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Erin Burnett Outfront

Epstein Accomplice Granted Limited Immunity To Talk To Trump's DOJ; Inside Alligator Alcatraz; Trump Tells Israel To "Finish The Job" As Starvation Grips Gaza; Taiwan Troops Take To Streets And Subways In Amped Up War Games. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired July 25, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:29]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Breaking news, limited immunity. A source just telling CNN that Jeffrey Epstein's ex-girlfriend was granted limited immunity in order to speak with Trump's deputy attorney general, as Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney says his client now wants a pardon from Trump. Trump keeping his options open tonight.

Plus, inside Trump's so-called Alligator Alcatraz. Detainees tonight breaking their silence, talking to CNN, and telling CNN about why it's, quote, torture inside. The special investigation this hour.

And, quote, "Finish the job". That was Trump's message to Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza grows. The patriarch of the Catholic Church in Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, is my guest. He has just returned from Gaza.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

And OUTFRONT tonight, we begin with the breaking news. We are just learning this hour that Jeffrey Epstein's ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was granted limited immunity in order to talk with Trump's personal attorney turned deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche.

Now, what did this mean, this limited immunity? Well, it allowed Maxwell to provide information without any fear that anything she said that is truthful can be used against her in the future. Maxwell is, of course, serving a 20-year sentence in connection with Epstein's sex crimes. It is a conviction she's actually in the process of appealing.

And after the second day of these unusual meetings between Maxwell and the Trump Department of Justice, Maxwell's attorney just said this about a potential pardon from Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID OSCAR MARKUS, ATTORNEY FOR GHISLAINE MAXWELL: We haven't spoken to the president or anybody about a pardon just yet. And, you know, listen, the president this morning said he had the power to do so. We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: All right. Look, people have been talking about this for days. So at least they're coming out and saying it, black and white. They're not beating around the bush. They're not pretending they don't want a pardon. They want a pardon. They're saying it.

And as for Trump, he's saying he doesn't want to talk about it right now, but he's leaving the door open. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A lot of people are asking me about pardons. Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons.

It's something I haven't thought about. It's really something -- it's something -- I'm allowed to do it. But it's something I have not thought about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: All right, well, he says he hasn't thought about it, but of course, in the context of everything that's going on right now, I mean, come on. He also knows Maxwell personally. And he said this about her right after her arrest in connection with Epstein's crimes in 2020.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I do wish you well. I'm not looking for anything bad for her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Well, tonight, far right activist Laura Loomer, who is in Trump's ear and is highly influential in the MAGA world, tonight posted an upside-down smiley face on a post about Maxwell seeking a pardon from Trump.

And it is very important to listen closely to Trump's words about pardoning Maxwell because he said, right, he said, quote, this is not the time to be talking about pardons. Right? And then he continued and he said his words again, I haven't thought about it.

Well, some people might say, well, that means he hasn't thought about it. And he's not opening the door. And okay, well, those exact words do. Those sound very familiar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Would you consider a pardon for Michael Flynn?

TRUMP: I don't want to talk about pardons for Michael Flynn yet.

REPORTER: Will you pardon Paul Manafort? TRUMP: I have not even given it a thought as of this moment.

REPORTER: Roger Stone, are you going to pardon him, sir? He's been convicted of felonies.

TRUMP: Am I going to pardon him? Well, I hadn't thought of it. I think it's very tough what they did to Roger Stone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Flynn, Manafort and Stone were all eventually pardoned by Trump. And tonight, we are also learning new details about what team Trump wanted to know over these past two days of talks with Maxwell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARKUS: She was asked maybe about a hundred different people. She answered questions about everybody and she didn't hold anything back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: A hundred different people, 100 names. I mean, first of all, that is incredible. And it does fit with the narrative that, well, there's a lot of people to focus on here.

[19:05:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You should focus on Clinton. You should focus on the president of Harvard, the former president of Harvard. You should focus on some of the hedge fund guys. I'll give you a list. These guys lived with Jeffrey Epstein. I sure as hell didn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Now, of course, Trump hasn't been accused of wrongdoing. Neither have any of the individuals that Trump just referenced. But of course, Trump has been told by his own attorney general that his name does appear in those Epstein files multiple times.

