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AXIOS: Trump Says Iran Agreement Signing To Still Happen Today; Republican Senator Mitch McConnell Hospitalized; Tonight: Seven UFC Fights Set To Take Place In Historic White House Event. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired June 14, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: To capture this icon who as you heard her say there, there isn't much footage of her available, but she did an excellent job portraying her and has been getting rave reviews ever since the series came out.

Now, Sarah Pidgeon and Colman Domingo, they are both sort of fashion icons, so when I spoke with them after their conversation, we will didn't just talk about their shows, but we also talked about how fashion plays a role in their lives.

So this latest episode is available on the CNN app and for my conversation with them, I was on the set with them, that is on CNN's YouTube -- Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: We be looking for it, Elizabeth. Thank you.

And just a reminder, of course, Elizabeth noted, you can catch this episode and also all the previous episodes. They are streaming right now on the CNN App.

[15:00:48]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: It is the top of the hour here in the CNN NEWSROOM. I am Erica Hill in New York. Thanks so much for joining us.

We do begin this hour with breaking news on the war with Iran. President Trump saying he believes the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran will still take place later today. That coming to us from AXIOS reporter and CNN global affairs analyst, Barak Ravid.

Trump said Israel's attacks on Lebanon earlier in the day had delayed the signing. He says it was supposed to happen this morning. In a social media post, the President writing, "We're very close to a deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down."

Iran's top security official, though warning today that Lebanon is in fact one of Tehran's red lines. So what does this mean moving forward?

CNN correspondent, Julia Benbrook, joining us now from Washington.

So Julia, the President still confident that there will be some sort of signing later today. What more do we know about where things stand at this hour?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He does say that he thinks this will be signed later today. Important to note off the top here, though, that Iran has still not committed to a signing on Sunday. So there are still a lot of questions here.

But diving into President Donald Trump's most recent post on all of this, he is calling on Israel to not strike Lebanon while the United States and Iran negotiate this Memorandum of Understanding and he said that those strikes this morning in Beirut should not have happened, especially as this deal that he has been working on, he believes, is so close.

I want to pull that up for you now and highlight a little bit more of it, because in it he said this, he said, "We are very close to a deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down. There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel. This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace," adding, quote, "Let's not blow it."

Now, yesterday, Trump said that this Memorandum of Understanding is scheduled to be signed on Sunday. He is saying that he still believes that this is on track at this point.

In that interview with AXIOS, he did express frustration with these recent Israeli strikes, and he said that he had made it clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he was not happy with those most recent actions.

As I mentioned before, Iran has still not committed to signing this. There are different versions, different takes on what exactly is in it. But a Trump administration official who spoke with CNN did say that this Memorandum of Understanding would then trigger a 60-day period for more talks, more negotiations, but it would also outline commitments on Iran's nuclear program, including its highly enriched uranium.

As Trump posted about this yesterday, he did say that no money would exchange hands here and that the Strait of Hormuz would open immediately after it is signed.

The plans to sign this Memorandum virtually came about fairly quickly, according to people familiar with how this all played out, because they said they wanted to avoid some of these last-minute spoilers, and some of the mediators are worried that the longer this goes on, the more chances there are to upend any progress here.

HILL: All right, Julia, appreciate the update there. We will continue to stay on it. Thank you.

We are also following some breaking news out of Washington, where longtime Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, we are learning, has been admitted to the hospital, according to a spokesperson.

CNN's Camila DeChalus is outside the hospital for us this hour. What more do we know about the senator's condition?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, Erica, we know that he was admitted earlier today, and his spokesperson told us that he is receiving excellent care here. Now, there is still a lot of questions, and there is nothing confirmed about what his current condition is and what actually caused this hospitalization.

But in the last recent years, his health has really been taking some -- has been a point of contention for him. We know that earlier this year, he was hospitalized after experiencing flu-like symptoms, and he was at the hospital for several days, and his health was really a topic of conversation back in 2023, after he experienced a fall that left him with a concussion and also with some broken ribs.

