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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump Coin Revealed Amid A Shutdown With No End In Sight; Apple Removes ICE Tracking Apps; "Diddy" Sentenced To 4+ Years. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired October 03, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:31]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
The Trump coin. The administration touting a new coin with Trump's face, even as the shutdown is about to enter its fourth day with no end in sight. The House speaker giving members the week off next week.
Plus, Apple caves. The tech giant pulling an app that tracks ICE agents. Apple says it's because of safety risk. The app's creator is OUTFRONT.
And a stunning video tonight of a U.S. strike on a boat that the administration claims was trafficking drugs. The fourth attack of its kind. Something big is happening here. What is it? And is it legal?
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett on this Friday.
And OUTFRONT tonight, Trump's face going on a coin called the Trump coin, amid an unprecedented shutdown with threats of mass firings, federal funding pulled only from states that didn't vote for Trump. The U.S. government had an announcement today.
Trump's treasurer put this out, posting a mock-up of a coin, writing, no fake news here. These first drafts honoring Americas 250th birthday and POTUS are real. Looking forward to sharing more soon, once the obstructionist shut down of the United States government is over.
Well, I'm glad he clarified that was real, because you probably would think it was some sort of an A.I. joke, but I guess they say it's real. So, look at the coin on the front. Trump's face on the back, Trump fist in the air.
Very similar, of course, to this image, right? Take a look at that and then take a look at the other image of him in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Okay. The text on the coin, "Fight, fight, fight", the MAGA chant on a coin for America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CROWD: Fight, fight, fight!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So -- well, where should we start with this? I mean, I started by saying time was spent on this, by releasing it today, during this unprecedented shutdown. And as the coin makes a mockery of an American dollar, it joins Congress, where the Senate today once again failed to reopen the government. And just moments ago, Speaker Mike Johnson gave the House all of next week off. No votes, not even required to be in Washington. No effort to reopen the government, which of course, would also mean ceding the new Democratic congresswoman, who is the vote that will force Johnson to hold a vote on releasing the Epstein files?
I mean, holy, is this all about Epstein? I mean, it makes no sense, though. That's the thing. So, you start thinking about things like that. I mean, why is the government shut? Why is no one making any effort to reopen it?
And the person who is usually out talking is, again, oddly silent. For a third day, Trump opting not to take reporter questions other than taping a friendly interview with a pro-Trump outlet earlier this week and taping a video about Hamas tonight, we've seen very little of Trump. He has certainly not been taking questions.
The next time, were expected to see him in public, according to his schedule, is Sunday. And so, what do we have of him this week? Well, we've got a little taste of the only interview he did this week that we saw with one of his favorite outlets OAN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOST: You delivered historic tax cuts in under six months. You're the president of the United States. You have a gazillion things to do every day. You're trying to end wars. You're dealing with other countries. I wanted to wonder if you could give us in the million other couples here in the United States, some parenting advice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay. Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT live outside the White House.
Kristen, I -- you know, I had known what we had cut there. But somehow when I heard it, I heard it. Okay.
There are a few cracks coming to light among Republicans regarding the shutdown strategy, right? I mean, we just talked about Mike Johnson giving them the week off from votes in Congress. I mean, that's pretty incredible. It seems no efforts being made, but I know you're learning more. What are your sources telling you?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So we're hearing both public and private grumbling when it comes to the strategy among Republicans. Publicly, it's the people that you would expect, the people who always push back a little bit against President Trump, Murkowski, Collins, Tillis, all saying they think it's a bad idea to kind of have these punitive measures holding federal funding from blue cities. But I'm also starting to hear some cracks privately. And that's because they're not seeing the movement the way that they wanted to see it. They thought this would be over much faster.
And you're hearing a lot of questions as to whether or not this is a political gamble that might not actually pay off. There's a lot of concerns about this idea of mass layoffs. Remember, we were hearing from White House officials those could start as early as today. No word on that yet.
Is that because were starting to hear this pushback from Republicans? Still unclear. But there's a lot of Republicans who don't think that's a good idea, both legally and for their own constituents, that that could be a problem.
[19:05:05]
So you're starting to hear these tiny cracks among Republicans who are questioning whether or not the White House is playing this the right way.
Now, to be clear, nobody is blinking right now. House not in session. Nobody is talking about any kind of shift or movement, but they are wondering if this is the best political strategy. And one thing to point out is historically, in the past, this kind of a shutdown, usually the blame would fall on the Democrats. That's because the Democrats are the ones who are demanding something.
But if you look at that new polling that's coming out and that preliminary polling that's coming out, it's really showing that both sides are equally at blame and that -- that is risky for Republicans when they see those preliminary numbers, because that's not what they were expecting, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. What's important, what they were expecting, obviously very different.
All right. Kristen, thank you very much. And get better. Kristen, you sound hoarse. And she's out there working as always, but get better.