OUTFRONT now, Paula Reid.

And, Paula, the breaking news here is this limited immunity. So, Maxwell talks for two days. She's got an appeal in the system. So limited immunity has huge value, huge value. And I think she said can now be used against her.

So, is a pardon in the offing?

PAUL REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's unclear if a pardon is on the table. I think you're really smart to recall what Trump has said previously before issuing pardons. Maxwell is in a different league.

First of all, you would never put a client across from the Justice Department in a situation like this where she has been convicted of sex trafficking minors is appealing that conviction. You would never put them across from the deputy attorney general without some form of immunity. So, it's not surprising at all she got limited immunity. She's protected from what she says, unless she lies.

But her lawyer insists that she has answered truthfully and that she can corroborate the things that she has said. When it comes to a pardon, though, that is a risk for this administration to do a commutation or a pardon, even if she gave something of value, because remember, so much of the concern, the outrage, the political firestorm that we're seeing here is motivated by a concern that sexual predators are being protected.

So, if you were going to reward someone who victims testified at her trial, that she recruited them, groomed them in some cases, sexually assaulted them, that is unlikely to do anything to quell this political firestorm. So that's an option. It's clearly something that a lot of folks have talked about. We have no reporting that that has been put on the table, but the consequences for the administration that is only going to make this worse.

BURNETT: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. All right, Paula, thank you very much.

So, you know, on the back of this significant development, as Paula is reporting, I want to bring in Adam Wren. He is the senior national politics correspondent for "Politico". Barry Levine is also back with us, the author of "Spider: Inside the Criminal Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell". I spent many, many years investigating this.

And Ryan Goodman, the editor in chief of "Just Security" and the former special counsel at the Defense Department.

So grateful to all of you.

Barry, here we are. Limited immunity, 100 individuals, 100 people are named, according to Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney today by Ghislaine Maxwell. In these conversations with the Department of Justice and Mr. Blanche, I know that you have real questions about whether she can be trusted. And of course, her immunity only applies if she tells the truth.

So, what do you think about this breaking news that she was granted limited immunity for what she said?

BARRY LEVINE, AUTHOR, "THE SPIDER: INSIDE THE CRIMINAL WEB OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN & GHISLAINE MAXWELL": Well, Erin, certainly this is the most sensational development that we've had in this case. Here we have someone who is right next to Jeffrey Epstein, who was his co- conspirator. And for the very first time, she talked for nine straight hours over two days.

What she said in those nine hours could result possibly in the arrest of other individuals, men who may have helped facilitate the sex trafficking with Jeffrey Epstein and also individuals who might have taken part in the sexual abuse. I'm only thinking about the victims tonight, how they're reacting to

this. You know, if Ghislaine Maxwell is finally going to do one thing right in her life, it is to tell the truth and help these victims get closure on this horrible, horrible crime.

BURNETT: Right. Of course, she was -- she was convicted. I mean, there have been opportunities for truth before, Ryan. Here we are. Maybe, maybe, maybe now is the moment.

I mean, what do you think happens here now, Ryan? She's got this limited immunity. Apparently, according to her lawyer, mentions 100 people or is asked about 100 people, but 100 individuals are discussed.

So, what happens now?

RYAN GOODMAN, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: So if we were in a normal situation, what could happen next is that the Justice Department might very well have leads to open investigations and other people. And there's strong reasons to believe, in fact, it's a fact that there were several other people involved in the sexual abuse of minors, people who are in the elite class and have gotten away with it.

But this is not a usual situation. So, the very fact that we're here today with the deputy attorney general running lead in meeting with a prisoner is extremely unusual. You would think it would be the line prosecutors who know the case and would be able to detect at any moment in which she's straying from the truth, especially somebody who's been charged by the Justice Department with two counts of perjury.

[19:10:02]

And we're here after Pam Bondi, the attorney general, said in July 7th that there was no evidence to even predicate an investigation on other people, which is implausible to the point of ludicrous. So, the fact that they'd have to go to Ghislaine Maxwell for opening an investigation doesn't make sense. So, what would happen in a normal time or not in a normal time at all?