[15:05:10]

Now, even a few months after that, people also started speculating about his health after he froze mid-sentence during a news conference in July. Now, at this point in time, we really don't know the condition that he is currently sitting in, but he plays such -- he has played such a crucial role in the Senate.

He became the Senate Majority Leader back in 2015 and really helped shape President Trump's first term in office and pushed his agenda there and what he really wants to do legislatively, but at this point in time, it really is unclear what his condition is and what really caused this hospitalization.

Erica, back to you.

HILL: All right, Camila, appreciate it. Thank you.

Still ahead here this hour, Fight Night: The White House lawn hosting a major UFC fight, a party as well for President Trump's 80th birthday. The new concerns about the weather and whether it could actually derail the plans. Our team is on the ground.

Plus, the hysteria unleashed over the next NBA championship. We will take a look at their magical run and the celebration and a little bit of madness from the fans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:10:47]

HILL: Fight Night at The White House: Just a matter of hours from now, President Trump will host an unprecedented event bringing mixed martial arts to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the first time. Thousands are descending on Washington for seven history making, but pretty controversial UFC fights, the spectacle itself set to take place in a makeshift arena constructed on the South Lawn.

It is being billed as a present for the nation's 250th Anniversary. It also happens to coincide with another birthday, Trump, who turns 80 today, will be celebrating with VIPs and U.S. troops in around 4,000 seats they have got out there on The White House grounds. The weather, though, just may be the uninvited guest tonight. And, frankly, an unwelcome guest. Forecasts show severe thunderstorms overlapping with the fights that could force organizers to change their plans.

CNN's Sara Sidner joining us now. Pretty close to where that action is set to take off, my friend.

All right, so Sara, what are we thinking ahead of this, especially with the pending weather issue?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Look, nobody cares about the weather right now because it is pretty perfect. It is a little overcast.

I spoke to Dana White today. They are ready for whatever contingency they have set up. But right now it is still a go, and there are a lot of people here. We are expecting about 80,000 people on The Ellipse. What you're seeing just over my right shoulder is that big thing. Some people think it is a monstrosity.

Other people think it is really cool. They call it The Claw. All it is, is the apparatus that's holding all the lights so that the lights will be beaming down on the cage, where the fighters will be fighting, and then behind the fighters will be The White House and they've put that there and made it that high so that all the shots for television, when they air this on Paramount+, you will see The White House in the background the whole time with no obstruction.

So that's what that is. There are a lot of fans. We've already seen them walking through the streets here, and much of this area all around The White House is shut down, so you can't drive here. You've got to walk here.

But I do want to give people a sense of how this all happened.

I mean, they tore up the south lawn, the UFC tore it up, changed it completely and they are adding enough seating space for 4,000 people, which is a lot bigger than anything else that has been done there on the South Lawn.

How did this all go down? How did this come together? Well, it has to do with two men, President Trump and his relationship with the CEO and president of the UFC, Dana White.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: So, is it this relationship that landed you at the White House on the South Lawn, something that has never been done before?

DANA WHITE, PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP: Yes, it's definitely that. What happened was, it started out as a business relationship with the first two fights that we did at the Taj Mahal. And then after that, it turned into a friendship because of the type of person that he is. SIDNER (voice over): Their story goes back to 2001 when Donald Trump owned the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Trump was the only one who would allow Dana White and his business partners a venue to hold UFC fights.

At the time, no one wanted anything to do with Ultimate Fighting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There may be some blood spilled. There may be some bones broken.

SIDNER (voice over): At one point, it had been banned in 36 states because it was a sickeningly brutal, no holds barred, no time limit beat down.

At the time, Senator John McCain called it human cockfighting. White and his partners, though, had a plan. Regulate it, scale it and get some respect for the name.