All right. Margaret Hoover, John Avlon, Mondaire Jones, thanks very much to all of you.
Where to start here, I guess, let's start with Trump is has not been present the way he usually is taking reporter questions. Well, he took those questions. But we get the announcement from Treasury that they're going to do the special coin with Trump on it.
So, what's happening here?
JOHN AVLON, FORMER CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It's a total abdication of leadership. And it shows how much we've normalized. I think the insanity around shutdowns, but also this -- I mean, it's hard to put into words just how insane this is to float, especially during a shutdown.
BURNETT: This is not normal.
AVLON: Not remotely normal. First of all, we have a unwritten rule in America. You don't put living people on coins.
MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Actually, it's a federal law.
AVLON: Okay. Thanks for that. Thanks for that, Marge.
And there's a really good reason for that. This is just a codification of the kind of cult of personality that's going on. And just for Republicans who say, oh, it's Trump, imagine if Barack Obama and Democrats tried to put him on a coin when he was president. They'd be freaking out.
And that's because it's so un -- little D -- democratic. It's so un -- little R -- republican. And it's really an insult, especially at this time when our government is not functioning and makes us look like a laughingstock in the eyes of the world.
HOOVER: What they did is they mocked this up to clearly, you know, work over his, you know, sense of self grandiosity, which really doesn't need any encouragement. But this is a 1866 law. You can go to 31 U.S. Federal Code 5112 to cite it.
And literally no living president can be on a coin. You have to have an act of Congress to make that coin. But, you know, given how much of a subsidiary the U.S. Congress has been of Trump Inc. --
BURNETT: It's a good word there.
HOOVER: It's highly possible.
BURNETT: Subsidiary of Trump Inc.
(CROSSTALK)
HOOVER: It's highly possible. They would go ahead and make the coin for the president even though they're shut down.
Should Trump be out front negotiating? Look --
AVLON: Yes.
HOOVER: At the end of the day, when you're the president and it's a shutdown on your watch, you end up taking responsibility. Normal people, not us, normal people know like two or three people in the government. And they know the president. They know Trump.
If the government doesn't work week after week after week, they blame the people they know and the government. That's why actually, this isn't looking great for Republicans. And the more Trump is out front and the more it's not happening, the more it's not going to get fixed. And he will be blamed. BURNETT: And so, do you see something worrisome in those numbers that
Kristen was just talking about?
MONDAIRE JONES (D), FORMER NEW YORK CONGRESSMAN: I'm not sure which polling she was referring to, but I think I've seen the same thing that Margaret has seen, and that shows that decisively, Republicans are being blamed by the American people over Democrats for this, and they understand that somethings not normal about what we've been experiencing since January 20th of this year, and that if Democrats are going to pick this fight to make sure that the health insurance premiums of Americans don't double or triple because of the expiration of these tax credits that Republicans are trying to force into existence, then that's a fight worth having.
And privately, what has been deeply reported anyway, is that there are at least some Republicans in Congress who view this to be a vulnerability and who would be willing to vote to extend these tax credits, except they're also not standing up to this president in the way that you would think an independent, elected, sort of free thinking person with some integrity would be willing to do.
BURNETT: So, so, John, you know, the president did -- the few things he said -- he did the OAN interview. He also posted a video of the guy he has sort of put in charge of this, Russ Vought. And in this, Russ Vought is the Grim Reaper. And Trump says, well, they're going to lay off all these people in the shutdown. I mean, that's what Russ Vought has said and he's been very clear about that.
So, the White House press secretary, Leavitt, gets asked about this today. Here's what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president likes to have a little fun every now and then. And I think both things can be true at the same time. The Democrats have given the administration this opportunity, and we don't like laying people off. Nobody takes joy in that around here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Except for he is.
AVLON: Except he is. And look, Trump is memeing not leading. But that's consistent with who he is.
His press secretary today just basically said he's more interested in being king of the trolls than he is president of all the people. And that's a fundamental problem. And that's what we're facing right now.
BURNETT: I mean, Margaret, you know that that video, the Grim Reaper, right, coming with this, as they have said, they want layoffs and Project 2025 at its core is massive downsizing of the federal workforce.
HOOVER: Right. BURNETT: Russ Vought is the architect of that. Russ Vought is the
architect of this.
HOOVER: Yeah. Look, the former conservative in me will acknowledge that the federal government could be trimmer, right? It is -- you know, it absolutely could be more efficient. It could be trimmer. And yet there's a way to do it. There's a way to do it, which is in the light of day with a -- with a broad sort of bipartisan collaboration on both sides.
I mean, this is all -- these are all words and hopes and aspirations of a former time, but this is the way we want our government to work, and we aspire to transparency and representation of the people that we do this in the light of day, not in the dark of night. With a Grim Reaper going around and just axing peoples jobs. I mean, these are livelihoods, unfortunately.