BURNETT: No, we're not. Of course. You know, at the DOJ, the person who is leading this up, they got rid of her. They got rid of her a week ago. So, you know, layering -- layering that into this onion, Adam. I mean, this ensures the story is not going away. Right. In fact, the story is escalating, right? I mean, no matter how much President Trump may have wished this would have just gone away. It is not gone away.

So, what are you hearing about how he is behind the scenes, about right now, tonight, about his inability to essentially control the narrative on this and make the story die down as he tried to do?

ADAM WREN, POLITICO SENIOR NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Well, I reported this week from a Republican close to the White House who was in the Oval Office with him after he found out that he was implicated. And essentially, he told this person that he thought that the that the media, his political opponents were going to quote F him anyways, regardless of whether he had distance from the criminality in this, that that the appearance of this was not going to be good for him politically.

And so that gives us a window into his state of mind here that he's defensive about it. And of course, the timeline as we look at it in light of "The Wall Street Journal" reporting, reveals that after that may briefing, he becomes remarkably defensive over a period of weeks where at a cabinet meeting, he shoots down, says that Jeffrey Epstein is an interesting is boring and then he has the true social post a couple Saturdays ago where he attacks Democrats, Obama and Biden for putting phony stuff in this in these files. So clearly, he's frustrated and is defensive about this.

BURNETT: Yeah, I mean, he's called it a hoax, but of course, the pedophilia that happened obviously is not a hoax. And if anyone else was involved, they should be held to account. And if other people knew about it and didn't do anything about it, that also matters a lot. Or it should matter.

Ghislaine Maxwells lawyer, Barry, is now making it clear she wants a pardon, right, saying, well, okay, hopefully, Trump will end up doing the fair and right thing. But Trump has used said, okay, I'm not -- I haven't thought about it, but that's similar language to the language he used about other people who he did eventually pardon.

So, what do you think happens here?

LEVINE: Well, Erin, we are in an absolutely unknown area as the other guests have discussed tonight. Where this is going to go, I don't know. My biggest fear, of course, is that Ghislaine is going to play to President Trump's side. We know and hope that she doesn't make this political. We know who you know, what individuals associated with Jeffrey Epstein from the other side, particularly Bill Clinton and some Democratic politicians.

Let's just hope that she focuses on the truth and in court -- and discusses everyone. I was very happy to hear that she went through 100 different names. I mean, that is a huge, significant development. We have not had that.

Jeffrey Epstein in the depositions that he's given, he never revealed anything. All the information we had have come from the victims. So having someone now on the inside of this operation who is speaking, it's changing the playing field of this case entirely.

BURNETT: Adam, you know, you've spoken to Laura Loomer repeatedly and frequently, right? The far-right activist who posted, as I said, you know that upside down smiley face about a possible pardon. She has been one of the loudest voices slamming the Trump administration's handling of this, right, and demanding that there be full transparency and full accountability.

But when you see that post today from Loomer, that upside down smiley face about a possible pardon from Ghislaine Maxwell, what do you read into that?

WREN: It means she's shocked at the idea that a pardon could be considered for Ghislaine Maxwell, that she's against it. And it further shows that as much as the Trump administration is trying to pivot beyond this story by bringing Ghislaine Maxwell in, sending the second in command from the Department of Justice to talk with her, that the distraction likely won't work because Laura Loomers of the MAGA world are going to want the actual files, and they're not going to just want the grand jury testimony.

[19:15:01]

They're not just going to want Maxwell's testimony. They're going to want the actual paper.

And with Donald Trump mentioned on those, it doesn't seem like were going to see those anytime soon.

BURNETT: So, Ryan, can I just ask you about that? You know, putting aside the very important issue of redactions, but just the possibility of actually seeing the documents and seeing all the names because nobody's going to trust for whatever their political reasons might be, no one's going to trust Ghislaine Maxwell, right? She's lied before and then however you look at this with whatever name she puts out, you're going to have questions on, well, did she just put out those names because she wants a pardon as opposed to these where there's going to be questions.

