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Erin Burnett Outfront

DOJ Preparing To Ask Grand Jury To Indict Ex-FBI Chief Comey; Trump Blames ICE Shooting On "Radical Left" For "Demonizing" ICE; Kimmel's Comeback Show Draws 4 Times His Average Nightly Rating. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired September 24, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:26]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Breaking news, Trump's DOJ tonight preparing to ask a federal grand jury to indict James Comey. But what exactly is the case against him? Or is this simply political revenge?

Also breaking this hour, the Trump administration racing to blame the, quote/unquote, "far left" for a deadly shooting outside an ICE facility. I'm going to speak to the congressman who represents that area, and he'll explain why he says he does not trust the FBI -- the FBI -- to investigate.

And Jimmy Kimmel's ratings soar. Comeback show attracting four times his normal audience despite a lot of stations not even airing it. Did Trump's attacks on Kimmel backfire?

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, Trump prosecuting his enemies, the Justice Department tonight preparing to ask a grand jury to indict one of Trump's most reviled adversaries, the former FBI Director James Comey.

Sources are telling us that the charges focused on Comey's testimony in September of 2020. If you don't remember that hearing, let me just play one important exchange from it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): On May 3rd, 2017, in this committee, Chairman Grassley asked you point blank quote, have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation? You responded under oath, quote, never. Now, as you know, Mr. McCabe, who works for you, has publicly and repeatedly stated that he leaked information to "The Wall Street Journal" and that you were a directly aware of it and that you directly authorized it. Now what Mr. McCabe is saying and what you testified to this committee

cannot both be true. One or the other is false. Who's telling the truth?

JIM COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: I can only speak to my testimony. I stand by what the testimony you summarized that I gave in May of 2017.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So Trump's prosecutors are accusing Comey of lying under oath. Right. That operative exchange gives you the context and the timing of these charges are crucial, because that testimony that you just saw was from specifically September 30th, 2020. Okay? Well, you can check the date today. Prosecutors have a five-year statute of limitations to the day to bring a charge. That's what they've got.

So, they have to make a decision in the next six days. Trump knows that the clock is ticking down, ticking down. It was just four days ago that he fired off this tweet. Remember this over the weekend? Then people said, was that meant to be a DM because it got pulled back when he demanded the attorney general, Pam Bondi, take action.

He wrote, I quote, Pam, I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that essentially same old story as last time all talk, no action, nothing is being done. What about Comey? Adam, Shifty Schiff, Letitia, they're all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.

Well, that was then and this is now. It appears Bondi may be about to take action, perhaps in part because of that. Thats what we publicly saw. Comey is obviously not just any political enemy for Trump either. When you look at that list, Trump despises Comey. His publicly mocked him and insulted him for more than eight years. Well just play a bit of what he has said.

This goes all the way back to 2017, which is a really important year, because that is the year that Trump fired Comey.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Comey and all this, you know, sleazebags.

Comey lied to everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brennan --

TRUMP: We fired Comey. That fraud.

That phony, crooked Comey.

Comey should hang his head in disgrace.

Comey is a dirty cop.

Comey is a corrupt person.

One of the best things is firing James Comey's (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of there.

He's a leaker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: All right. You could see that goes back. It's personal antipathy. And the Trump administration appears to have even gone after Comey's daughter, Maurene. She was the federal prosecutor who worked on Jeffrey Epstein's case. She led the case against Ghislaine Maxwell, and she was suddenly fired in July.

Her attorney, we spoke with her. She was clear. She said to me that there was no legitimate reason given for Comey's termination and that it comes down to one thing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The reason that we have left is because her last name is Comey.

BURNETT: So when you say in the lawsuit, the facts and circumstances reflect that Comey was terminated, not because of her performance or for any cause, but in retaliation for her association with her father, James Comey, and his constitutionally protected speech, or because of her perceived political affiliation.

[19:05:05]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BURNETT: Or both.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, one more thing. The person now overseeing the Comey case is none other than Trump's former personal attorney. This is -- this is really important to understand.

Her name is Lindsey Halligan. She again is one of Trump's former personal lawyers. She is someone who has never prosecuted a legal case. She has spent her career mostly dealing with insurance matters.

Halligan on Saturday was named to replace Erik Siebert, who was suddenly fired. That firing coming suddenly after public pressure on Siebert to charge another Trump political enemy, the New York Attorney General Letitia James, with mortgage fraud. Siebert did not charge James. He had a five-month investigation and said it did not yield enough evidence to indict her. So, he didn't charge her. So, he's gone.