JONES: Also like to the extent anyone still cares about the rule of law in this country, and certainly not this administration, it would be illegal to fire tens of thousands of federal workers during a shutdown, like there is no statutory or constitutional provision that gives the administration the ability to do this.
Now, what the Supreme Court will allow once something like that were to get litigated under the so-called unitary executive theory, is for now beside the point. But like there are memos at the Department of Justice that have been written over time immemorial that speak to this very issue, and he has no ability to do this within the -- within the rule of law.
BURNETT: And yet they said yesterday, you know, they were hours away from thousands of firing notices coming out. We didn't get them yet, we didn't get them. And but -- I mean, I know we know it's not that they've changed their mind, but they put congress on out next week for the week.
I mean, I suppose it could happen over the weekend. It could happen Monday. But we're waiting for this kind of deluge.
AVLON: This is -- this is the game of chicken that we get used to. But that's what normalizes it. We can't normalize the idea that we're post-rule of law in America, but we can't normalize is the idea that you will, you know, they're implementing Project 2025 after the president disavowed it during the last campaign.
And of course, they're going to do it. So, take -- you know, when people tell you who they are, believe them, they're going to -- they're going to make those cuts. It's not conservative, by the way. This is -- this is --
HOOVER: Small government conservative, just not --
AVLON: This ain't that.
HOOVER: Yeah.
AVLON: So, the rule of law conservative.
BURNETT: All right. So, then we didn't get any economic data out today. We didn't get jobs numbers. We did get some other numbers on jobs.
By the way, the numbers that we've gotten in recent days from other private trackers, whether it be LinkedIn or whether it be ADP, are not good, okay? It's not good.
But we don't get the government one. And Trump hired the head of the BLS. Okay. I'm sorry, did I say hired? Did I misspeak?
HOOVER: Fired. He fired the head of the BLS because he didn't like the numbers. Okay?
So, the labor secretary today comes out and blame Democrats for the fact that we're not getting the numbers, the numbers that were supposed to come out today. Here's what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LORI CHAVEZ-DEREMER, LABOR SECRETARY: We need that government open. Let's get these reports out because the markets depend on it. The American economy depends on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: That's a -- that's a pretext. It has also been reported that the draft of this jobs report has already been given to the latest director of labor statistics. And so, if they wanted to release these data, they could, right?
BURNETT: Right.
JONES: This is a president who wants to eliminate quarterly reporting for America's publicly traded companies. And so, he doesn't care about data. In fact, he wants to obscure the fact that his tariffs have been causing the labor market to contract and prices to go higher. And companies to not invest in manufacturing, which would then in turn, create millions of good paying jobs the way that Joe Biden's administration and Democrats in Congress were able to accomplish.
So, what she is saying is pretextual. And of course, they could reopen the government if they would just agree to extend this --
BURNETT: Well, this is the thing, Margaret, that I find so bizarre about this whole conversation is that there is a certain core of shutdown, as usual, as John Fetterman would put an expletive in front of it, blank shut down as usual politics going on. And yet we're in this moment that is truly extraordinary. It is unprecedented. It is not normal.
HOOVER: Yeah.
BURNETT: It is not a normal shutdown. It's not a normal set of negotiations going on, nor will there be. HOOVER: No.
And also, Republicans own the government. Like Republicans have the House, Republicans have the presidency. They do have a majority in the Senate. Of course, they lack the 60 votes.
I sort of worry what they're going to do with the filibuster in this moment. And if it gets even closer to them trying to break norms in the Senate, but they have leverage here. They just have to act like they can govern. And all they're demonstrating in this is that they actually can't use the levers of power effectively to get their policies down the road.
BURNETT: Okay. So can I just bring Epstein into this? Okay? And the reason I'm bringing Epstein into this is that as long as the Democratic, new Democratic senator Grijalva is not -- I mean, sorry, congresswoman, is not seated, there's not a vote to move forward on -- put all the Epstein files out, right?
[19:15:07]
As Thomas Massie, a Republican, has been pushing for.
So once she's sworn in, you get that vote.
AVLON: Yeah.
BURNETT: And so -- and so, he -- to avoid swearing her in, he doesn't have to have Congress in session. I mean, at some point, that's going to happen.
AVLON: At some point, that's going to happen. But I think actually even more dangerous thing is that they're normalizing, not seating members of Congress who have been duly elected in order to keep their own power in check and avoid the kind of transparency and accountability that would otherwise come. That's where the real danger comes.
BURNETT: By the way, before we go, can I just say, seeing all of you around here tonight, especially you two? Okay, in the context of this, it's our anniversary.
AVLON: Yeah.
HOOVER: Your anniversary.
BURNETT: Our anniversary.
HOOVER: Our anniversary.
