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Russia Launched Record Number of Drones Overnight; Signs of Progress in Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Talks; Trump Promises More Tariff Letters Today; Trump to Host African Leaders for White House Lunch; U.S. AG Scrutinized over Epstein Investigation. Aired 10-10:45a ET

Aired July 09, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Welcome to our second hour of the show. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi, where the time is 6:00 in the

evening.

U.S. president Donald Trump's patience with the Russian president runs thin as he accuses Vladimir Putin of meaningless words. He used a less polite

term for that.

Inside Gaza, hospitals are reaching breaking point, with doctors at one hospital forced to cram several babies into one incubator as fuel runs

frighteningly low.

And we'll go live to Texas for the latest on urgent search and rescue efforts after the deadly flooding there. Officials now believe more than

170 people are still missing.

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In a massive aerial bombardment. Ukraine says that Russia launched more than 700 drones and missiles overnight in what would have been the largest

such attack since the war began.

It came just hours after president Trump publicly expressed growing frustration with Russia and its leader on Tuesday, as U.S. efforts to

broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine continue to fall short.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth.

He's very nice all the time but it turns out to be meaningless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, meantime, multiple sources tell CNN that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not inform the White House before he authorized a

pause on weapons shipments to Ukraine last week.

CNN's Clare Sebastian in London on this. Let's start with our national security reporter, Zachary Cohen, in Washington.

And, Zach, there's been an ongoing back-and-forth over this Pentagon pause in weapons shipments. Trump has been evading questions about that very

specifically to our Kaitlan Collins. I want our viewers to hear that. Stand by.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: Last week, the Pentagon paused some shipments of weapons to Ukraine.

Did you approve of that pause?

TRUMP: We want to put defensive weapons, because Putin is not -- he's not treating human beings right. He's killing too many people. So we're sending

some defensive weapons to Ukraine and I've approved that.

COLLINS: So who ordered the pause last week?

TRUMP: I don't know.

Why don't you tell me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President--

COLLINS: I think that's a question for the Pentagon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: What you are hearing, Zach, behind the scenes, if you will.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Becky. Ironically, the person who we're told is responsible for ordering that

pause, at least giving the final sign-off for it, was sitting right next to president Donald Trump yesterday during that cabinet meeting. And that's

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Now multiple sources telling us that the issue here is that Hegseth did not inform the White House before giving that authorization to halt arms

transfers to Ukraine. It caught several national security officials within the Trump administration and in the White House off guard.

And it's something that does not really align with this recent shift in rhetoric we've seen from the president as it relates to Russia and his

recent support, vocal support for Ukraine.

He's reiterating that yesterday and also publicly reversing this decision by Hegseth and his Defense Department, which seems to have acted, at least

for the most part, unilaterally in initiating this pause.

Donald Trump not only publicly reversing that decision but also making clear that he intends to provide Ukraine with the weapons and the support

that it needs to defend itself.

At the same time, though, this raises new questions about Pete Hegseth's future as the Secretary of Defense. This is not the first controversy that

he's been embroiled in. And in fact, this is actually the second time that the president has had to reverse a halt that he has placed unilaterally on

arms transfers to Ukraine.

So again, a lot of questions now flying around about Pete Hegseth's future within the Trump administration, even though the White House publicly

saying that the president has Pete Hegseth's back. We'll have to wait and see what this all means for his future.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Zach, in Washington.

Clare, you've been following what's going on on the ground in Ukraine.

What do we know about this massive attack -- and it was massive -- that came after Donald Trump's sharp criticism of Putin, of course?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, this was a record overnight drone attack in terms of its scale. But I think the word "record"

doesn't really do justice to the massive scale of this barrage that we saw overnight.

Some 728 drones and 13 missiles, this not only breaks the record, the previous record set four days ago, but it's about a 30 percent increase on

that. So this is an exponential escalation in Russia's air war.

[10:05:00]

The good news for Ukraine is that the vast majority were brought down by air defenses. Ukraine is not only using mobile fire groups and Western-

donated missiles but is also now using interceptor drones, President Zelenskyy was at pains to point out. So they are innovating in terms of air

defense.