And in comes someone who has never prosecuted a case.

Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT live outside the White House to begin our coverage.

And, Kristen, Trump has been talking about Comey, and he has been talking specifically about Comey has not been charged a lot behind the scenes from your reporting that this was front and center for him, this statute of limitations. Top of mind. What can you tell us?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Erin, both Comey and Letitia James, he was complaining to everyone who would listen privately that this wasn't moving fast enough. He said that there was no evidence when they brought the cases against him. Of course, he's talking about the many legal cases that he faced in the last several years. So, they should just bring the case.

At other times, it seemed to go hand in hand with something that President Trump said when he was talking to reporters just on Saturday, where he said they need to bring the case. Maybe they're guilty, maybe they're not guilty. But you have to bring the case, which gives you an indication of where his head is at, as he believes he sees several of his political opponents brought cases against him that he says were unfair.

So now you see him really trying to ratchet this up. And as you mentioned, this is what led to the firing of Erik Siebert or the departure of Erik Siebert. There are still some questions on how exactly that played out.

And I will tell you that Siebert himself was a Trump loyalist. He was appointed to that position by Donald Trump. He had several friends in the White House, in the Justice Department. But it goes to show you just how much of a loyalist Trump believes that Lindsey Halligan is, that she will push for the cases that he wants her to push for.

And I'll just remind you, when you read that message to Pam Bondi, to the attorney general there, there was a note at the bottom that said Lindsey Halligan would be a great fit. And then shortly afterwards, he officially said that she should be put into that position or nominated her for that position.

So you're seeing an increasingly frustrated Trump behind closed doors when it comes to these various cases. And we know that there has been some pushback from some members of the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys office themselves, as we know, declining to prosecute or to bring that case against Letitia James.

The president said that this is enough. And now, we have Lindsey Halligan in that office.

BURNETT: All right, Kristen, thank you very much.

And important, as Kristen emphasizes, that Erik Siebert was named by Trump and a Trump loyalist. But when he said he didn't have the goods, he's gone. And in comes someone else who, as I said, has never prosecuted a legal case.

Okay, our OUTFRONT legal expert here, Ryan Goodman, along with CNN senior political commentator Van Jones and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

I will note, Governor, that you are a former prosecutor. So, I appreciate all of you.

Ryan, can we just start, though, with where we are here with Comey? Comey obviously is one of Trump's top enemies, political enemies. If he had to list them, you know, he might be number one or he'd be tied for it with several other people that he listed in that tweet.

But I understand in a sense, it's not a cut and dry case. Ted Cruz, I think, laid that question out. Well, as he laid it out in that question answer, is it possible that two things could be true, that there may be a "there" there with this testimony to Congress when it comes to whether Comey told the truth and that he's only being targeted and that no one would be targeted unless in this situation, unless it were political.

RYAN GOODMAN, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: So, I think so. And there could be a there, there James Comey has engaged in practices that I think show poor judgment. The inspector general of the Department of Justice has censured him essentially twice, one time, for what he did in the 2016 election with the Clinton investigation saying that Comey had escaped the authority of the attorney general and had --

BURNETT: When announcing that right before the election.

GOODMAN: Yeah.

BURNETT: Yeah.

GOODMAN: And the inspector general also says that Comey had mischaracterized the DOJ prosecutor's legal positions, mischaracterizing as a consistent pattern. And then the inspector general calls him out again a second time around for something completely different in which he had left the office after being fired by President Trump and then had shared his memos of conversations with Trump to a friend to get it to the press.

That was also called as a dangerous example is what the inspector general said of Mr. Comey. So, there could be a "there" there. There is a discrepancy between Mr. Comey's statement in Congress and what Andy McCabe had said.

[19:10:02]

But there's also ways in which lawyers will parse every single word of what Senator Cruz said.

Senator Cruz said that Andy McCabe said that Comey had authorized it and had knowledge of it.

BURNETT: Right, right, Comey would perhaps say, but I didn't actually make the phone call.

GOODMAN: Yeah. And in fact, the inspector general says what McCabe said is not that Comey had authorized it, but he -- that he, McCabe had told Comey about it and Comey accepted it. That's very different. BURNETT: Then author. Yes. There -- before and after the fact.

GOODMAN: Yeah.

BURNETT: Anybody -- anybody knows that, right?

Okay. Van but you think that if Comey is charged, obviously it looks like that's where this is going. It's clear where the president wants it to go. But you think that this could backfire on Trump big time?

