost in this discussion. It's really turned into a discussion about politics when it's not. You know, this is a crime and it's a crime of sex trafficking. And we, as victims of this crime, deserve the Department of Justice to seek justice for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Australia's state of New South Wales is officially tightening its gun and anti-terrorism laws. This comes after a mass shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach, which killed 15 people and wounded dozens during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration.

The state's parliament voted to further restrict the firearm cap on most individual gun licenses. Police will also be granted more power to curb public protests in the months following a declared terror attack and public displays of prohibited terror organization symbols will now be banned in a bid to combat anti-Semitism. Officials say the laws are meant to keep people safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS MINNS, NEW SOUTH WHALES, AUSTRALIAN PREMIER: I want to make it clear that this isn't the end of change. Sydney and New South Wales has changed forever as a result of that terrorist activity last Sunday, and we know it's our responsibility to do everything we can to keep the people of New South Wales safe, and that means further change in the new year.

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CHURCH: Authorities believe the two gunmen responsible for the December 14th attack were inspired by the militant group Islamic State.

The father, Sajid Akram, was shot dead by police at the scene. His son, Naveed, has been charged with murder and terrorism.

Russia and China are criticizing the U.S. pressure campaign against Venezuela. During a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, Moscow and Beijing accused Washington of violating international laws and trying to impose its will on the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUN LEI, CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: China opposes all acts of unilateralism and bullying and supports all countries in defending their sovereignty and national dignity.

VASSILY NEBENZIA, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: In Washington, they are ready to respect your independence and take your interest into account only if you are willing to tailor them to the interests of the United States and to conduct a policy which is convenient and beneficial to them.

As soon as you attempt to benefit your own people, then you will be treated the same way that Venezuela is being treated. So, don't ask for whom the bell tolls. The bell tolls for you.

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CHURCH: Venezuela's Ambassador described the U.S. pressure as the greatest extortion in his country's history. The U.S. for its part, insists that it's enforcing sanctions meant to deprive Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of resources. The Trump administration claims those resources are used to fund cartel activity.

[02:10:06] The U.S. military has seized two oil tankers in the region over the past two weeks and has been pursuing a third since Sunday.

Well, meanwhile, the U.S. struck another boat this week, allegedly involved in drug trafficking. At least one person was killed in Monday's strike in the eastern Pacific. It's the latest U.S. strike aimed at disrupting narcotics trafficking in recent months.

CNN's Kevin Liptak has the latest from West Palm Beach in Florida.

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KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Tensions continue to escalate in the waters around Venezuela as President Trump continues to pressure the leader there, Nicolas Maduro. The U.S. announcing the 29th strike on an alleged drug boat, this one in the eastern Pacific U.S. Southern Command, claiming that it was carrying narco traffickers along a known narco trafficking route, although declining to provide any evidence that would substantiate those claims.

When you look at the video of this incident, it is interesting, and it differs somewhat from the strikes that we've seen previously. In those strikes, you've seen a missile fired at some distance. In some cases, you see the projectile in the video, and the boat being destroyed in one explosion.

In the latest video, what you see is multiple smaller projectiles creating splashes around the vessel. Ultimately, it is engulfed in flames, and it does suggest that they're using some type of different weapon for this latest strike.

Of course, it also comes as the U.S. continues to attempt to interdict oil tankers transiting in and out of Venezuela.

As of Monday evening, President Trump said that the chase was still on for the Bella one, that massive oil tanker that had been heading towards Venezuela but turned around when the Coast Guard attempted to board it and led to this open seas, a chase that outcome remains somewhat uncertain.

Now, as President Trump was speaking this week from Mar-a-Lago, he was somewhat vague about what the end game in all of this was when he was asked whether his goal was to oust Maduro, he said it probably was that Maduro would be smart to leave, but not saying with any definitive clarity about what might come next.

President Trump has been threatening for some time now, land strikes in Venezuela he has said really for weeks, that those could be happening soon, but so far, has stopped short of giving the final order, which I do think speaks to some of the reservations that the President could have here about potentially becoming mired in a broader conflict.

And so, a lot for the president to continue monitoring. Certainly, the tensions continue to escalate as the U.S. builds up this massive military Armada, really in the Caribbean Sea. President Trump said this week that it was the largest it had ever been, without necessarily saying what it was going to be used for.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

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CHURCH: Libya's Prime Minister says the country's army chief and four other military officials have been killed in a plane crash. They were flying home from an official visit to Turkey on Tuesday. Turkish authorities say they lost contact with the jet shortly after it departed Ankara.

CNN Turk reports that the jet had declared an electrical emergency and requested to return to the airport before communication was lost. The aircraft's wreckage was located near the Turkish capital. Turkish officials say an investigation has been launched into the crash.

Ahead of Christmas Eve, Russia launched a massive aerial attack on Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says at least three people were killed, including a 4-year-old child. Officials say the attack hit about half the country and left some areas completely without power.

This latest bombardment comes after a fresh round of peace talks wrapped up over the weekend in Miami. Zelenskyy has signaled some progress, but Moscow says there was no major breakthrough.

On the ground, Ukrainian forces retreated from a small town in the Donetsk region as Russia continues its offensive operations. CNN's Clare Sebastian has more.

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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ukraine's air defenses tested again overnight into Tuesday. Russia's rejection of any notion of a ceasefire, Christmas or otherwise, once again laid bare in a widespread attack targeting multiple regions of Ukraine from Odesa in the south, which has come under repeated attack over the past two weeks, to the capital Kyiv and the western part of Ukraine, causing Poland once again to scramble jets, it said as a preventative measure to protect its airspace. Energy facilities among the main targets, causing widespread blackouts. Thermal power plants were hit.