WHITE: He saw the potential in the sport. We ended up doing a deal with him at the Trump Taj Mahal. He came to the first fight of the night and stayed till the last fight of the night.

SIDNER (voice over): And Donald Trump has been attending ever since.

By 2015, UFC's popularity had exploded, and so had Donald Trump's ambitions.

[15:15:10]

WHITE: He reached out to me and said, listen, if you don't want to do this, I completely understand. But I'm going to run for president and I would be honored if you would speak for me at the voting convention. And literally everybody told me, don't do it. Don't get into politics. And he's never going to win.

SIDNER: Why did you do it?

WHITE: Because I liked him as a person. And we created a friendship.

DANA WHITE, CEO AND PRESIDENT, UFC: Yes, it is definitely that. What happened was, it started out as a business relationship with the first two fights that we did at the Taj Mahal, and then after that, it turned into a friendship because of the type of person that he is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER (on camera): And that friendship led to what you are seeing out here today.

Now, you might be wondering who is paying for all this? Because they did tear up the South Lawn. They say they're going to put it all back the way it was once they leave and tear down. Dana White says the UFC is paying for this and how much? $60 million is what they say. All of this has cost to try to put this on, on The White House. And yes, there are critics. There are many critics that don't like what they are seeing here, but there are also a lot of fans. The first fighter who is going to throw the first punch, Steve Garcia, a guy that we met. You'll hear more from him in the 4:00 hour, but he is here from Albuquerque, New Mexico, came from humble means, has a couple of children, and he says he is here fighting for his family and fighting for his life, really, ultimately -- Erica.

HILL: All right, Sara, we know you are going to have much more of that. Good to see you this afternoon, my friend.

And I just want to point out, you can actually see more of Sara's interviews with Dana White tonight on CNN. Be sure to stay with us for Sara's excellent episode coming up on "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper, "UFC at The White House." It airs at 11:00 P.M. Eastern, and you can also catch it tomorrow on the CNN App. But we will have much more Sara to come in the hours ahead, live from Washington as well.

Well, thousands are expected to gather for this UFC Freedom 250 fight as we noted. The storms in D.C. watching -- being watched very closely because they could be severe. We are talking gusty winds, heavy rain. CNN meteorologist, Melissa Nord is here with us.

So the event, we are told, will go on rain or shine, right? Dana White telling Sara Sidner, he is not worried. What is though the main threat here when we look at the weather system and the timing.

MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Erica, really the timeline of these storms coming in is going to coincide with when those fans are heading in towards the fight, and also the fight will be going on as well.

So we are going to be looking at the possibility of severe storms, but also even non-severe thunderstorms could have really heavy rain and lightning, and that lightning is dangerous to be outside in as well.

The Washington, D.C. area right now, a level two out of five risk of severe weather. This is mainly a damaging wind threat. Some of those winds could be 60 miles an hour. Some of them could be 70 miles an hour. It is a very low chance of a brief spin up tornado, but that heavy rainfall, a lot of D.C. streets, the drainage system doesn't handle it, so we will also be watching that for people commuting around the D.C. area during that time.

Currently, dry, hot, humid in D.C. right now, but watch the energy where the storms are starting to form right now, back towards the Iron Belt. Got a couple of storms just west of I-81 that are starting to pop up over the mountains. More storms to the west there.

But as this heat and humidity really combines, we are going to see storms increasing as we get closer to that 8:00 start time.

So here is a big picture. The watches right now, just west of I-81 for D.C., the storm timing increases as we get closer to 7:00 to 8:00 tonight at 9:00 tonight, I just want to show you, 92 right now in Washington feels like 96. Watch the forecast, Future Radar, we see a couple of storms popping here; 6:00 or 7:00, more storms increase as those fights are going on as we approach and go past sunset -- Erica.

HILL: All right. Melissa, appreciate it. Thank you.