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah. Look, I mean, I think that what you just saw with Jimmy Kimmel is that people are starting to defend the system. This is -- this is -- look, I don't like Comey. No Democrat likes Comey. We see Comey as a person who threw a banana peel in front of Hillary Clinton right before she could have stopped this whole thing back in 2016.

So he's no -- he's no Democrat favorite anything. But the idea that you're going to go rummaging back through the sock drawer back to 2020 to find something somebody said to put to put them in prison is totally nuts. It's insane. It's the type of stuff that happens in a banana republic when you just go after your political enemies.

And the idea that this guy, Donald Trump has tweeted out that he wants this person in jail kind of makes it look like, I don't know, something called selective prosecution. He's already botched the case. And he continues to do -- to do stuff I think if you listen to people, today is the first day since November that you see people walking down the street smiling in New York City because Donald Trump stepped on a rake when it came to the Jimmy Kimmel. And this will be the second rake.

BURNETT: All right. So, Governor, let me ask you about that post. What Trump said over the weekend, right, which then -- then got rescinded, but it was posted. So, then there were questions about where he meant to post it. It said in part, what about Comey? Adam shifty Schiff, Letitia, they're all guilty as hell. We can't delay any longer. It's killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice and indicted me over nothing. Justice must be served now.

Now, he's yelling what he wants done here, Governor. And again, context here. Getting rid of the guy who didn't. His own appointee who said there wasn't evidence to prosecute Letitia James and replacing him with somebody as he put in this tweet, who, it turns out, has actually never prosecuted a case before. How big of a problem is all this?

TIM PAWLENTY (R), FORMER MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: Well, I think if it actually goes to a trial and there's a jury, that type of political pressure will be a major defense for whoever gets charged here, Comey or ,McCabe or others, along those lines. But I think, Erin, you said something very poignant a couple minutes ago, which is more than one thing can be true at once. It's pretty obvious.

What is obvious that President Trump is pressuring the prosecutorial system to bring charges against these people. That's, I think, obvious. But number two, that may also be true, that Comey engaged in inappropriate or illegal behavior as alleged. And so just because its political doesn't mean he didn't do it. And he might be guilty.

BURNETT: What do you say to that, Ryan?

GOODMAN: So, that's true. But also what Van said is true, that this looks like selective prosecution. And that is a significant factor that the Department of Justice should take into account to actually not charge the case. If this were a close case, and at minimum, that's what it is. It's a closed case or its no case, then that's what the Department of Justice did with Eric Adams.

Emil Bove, who was the second in command at the time, in fact, said to -- internally to the Department of Justice that the reason to drop the charges against Eric Adams is because, quote, first, the timing of the charges and the more recent public actions by the former U.S. attorney responsible for initiating the case have threatened the integrity of the proceedings, including the prejudicial pretrial publicity.

BURNETT: Right.

GOODMAN: President Trump's statements are that that is the appearance of impropriety. It's the reason that they even said that there was a reason to withdraw charges against somebody who had already been indicted, and for the Justice Department to now proceed ahead after President Trump's statements is certainly an appearance of impropriety.

BURNETT: And, Governor, there's also not even a pretense in some of these cases to have it look anything other than political, right? If you take the Letitia James case, right, the mortgage fraud that the administration, by their standards said what she did is criminal by having two primary residences, "ProPublica", Bloomberg did research and found multiple members of Trump's cabinet in the exact same situation of having two primary homes, right, which by again, the administration standard warrants a criminal investigation, perhaps not by a legal standard, but by the administration standard when they were confronted with -- well, are you going to treat everybody the same? The answer was it's a hoax, right? I mean, there's not it doesn't appear even a pretense to try to say that the standard would apply to everyone.

[19:15:05]

PAWLENTY: I agree with that, Erin. And when you have that type of pretrial prejudicial publicity, that is a reason to not bring the charge, even if the charge is meritorious, because you not only have to have fairness, but you have to have the appearance of fairness. And even if Comey were hypothetically guilty, if it appeared like the system was rigged or pressured, it undermines the system for obvious reasons. So, I agree with that analysis totally.

I will add one other thing. Just from my perspective, Trump may or may not know the subtleties of what we're discussing here, but what he does feel is aggrieved. And I think regardless of whether the charges are ultimately successful, I think he actually just wants these individuals to feel the pain, the discomfort of going through a process like he did, feeling falsely accused.

BURNETT: What about that, Van?

JONES: Well, look, if Comey gets --

PAWLENTY: I'm not saying that's right, by the way.