So, is there any chance, Ryan, that we actually do get to see all of the documents and not just grand jury testimony and not just what Ghislaine Maxwell says?

GOODMAN: I think so. I think there's enormous pressure on the White House and the Justice Department to release them. We now have a subpoena from the House for the files. And so, I think there's nothing that will satisfy the public demand, other than the files.

The grand jury testimony is either not going to be revealed or if it is revealed, it's going to be nothing in terms of what is actually presented to a grand jury compared to those files. And especially now that they're speaking to Ghislaine Maxwell. One of the best ways to test whether she is being truthful at all is the files.

So, I don't think these distractions, the grand jury testimony and Ghislaine Maxwell get at the core issue, which is just release of the files, the transparency that this administration promised and delivering on it.

And just one other piece I thought I should mention. I also don't think this is the last shoe to drop with respect to criminal liability. There's statute of limitations that are not in existence in New York for the same crimes which Maxwell was charged, and there could also be in New Mexico and Florida.

BURNETT: Which is incredible, right? I mean, you could actually see people charged. And, Barry, do you expect that that's going to be the outcome that

were going to see rich elite, connected people charged with pedophilia?

LEVINE: Well -- I mean, at this hour, we just don't know that. And of course, you know, if there -- if there is any charging, the prosecutors are going to have to bring in these victims again. We know that three of them have passed on, including the chief accuser, Virginia Giuffre. You know, where we go from here is, you know, is a road that hopefully for the victims will be successful because if other men were indeed involved, which I do believe, then we need to bring them to justice.

BURNETT: Yeah, I hope everyone could agree with that. And Virginia Giuffre, of course, just with all the struggles she went through and the death under such tragic circumstances, all of which comes back to this, just one example of the lives that have been so destroyed for all of it.

Thank you all very much. I appreciate your time.

And next, where is J.D. Vance in all this? He has not weighed in much at all since the Epstein controversy exploded, which is really surprising because this is an issue he cares a lot about. He was one of the ringleaders in wanting the Epstein files released.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Seriously, we need to release the Epstein list. That is an important thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Plus, a special CNN investigation. CNN created a 3D model to take you inside Trump's detention facility, which is deep in the Florida Everglades. And tonight, we are hearing disturbing firsthand accounts for the first time on what it's like inside.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GONZALO ALMANZA VALDES: Thirty-two people per cell or per cage, really, because this is a cage.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BURNETT: And tanks opening fire on city streets. Taiwan tonight, taking its military drills to another level as the drumbeat of war with China gets louder.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:23:32]

BURNETT: All right. Breaking news. President Trump denying tonight that he was ever told that his name was mentioned in the Epstein files. The files related to the FBI investigation of Epstein. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Were you briefed on your name appearing in the Epstein files, ever?

TRUMP: No, I was never, never briefed. No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: That, however, is not true. Multiple White House officials have told CNN that Attorney General Pam Bondi personally informed Trump in May that his name was in the files, and that his name appeared in those files not once, but multiple times, which would mean that what Trump said there is a lie.

It comes as questions grow louder about whether Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell will be pardoned.

And Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT. He is traveling with the president in Scotland.

So, Jeff, what are your sources telling you about what Trump's doing here? He's denying something that all the reporting everywhere -- the fact is that it actually happened. He was -- he was briefed, right? And he's denying it.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Erin, the president made those comments when he landed tonight here in Scotland after watching a day of coverage, seeing what was happening with the Ghislaine Maxwell. And it just does not add up to what his own officials were telling us two days ago when they were at first diminishing and dismissing the importance of a "Wall Street Journal" report initially then confirmed by CNN that the president was briefed on this by his attorney general in May, and Todd Blanche, of course, his former attorney, who is the deputy attorney general of the United States.

[19:25:15]

He was briefed on it. He was briefed on the fact that his name was mentioned in the files. Now, the context, we do not know how many times his name was mentioned, but we do know his name was mentioned. White House officials did not go to great lengths to deny that. They said yes, his name is in there, but it does not show any wrongdoing.

But today, the president once again is returning to what he said a couple weeks ago. No, no, I was not briefed on this.