BURNETT: I mean, Mondaire, you're a part of us, too. But you weren't here at the very beginning, so I don't mean to exclude you. I'm merely saying, look at the very first --
HOOVER: Congratulations, Erin.
BURNETT: Do you know the very first show John was here?
HOOVER: I remember.
BURNETT: The very first show and all still together.
HOOVER: There he is.
BURNETT: There he is.
HOOVER: You look exactly the same.
JONES: Where are the balloons.
AVLON: How about that?
HOOVER: Congratulations.
AVLON: Seriously, congratulations.
BURNETT: And you know what? It's just nice to have things that have been around a long time.
HOOVER: At a time that's not normal --
BURNETT: Yeah.
HOOVER: -- we can all bring each other comfort in our presence.
(LAUGHTER)
AVLON: And let me just say to you and your team, you've kept the promise of OUTFRONT going, you've put forward stories that aren't just part of the news flume. You put a focus on economics and foreign policy and are focusing on what's important, not just what's urgent. So, thank you.
HOOVER: And you've been going to Ukraine. You've been doing all the hard stuff all the way along, even with three children.
BURNETT: I'm just so glad to have you guys here and you --
JONES: Arguing with Jim Cramer at the old job --
BURNETT: Well, we had him on this week in honor of it. You know?
(LAUGHTER)
BURNETT: All right. Thanks so much to all.
And next we do have new video tonight appearing to show masked federal agents in an SUV throwing a chemical agent at a Chicago man. As Apple has just pulled back an app that tracks ICE agents. The app's creator is going to be here next to answer the questions.
And breaking news, Sean "Diddy" Combs sentenced to 50 months in prison even after he begged the judge for mercy. Did his tears and claims of regret do anything to help him?
And a stark warning tonight from one of the nation's top national security prosecutors. He left a note taped to his door after he was fired, and he wrote something specific about Trump. You'll hear what it was.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tonight. a Chicago man claiming this video shows masked federal agents throwing a chemical agent out of an SUV earlier today.
Now, Andrew Denton telling CNN that people were yelling at the vehicle when someone in the front seat threw the chemical agent stinging his face. Illinois State Representative Lillian Jimenez also telling CNN they were masked individuals in the area questioning people about their citizenship status.
Well, in light of all that, it's very troubling. I want to be clear, we have not been able to independently verify whether those masked men are indeed DHS agents.
But it comes as Apple has caved to President Trump's pressure and announced it is removing an ICE tracking app from its app store due to safety risks, as they call it.
Apple's Tim Cook making the decision after Trump administration officials said it was dangerous. The acting ICE director said that the app, quote, only puts law enforcements lives at risk and Border Czar Tom Homan saying, his words, it's only a matter of time before ICE agents are ambushed.
Now, Apple's removal of ICEBlock, that's what the app was called, does come as ICE tactics are coming under increasing scrutiny. There's more video out there. People are more aware of what's happening around this country, not only in the incident witnesses described in Chicago, but also in videos that show ICE agents grabbing and shoving journalists at an immigration court in New York.
One reporter who was injured in that particular incident, you can see they're getting taken out in a stretcher. There's a 79-year-old U.S. citizen now suing ICE over this video, where he claims federal immigration agents body slammed him into the ground and detained him for hours after a raid at his car wash in California.
Now, amidst all of this, a federal judge appointed by Ronald Reagan this week said in a ruling, and I quote, ICE goes masked for a single reason to terrorize Americans into acquiescence. To us, masks are associated with cowardly desperadoes and the despised Ku Klux Klan. In all our history, we have never tolerated an armed, masked secret police.
OUTFRONT now, the creator of the ICEBlock app, Joshua Aaron.
And, Joshua, I appreciate your time. So, let's -- let's get into this. I want to be able to talk about what it did and what happened here. But first, just the very basics of where you are. Apple is removing ICEBlock from the App Store, saying that it's a safety risk. Obviously, this comes after the Trump administration had made that case to Apple.
Why do you believe that that this is wrong, that that Apple is wrong, that this is not a safety risk?
JOSHUA AARON, CREATOR OF ICEBLOCK APP: Well, ICEBlock in itself is not a safety risk. ICEBlock serves as an early warning system and was simply a crowdsourced early warning system where users could say, I publicly see ICE agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents doing something in public. They have a raid. Black SUVs pull up, whatever.
When they report that on the app, it simply notifies people within a five mile radius of that sighting so that they can avoid the area. And every time I've ever been asked about this and causing harm to law enforcement, my answer is always the same ICEBlock was always designed to inform, not obstruct. In fact, in multiple places in the app, it specifically says for informational purposes only, do not obstruct federal law enforcement.
BURNETT: Okay, so -- and all that's really important. So when the Trump administration puts out this criticism, which I just shared some of in the introduction to your segment, I'll also add the FBI director, Kash Patel, says the man who shot at a Dallas ICE field office -- he had said that wanted to strike ICE officers.