JONES: No, no, but Trump -- if he gets hit, it's not going to be a lot of pain for Comey, because first of all, he's not going to prison for this. He's going to become -- he's going to get a gazillion dollars of people sending money in for his legal defense. He's -- Comey is going to go from being a goat to being a hero, a goat from being not -- not a goat like the greatest, but not the greatest goat. Not the goat. A goat.

Listen, the best thing that could happen to Comey is for this -- for this to go down. He will then stand next to Jimmy Kimmel as another victim of Donald Trump.

Leave me alone. Nobody thinks about Comey. Nobody cares about Comey. Donald Trump, you wound up in the White House. Why are you crying about this? And quit crying about escalators as well.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you all very much.

And next, the breaking news, new video of the deadly shooting at an ICE facility. The FBI director sharing a picture of the bullet casings. He showed them the word "anti-ICE" is on one of them. I'm going to talk to the congressman who represents the area, who says he does not trust Trump's FBI with this investigation.

Plus, the breaking news. Jimmy Kimmel's viewership surging last night's comeback getting nearly four times his average viewership. Despite all those stations, right, almost a quarter of them refusing to air it. Is Trump now threatens to sue ABC. New reporting coming in.

And a new image of Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, at her new lower security camp in Texas as the family of one of Epstein's accusers intensifies the pressure on Republicans to sign on to transparency and truth by releasing the Epstein files.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:21:40]

BURNETT: Breaking news, President Trump blaming the left for today's deadly ambush at an ICE facility in Dallas, where two detainees are in critical condition and one of them was murdered in the shooting. Trump tonight pledging to sign an executive order to, quote, crush domestic or to crush domestic terrorism networks. He writes, the continuing violence from radical left terrorists in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's assassination must be stopped. Of course, I will note that the three people who were shot were all migrants.

FBI Director Kash Patel also wasted no time making this political. Releasing an image while the investigation is just getting started. This image appears to show on one of the bullets anti-ICE inscribed into a shell casing, as you can see.

Dallas Democratic Congressman Marc Veasey, my guest in just a moment, responds, "I don't trust anything that's happening out of that agency at all. I don't trust them at all". A grim moment.

Ed Lavandera is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Federal law enforcement officials described the gunman as a sniper who shot three immigrant detainees in ICE custody. The attack happened just before 7:00 a.m. at an ICE field office in Dallas.

Denise Robleto was outside in a van waiting for her mother. She says her mother, an immigrant from Nicaragua, was checking in for an early immigration appointment. She showed us a video, and we could hear slow, methodical gunfire, as many as seven shots.

Robleto said she could hear screams coming from the facility. Dallas police were called to the scene around 6:40 a.m. local time.

DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT: This is going to be a sniper on top of the roof.

CHIEF DANIEL COMEAUX, DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT: DPD was -- quickly was able to locate the shooter who was deceased.

LAVANDERA: Law enforcement officials say the gunman died of a self- inflicted gunshot wound. The FBI says they are investigating the attack as an act of targeted violence.

JOE ROTHROCK, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Early evidence that we've seen from rounds that were found near the suspected shooter contained messages that are anti ICE in nature.

LAVANDERA: FBI Director Kash Patel posted a photo of an anti-ICE message written on one of five unused bullets at the scene. Even though officials say this was an anti-immigration officer attack, no ICE officials or members of law enforcement were hurt. But DHS officials say one immigrant detainee was killed and two other detainees were wounded.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says the shooter fired, quote, indiscriminately at the ICE building and at a van. Investigators say the shots came from a higher position at an adjacent building. Investigators searched a car outside that building. The vehicle had a sign posted on the rear panel showing a United States map that read radioactive fallout from nuclear detonations have passed over these areas more than two times since 1951. There's no confirmation yet if this is the suspect's car.

The gunman's elevated location is similar to the shooting of Charlie Kirk just two weeks ago, and the political nature of the engravings also draw comparisons to similar evidence found at the shooting scene. This shooting took place at an immigration facility where detainees are processed before they are transferred to a detention center.

JOSHUA JOHNSON, ACTING DIRECTOR, ICE DALLAS FIELD OFFICE: This is the second time I've had to stand in front of you and talk about a shooter at one of my facilities.

[19:25:05]

And I think that the takeaway from all of this is that the rhetoric has to stop.

LAVANDERA: Law enforcement and Republican officials blame the shootings on increasingly volatile political speech they say is coming from the far left.

