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Erin Burnett Outfront

DOJ Charges John Bolton, Third Trump Enemy To Be Indicted In 21 Days; Trump Says He Will Meet With Putin "Within Two Weeks Or So"; Trump Aide: Democrat Party's Main Constituency Made Up Of "Hamas Terrorists, Illegal Aliens And Violent Criminals". Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 16, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:25]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

The breaking news, Trump's former national security adviser indicted days after the indictments of Trump enemies James Comey and Letitia James. Could Trump's own words about John Bolton, though, hurt his DOJ's case?

Also breaking, Putin gets Trump on the phone for a long time today, and now they're set to meet again.

The special CNN investigation this hour, though, will track the questionable routes of Russian-linked ships at the time of alarming drone sightings.

And Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens and violent criminals, according to the White House, that is what makes up the Democratic base in America.

Democratic Senator Mark Kelly responds.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, indicted. In less than 24 hours, Trump's former national security advisor is expected to turn himself in after being indicted by a federal grand jury in Maryland. The charges are mishandling classified information.

Now, if convicted, this is serious. Bolton, by the way, is 76 years old. He's one of Trump's biggest critics, but he could face up to ten years in prison for each of the 18 counts in the indictment. And earlier, Trump told our Kristen Holmes that ahead of the actual drop of the indictment, he had no idea it was coming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John Bolton was just indicted by a grand jury in Maryland. Do you have a reaction to that? DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I didn't know that. You

told me for the first time, but I think he's, you know, a bad person. I think he's a bad guy. Yeah, he's a bad guy. It's too bad. But --

HOLMES: Have you reviewed the case against him?

TRUMP: -- that's the way it goes, right? That's the way it goes. Will I. what?

HOLMES: Have you reviewed the case against him?

TRUMP: No, I haven't. I haven't, but I just think he's a bad person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Okay. It's a 26-page indictment, right? This is not what we got in Comey, two pages. This is -- this is serious. Prosecutors allege, and I quote from on or about April 19th, 2018 through at least on or about August 22nd, 2025, Bolton abused his position as national security adviser by sharing more than a thousand pages of information about his day to day activities as the national security advisor, including information related to the national defense, which was classified up to the top secret SCI level with two unauthorized individuals, namely individuals one and two.

Now, those individuals which are referenced throughout this because document after document after document was shared with them are believed to be Bolton's wife and daughter. And according to the Justice Department, and this -- this is -- this part is important. They say that Iran obtained top secret information from Bolton's emails. They say a cyber actor believed to be associated with the Islamic Republic of Iran, hacked Bolton's personal email account and gained unauthorized access to the classified national defense information.

And then the damning part -- well, if that already wasn't this really is. They say a representative for Bolton notified the U.S. government of the hack, but did not tell the U.S. government that the account contained national defense information, including classified information.

Okay, to put it mildly, that is a serious charge. And when Bolton was asked about why he created a group chat with his wife and daughter, apparently to share this information, he responded, quote, "for diary in the future."

Now, whatever he was referring to, he did go on to write a book, "The Room Where It Happened," right? He published that book after his time in the White House and Bolton tonight is responding to this indictment in a statement saying, "I have become the latest target in the weaponizing of the justice department to charge those Trump deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts.

Now, regardless of how serious these charges are and how legitimate this case may be, it is obviously impossible to take it out of the context in which it sits, which is that it comes on the heels of the indictments of both James Comey and Letitia James, two cases that are highly political, and that career prosecutors refused to even sign on to, according to legal analysts there on extremely shaky legal ground.

But because Trump has politicized his Department of Justice to such an incredible degree, even telling his attorney general who to go after in an online post, it can be tough to tell what cases are actually legitimate and what cases are simply political payback.

Evan Perez is OUTFRONT live in Washington.

And, Evan, this Bolton indictment, obviously, as I say, 26 pages there are incredibly serious allegations in here.

[19:05:01]

What more are you learning about this indictment and why now?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Erin, I think what you just described crystallizes one of the concerns you hear from officials at the Justice Department and the FBI about this case in particular, because this is a serious case, as you pointed out. This is something that career prosecutors and investigators have been firmly behind. Unlike those other cases that you pointed out.

And as you noted, it began in 2021 when the hack by Iran targeting Bolton and a number of other former Trump officials, by the way, and according to our sources, one of the things that these hackers were doing, they went to Bolton's email, and they threatened him. They said that they were going to release sensitive information, and they even taunted him, saying that it was going to be a scandal worse than Hillary Clinton, and taunted him by saying, good luck, Mr. Mustache.

So that's the context under which this investigation began in 2021, and it has been a part of a serious thing that has been happening under the Biden administration and continued early in this administration.

Now, some of the documents that are described in this indictment, as you pointed out, there's one that reveals that, according to the prosecutors, reveals intelligence on an -- on an adversaries leaders and another one that says it reveals covert action planned by the U.S. government. Those are the types of things that should not be on an AOL account or your -- or your Google email account.

And that's what prosecutors make very clear in this indictment. But again, going back to what you began with just now, one of the concerns that we do hear from people we talk to, from our sources is that because this investigation has been painstaking and has taken all these years to get to this point, there is this concern, however, that because the president has continued to taunt Bolton and has continued to talk about this, that it will be seen in the same light as those other cases -- Erin.

BURNETT: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's the crucial question. Bolton already saying, you know, implying that -- well, because it wasn't charged under Biden, that means the only reason it's being charged is because its political, which, of course, is the argument that you would expect him to make in the context of the --

PEREZ: -And they will make that. They will make exactly that argument in court.

BURNETT: All right, Evan, thank you very much. As you get more, of course, Evan will be back with us.