But there was one death reported in the Khmelnitsky region, which is in the west of Ukraine and this was concentrated broadly in the west of Ukraine.

And it was so intense and so close, at one point, to the Polish border, that Poland was having to scramble its own military jets, not for the first

time, I should note, in this war.

And I think, for Ukraine, this certainly adds a layer of urgency to the diplomatic tightrope that they're treading with the U.S. president. On the

one hand, really trying to engage in gratitude and flattery.

We saw an interview from the head of President Zelenskyy's office, Andriy Yermak, on Tuesday, where he said that president Trump was the only one who

could -- who could bring this to some kind of meaningful diplomatic dialogue and praised his recent rhetoric on Russia, which, of course, has

been growing in frustration.

But also, on the other hand, we do see growing calls, including from President Zelenskyy today, for the U.S. to get tougher, for its allies to

get tougher, including putting tougher sanctions on Russia.

So I think, look, while the U.S. is currently making the noises that Ukraine wants it to make, that has not yet, either in weapons or in tougher

sanctions, been backed up by action.

ANDERSON: And what's been the narrative from the Kremlin over the past, what, 24 hours?

SEBASTIAN: Yes. So the Kremlin is remaining pretty muted on the whole issue of what Zach was describing, this back-and-forth within between the

Pentagon and the White House. They've talked about contradictory messages.

But one thing that is interesting to note is that they are reserving most of their criticism when it comes to the supplies of weapons to Ukraine.

For the Europeans, I think this is noteworthy because, on the one hand, we do see with these escalating attacks on Ukraine, that Russia seems to be

deprioritizing its reset with the United States and prioritizing, of course, its goals, as it calls them, in Ukraine.

But on the other hand, by redirecting that criticism toward the Europeans, it feels like they're leaving the door open to continue dialogue with the

U.S. So another, I think, diplomatic tightrope for the Kremlin as well.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. Thank you.

Well, CNN covering every story, every angle of this story, of course. Follow our coverage on our website and across our social platforms.

Well, as U.S. officials expressed optimism for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the situation on the ground in Gaza worsening by the

minute. The Palestinian ministry of health reports more than 100 people killed just in the last 24 hours. Those are the kinds of numbers that we

have been seeing all week.

As Israel ramps up operations amid these ongoing negotiations, we are now learning that doctors are being forced to cram babies together in a single

incubator at one hospital in Gaza as fuel stocks run low. CNN's Paula Hancocks is here with more -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Becky, this is at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City. We have had a team that's gone to film there. And

they have seen that four of these neonatal babies were in one ICU cot. They had been crammed in there together for a week now.

We spoke to the doctor in charge of the ICU and he said, in any normal time, none of them would be there. They would all be in incubators. So

enclosed in, because where they are at the moment, they find it very difficult to regulate their temperature. They are susceptible to infection.

But he says that they have 12 incubators in that ICU and 22 pre-term babies. So they're doing the best they can.

But what he's warning and what the United Nations is warning is that they are desperately short of fuel at this point. He has said that the last time

the generators broke down, they lost babies because they simply cannot keep them alive.

And we are hearing, for example, from Al-Shifa, they have closed their kidney dialysis center because they don't have enough fuel. And they are

warning that they have hours left, that they need fuel in hours, not days.

But in the next several hours to be able to keep other ICU elements open, at this point. We have reached out to COGAT, who is the Israeli department

that oversees this. We're waiting for a response.

ANDERSON: Fuel alongside medical supplies and aid, of course, sitting on one side of the Rafah border, waiting to get in to Gaza. And we know that

this fuel has been -- this aid has been building up, fuel has been building up. It is being on the aid front. It's being distributed by the GHF. We're

going to talk about that momentarily.

But one of the -- one of the opportunities, should there be a ceasefire deal this week, would be to flood Gaza with the aid that is building up.

And that would, of course, one assumes, include fuel.

[10:10:03]

Steve Witkoff has said that he hopes -- and this is the U.S. envoy -- on this ceasefire. He hopes that there'll be a deal by the end of the week.

What do we know at this point?