In a statement, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said this shooting must serve as a wake-up call to the far left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences. Comparing ICE day in and day out to the Nazi gestapo, the secret police and slave patrols has consequences.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Look, in America, we disagree. That's fine. That's the democratic process. But your political opponents are not Nazis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (on camera): Erin, an immigration attorney, told CNN today that the detainees that were already at this facility have been moved to a different detention center.

And that attorney also says that immigrants who have previously scheduled meetings that take place Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday to not come into this particular facility and that they will be allowed to come in on Monday as investigators here continue combing the area for evidence and monitoring the scene as well, Erin.

BURNETT: Ed, thank you so much.

OUTFRONT now, Texas Congressman Marc Veasey, whose district includes the ICE facility where this tragedy occurred.

Congressman Veasey, I appreciate your time tonight.

And there were three detainees caught in the middle of this horrifying attack this morning. One killed, two still fighting to survive, as we talk. What more are you learning about the shooting in your district?

REP. MARC VEASEY (D-TX): Haven't really learned much more. I've reached out to the local FBI office in Dallas and have not heard back yet. And I don't blame them. This administration has made these agencies be very slow in responding to inquiries whenever we have them.

And so, haven't learned much yet outside of what I've seen on the news. But it was obviously something that was very horrific. I know that people that live there in the area, that they heard the gunshots and that they were very frightened by all of this. And of course, one person has lost their life.

And as you mentioned, two people are still fighting to hold on to their lives. And it is a complete tragedy. And right now, we need for all of our elected officials on the Democratic and Republican side to offer words of comfort instead of trying to do, you know, one-up-ism to try to see whose fault this is. Some of the rhetoric that's been happening since this morning is appalling and sickening quite frankly.

BURNETT: So, I want to talk about some of the rhetoric and some of the reality out there. The FBI director, Kash Patel quickly posted a picture, right, a photo of shell casings. He says these were found near the suspected shooter. And one of them, as you can see on the screen, has the words anti-ICE on it.

I know, congressman, that you are concerned about Kash Patel's FBI and whether they can investigate this attack. How come?

VEASEY: Because of situations like that, he was eager to put that out but was not very forthcoming, and letting everyone know that it was a migrant that had actually been killed. And people had to -- had to sort of hear about that.

And then at the very end of the news conference, if you go back to when Mayor Eric Johnson and Ted Cruz was there at a news conference in Dallas, they said at the very end that no one in law enforcement had been harmed when all of their -- all of their comments had been about law enforcement.

These are people, too.

BURNETT: Being -- yeah, right.

VEASEY: The migrants are individuals. They're people. And the fact that their lives meant nothing to our governor, to our senator, to the mayor. And they were just glossed over for these talking points so they could make it sound as if it was -- this is some sort of partizan fight that Democrats and Republicans are having, I think, is sad and very reflective of the time that we live in. And we have -- we got to do better. This is -- this is ridiculous.

BURNETT: Congressman, you mentioned the rhetoric, right? And you're talking about that now. President Trump, his allies, some of them also have come out publicly and said that the shooter was explicitly targeting ICE. And they are blaming your party for it.

Here's the senator, of course, from your state, Senator Cruz, and the vice president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: This must stop to every politician who is using rhetoric, demonizing ICE, and demonizing CBP, stop.

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In Dallas, Texas, and ICE facility, an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement facility was opened fire upon by a violent left-wing extremist, a person who wrote anti-ICE messaging on their bullets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:30:00]

BURNETT: And Trump came out and said, this violence is the result of the radical left. Democrats constantly demonizing law enforcement, calling for ICE to be demolished.

What do you say to the president, to the vice president, to Senator Cruz?

VEASEY: I would say in the senator's words, you know, what else must stop? What else must stop is people trying to do one-up-ism and trying to jockey for pole position when people are being killed. When Charlie Kirk was killed, he had a family. That was a tragedy. This migrant that was killed, that was being detained, that person had a family. They had a name. We don't even know what the person's name is yet.

We have got to start thinking about the human aspects of all of this first, and stop worrying about what -- who this is going to help in November of 2026.

One of the things that Senator Cruz talked about is being called a Nazi. There's way too much happening from their side with people using terms that are equally just as bad. And we have got to condemn it, whether were Democrats or Republicans. You have to condemn violent rhetoric and divisive rhetoric from the left and the right, and it has to occur in both parties.

This cannot be one-up-ism to see who's going to get over on the other, because too much is at stake and too many lives have already been lost, and things are becoming even more dangerous. Let's all tone it down. This is -- this is crazy. What's happening? And I'm disgusted at the comments that started this morning with the governor and has made it all the way up to the White House.