So, it's classic Trump in the sense of always denying and never acknowledging what even some officials say. But, Erin, this is one example. Why this story has legs, why the Epstein scandal and controversy keeps growing because of inconsistencies, because of what the president does to fuel this.

But he clearly did not want to say today that, yes, he was briefed that his name was in the file. So, it's -- it's classic Trump. Weve seen it on other examples, but in this case, it adds oxygen to all of this.

BURNETT: Well, it certainly does because people know it's not the case.

And then it's --well, why can't you just say, yeah, sure. But not in any -- not in any bad way, right? I mean, it's odd and it does come as there seems to just be Jeff, I don't know, some consternation, confusion in the president's inner circle.

I mean, Vice President J.D. Vance is just one example. He's been really quiet. I mean, he's criticized some of the media covering this story, criticized "The Wall Street Journal", right? So, he's posted a couple of things, but that is odd because he cared a lot about the story. He cared a lot about transparency and the Epstein list. He talked about it many times, like this time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: Seriously, we need to release the Epstein list. That is an important thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: That was just October, Jeff. And this has been going on for a long time. He's caring about it.

In 2021, Vance tweeted. Remember when we learned that our wealthiest and most powerful people were connected to a guy who ran a literal child sex trafficking ring? And then that guy died mysteriously in jail. And now, we just don't want to talk about it, right?

I mean, this is something Vance cared about over many years. So, what are you learning, Jeff, about where Vance stands in all of this now?

ZELENY: Erin, we're learning absolutely nothing because the vice president of the United States has not talked about this, aside from criticizing "The Wall Street Journal". But as a substantive matter, he has not weighed in on this. And that clip you played was with Theo Von, I believe, of course, an interview with the podcaster, influential podcaster during the campaign.

Theo Von actually tweeted this week, so what happened? Like, where are you now?

But part of the Epstein file with J.D. Vance, that's just one element of his conversion, if you will, which we all saw in real time over the last several years from a never-Trumper to a loyal supporter by talking about Epstein, by raising these questions. So, if he had the concerns then, it's unclear why he doesn't have them now. Even his other MAGA supporters are voicing questions about this. The vice president has been very silent -- Erin.

BURNETT: Yeah, right. Of course, child sex trafficking remains child sex trafficking. I assume he still cares about it deeply. And we'll see when he says something.

Thank you very much, Jeff.

And next, migrants tonight revealing the hell they say they're suffering inside Trump's so-called Alligator Alcatraz, a detention facility deep in the Florida Everglades.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALDES: Every time it does rain and storm, the toilets clog up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Plus, President Trump telling Israel to finish the job in Gaza as the starvation crisis there spirals into a humanitarian catastrophe. I'm going to speak with the patriarch of the Catholic Church in Jerusalem, one who was almost pope, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who just returned from Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:33:42]

BURNETT: Breaking news, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announcing that deportation flights have started leaving the so-called Alligator Alcatraz facility. Now, the first flights held 100 detainees each. It's unclear where they're going, but the facility is in the middle of the Florida Everglades, surrounded by dangerous wildlife, and it has turned into a punchline for immigration hardliners.

And tonight, OUTFRONT is going to take you inside the detention center. Detainees speaking out and telling us it's a type of torture inside.

Well, Priscilla Alvarez has done this incredible investigation, and here she is now OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUAN PALMA MARTINEZ, DETAINEE: This is sad, sad, hopeless. It's a type of torture.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the stories of migrants held at Alligator Alcatraz, a new detention facility deep in the Florida Everglades, using a plan of the site shown during President Trump's visit and photos from media tours and social media, CNN created a 3D model to take you inside the site, where hundreds of immigrant detainees are being held.

Here are the giant tents where people report being crammed into cells made of chain link fence packed with bunk beds.

CNN spoke with eight detainees to hear firsthand accounts of what conditions are like on the inside.

[19:35:00] Some asked not to be named for fear of retribution.

GONZALO ALMANZA VALDES, DETAINEE: Because of the way that we have been treated, it has been a very terrible experience.