HANCOCKS: We've heard from an Israeli official that they believe that the humanitarian aid has been sorted out, that they have agreement. That was

one of the issues of how much aid gets in. And as you say, they need it to be flooding into Gaza.

We've heard reports as well that it would be using the U.N.-run institutions, which have been set up for 21 months now and can run very

smoothly.

We also understand that they have agreed, according to this Israeli official, on the hostage-to-prisoner swap, the sticking point, which has

been the sticking point for many months, is where exactly the Israeli military withdraws to.

We understand that the latest proposal is, day one, they withdraw from most of northern Gaza. A week later, they withdraw from most of southern Gaza.

But Israel wants to stay along that border between Gaza and Egypt.

They say that is where the smuggling of weapons happens, the Philadelphi corridor. And that appears to be one of the key sticking points at this

point. But we have heard from the Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. He is still confident, by the end of the week, there will be a deal.

ANDERSON: Stay with me. I just want our viewers to get up to date on the Gaza Humanitarian Fund, because that is the mechanism that at present has

taken over from the U.N. agencies, who, as you rightly suggest, for 21 months, were the mechanism by which, when aid was getting in, it was being

distributed.

A key issue in these ongoing talks, of course, is the future of the GHF. Over 200 nonprofit organizations are calling for its immediate end, saying

that Gazans face, quote, "an impossible choice: starve or risk getting shot."

A new CNN investigation has found that USAID raised critical concerns over the group's ability to protect Palestinians and deliver food to them just

days before the State Department announced what was, of course, a $30 million grant to the organization.

One source even called the GHF's plan abysmal. And our viewers can get more on that at the website, of course.

Again GHF, it's been much criticized, not least by the NGOs and the agencies, by many people around, you know, the wider region, who all agree

that, whether people agree or not on what the day after is going to look like and whether this can be a permanent ceasefire at this point, there

seems to be, you know, almost 100 percent.

And I say almost because it's not everybody. But you know, 99.9 percent of people agree that Gaza is a catastrophe waiting to become even worse should

aid not get in.

HANCOCKS: Absolutely. And the key thing with these U.N.-run institutions and the people on the ground who are getting aid to where it's needed is

that they are going to the places where it's needed.

That the fundamental issue we hear with GHF is it has four sites across Gaza where hundreds of thousands, 2.2 million people, have to travel to in

an active war zone. And that is where the lives are being lost.

The fact that they are being killed as they're waiting for aid and they are having to travel these, you know, six, seven, eight hours on foot to get to

these positions, the U.N.-run institutions, they say that they have been doing this for many months; in fact, many decades around the world in

different conflict spots.

ANDERSON: Like Gaza of course.

HANCOCKS: Exactly. And they say we know exactly what we're doing. Give us the aid, allow these crossings to be open. And they will be able to get to

the places where it's needed.

ANDERSON: Pictures of those four babies in that incubator really are a picture that tells 1,000 words. And we will continue to cover this story,

of course, as we continue to work on finding out what is going on in Doha and whether or not this ceasefire can be and hostage deal, of course, can

be effected this week.

Well, still to come -- thank you Paula.

Still to come, the flood disaster in Texas continues with an astounding 170 people there still unaccounted for. We'll have the latest on what is this

feverish search for any possible survivors.

Plus a select group of African leaders visit the White House for lunch with the U.S. president. Who is invited and what that is all about is up next.

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ANDERSON: Well, the official death toll in the Texas flooding disaster has risen to 111 while the number of those missing, still missing, has grown to

more than 170. CNN has learned Texas officials previously refused to fund a flood warning system for Kerr County in Texas, at the epicenter of this

weekend's flooding disaster.

And today, we are continuing to learn the names of many of those who have died. Sadly, it does seem that the number of dead could grow significantly,

even as those who are searching pray for a miracle. CNN's Leigh Waldman joins me now from Kerrville in Texas.

With, Leigh, the very latest on the ground, if you will.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, it's good to be with you. So we know that there are still ongoing search and rescue efforts.