[19:25:16]
Of course, it was only migrants who were shot, but they said that he planned the attack for weeks, and he searched apps, according to Patel, that tracked the presence of ICE agents.
So, I know you're being very explicit here, Joshua, that you're saying this would be only when ICE agents show up in a Home Depot parking lot or something, and they're seen by people and people crowdsource it and post it on the app.
So, when you see something that would have happened weeks in advance, if that planning did indeed happen that way, that was at an ICE facility. But it could the app be used in any way that would allow violence of that nature?
AARON: No. That's the crazy thing about all of this rhetoric, is that the app absolutely cannot be used like that. Every sighting is auto deleted in four hours' time. That's because ICE is usually not there after four hours.
So, to say it was planned a week in advance is ludicrous, because every four hours the sightings are all deleted.
So, you know, the other thing is, when you talk about a crowdsourced app, you're talking about somebody else reporting a sighting and then you being within a five mile radius of that report in order to get that notification. Now, Erin, I don't know about you, but I don't need an app to tell me
a police officer is going to be at a police station, just like I don't need an app to tell me an ICE agent is going to be at a well-marked ICE detention center.
BURNETT: All right. Which of course, is where that that horrific incident occurred.
So, the attorney general, Pam Bondi, says the DOJ reached out directly to Apple about your app. So, when we say pressure on Apple, that they've said that, right? They called them and they talked to them about it. And just a few months ago, Bondi said something specific about both the app and you. I want to play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: He's giving a message to criminals where our federal officers are, and he cannot do that. And we are looking at it. We are looking at him and he better watch out because that's not a protected speech, that is threatening the lives of our law enforcement officers throughout this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Joshua, how worried are you now about the Trump administration targeting you?
AARON: They've been talking about me since the app came out, and they've been looking for any excuse they can to get it taken down and put pressure on Apple to do so because they want their paramilitary force, ICE, to be able to act with impunity, which we see.
I mean, the guy who was just, you know, made headlines because he body-slammed that person to the ground. And that woman, you know, and then they let him go. And that made big headlines, you know, ICE is taking action against this person, like, what, three, four days later, he's back on the job as if nothing happened.
So, there are no repercussions. They want to act in secrecy. And an app like ICEBlock does not allow that to happen.
But here's the interesting part. If you see something in public, remember our federal tax dollars are paying for all of this, right? And if you see a law enforcement officer in public, whether it's a speed trap or an ICE agent, you're just simply saying an ICEBlock or Apple Maps when you're reporting a speed trap or Waze, if you're reporting a speed trap, hey, I saw something in public that I saw with my own two eyes that you can see with your own two eyes. I'm just pointing out where it is.
BURNETT: All right. Joshua, I appreciate your time and thank you very much.
AARON: Thanks for having me. And happy anniversary.
BURNETT: OK. And next, the breaking news, judgment day. Sean "Diddy" Combs sentenced to 50 months. That's four years in prison, by the way, way less than would have been recommended. So, what's happening here? Was it a win or not? We're learning he's planning to appeal. We have new details.
And new and shocking video of a U.S. strike on what the administration claims were drug traffickers. Here's the thing. It is the fourth known strike like this in over a month. So, what's happening? And is this against the law?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:34:00]
BURNETT: Breaking news. After an emotional six-hour hearing in which Sean "Diddy" Combs begged a judge for mercy, the music mogul was sentenced to more than four years in prison and ordered to pay a half million dollar fine on two prostitution related offenses.
Now, his defense attorneys call the sentence un-American.
Elizabeth Wagmeister spent weeks in that courtroom following this from the beginning, and she's OUTFRONT.
(BERGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hip hop icon Sean "Diddy" Combs sentenced to more than four years in prison after his conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. The judge telling Combs he would serve hard time away from his family.
In a pivotal day for the 55-year-old rap mogul, he spoke in court for the first time at length, apologizing to Cassie Ventura for any physical and emotional harm he caused, adding, "I lost my self- respect. I've been humbled and broken to my core. I hate myself right now. I got stripped down to nothing."
He then begged the judge for mercy, saying, "I don't have nobody to blame but myself.
[19:35:03]
I know I'll never put my hands on another person again. I know that I've learned my lesson. I'm willing to comply with any conditions the court puts upon me."
His children also spoke on behalf of their dad, adopted son Quincy Brown, surrounded by his siblings, told the judge his father has learned a lesson and week after week, we've seen him evolve something we haven't seen in 15 years. He's completely transformed.
Daughter Jesse addressed the court as well, breaking down into tears, saying he has made many mistakes and we aren't here to excuse any of those mistakes. But, Your Honor, he is still our dad and we still need him present in our lives.
Before the hearing began, Combs's attorneys submitted a campaign style video showing his charity work, along with images of him caring for his kids after the death of his ex-girlfriend Kim Porter, which was played in court, bringing Combs to tears.