ALVAREZ: Gonzalo Almanza Valdes was detained by ICE when he showed up for a meeting with his probation officer.

VALDES: It's 32 people per cell or per cage, really, because this is a cage. It's a metal cage strapped in with zip ties.

ALVAREZ: Three open toilets are shared by dozens of men who say there's no running water or sewage system.

Roger Moreno, who has lived in the U.S. for more than 30 years, told CNN the rain makes it worse.

ROGER MORENO, DETAINEE: The toilets, when it rains, they overflow and the cells were in fill up with sewage.

VALDES: Every time it does rain and storm, the toilets clog up.

ALVAREZ: Detainees told CNN. The lights are kept on 24 hours a day.

VALDES: We can't sleep. I have to personally put a rag on top of my head to at least try to take a nap, because the lights are so bright. There's 24 LED lights in the roof, and it's like shining bright.

ALVAREZ: Juan Palma Martinez has lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years, and was also picked up by ICE at a routine meeting with his probation officer.

MARTINEZ: I no longer know when it's daytime or when it's nighttime. I don't sleep, it's affecting me mentally and physically.

ALVAREZ: The tents aren't sealed. You can see cracks in this image, and at the height of the hot Florida summer, that means the insects are relentless.

MORENO: Yesterday, the air conditioning went out. We had the whole morning without air conditioning. Lots of mosquitoes came in because they get in from all sides.

ALVAREZ: Multiple detainees say they don't get enough food, though, they're served three meals a day and that water is limited.

VALDES: They scan our bracelets. We go into the food hall. The food is very terrible here. Very, very, very small portions. People are hard time living here because they're starving. Probably like a quarter cup of rice.

MARTINEZ: We've eaten as late as 10:00 at night. The food at night is cold, too. There's never a hot meal.

ALVAREZ: Showers are located in a separate tent and opportunities to shower there are scarce, according to the detainees we spoke with. VALDES: All the showers are connected to the same water source.

There's barely any water pressure, so we have to like, literally put ourselves on the wall right next to the water drainage so we can at least get hit with water.

MARTINEZ: They follow you when you're walking to the shower with your hands on your head, as if you were a prisoner. The water is very hot, very hot. They don't give you enough time. Mosquitoes are biting you in the shower. There are more mosquitoes than water.

ALVAREZ: The only line to the outside world are phones set up in the cells.

VALDES: Nobody here has been able to see a loved one. Nobody has been able to see a lawyer here. Nobody has. It sucks. It sucks.

There's no, like, physical contact with the outside world other than these phone calls. It's not really more about me. It's about not being able to see my son. He's six. He's about to turn seven in November. And I don't even know if I'm going to be able to see him for his birthday.

ALVAREZ: Republican and Democratic lawmakers recently toured the facility. According to one of them, they were not permitted to speak to the detainees.

Then, State Senator Blaise Ingoglia, a Republican, said the facility is in good order.

BLAISE INGOGLIA, FLORIDA CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER: It's actually a very well-run facility. The idea that the detainees are in there and they're in squalor conditions is just not accurate.

ALVAREZ: But most distressing for detainees, they say, was that in multiple cases, they haven't appeared in any state or federal detention system since they were arrested. That means families have been unable to track them.

VALDES: We're in the middle of the Everglades with constant reminder that we're locked up in a cage, and anything can happen. A hurricane can hit us and we can all die, and nobody would know.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALVAREZ (on camera): Erin, we received a statement from a spokesperson of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. I'm going to read that to you. It says, quote, as stated many times before, these claims are false. The facility is in good working order and detainees have access to drinking water, showers and clean facilities for hygiene.

And earlier today, we also heard from other Florida officials who say they plan on expanding the facility to include thousands more in this makeshift Alligator Alcatraz -- Erin.

BURNETT: Priscilla, thank you so much and really just such incredible reporting. Just to hear from each of them and each of those voices that man about to possibly miss his son's birthday and the emotion there. Thank you so much.

And next, Trump tells Israel to finish the job in Gaza. The humanitarian crisis there deepening. Cardinal Pizzaballa, who was almost pope, is next. He just returned from Gaza.