That's something the state officials who were touring this area -- Governor Greg Abbott, alongside the head of DPS and the head of the Texas Division

of Emergency Management -- they're doubling down on the fact that this is still a search and rescue mission for them.

They're not switching over to a recovery mission. They won't give up until every single last person who is missing is brought home.

And here in Kerr County, that number is significant. Over 160 people are still unaccounted for, still missing, days after the flooding here.

Now we are learning from the Ingram Fire Department -- it's a community not far from where we are in Kerrville, Texas. They're switching their

operations to a more precise search of debris piles that have been identified by trained search and rescue animals, like dogs and horses.

They're asking for only trained volunteers to come out so they can search those debris piles carefully, lifting the branches to see what is lying

underneath those piles that were identified.

Now we also have been pressing officials here for answers about who was in charge in the critical hours before the floodwaters came in and after that

first alert came in to the area. That's not an answer we could get from the local officials here. They weren't clear as to who was in charge and if

that person was even awake.

This is after the sheriff said that he wasn't even notified about the flooding until about 4 or 5 am; again, hours after that first alert came,

just after 1 am. We asked the state officials when they started communication with this county and when they started moving in those state

assets.

They said it happened on Wednesday, days before the flooding happened, but refused to answer any question about why evacuation orders were not given.

ANDERSON: Thank you.

And, of course, we'll keep you bang up to date with what is going on on the ground there in Texas.

Well, breaking economic news just in to CNN. Nvidia has officially hit $4 trillion in market value, beating Apple and Microsoft to become the first

ever publicly-traded company to reach that milestone.

The U.S. chip maker has had a remarkable march to record highs and has soared 22 percent this year, thanks to its leading role in powering the

artificial intelligence boom.

Donald Trump says letters will be sent to at least seven more of America's trading partners today. Those letters warning that reciprocal tariffs will

take effect on August the 1st if a trade deal isn't reached with the U.S. before then.

[10:20:04]

Mr. Trump said at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday a letter to the European Union is about two days off. That is despite progress on trade talks with

the bloc over the weekend.

What do we really know of the details on all of this?

CNN's Anna Stewart has been digging. She joins us from London.

What have you got?

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a flurry of tariff news for you, Becky. It was hard to keep up, frankly, yesterday, after one of the big

cabinet meeting/press conferences. Many more letters going out today.

And, of course, that big one with the E.U. This is one of the U.S.' biggest trading partners. So that's a really key one to watch. Now we're expecting

that letter to come out tomorrow.

And I would say, up to this point, when countries receive these letters from the president of the United States, that's normally a sign that a deal

has not been reached. However, there was a bit of a rebrand yesterday and president Trump is now calling the letters "deals" just to slightly confuse

things further.

The E.U, of course, is trying very hard to reach a deal. They think they may be able to get some framework agreement this week. Now success for the

E.U. may look a bit like the U.K.'s deal. That's probably the closest thing we'll be able to compare it to.

The U.K. has a 10 percent tariff deal with the U.S. and it has big concessions on some sectors like cars. Now that would be significant for

the E.U. I have to say E.U. commission president Ursula von der Leyen is keeping her cards close to her chest. This is what she had to say just

earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VAN DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Our line has to be very clear. We will be firm. We do prefer a negotiated solution. This is

why we're working closely with the U.S. administration to get an agreement.

And I had a good exchange with president Trump earlier this week to help move things forward. We are looking for a reliable framework from which we

can keep building our common trade.

So the message is clear. We stick to our principles. We defend our interests. We continue to work in good faith and we get ready for all

scenarios.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: And one of the biggest challenges, of course, for the E.U., speaking for 27 member states, all with different-sized economies,

different sectors to protect and also different appetites for risk. Becky.

ANDERSON: Can you just explain what's going on with this announcement that Donald Trump made, on a 50 percent tariff on copper imports?

STEWART: Yes. So there have been a load of sectoral tariffs. We've already had steel and aluminum, for instance, which started off at 25 percent and

went to 50 percent. We've had a 25 percent tariff on cars being imported into the U.S.

And now, as of yesterday, we have this announcement, this threat, that there will be a 50 percent tariff on copper, which is double really what

analysts were expecting. They knew this was being investigated.