But prosecutors began the hearing by telling the court that a former employee of Diddy's, who testified in his trial under the pseudonym Mia, would no longer be speaking as originally planned, citing a, quote, bullying letter submitted by the defense. The judge also failed to buy the defenses attempt to characterize the so-called freak-offs, or drug fueled sex parties, as intimate, consensual experiences.
Prosecutors called Combs' respect for the law lip service and said this is a case with real victims who have suffered real harm at the hands of the defendant and who, because of the defendant, have questioned their own self-worth and desire to live.
And before issuing the sentence, the judge scolded Combs, saying a history of good works cannot erase the power and control you had over the women you profess to love dearly. You abused them physically, emotionally and psychologically, and you use that to get your way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WAGMEISTER (on camera): Now, Erin, Combs' defense speaking just behind me moments ago, and they said that they do plan to appeal. They said that they believe they have a strong basis for appeal because the jury did not convict combs on the most serious charges. Marc Agnifilo, who is Combs' lead defense attorney, even said they believe that the judge was playing the role of the 13th juror. So, look out for that appeal to come probably sooner than later.
BURNETT: All right. Elizabeth, thank you very much.
And now, I want to go to criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Mark O'Mara.
And, Mark, you know, when you see this 50 month sentence and his lawyers, Combs' lawyers say it's un-American. I guess just to give everyone context, federal prosecution guidelines would be six to seven years. So, this is less than that. Not as much as prosecutors wanted, but in the context of all of that, is this un-American?
MARK O'MARA, FORMER PROSECUTOR: No, it's a great soundbite. It is not un-American. A sentence that went above the statutory maximum of 20 years. That would be un-American, because it would be illegal. We throw that term around a lot. But no, this is not un-American. It's actually below guidelines, Aaron, as you just mentioned, and though the defense wanted much better in a sentence, we're usually happy when we get a guideline sentence less than a guideline sentence because the judge is supposed to be somewhere in that range, and he decided to go less than that.
BURNETT: He went less, and time served counts, which is 14 months. So, its really going to be just under three years that he's actually got to go.
Does that all of that mean anything for an appeal?
O'MARA: No, I mean, an appeal is going to come no matter what. The one issue that was, I think is going to be a main ground for appeal is this whole consideration of what we call relevant conduct. He was not convicted of certain of those crimes. He was acquitted.
However, the judge can consider relevant conduct in context. He can consider, for example, if there's prior criminal record as an aggravation, he can consider great community service and community help as mitigation. And this concept of relevant conduct is he can allow to look at the whole party for the person as a whole, sort of holistically and relevant conduct was all of those other things that was done, the abuse that they talked about, the financial abuse, the psychological abuse, those other considerations the judge brought in. And I think that is what led to the 50-month sentence. And that's going to be the basis for the appeal.
BURNETT: So, you know, you heard Elizabeth Wagmeister who, by the way, I just have to say so everyone knows her reporting is so central to this entire case, right? She is the one who obtained the video of him beating Cassie Ventura in that in that hotel lobby elevator. I mean, just incredible reporting by Elizabeth. You talk about journalism having an impact. I just want to make sure that's loud and clear.
[19:40:00]
But they -- you know, he tried to say, I've changed, right? I'm a broken man. All these things she was reporting on, Mark. And then the judge watched a video that Combs' legal team had put together at the 11th hour to try to show the court, oh, no, he's had a great impact during his life with charity work as an example. Here's part of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS, MUSIC MOGUL: Let's go, boom. Live in the present. Sometimes, you know, you're daydreaming. Sometimes, you know, Uncle Diddy got to hit you with, let's go.
Clap it up on the sideline. Let's get our energy right. Come on.
To make sure that you are pursuing your dream, that you're staying focused. Let's go. Let's keep going forward. Let's go means let's be positive. Let's -- let's take it up another notch.
Let's go spend time with our kids. Let's go. Let's give thanks to God. Let's go!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, I'm curious, Mark, just to flip this on. I mean, they're upset about the sentence, his team. So, they say it's un-American. But if you look at it from the perspective of this is less than federal guidelines in terms of a sentence. Right? In a sense, it's a lenient sentence in that way. Do you think a video like that and the words that Elizabeth was
reporting on about him crying and saying, he's a broken man, swayed the judge in the moment?
O'MARA: Well, first of all, I think most good federal judges, most good judges have their mind not made up, but have an insight as to what they're going to do. Maybe 85, 90 percent, and certainly a sentencing of segment can have some impact. We are living in a video society, so we love videos. You would not have seen that 10, 15 years ago.
So, the idea of having one is okay, but also it's a double-edged sword because it can also look like this is what this guy does for a living is produce videos when he produces music. And to try and come across to the judge with that type of a presentation might have had some negative blowback. And the other thing that I think this judge considered is, if I might, is this whole -- the idea of when do you have acceptance of responsibility?