[19:40:02]

Plus, gunfire erupting on crowded city streets. Taiwan's military games are now unlike anything that the world has seen before.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news, finish the job. Those are the words of President Trump to Israel. A ceasefire talks have crumbled. Starvation in Gaza tonight, reaching catastrophic levels.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It was too bad. Hamas -- Hamas didn't really want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it's very, very bad. And it got -- it got to be to a point where you're going to have to finish the job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Nine more people dying from starvation in Gaza in just the past 24 hours, and the dying are mostly children and their mothers.

My guest tonight is the patriarch of the Catholic Church in Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

[19:45:04]

He's just returned from Gaza, and I spoke with him earlier today. He tells me exactly what he witnessed on the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Cardinal Pizzaballa s OUTFRONT tonight and we are so grateful for your time.

Cardinal, I know you have just returned from Gaza, and you walked the streets. You embraced people, you saw the destruction and the loss as you tried to bring comfort to people who are dying of starvation. What did you see there?

CARDINAL PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA, LATIN PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM: What I saw, first of all, the level of destruction is enormous, much more than the previous time. Last time I was there in the last December before Christmas, and a sea of tents everywhere, especially on the sea shore. But not only people living hundreds of thousands, maybe millions living just in tents without nothing, with no hygiene. You can imagine.

And the lack of food was very evident talking with the -- first of all, the community, our community, they can cook just twice per week and only rice. The only thing they have now is some bread. But -- and we are privileged, many others have nothing and also talking in the dock with the doctors and the hospital and the Caritas Center. They say that they cannot, cannot even receive now the blood for the transfusion because of the malnutrition, people are not able anymore to give -- to donate blood.

The way they -- people work, the children, so it's something visible. The long queue of people waiting in the few places of the distribution of food, waiting for just a meal, something very humiliating, as I said.

BURNETT: When you look at the children and the infants who are starving, Cardinal, what do you see? And what do you see in their in their mothers who are holding them?

PIZZABALLA: I see the suffering. I see the eyes, the request, their desire, their expectation, the frustration also. You feel really powerless and it's very difficult. It's very harsh. Also, from the human point of view to accept this.

BURNETT: Cardinal, do you think that that this can be turned around? Can something be done right now that would save countless lives? Or do you fear that it is too late for many who are suffering in Gaza?

PIZZABALLA: It's never late. It's a question of will. First of all, I think it's about time. I don't understand how the continuation of this war, the purpose of this continuation is about time to arrive at least ceasefire and to give people a brief to -- possibility to breathe and to introduce food. And it's not -- is not that complicated.

BURNETT: So, Cardinal, when you said mass in Gaza and you were among the people there, what is it that you want the world to know that the world may not know right now about the suffering in Gaza?

PIZZABALLA: First of all, to know about the suffering, the bombs, the death, the people wounded and the necessity -- the necessary measure to be taken in order to stop, stop all this. But I also wanted to let them know that the world know that the people I met there, they are very tired, very concerned, but also full of life, very motivated, very determined to remain there and to rebuild their life.

BURNETT: So, when President Macron of France spoke out, Cardinal, he said, it's time to act. He issued a statement, and I'll read what it says. It says consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the state of Palestine.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has strongly condemned this decision. The secretary of state in the United States, Marco Rubio, also saying that the U.S. strongly rejects Macron's plan.

Do you agree with Macron, though? When you look at the situation on the ground that it is time to recognize a Palestinian state.

PIZZABALLA: It's a very political question for to a pastor and a religious person.

[19:50:02]

Anyway, I can say that, first of all, the Holy See recognized state of Palestine. I can say talking with the Palestinians almost every day, that they don't want only food and the end of the war. They want also dignity. They want also to have a place where to stay in peace, their home.

And I don't know if it is the recognition of state of Israel -- or state of Palestine is bringing peace or not. But it's about time to put end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to give to both sides, Israelis and Palestinians, space -- living space peacefully, one close to another.

BURNETT: And, Cardinal, is there anything that anyone watching -- the people of faith or people who want to help, is there anything that you would say, people who are not there can do right now?