But it sent copper prices through the roof, particularly in the New York exchange. Futures were up nearly 18 percent yesterday. There is some

skepticism in the market.

There was a really interesting note from Citibank, an analyst saying that actually they think there will be a big discount because there are likely

to be certain exemptions for some of America's biggest trading partners when it comes to copper -- Chile, Canada, Mexico and so on.

Again, feeding into this slight TACO trade situation.

Do markets, do investors really believe that Donald Trump will follow through on all the threats?

The 200 percent threat on pharmaceuticals, for instance?

Looking at the markets today, looking at where we're at, they don't really believe in any of these threats or deadlines as far as I can see, not least

when you look at Nvidia, which has risen with the markets and is just, as you said, hit a $4 trillion dollar market cap. It doesn't feel like we're

in the middle of a trade war.

ANDERSON: It's fascinating, isn't it?

And that is, I'm sure, helping to prop up investor sentiment across these markets at the moment, which, as we've been discussing, really haven't been

here.

I mean, we're talking about stocks here. But neither the bonds nor the currency have really been knocked around this time like they were back at

the beginning of April. So it really does feel as if investors are taking quite a lot of this in their stride or, just frankly, perhaps blindsided by

all of it. Anyway, we'll see in the next couple of hours. Thank you.

President Trump will host five African leaders for a lunch at the White House. Leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal

will be arriving for what talks -- for talks on what the White House calls commercial opportunities, including potential deals on rare earth minerals.

This comes ahead of a larger U.S.-Africa summit planned in September around the U.N. General Assembly. Joining us live from Lagos in Nigeria is CNN's

Larry Madowo.

Look, it is really interesting to see this selection of countries, these five countries; they are located along the Western coast of Africa. They're

all smaller economies compared to others on the continent, including the one where you are.

[10:25:03]

Why these five?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's an interesting question, Becky.

Why these relatively small Western central African economies along this part of the world?

They are not the biggest economies in Africa. They're not Nigeria or South Africa or Ethiopia. But they have one thing in common: they have lots of

untapped mineral deposits -- gold, oil, iron ore, manganese, minerals the United States wants.

And president Trump is making sure that his new commercial diplomacy approach is centered around these kinds of minerals. New U.S. ambassadors

are being rated here in Africa based on how many commercial deals they can sign. And this is suddenly signaling that.

The reason why these presidents are having lunch with president Trump and then having this two-day summit is to discuss what happens next. It can't

be the same aid that's been the conversation for a long time.

As of July 1st, USAID is officially dead. And the Trump administration has celebrated that; 40 percent of the aid, the humanitarian assistance, the

health assistance came to Africa. And that's gone. So these countries have kind of have to find a way to chart a path forward without necessarily

leaning on that aid.

And maybe they have to find a way to make sure that that's not the conversation they're bringing to the White House, because, still, an invite

to the White House is a pretty big deal. And president Trump knows that. And so he's using that as leverage in these conversations. Becky.

ANDERSON: So you've sort of, to a degree, answered the question.

What's in it for these African countries, including in this summit?

How much of this transactional approach by the Trump administration is simply that, very transactional?

And how much would you suggest is about countering Beijing's influence in Africa?

After all, for some time there has been criticism that the U.S. has sort of, you know, ignored Africa, certainly under the Biden administration,

although they would have begged to differ on that.

And we've seen very little clear approach by this Trump administration to date on U.S.-Africa trade.

MADOWO: China is the big elephant in the room. And this is certainly another counter to what China is doing here.

China builds shiny projects in Africa -- roads, railways, ports, universities, things that gain a lot of attention within citizens. And the

U.S. cannot compete dollar for dollar against China.

So what they're trying to do is find out some kind of deal that involves exploiting minerals in exchange for investments here. And these countries

also want to make sure that they can get some kind of trade deal that avoids tariffs.

South Africa already got a letter. They're getting 30 percent of tariffs. Even small countries like Lesotho in the first version of tariffs had the

highest amount of tariffs because they export a lot of textiles to the U.S. and import almost nothing from the U.S.