If you have questions, by the way, about tonight's UFC fight at The White House. CNN's John Berman, Sara Sidner and Donie O'Sullivan would love to answer them for you.

Be sure to join them for a live, interactive Q&A. You can do it, you can sign up for it, I should say, go to cnn.com/SubscriberSeries. You can drop your questions and then you can join this dynamic trio tomorrow to answer all your questions at noon for that live discussion.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:23:22]

HILL: We are continuing to follow this breaking news out of Missouri: A plane crash about an hour south of Kansas City has killed all 12 people on board. It was a skydiving aircraft.

So this is some new video coming into us here at CNN. Video of the crash scene. CNN's Rafael Romo is following the developments for us this hour. Do we know anything more about what may have caused the crash or who the people were who were on board?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not just, yet, Erica, but what we know is that the crash happened around 11:20 this morning, local time. According to a report by CNN affiliate, KCTV, citing local authorities, the Missouri State Highway Patrol says that the plane went down near the Butler Memorial Airport, adding that all occupants, 12 in total, have perished.

Dennis Jacobs, acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Director, told CNN the plane had just taken off around 11:20 a.m. local time, was unable to get visual altitude, made the sharp left turn and crashed about 300 yards from the runway.

Jacobs added that the single engine turboprop is operated by Skydive Kansas City. Aerial footage from CNN affiliate, KMBC shows the debris field of the plane crashed in a grassy area right next to a rural road only hundreds of yards away from buildings and structures belonging to the Butler Memorial Airport. Multiple police and emergency vehicles are currently on the scene.

The city of Butler, Erica, population 4,200, is located about 65 miles south of Kansas City, Missouri. The Missouri State Highway Patrol also confirmed that Troopers are on the scene assisting the Butler Police Department and the Bates County Sheriff's Office.

[15:25:10]

According to the U.S. Parachute Association, in the past 10 years, there have been eight fatal aircraft accidents related to skydiving, with a total of 25 fatalities and the USPA says that last year alone, their members made an estimated 3.47 million skydives in 2025. Again, the Missouri State Highway Patrol has confirmed that 12 people died when a skydiving airplane crashed near the Butler Memorial Airport in Missouri. Authorities have not yet disclosed the identities of the victims. The crash will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board -- Erica.

HILL: All right, Rafael, really appreciate the update this hour. Thank you.

All right, you may have heard, for the first time in 53 years, the New York Knicks are NBA Champions and the city of New York, really celebrating. See the celebration there in San Antonio, a lot of excitement last night when the Knicks defeated the Spurs, on the Spurs, of course, home court in San Antonio.

As I said, this is the first championship title for The Big Apple since 1973. CNN's Don Riddell joining us now with the highlights, the celebrations, okay, so plenty of celebration here in New York City, a lot of excitement. But I have to say, I watched the game last night. Look, I am a basketball fan. I am by no means an expert. That was not great basketball last night.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT HOST: I don't think it matters if you're a Knicks fan.

HILL: It doesn't matter if you win, it is true.

RIDDELL: Great game awful game, it was an incredible night and an incredible series and Knicks fans are going to be telling their grandkids about this night.

I mean, think about this. You know this is an enormous franchise in an enormous market on the East Coast of the United States, and 1973, think about that. That was the year of Dark Side of the Moon, the end of the Vietnam War, Roe v Wade, I mean, that seems like an awful long time ago now, these long suffering Knicks fans have had to wait all that time.

And they didn't just win this series, I mean, they won it in historic fashion. And you mentioned the Comeback Knicks. Let's talk about what they did in this series against the Spurs, in every single game, they were at least 10 points down in the first quarter. They were behind always in the fourth quarter and yet they found a way to win this series by four games to one.

Everybody will always talk about game four when they were 29 points down and they came from behind to win that with just 1.2 seconds remaining. That was a record to come back from a deficit like that.