It is sad that we are in the state that we are.

BURNETT: Congressman Veasey, I appreciate your time. Thank you so much, sir.

VEASEY: Good to see you, Erin.

BURNETT: And next, Jimmy Kimmel nearly quadrupling his audience last night, even as a quarter of people couldn't even see it because of the boycott of stations. So, what's going to happen tonight? Trump is, meantime, doubling down on his efforts to oust Kimmel.

"Entertainment Tonight's" Kevin Frazier is next. And the family of Jeffrey Epstein's most vocal accuser with a message for one very important and specific lawmaker who could make or break whether we actually see the Epstein files.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SKY ROBERTS, BROTHER OF EPSTEIN ACCUSER: We are not asking. We are demanding that you do your job and stop protecting these pedophiles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURENTT: He's our guest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:37:09]

BURNETT: All right, the breaking news, Jimmy Kimmel -- the ratings are in for the first day. And by the way, this is just on the linear here we'll share, 6.2 million, 6.26, actually, 6.25 million viewers on ABC. That was four times Jimmy Kimmel's average. And that's despite the show not even being available in a quarter of all American homes.

And the reason for that, of course, is those local TV station owners, Nexstar and Sinclair. They're refusing to air Kimmel's program. So even without a quarter of households, they manage to do that incredible surge. Last night's surge -- show was Kimmel's most watched show. In fact, since March 12th, 2015. So, you got to go back more than 10 years, President Obama at the time was Jimmy Kimmel's guest that night.

Kimmel gave a 30-minute monologue last night close to that. It's also been viewed more than 16 million times on YouTube, which is a record for Kimmel on YouTube.

And Kevin Frazier is OUTFRONT, the host of "Entertainment Tonight".

Kevin, I really appreciate your time. It's good to see you again.

Okay, so look, you know, you've been covering Kimmel a long time. Those ratings are massive. Whether you look at linear, you know, actual television or whether you look at something like YouTube. And that's what a quarter of the country not even able to watch it if they wanted to.

How is this seen in Kimmel's team? Is this better than anybody expected or not?

KEVIN FRAZIER, HOST, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT: Well, this is the success they wanted. And don't forget this -- that Disney just released numbers that said it was 26 million views. That monologue across all socials. And that was a while ago. So I'm sure the number is climbing.

The thing is, is that people tuned into this show and, you know, it's a significant chunk when you take out about 25 percent of the country. So, to get 6.26 million folks watching that show tells you that people were curious. They wanted to hear what Kimmel said, and if they missed it, they immediately went to YouTube.

And for Jimmy Kimmel, this is a win. He joked that, you know, the president gave him ratings. Well, he damn sure did.

BURNETT: Well, if we know there's one person focused on ratings, it's the president. So, it will be interesting. And by that measure, which he views as very important that in polls, obviously, Jimmy Kimmel a huge a huge win for him there.

I wonder how many people in those areas that that they weren't allowed to watch on their TVs actually did go online to watch it.

But last night, you know, as you've been following Kimmel for all these years, right? So, you watch him, Kevin, all the way back to co- hosting "The Man Show" on Comedy Central.

So when you watch last night, knowing him as you do, do you think that he will keep up the heat on Trump's attacks on free speech or will there be an impact from things like being pulled off the air and having Trump threaten to sue ABC when the last time he sued ABC, ABC settled for $16 million, right?

[19:40:00]

Does all of that have an imperceptible but yet palpable impact on Kimmel.

FRAZIER: Jimmy Kimmel was Jimmy Kimmel last night, and that was the thing that I was watching to see. He did not bend or bow. He came out firing like he always does.

But you also saw one thing that is a mark of many of his monologues. He wears his heart on his sleeve. If you go back to whether it was when his son was ill or there have been other times where there have been crisis, like the California fires. Jimmy is a man who is not afraid to put his feelings out there.

And so, there were moments where he was very emotional. And because I think that he is a man who also has dealt with the fragility of life, he wanted to make sure that everyone understood that he did feel for Charlie Kirk's wife, that it wasn't -- that this wasn't something that he took lightly.

I also think that at the end of the day, this could become, for all the people out there who want to have that no vote or that naysayer against this government, and especially the president, by tuning in to Jimmy Kimmel. This is their passive way of protesting.