So even for small countries like Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, like Gabon, they want to work out a deal for that. But another curious addition to this is

President Umaru of Guinea-Bissau. His term officially ended at the end of February 28th.

So in the previous U.S. administration, he would not be getting an invite to the White House when he's not following a democratic principle. But

clearly, Trump does not believe in these values evangelism.

He's invited somebody who, in the country, opposition members say should not be president. He should be holding an election and handing over. But

here he is, getting huge validation, an invite to the White House. It does not get better than this.

ANDERSON: Larry, it's good to have you, sir. Thank you.

Larry is in Lagos in Nigeria today.

Ahead on this show, the growing outrage in MAGA world over the U.S. Justice Department's findings in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. What wasn't

said in a DOJ memo on the case that is causing so much anger.

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[10:30:00]

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ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky, Anderson. These are your headlines this hour.

Ukraine says Russia launched more than 270 drones and missiles overnight. Its largest drone attack since the war began. It came hours after the U.S.

president expressed growing frustration with Moscow, saying on Tuesday that President Putin offers very nice words that turn out to be meaningless.

Authorities in Kerr County in Texas say no flood victims have been found alive since Friday. More than 170 people are still missing and more than

five days after the disaster struck hope is fading of finding any more survivors. The death toll now stands at 111.

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the past day as Israel ramps up its bombing campaign across Gaza. The increase in strikes comes amid the

ongoing ceasefire negotiations. Hospitals on the ground report a desperate need for supplies as fuel runs low.

ANDERSON: Well, to the growing frustration inside the White House over the Justice Department's review of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi getting harshly criticized in what is known as the MAGA world after the Justice Department released a memo saying that

the accused sex trafficker died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial.

And that there is no so-called client list of notable figures involved with Epstein that have fueled right-wing conspiracy theories. Here's how both

president Trump and Bondi answered a question about the DOJ memo during Tuesday's cabinet meeting. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Every night -- I can't believe you're asking a question on Epstein at a time like this, where we're having some of the greatest success and

also tragedy with what happened in Texas. It just seems like a desecration. But you go ahead.

PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Sure, sure.

First, to back up on that, in February, I did an interview on FOX. And it's been getting a lot of attention because I said -- I was asked a question

about the client list.

And my response was, "it's sitting on my desk to be reviewed," meaning the file, along with the JFK, MLK files as well. That's what I meant by that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Randi Kaye has more on that FOX News interview from February, the DOJ memo and the fallout that this is all causing in the MAGA

world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi was asked whether the Department of Justice would release

accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's so-called list of clients.

PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: It's sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump. I'm reviewing that.

KAYE (voice-over): That was red meat for many on the far right, who since Epstein's death in his jail cell in 2019 have suggested that the government

is hiding secrets related to him. One of the conspiracy theories?

That Epstein kept a client list to use as blackmail against named powerful figures. Bondi did not discourage the conspiracies.

BONDI: What you're going to see, hopefully tomorrow, is a lot of flight logs, a lot of names, a lot of information.

KAYE (voice-over): Bondi never delivered, except to offer a few social media influencers' binders of documents in February this year, much of

which had already been made public. She wasn't the only one throwing a bone to conspiracy-minded theorists in MAGA world. Here's Dan Bongino on his

podcast before he became deputy FBI director.

DAN BONGINO, THE DAN BONGINO SHOW: What the hell are they hiding with Jeffrey Epstein?

[10:35:04]

KAYE (voice-over): Bongino also raised doubts about Epstein's jail cell suicide.

BONGINO: The questions surrounding this alleged suicide are numerous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BONGINO: And are worth entertaining and worth getting to the bottom of quickly.

KAYE (voice-over): The Department of Justice and the FBI have now put those questions to rest with an unsigned memo released this week that rules

out any smoking gun. The memo confirms Epstein died by suicide, something Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel were already starting to admit

publicly.

KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: You know a suicide when you see one and that's what that was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He killed himself.

KAYE (voice-over): The memo also says there is no incriminating client list. Adding, "There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein

blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions."