PIZZABALLA: I think it's important to keep the attention, the concern about what is going on in Gaza, very high, without partiality. We have not to go against Israel, against the Jewish people. We have not to support any -- anything, any form of antisemitism, which is very wrong. We condemn all this. We want to be very clear.

But also at the same time, we have we have to be frank and clear and remind Israelis that we love them, but we also expect them to be responsible, not just for the security of Israel, but also for the life of Palestinians.

BURNETT: Your beatitude, Cardinal Pizzaballa, thank you so much for your time. We're all grateful.

PIZZABALLA: Thank you to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Next, tanks on city streets, Taiwan preparing for a possible Chinese invasion like it never has before.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:13]

BURNETT: New tonight, chilling signs that China is inching closer to conflict with Taiwan. "Reuters" reporting tonight, "Already, 2025 has witnessed a series of the largest and most sophisticated military drills held in the Pacific since the end of World War Two." Sobering words.

And Will Ripley is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to Taiwan in 2025, where military police hold midnight drills on the subway as folks watch from the soybean milk shop next door. Armed convoys get a friendly welcome from kids leaving the pool. U.S.- supplied military hardware showing up in places civilians never expected.

JASON LIAO, TAIPEI RESIDENT: And I just bump into the missile.

RIPLEY: The Patriot missile battery.

LIAO: Yes. And at first, it's quite shocking. It's also a really great reminder that war is really close.

RIPLEY: Ten days of war games all over this island democracy imagining how a Chinese invasion might unfold.

Taiwan holds military drills every year. But this year, they're twice as long, largely unscripted, and for the first time in a long time, happening in crowded, everyday spaces.

Not just remote areas like 10 years ago when Lin Jing-da was a full- time soldier. He says military drills then were out of sight and heavily scripted.

Do you think the government by putting the drills so close to everyday people is trying to prepare Taiwanese for the possibility of a war with China soon?

"We need to let the citizens know about the possibility of war and prepare them for it," he says.

Because China is getting ready too.

These are believed to be PLA landing barges designed to rapidly offload tanks, soldiers and equipment onto a hostile beach. Analysts say they're built for one job -- taking Taiwan.

Top U.S. officials now say Chinese leader Xi Jinping told PLA leaders be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027.

This is the island's dress rehearsal for war.

We just got this presidential alert that says, "Missile attack. Seek immediate shelter."

When the sirens go off, everyone takes cover.

This busy street in the middle of a workday totally empty except for the police making sure that people are not out on the sidewalks.

Even the local supermarket joins in, guiding shoppers to a basement bomb shelter.

"I think people would feel nervous when they're down there," she says.

Taiwanese leaders say that's the point.

LIN FEI-FAN, DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL, TAIWAN NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: I think we need to be more prepared in any kind of situation.

RIPLEY: Taiwan is proudly displaying its U.S.-made arsenal HIMARs, Avengers, Hesco barriers, billions of dollars spent on full display, a message aimed far beyond Taipei.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Taiwan took our chip business way.

RIPLEY: But not everyone believes the U.S. will come to Taiwan's aid.

What do you think President Trump would do if Taiwan were attacked?

LIAO: Me personally, I think that Trump will only do things that will benefit himself. Once he got a deal with China that is more appealing then he might just abandon us.

RIPLEY: You think he could abandon Taiwan?

LIAO: Yeah.

RIPLEY: Taiwan's leaders say they cannot afford to wait for help. They're making war feel real because it could be. And they want the world and their own people to be ready.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (on camera): The big question, could these massive military drills influence Taiwan voters? Was that the point? We'll soon find out, Erin, because Taiwan's biggest ever recall vote is about to get underway, seconds from now, at 8:00 a.m. local time, 24 opposition lawmakers, seen as pro-China, could be ousted. And if they go, President Lai Ching-te may flip parliament and push for tougher China policy. But if they don't, he could become a lame duck, and his U.S.- friendly agenda could be at risk, Erin.

BURNETT: Wow. Incredible. All right, well, that voting beginning right now.

Will Ripley, thank you so much.

And thanks to all of you.

"AC360" starts now.