They only had two games at Madison Square Garden. One of them was the Donald Trump game, where a lot of people feel like he kind of jinxed them because their 13-game winning streak came to an end on the 47th day, we had Taylor Swift and her fans in Madison Square Garden for game four.

You know, this is a series that documentary filmmakers will be focusing on years to come and the Knicks fans will just lap all of it up.

As you mentioned, this decisive game happened in San Antonio, arguably the place to be last night was in New York City where, I mean, just -- it was an incredible scene. Block parties absolutely everywhere. Just kind of improvised kind of gatherings and parties. People out there with picnic blankets, people trying to watch the game on, you know, brick walls with the game being projected onto them, a lot of people ended up just kind of watching the games on their phones. They were kind of watching separately by together, and there is nowhere else that they would rather have been.

What an incredible night in Manhattan and throughout the five boroughs. And this party is going to continue. You know, you say it is the -- you know, the city that never sleeps. Nobody, I think, was in any hurry to go to bed last night and many of them will be back there on Thursday for the victory parade through the Canyon of Heroes, and people are saying that this is now the greatest sports team New York has ever seen. They have been absolutely incredible.

And anybody that was a part of that, either in San Antonio or New York, as I say, will never forget it.

HILL: No, absolutely not. The celebration, definitely continuing. You know, I had local news on this morning before I came into work, and they were interviewing a man who had been up all night. He went to sleep for an hour, and then he got up and he said, I have to get all the papers this morning because I have to frame them, and so I just took an hour nap and then he was back to the celebrations.

You know, it is great. It is great seeing all the energy here in the city and so much joy. Don, thanks.

RIDDELL: All right.

HILL: Just ahead here, Donald Trump's use of the Justice Department for political retribution back in focus. We will take a look at the growing scrutiny over how this President is targeting election-related cases and also targeting his opponents.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:34:38]

HILL: President Trump continuing to focus on elections across the country with unfounded claims of fraud and interference. Notably, his new pick for the nation's Director of National Intelligence role, that role, of course, oversees some 18 intelligence agencies, echoing the President. Jay Clayton, in just the last few days, casting doubt on recent elections in California.

My next guest is taking a deep dive into the DOJ in Trump's second term. In his new book, "The Department of Revenge: How Trump Took Control of American Justice." He also covers the Justice Department and the FBI for "The New York Times."

Devlin Barrett joining us now. [15:35:10]

Devlin, nice to have you back with us today. So just give me a sense, as you're looking at all of this and where we stand in this moment, how is the Justice Department in President Trump's second term different from what we saw during his first.

DEVLIN BARRETT, "THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENGE: HOW TRUMP TOOK CONTROL OF AMERICAN JUSTICE" AUTHOR AND COVERS THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AND THE FBI FOR "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Well, it is really incredibly different. While there were fights in the first term, in the first Trump term over DOJ and how it did things, those fights were really between The White House and the Department, or between The White House and the FBI.

Now, those fights are really inside the Justice Department between the career officials and the political leadership of the Department, and so what you're seeing is a much more aggressive posture towards elections, what you're seeing is a much more aggressive posture in seeking to prosecute the President's perceived enemies.

HILL: In terms of that desire to prosecute the President's perceived enemies, was struck by some comments from Bill Essayli. He is the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. He was actually pretty clearly laying out plans that they have when it comes to California. I want to play some of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL ESSAYLI, U.S. ATTORNEY CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA: I will just say it will be election fraud charges in the next, I hate to put timelines on things, but one or two months. I believe we need -- we need the some of these results to be certified so we can, you know, prove some of the allegations, but we will be charging some people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: How unusual is it for prosecutors to lay out in that way, to telegraph what is coming down the pike?

BARRETT: Well, it is very unusual, especially because at the moment he is making those comments. Votes were still being counted and that is something that Justice Department regulations and Justice Department practice has long told its people. You know, you just don't do this.