You actually get points off for acceptance of responsibility and federal sentencing guidelines, according to when it happens, right? When it happens right away, you certainly get those points. The idea that you have accepted responsibility, but only after conviction may well have played into the judge's consideration of how sincere that change of heart actually was.
BURNETT: Yeah. Right. Right.
All right, Mark, thank you very much. Always appreciate talking to you.
And next, he was fired from the DOJ after nearly 20 years as a top national security prosecutor. And he left a note behind for his colleagues. And you will see what he wrote, what he specifically is warning about Trump and justice and American national security.
A new and shocking video of a strike on a vessel. The Trump administration says that this vessel was trafficking drugs, but there are very important questions about what Trump is doing with these strikes, because now there's been multiple strikes on these boats, and whether that is legal.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:47:32]
BURNETT: Breaking news, a top national security federal prosecutor just fired from the Justice Department left a parting note for his colleagues. Michael Ben'Ary, who spent nearly 20 years at the DOJ, left a note posted to his office door saying that he took an oath to the Constitution. And then he continued to say, that requires you to follow the facts and the law wherever they lead, free from fear or favor and unhindered by political interference. In recent months, the political leadership of the department have violated these principles, jeopardizing our national security and making American citizens less safe. And then he also went on to accuse top DOJ officials of being, quote,
more concerned with going after President Trump's political enemies than they are of protecting the country.
Now, Ben'Ary was fired after a pro-Trump activist falsely claimed that he resisted indicting former FBI Director James Comey. Just to be clear, Ben'Ary was not involved in Comey's case. But that accusation was leveled and he is gone.
OUTFRONT now, Ryan Goodman, co-editor in chief of "Just Security" and the former special counsel at the Defense Department, which is very important in the context of something else we're going to talk about here.
But first, this coming from a national security prosecutor 20 years doing this, saying that top DOJ officials are making the country less safe because of their pursuit of political principles and going after Trump's enemies.
And then you add in the context of his -- apparent firing and what caused it. And they said he didn't want to prosecute Comey. He wasn't involved in the Comey case.
What do you see happening here?
RYAN GOODMAN, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: So, unfortunately, this is a pattern. And other veterans of the justice department have been kicked out with also either no cause or maybe just because they were assigned to the January 6th case or something like that. And what Mr. Ben'Ary is saying is actually also fitting other evidence that we have when he says that this is putting Americans at risk, "Reuters" just published a report last week that said that prosecutions of drug crimes are at an all-time low in the last few decades and then, in fact, the most serious prosecutions, which are drug crimes that involve money laundering, are down by 24 percent compared to last year.
BURNETT: Wow.
GOODMAN: And they explain it as part of the chaos and the misdirection that were not focused on the real national security threats to the country.
BURNETT: Well, I will say, you know, it's a separate point than that, but I was talking to somebody who has been -- you know, works for the government, works in one of these organizations who's been going on, ICE raids because they've been taking people off their regular jobs.
This individual is very frustrated. I don't even want to say what he usually goes after, because I don't want to give away who it was, but was saying, look, I go after bad guys.
[19:50:03]
This is what I do. And now I haven't gone after bad guys in months because I'm literally going out on ICE raids. So when you talk about a drop in prosecutions of money laundering
that's happening in other -- other areas, too. But you talk about the drug prosecutions. And in that context, the Venezuela situation is front and center, right. I want to show this new video. It's pretty incredible video. We're going to show this lethal strike conducted by the U.S. military off the coast of Venezuela.
Now, Pete Hegseth claims that the target here was narco terrorists transporting drugs to the United States. And he shared the video of the strike. Trump shared the video. Right. This isn't some secret video. This is what they want everybody to see.
Four people were killed. But the thing about this is this is the fourth known strike in the past month that we know about, four. Twenty-one people in total have been killed. Maybe all of them are drug dealers. Maybe they're not. Nobody knows because nobody knows.
Trump told Congress the U.S. is in armed conflict with international drug cartels. That's not the same thing, I guess, as a country. So, what does Congress do?
I mean, what's going on here? Is this all legal?
GOODMAN: No.
BURNETT: No? Okay.
GOODMAN: And the best national security advisers, lawyers across the country are saying that, including ones that have served in Republican administrations, including even John Yoo, who served in the Office of Legal Counsel of George W. Bush after nine over 9/11 and has written some of the most expansive legal opinions for war authorities, says, no, this is not legal.
And the reasons it's not legal are, one, Congress needs to authorize war. Two, if this is, in fact, a non-international armed conflict, then the War Powers resolution kicks in. There's a 60-day clock which will expire at the beginning of November. And if the president does not get congressional authorization, then he can't -- then he has to actually withdraw the forces.