BURNETT: Right. And it would be pretty incredible if that's how it turns out. Contra to what Trump thought, right? He thought that he said he'd gotten a call from ABC and Kimmel was gone. That's what Trump said. Last night, you know, when you talk about Trump and how Kimmel handled Trump. Let me just play a clip from last night.

FRAZIER: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMMEL: This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.

One thing I did learn from Lenny Bruce and George Carlin and Howard Stern, is that a government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn't like is anti-American. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Right. That's what you're talking about, that he didn't mince words, Kevin, on how he sees this.

FRAZIER: No.

BURNETT: Right? Right. He didn't. But obviously, it's clear what the president wants with Kimmel. He's made that clear, right? And he hasn't changed his view on that. And it's clear as he said that he wanted the late night hosts at NBC to be next.

So, you know, where does this go from here as you see it.

FRAZIER: Well, that's the big thing that either its going to really divide this country or it's going to bring it together. But I do think the interesting thing is that Donald Trump has always had the largest mouthpiece. He is the president of the United States. He walks out in front of the press, and he can speak anytime he wants.

Now, all of a sudden, Kimmel is starting to match that audience. And that is something that I don't think the president will like. And also, if Jimmy Kimmel keeps turning up, turning up the heat like he did against Trump and the FCC chairman, I think that the retribution tour will hit ABC, and it will be very interesting to see how they handle that.

BURNETT: Yeah. Certainly will.

All right. Kevin, thanks so much. Good to see you again.

And next, we have obtained a new image of Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Remember, she got moved to that lower security prison camp where there are things like yoga and crafts. Well, there she is. You can see what she's able to wear.

And what's been called a miraculous update. And this is pretty incredible. One of the children shot last month in Minneapolis while attending mass. This update does feel like a miracle.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:24]

BURNETT: Tonight, reveal every name. The family of Virginia Giuffre, who is Epstein's most outspoken accuser. Just holding a rally, taking their fight right outside the office of their Republican congressman, Jeff Crank in Colorado, who has not signed the petition, which would force a vote on releasing all of the Epstein files.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SKY ROBERTS, VIRGINIA GIUFFRE'S BROTHER: Congressman Crank, I ask you, do you believe that sexually abusing minors and young women is above the law? We are not asking. We are demanding that you do your job and stop protecting these pedophiles. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: This comes as OUTFRONT has obtained a new photo of Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. This is an image of her walking. As you can see in a sweat suit, like a regular civilian with an umbrella, because she is staying at that new, lower security prison camp in Texas with access to things like yoga. That's what the inmates have.

Maxwell was transferred there in an extremely unusual move last month after her meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

OUTFRONT now, Sky and Amanda Roberts, the brother and sister in law of Virginia Giuffre, who took her own life in April after years of fighting for justice against Epstein and Maxwell.

And I appreciate both of you. I'm glad to have you back here tonight.

Sky, today, an important day. Can you tell me more about why you decided to hold this event right outside your congressman's office today?

SKY ROBERTS: Yeah, absolutely. I think the one of the biggest things was when we came -- we came back from Washington, D.C., and we stood with so many of the brave survivors in the Capitol. We asked ourselves, how do we actually affect real change? It's not enough to just say it. We have to do it.

And so, we decided -- well, let's meet with our local congressman. He hasn't signed the bill. So, I think it's important that he hears our voices and knows that we live in this local community. So, we did have that opportunity to meet with him and not with him directly, but with his district director.

We were noted -- we were told that we would be receiving some sort of communication within a couple of days. It's been over a week at this point. We have not heard anything back from Congressman Crank. But we thought it -- we thought it to be very important to get our voices out and our local community because many times people, you know, on a national level, it's great and it's putting a lot of pressure.

But where can you really influence, you know, where can you really impact the most? And a lot of it is using your voice on a local level. And so, we did reach out to, to Representative Crank.

[19:50:02]

And we're going to keep that fight going. And obviously encourage more survivors as well as, you know, if you're in your local community, to do the same.

BURNETT: So, Amanda, Congressman Crank did give us a statement. And in it, he said, "I have supported transparency and accountability regarding the business dealings, investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein. The American people deserve transparency and Epstein's dealings, and I support the release of all documents that shed light on what occurred while protecting the identity of the victims."

I just want to be clear to anyone watching in context of that statement, though, that Congressman Crank has not signed the petition to force a vote on releasing all of the Epstein files. It is a bipartisan push, right, by Congressman Massie and Khanna. And so, it is bipartisan to release the files. He has not signed on to that.

So -- but you've heard similar from his staff when you met with them. What's your response to a statement like that?