But this is a new Justice Department, this is Trump's Justice Department and what started with the President saying he didn't believe the election results or he thought that there was, you know, fraud or misconduct going on in the election results very quickly flowed downstream to the prosecutor in Los Angeles who made those comments, which, you know, for career officials is very out of out of step with what they're supposed to do.

HILL: So you mentioned some of the divisions, some of the concerns, right, between the worker bees, if you will, but you know, the folks in the Justice Department and various U.S. Attorney's Offices around the country, we have seen reports, right, of not only firings, but also people leaving because they are uncomfortable with the direction with, as you noted, the political leadership there.

President Trump has said over and over again that he believes President Biden weaponized the Justice Department. When we see these concerns at the justice department in a second Trump term, what sort of recourse is there? What sort of oversight, if any, for a Department that was supposed to be right, nonpartisan, that is not really supposed to have anything to do with the President, no matter who that President is.

Well, right, I mean, it is just the transformation at the Justice Department has been extreme, and it has been -- had profound effects on the country already. And, you know, we are only essentially a year- and-a-half into this second term.

I think if you look at the way they have changed the Department, for example, voting rights, the thing we are talking about right now, the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department has seen 75 percent of its lawyers leave. There are very few lawyers left and the ones that are left are, you know, told to work on these cases and pursue these cases. That doesn't mean the Justice Department, you know, was perfect before Trump became the President, and that doesn't mean there aren't some small number instances of voter fraud.

But what the Department is being used for now is to amplify doubt and amplify distrust in the elections, and that is very new and very different.

HILL: And it also raises the question, too, of if there is such a focus in these areas, what is not getting the attention? What is being left by the wayside?

Devlin, really appreciate it and congratulations again on the new book.

BARRETT: Thanks for having me.

HILL: Still ahead here, he sent young women to meet Jeffrey Epstein, even after Epstein was a known sex offender. Why? He is telling us here at CNN. That interview is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:44:08]

HILL: A group of Jeffrey Epstein survivors is now publicly opposing President Trump's pick for Attorney General. The President, of course, tapped his former personal attorney, the current Acting A.G., Todd Blanche, to permanently take over the job.

Survivors, however, say a new report from "The New York Times" detailing Blanche's role in secret White House meetings, meetings about how to contain the political fallout from the Epstein files. Those meetings raise serious questions, they say, and concerns about his ability to lead the Justice Department. Now, all of this unfolding as a new CNN investigation shows Epstein's activities allegedly went far beyond the U.S. or his infamous private island.

CNN's Katie Polglase spoke to a modeling agent in Paris about his ties to the late sex offender.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Paris, for years, young models were recruited here for Jeffrey Epstein. Digging through the Epstein files, CNN found Epstein received dozens of photos of young models sent by model scouts and agents. We identified at least six individuals not just sending him images of models, but discussing arrangements for him to meet them, even after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution, including with a minor.

[15:45:20]

Now, one of these model scouts has agreed to meet with us here in Paris.

POLGLASE (on camera): Okay, we're here.

POLGLASE (voice over): Daniel Siad dealt with Epstein for more than a decade, arranging to send him models.

POLGLASE (on camera): You didn't think in that time that sending young women, young models to the U.S. to meet Epstein, after he had a conviction for child sex offenses, that there may be any risk in that at all?

DANIEL SIAD, MODEL SCOUT: My work with him has been strictly professional. I never doubt that, because I never heard anything from anyone I introduced to him who came back to me that they had a bad situation with him.

POLGLASE (voice over): The files show Epstein paid tens of thousands of dollars to Siad. In reviewing their correspondence, we found messages like, "Cute French girl in Marrakech." Siad wrote, "She said that she would be happy to meet you."

In another, he says a woman is very polite and has potential as a model or assistant. Siad then sends a photo. "Too old," Epstein replied.

POLGLASE: So Epstein wasn't a model agent. Why was he paying you?

SIAD: No, he was because they opened an agency, MC Squared

POLGLASE: He was not the model agent leading that model agency.