[02:15:08]

And the International Atomic Energy Agency said two nuclear power plants had to reduce power generation electrical substations and concerns about the grid becoming unstable.

And it was a deadly attack for civilians. This is the aftermath of a strike in the western Zhitomir region that killed a four-year-old child. Two adults were also killed in the Kyiv region.

President Zelenskyy had warned about Russia stepping up attacks ahead of Christmas. But in a war that sees attacks on this scale pretty regularly, this was the second biggest in December. What it does underscore is Moscow's clear intention to ramp up the pressure on Ukraine militarily, to try to weaken its position in talks, and that applies also to the front lines. Ukraine's military saying Tuesday it had withdrawn from the small Donetsk town of almost two weeks after Russia claimed to have captured the town. Not a strategic loss, but it does reinforce Russia's manpower advantage and the fact that the front line is moving, albeit slowly, as Ukraine races to try to reach a durable peace settlement.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, heavy rains caused major flooding in Southern France. We will have the latest on that.

Plus, why more Americans are moving to the British countryside and finding comfort and charm in the village life.

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[02:20:22]

CHURCH: Pennsylvania's governor says two people are dead after a fire and explosion ripped through a nursing home near Philadelphia. Police say five people may be missing and others are injured. The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.

Governor Josh Shapiro says authorities believe it may have been a gas leak. First responders had to pull some people out of windows and elevator shafts.

The first floor partially collapsed into the basement about 30 seconds after firefighters left the building, there was another explosion and fire.

The Supreme Court has rejected President Trump's request to deploy the National Guard to Chicago in order to protect ICE agents. The court said in its unsigned order on Tuesday, "At this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois."

The decision marks a significant and rare loss for the administration, and could jeopardize deployments of the National Guard to other cities as well. A White House spokesperson said the ruling will not stop Trump's efforts to, "Safeguard the American public."

Well, parts of southern France remain under an orange alert for flooding following days of heavy rain. This video shows some years shows the damage from a nearby river that rose more than four meters over its banks. Local officials say the town square had been submerged under more than a meter of water, but we're hearing the floodwaters have now begun to recede.

A wave of wealthy Americans have found new homes in the Cotswolds, an idyllic corner of the U.K. known for its stone cottages and rolling hills. CNN's Anna Cooban explains why these expats are now enjoying the English village life.

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ANNA COOBAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm here in the Cotswolds. It's a region in the West of England, and it is a quintessential slice of English country life. And despite the really gray, drizzly weather here today, this part of the world has become a big draw for Americans buying properties and starting new lives here. So, I've turned up to find out why.

DEBRA DREW, COTSWOLDS RESIDENT: I think the Americans have quite a romantic notion about the Cotswolds because of the honey-colored stone and the cottages. I think they think everyone in England lives in a stone cottage.

COOBAN: It's all like this.

DREW: Yes, and it's always shining.

COOBAN: And tell me, there's this trend of more and more Americans moving to the Cotswolds recently. Is this something you've noticed?

DREW: Oh my gosh, yes, it's in the press here every day. I think that -- I think the Brits are quite interested in the fleeing Americans.

COOBAN (voice-over): The Cotswolds is a protected area of natural beauty. It's about 100 miles west of London. Pop on a train, and you're there in a couple of hours. That proximity, combined, of course, with those famous rolling hills, makes it a magnet for lots of famous people.

For centuries, the region was at the center of Britain's wool trade. Today, it is sprinkled with many well-known names. Kate Moss has had a place there since the early 2000s, here's David Beckham digging up vegetables on his Cotswolds estate.

But in 2024 U.S. comedian Ellen DeGeneres really helped put the region on the map for Americans when she moved there with wife, Portia de Rossi.

HARRY GLADWIN, BUYING AGENT, THE BUYING SOLUTION: Over the last 12, 18, months, we've seen about 30 percent increase in the number of Americans registering with us wanting help with their purchases.

But it's not a cheap part of the world to buy in. There is a premium because it's an incredibly popular location. Really, you could look at anything from a smaller cottage for around a million pounds, through to sky's the limit.

LAUREN NEELY, COSTWOLDS RESIDENT: I'm well, how are you? Yes, please. Thanks so much.

It's been a 15 year dream in the making. My husband and I fell in love with the U.K. way of life. We love the weather, we love the architecture, the history, even the food. It looks quite a bit like home. I'm from Pennsylvania, so it's not that different. As far as rolling, gentle hills, fertile land.

[02:25:05]

COOBAN: The Cotswolds has quite a reputation in the U.K. for being very well to do. Is that been what you've experienced? How does the reality compare with the impression?

NEELY: I think the impression is correct. These homes are much bigger than they look from the lanes, and they're very private.

That being said, well to do means that people have wonderful etiquette. They're very inclusive. They have wonderful manners. Everyone's just been so friendly and so gracious. Everyone's very down to earth. They have a dog, they take walks, they come to the local pub. They're just people.

Painswick feels like I went to bed and woke up in the middle of a Christmas Hallmark movie. The stone walls and the architecture, it just feels like comfort, and a time when the world needs more of that. So, we moved here in May, and it's been a dream.

COOBAN (voice-over): You know, I think I understand what all the fuss is about now. Anna Cooban, CNN, the Cotswolds.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Looks beautiful. Well, thousands of union Berlin fans transformed the club stadium into a sea of candle light and song for the Christmas holiday.

Nearly 29,000 people filled the stadium for the annual tradition, which began about two decades ago with less than 90 people. What started as a small gathering has now snowballed into a festive event, drawing fans from across Germany to spread some holiday cheer. Well done.

Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church, and we'll be back in 30 minutes with more CNN NEWSROOM. "CALL TO EARTH" is coming up next.

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