KAYE: The backlash in MAGA world has been swift. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones broke down in tears as he accused the White House of being part of a

cover-up. And far-right activist Laura Loomer is calling on Bondi to resign.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Well, that was Randi Kaye reporting.

Let's not forget Elon Musk in all of this, inserting himself into the middle of this controversy in the midst of his feud with the president. He

accused Donald Trump without evidence of being in the Epstein files in a post that's since been deleted.

Also writing that it is "the real reason they've not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT."

Then just yesterday, posting, "How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won't release the Epstein files?"

Well, I want to bring in CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton.

Shermichael, I just want our viewers, I want to be completely transparent here. We are waiting on some images from the Pentagon, where Pete Hegseth,

the U.S. Defense Secretary, is welcoming the Israeli prime minister.

In fact, I think we're going to go to those pictures now and we're going to come back to you for this conversation, hopefully, just momentarily. Stand

by.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

ANDERSON (voice-over): That is Benjamin Netanyahu's wife, of course, Sarah, greeting Pete Hegseth and his wife there on the steps of the

Department of Defense, the Pentagon there.

And there, you see the Israeli prime minister now with the Secretary of Defense. As we understand it, they won't be making any remarks or certainly

there were no scheduled remarks expected -- or no remarks scheduled and therefore no remarks expected.

Let's just sit on these pictures just for a moment, just in case there are any impromptu remarks. The Israeli prime minister and his wife, of course,

on a visit to Washington. They arrived Monday. He has seen Donald Trump twice. Gaza very much the focus of certainly that second meeting, according

to the White House.

And we will get a readout and understanding of what was discussed with the Defense Secretary after this meeting. The Israeli prime minister at the

Pentagon today.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON: Right. We'll leave those pictures. That is what is going on as we speak at 10:38 in Washington.

Right.

Shermichael, let's get back to what we were about to discuss and that is what is going on with Epstein's file. It is important to underscore what an

about-face this is from many top Trump officials, who spent months rallying the MAGA base.

MAGA apparently outraged about the fact that what the Trump administration, Pam Bondi at the DOJ, what the FBI is effectively doing is drawing a line

under the Epstein case, wanting effectively everybody to move on at this point.

[10:40:00]

What damage is being done in this for the base?

How worrying should this be for the White House?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I think it should be worrying for Pam Bondi in particular, with her

position being the top cop in the country. People don't have the expectation that that Epstein may have a list of 20 names.

But people do have the expectation, based on all the public reporting we have over three years now, that Epstein, for the most part, had cameras and

many of his homes and properties that he likely recorded these interactions.

You can look at some of the testimony from the Maxwell case. She's serving, I believe, 20 years in prison as a result.

And so if that evidence is accurate, then why do we have a Justice Department that's not capable of reviewing that evidence and continuing to

potentially bring charges against some of the men, however powerful they may be, who are obviously likely involved with Mr. Epstein?

And I think that's the expectation that many MAGA folks are kind of worried and concerned about.

ANDERSON: Right. So far, MAGA mainly blaming then Bondi and Patel.

So briefly, is Trump immune at this point?

SINGLETON: Well, I don't know what you mean by immune. I mean, obviously he's the president and I think the president should probably give the

directive in terms of you need to look further into this.

If we do know, indeed, that this guy was doing very disgusting, despicable things with young girls, he wasn't doing it alone. He wasn't trafficking

these young girls for himself only. Obviously, there were other men who clearly were engaged in this.

And I would imagine that all people in this country, whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, would want the Justice Department to bring those

men to justice. And so I don't see this as a through a partisan lens.

This is something that, to me, should ruffle anybody in this country who has a kid. Speaking as a as a parent myself -- and even if you don't have a

kid, I would imagine we all would want to protect the vulnerability and innocence of children, particularly young girls. And that is not what we've

seen as a result of the Epstein trial or lack thereof.

ANDERSON: Shermichael, it's good to get your perspective. Sorry to cut this slightly short. We had the images out of Washington that we needed to

get to. Good to have you on, though. And thank you.

And that is it for CONNECT THE WORLD this evening. Stay with CNN. "MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST" is next.

END