SIAD: He was a finance C4, but was acting as a casting director for Victoria's Secret.

POLGLASE: You believe Epstein was a casting director?

SIAD: That's how he had been introduced and how he introduced myself also.

POLGLASE (voice over): In fact, we found no evidence Epstein had an official recruiting role at either company, MC Squared or Victoria's Secret.

POLGLASE: You sent an e-mail in 2018 that said you were looking for a good-looking young assistant. If you're looking for models --

SIAD: Yes.

POLGLASE: -- why are you then looking for an assistant for Jeffrey Epstein?

SIAD: He asked me for an assistant. Maybe it was not on the phone, but when I met him in --

POLGLASE: But was that your job?

SIAD: Sorry? No, but because I trust in him, I believe this guy is a professional person.

POLGLASE (voice over): Siad himself is also facing accusations of abuse. Ebba Karlsson has accused him of rape when she was a model in France in 1990. Siad denies her allegation.

SIAD: To be honest with you, I don't remember at all this person. And plus, I have never abused any model in my life.

POLGLASE: She remembers you.

SIAD: Listen, I would be very happy to confront her in the court. I don't remember.

POLGLASE: Do you have any regret about meeting Jeffrey Epstein?

SIAD: Yes, yes. It's like a nightmare. I can't believe that this person had another -- I am --

POLGLASE: You keep saying that, but I keep repeating that this other side of him --

SIAD: Yes.

POLGLASE: -- was public knowledge.

SIAD: I am not a person who is like a press, looking the internet, this kind of really --

POLGLASE: But you were aware?

SIAD: Sorry?

POLGLASE: You were aware? SIAD: Of what

POLGLASE: His conviction for child sex offenses.

SIAD: No, you're repeating the same question more than 10 times again.

POLGLASE: You're telling me that you don't read the press, that you --

SIAD: No listen, I didn't know a lot about him until when he comes to Paris, and I told you again, he said he paid this to the government. So, for me, he's free man, he's clean. He was such a powerful person, and how can I not trust him?

POLGLASE (voice over): After Epstein's 2008 conviction, Siad wasn't the only one who continued giving Epstein access to the modelling industry.

Faith Kates, the co-founder of model agency Next Management, is another.

In 2010, two years after his conviction, Epstein asked Kates for a great girl to take to an event. Kates replied, "Let me think who is around, XOXO."

Kates reportedly left Next Management last year, and her spokesperson told CNN she was grossly misled by Epstein. Then there is modelling scout Ramsey Elkholy.

In 2009, he describes to Epstein a model as "a gift that I had been planning on giving you." And then there is Jean-Luc Brunel, who ran multiple model agencies and was accused in civil court in 2014 of bringing girls to the U.S. to farm them out to his friends, especially Epstein.

Brunel was himself charged in France with underage sex crimes, but died in prison in 2022, while awaiting trial, he denied all charges.

There is now an ongoing investigation in France into Epstein and his connections there. Siad is under investigation, according to the Paris prosecutor's office, but he says police have not spoken to him.

For victims of Epstein around the world, they await justice from the courts.

Katie Polglase, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[15:50:02 ]

HILL: Now MC Squared and Ramsey Elkholy did not respond to CNN's request for comments. Elkholy told "The Washington Post," "... of the models that I've introduced to him, they never come back to me and said they had any problems."

We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Heading into America's big 250th Anniversary this summer, CNN has a brand new original series for you, "This Land."

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So, it is not your typical history lesson. It is a really fascinating look, reframing the past by telling the stories with the descendants of some of the earliest Americans and some of those who really shaped this country from the ground up.

The show takes a look at how the U.S. expanded from coast-to-coast. This land dives deep into the sacrifices, the stories, and the conflicts that built this nation, and how those moments and those people continue to shape our lives today. Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would say that today's Sacagawea is an icon. She was recognized by the U.S. government as being part of the United States Army. Right there, she is one of our first veterans of indigenous heritage.