And lastly, if it were an armed conflict, then the United States government don't have a better word for this is killing civilians. These would be civilians. And even if this were an armed conflict, they're not people carrying guns or firing on U.S. forces. They're allegedly smuggling drugs.
BURNETT: That's pretty incredible, though. I mean, and that it's happening. Right. And in a sense, with everything else going on, sometimes this actually has gone under the radar. So, it's important to talk about it. And I know you think it's important, and especially in your role as formerly being at the Defense Department.
Ryan, thank you very much.
And next, we break bread figuratively with star Tony Shalhoub, who has a new series here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:00]
BURNETT: Tonight, an Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe winner, you know, from decades of unforgettable roles -- of course, I'm talking about Tony Shalhoub.
(VIDEO CLIPS PLAYING)
BURNETT: And now, in a way that I'm pretty sure you haven't seen him before. New CNN original series Tony Shalhoub is traveling the world to show how food, but specifically bread, connects people, cultures, and traditions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Narios.
TONY SHALHOUB, ACTOR: Thank you.
I have to admit, I've never had it --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't tell me you've never had Irish soda bread. Is that what you're going to tell me?
SHALHOUB: I am going to tell you that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shame on your country.
SHALHOUB: I think I might have heard about it, but, you know, is it sort of like a far off galaxy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Far, far off galaxy? It's from Ireland, you know, you hear him. Come look.
SHALHOUB: So, so you're giving me a scone, too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
SHALHOUB: So they're not. Yeah, they're not. They're like more like a muffin shape, not a traditional scone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't use the word muffin. They're not a muffin.
SHALHOUB: Okay. I never said the word muffin. We're just going to edit that out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
BURNETT: Luckily, you didn't. OUTFRONT now, Tony Shalhoub, award winning actor.
SHALHOUB: Thank you for that lovely introduction.
But did you -- have to say that you've known for decades? Couldn't you just say, like, known for years?
BURNETT: Known for years? OK, OK.
SHALHOUB: Yeah, I'm kind of -- I'm dreading that day. When you say known for centuries.
(LAUGHTER)
BURNETT: It would be an honor, though, right?
SHALHOUB: Right.
BURNETT: On a certain hand.
All right. So you have -- now the question says decades. I'm going to take it out.
SHALHOUB: I know.
BURNETT: For a long time, people have known you for many different character roles.
But when I saw you were doing this, I've been watching it because obviously, I say, I knew you as a monk, and then you're doing this series on bread. I love bread. I love eating bread, I love learning about bread. I love trying to make bread and failing miserably.
But I'm saying how you wanted to talk about bread. Why bread for you?
SHALHOUB: Well, I think really bread is for me is really about memory. You know, it\s about those, those -- those times in childhood when you -- when, you know, in my case, for example, growing up in a Lebanese American household, when the old aunties would come over to our house and bake this beautiful Syrian flatbread, you know, and the smell would permeate the house and the neighborhood actually drawing kids from all quarters.
And, you know, those, those kind of sweet, comforting memories from our youth. You know, and it's also that -- it's that -- it's that food that we all can kind of agree on. I mean, you say you love it, but who doesn't love it?
BURNETT: You know, you mentioned your family. And I know you grew up in a really big family.
SHALHOUB: Yes.
BURNETT: One of 10. One of 10. Okay.
So your father comes to the U.S. from Lebanon in the 1920s. You grew up in Wisconsin. But this -- this -- there's your -- there's your family. You talk about your aunties coming over.
SHALHOUB: Yeah.
BURNETT: Right. So family, obviously central to your life, but traditions get passed down in different ways. And for you through -- through your family. How -- how did that fit in what you found?
SHALHOUB: On the on the show? Yeah. I mean, it was -- it was key to that because, for example, we wanted to start the show in Lebanon. We couldn't go to Lebanon.
BURNETT: Yeah, with everything going on. Yeah.
SHALHOUB: Obvious reasons. So, but we did discover that there is an enormous Lebanese population in Brazil, in Sao Paulo. So, we went there and it was -- it was just I had never been to Brazil. I had always kind of been curious about it, but never had the opportunity to go.
I was able to kind of see what the like the Lebanese restaurateurs and bakers were doing there that connected to the stuff that I grew up eating.
BURNETT: And now, and I know you do want to go back to Lebanon when you --
SHALHOUB: I want to go back to Lebanon. I've been there once, but I want to go back to Brazil, too.
BURNETT: Yeah.
All right. Well, Tony, it's a pleasure.
SHALHOUB: Thank you.
BURNETT: Thank you. I can't wait to see it. I'm sure everyone is -- you know, people need something sometimes to just -- to learn and to feel -- feel good. So thank you.
SHALHOUB: I hope this does it.
BURNETT: I hope so too. I'm sure it will.
And don't miss the premiere of "TONY SHALHOUB BREAKING BREAD" on Sunday at 9:00.
Thanks so much for joining us.
"AC360" begins now.