AMANDA ROBERTS, VIRGINIA GIUFFRE'S SISTER-IN-LAW: I think once again, were just they're saying things that they think we want to hear. But they're not doing anything.

And so, I think we're tired of the words we want to see action. And we sat down with his staffer and had to actually explain the difference between the House resolution and the Epstein File Transparency Act, which we expressed is survivor backed, and it does protect them. So, what is the excuse to not support this bill?

So, Sky, you know, when you think about this, Congressman Crank has a very important decision, and I think it's important, as you point out, right? If you're for transparency, you're for transparency. No -- no ifs, ands or buts about it. But Massie and Khanna, as I mentioned, they say they're poised to get all the signatures that they need, in part because Arizona elected a Democrat last night in a special election. A Democrat, Adelita Grijalva, who has committed to signing that petition after she is sworn in.

So, they say that they have the votes. But in this context and, Sky, were just getting this in right now. So let me just explain what's happened. We are learning there is an intensifying effort by White House allies behind the scenes to pressure GOP lawmakers who have signed on to that petition to withdraw their name, to prevent a floor vote. And we are just learning this from our Hill team.

Obviously, you know, some of those Republicans, you met with them -- Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace, right. They have done this and buck their own party. But we are learning about this intensifying effort going on right now to get Republicans to flip that vote. What do you say to this, Sky?

SKY ROBERTS: I'll address the first part is that we are excited that, you know, that we do have as of right now, the votes. I don't see as to why it has to take somebody getting sworn in for us to push this forward. Representative Crank has that opportunity right now.

In regards to the response to that, I would say, you know, we had the opportunity to sit down with Representative Boebert's staffers. They were incredibly sensitive and sensitive to the topic. They were very knowledgeable. We do feel confident that she will continue to back that.

And quite frankly, I think we've said this all along, but this is not a party issue. This is a human issue. And I think we are very proud of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Lauren Boebert. Massie, Nancy Mace, I think they're showing a lot of courage right now. And we ask that we flip that script. I think we should ask more representatives to come forward and push this to a majority vote -- not just a small majority, but a large majority. Because if you don't, you are standing with pedophiles. Period.

BURNETT: Amanda, we have images that we've just gotten this new image. Let me show it again, in case you hadn't had a chance to see it. And I think you can see this from where you are, but its Ghislaine Maxwell. She's walking outside.

It looks like she could be anywhere. Certainly not in prison. And she is in a minimum security prison. Not something where someone who's convicted of what she's convicted of doing would ever ordinarily be. But she is -- she's got that little black umbrella, a nice sweatsuit, Nike sneakers, motivational signs to the right of her. Sort of like those street signs. One says honesty.

When you actually are confronted with an image like this -- Amanda, you know, an image of her living this life, not just hearing that she's in a minimum security prison in a residential area with access to yoga and all sorts of things. But you have to look at this. What's your reaction?

AMANDA ROBERTS: I think it's quite ironic that she's standing next to a sign that talks about honesty when she's a known perjurer. I think it's extremely hurtful to every single survivor that she has hurt. I think it's disgusting to know that she has any sense of comfort.

[19:55:03]

And I think it's a travesty -- travesty to think that she is on freedom's doorstep. And that is another battle that we intend to undertake. I think she is trying to use the Alex Acosta sweetheart deal to overturn her conviction, which would be another travesty of justice. And so, we're not going to be quiet. I think she should not get too comfortable.

BURNETT: Important words.

Thank you both so much, Sky and Amanda. I'm glad to see you again.

SKY ROBERTS: Thank you.

AMANDA ROBERTS: Thank you. Erin.

BURNETT: And we have new information tonight about the young girl who was shot in the head during that mass shooting at a Catholic school. Her family tonight, with what they are calling a miraculous update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Tonight, miraculous. A 12-year-old girl who was shot in the head during that horrific Catholic school shooting in Minneapolis last month, showing promising signs of recovery. Sophia Forchas and her younger brother were sitting in the pews when the gunman opened fire, and they were rushed to the same hospital where their mother, a pediatric critical care nurse, had just arrived for her shift.

Now, Sophia's brother was unharmed, but Sophia had a bullet lodged in her brain and doctors had to remove half of her skull. She is now in an inpatient rehabilitation program.

And her family is now saying, in part, "Sophia surviving this horrific attack is a miracle. Her healing process is nothing short of miraculous. Though she still has a long journey ahead, filled with extensive therapy. Her resilience continues to inspire hope at every step."

Thanks so much for joining us.

"AC360" begins now.