Sacagawea --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining me now to discuss, senior Ancestry story producer, Nicka Sewell-Smith. Nicka, it is great to have you with us.

I do want to point out CNN, of course, maintain full editorial control of this series. Ancestry provided partial funding and helped to track down some of these descendants who were featured in the show.

We know DNA only tells part of the story, part of a person's story. I am curious, is there anybody that you tracked down who was unaware of their personal connection to the history here?

NICKA SEWELL-SMITH, SENIOR ANCESTRY STORY PRODUCER: Not from what me and my team gathered. These folks were individuals who had had stories passed down to them, and that's probably one of the most important assets in a family history is the oral history, the oral story, where many groups may have been marginalized out of records for a number of reasons, many people have maintained their family oral history, and that is the way that they are able to connect to these stories, at least from the first point of view, and then later, where the historical records come in to help make a fuller picture.

HILL: So you're a storyteller, but you're also a genealogist. I know you've done extensive research on enslaved communities, the Mississippi Delta. You are also a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.

From both a personal and a professional perspective, why is it so important for Americans to know and to understand the full history of this country, their own ancestry, the people who built what is here today.

SEWELL-SMITH: For me, it is a part of my life. Every day, I have these pictures in my home. It is the stories that I tell to my son and I share with my own family members.

For me, when these events happen like this in my quincentennial, I have an ancestor whose name I can call out and I know who was living at the time that these things were taking place, and I feel like that's the gift that Ancestry can bring the everyday American, whether they have been here for a short amount of time or whether their family has been here for many, many years, you have the name of the person you know, the details that connect you back to those stories and there is no better way to learn about American history than through the vantage point of your own family.

HILL: Yes, actually, I was really drawn in and fascinated by the first episode. I love the whole premise of this. Even if I wasn't working at CNN, I would feel that way.

What are you hoping viewers take away from this series?

SEWELL-SMITH: What I hope viewers take away from this series is that there is something for you in history. It is not just a class that you have to take as a result of getting your diploma, or graduating, or going from the next grade to the next. It is literally a part of the heart and soul of what makes our country what it is, and the diversity of it, and all the nuances and the hardships and the successes, all of that is a fabric of this nation. The flag is blue and its red and its white for a reason.

That White bridges those hot and cold colors together and that is what makes us incredible today.

HILL: So the history, you know, as you point out, it is so important, so important, too, to understand it, to know where the today, that is the U.S. where that came from, where the origin stories are. It is probably like asking you to pick a favorite child, but did you have a favorite episode or a favorite storyline, if you will?

SEWELL-SMITH: Oh, it was hard for me because I was blessed to be in the first and the third episode, and it is like my two grandparents meeting on the south side of Chicago, where the first one talked about Louisiana, which was my grandfather. The third is bringing in my grandmothers side, which is in Oklahoma. So I kind of have to pick those two episodes.

I also got a chance to do the research on them, so I am going to go with one and three for me.

HILL: Okay, one and three. There we have it.

Nicka, it is so great to have you with us. Thank you.

SEWELL-SMITH: Thanks.

HILL: You can catch the new episodes of the CNN original series, "This Land." They premiere tomorrow on CNN and then the next day on the CNN App. You can catch it tonight at 9:00 P.M.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

HILL: We are just about -- just about at the top of the hour here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for joining me. I am Erica Hill in New York, in today for Fredricka Whitfield. And we do begin this hour with breaking news out of Missouri where we have learned that all 12 people on board a skydiving aircraft were killed when that plane crashed near an airport runway earlier this morning.

So officials say, this happened in Butler, that's about an hour south of Kansas City. You can see this video in to CNN of the crash scene short after the accident. You see the smoldering wreckage there.

Rescue crews are on the scene. CNN's Rafael Romo is following the developments for us at this hour.

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