But I want to go now to Ty Cobb, former Trump White House attorney.

So, Ty, you know, just -- just of what I was saying, what Evan was explaining and laying out there, you say that Bolton's indictment is like Comey's and James's because it's about revenge. But then you say that's where the similarities end.

So why is this indictment different?

TY COBB, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ATTORNEY: No, that's exactly right. That's exactly my view, which is yes, this case would not have been brought but for Trump's revenge, because we know the Biden Justice Department declined to bring this case quite likely to avoid burning the means and methods through which they extracted the Iranian intelligence, which is a valid governmental concern. And I'm sure Iran wants that, this leaked in August after the search warrant you know, has changed its -- changed its method and probably made it more difficult for us to obtain those materials.

But having said that, what we have now is, you know, Bolton insisting that this is, you know, purely revenge. That's clearly not the case if you read the indictment. Keep in mind that in the Comey case, seasoned senior prosecutors who were later forced to resign told the Justice Department that there was insufficient evidence to pursue the case. In the James' case, senior prosecutors in the in the Eastern District advised that -- not -- they didn't even go to insufficient evidence. They said there's no case.

That's clearly not what we have here when -- when you look at this indictment and keep in mind, Judge Lamberth, five years ago in the dispute over the book, pointed out that Bolton's unilateral conduct had raised serious national concern -- national security concerns that he had gambled with national security. He probably harmed his country, and he certainly exposed himself to potential criminal liability.

So, this shouldn't come as a news flash that you know, there's a potential crime here. Two federal judges, magistrate judges issued search warrants where the probable cause standard that was used by the grand jury today was met. And they issued -- issued search warrants. And the materials that were taken are consequential and highly consequential because the most important paragraph in the indictment to me is the paragraph that makes plain not a single one of the documents used in the book or in the pre-review process is a basis for any of the charges.

All these charges are based on newly found evidence. So, I think that -- I think that echoes the seriousness of this and, and it certainly undermines, undermines the political arguments that Bolton would like to make.

BURNETT: All right. And Bolton, of course, though, in his statement tonight is making exactly that argument, right? He's saying -- making it about his book. Right. As you point out, the charges in here are about things that weren't in the book, but he's saying it's about his book. His book was approved. And by appropriate, experienced career officials says the FBI was made aware of the hack, right? Doesn't address the fact that he didn't talk about the Iran part. And says though the core part in four years of the prior administration, after these reviews, no charges were ever made. Then came Trump two, who embodies what Joseph Stalin's head of secret police once said, you show me the man and I'll show you the crime.

So he's making that defense. And look, even today when Trump said he didn't know about it, whether he did or didn't, who knows, Ty? But he said he didn't. But then he goes on to say, I think he's a bad guy. I think he's a bad person. I think he's a bad person. He says it again and again and again.

Does that become something that can save Bolton?

COBB: Doesn't really save him. You know, Trump knows it's wrong. He's been counseled about this, the judges in the civil cases and criminal cases over the years, when he was out of office, made it plain that he wasn't supposed to do that. His lawyers undoubtedly told him. Todd Blanche is probably told him that several times.

But it's not going to derail the prosecution. It may result in a protective order of sorts, or it may result in a limiting instruction to the jury. But it won't save him. And this judge, this judge is -- you know, very seasoned judge. He's been on the bench for over a decade.

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: -- Theodore Chang, right? You know him?

COBB: Yeah. So, yeah, I'm very familiar with, you know, that district, that's the district in which I was prosecutor and very familiar with the judges in that district. He's very highly regarded.

He also will know more about the law on this and the classification issues than the other -- than most of the other lawyers in the courtroom because he held very senior positions at the Department of Homeland Security in their legal apparatus, you know, for over, over five years. He's very experienced and highly knowledgeable former prosecutor.

I'm sure the president will take no comfort in the fact that he worked in at Wilmer Cutler, Bob Mueller's old firm or that he's on the Harvard Board of Overseers. You know, it may get -- that may give him a little bit of adjective.

But this is a very serious, nonpartisan judge who will -- who will do an excellent job of managing what will be a challenging case.

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

And Ryan Goodman and Xochitl Hinojosa are with me now.

So, Ryan, you know, I know -- I know much of what ty says echoes some of your thoughts. I know you believe. I mean, Bolton might even have to plead guilty.

RYAN GOODMAN, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: Yes. So, I once did a study on all Espionage Act cases that have been brought.

BURNETT: Yeah.

GOODMAN: I'd say first, many people have been charged and prosecuted successfully for far less than what has been alleged against Mr. Bolton and second very senior people, including the former director of central intelligence, John Deutch, was charged for having just a computer at his home and he put all the classified materials on the computer. That was it.

In Bolton's case, he's got very serious problems because he disseminated the information to two people that should never have received it his family members. And then it got into Iranian hands.

BURNETT: On private emails, and then Iran got it.

GOODMAN: And then Iran got it. And that is booster rockets on a case against him.

BURNETT: Yeah.

GOODMAN: When senior people have been charged with the Espionage Act and they have pled guilty, they've gotten light sentences. If they don't plead guilty, that might not be the case. I think that might be the route that he ends up having to choose at the end of the day.

BURNETT: Right, although, of course, he's making the argument about Joseph Stalin. Right? You know, give me the man. I'll give you the crime.

Xochitl, to the point, though, on page six, paragraph 14, this is the part when I read it sort of stopped me in my tracks. When they allege a cyber actor believed to be associated with Iran hacked Bolton's personal email account and gained unauthorized access to the classified information, a representative for Bolton notified the U.S. government of the hack, but did not tell the U.S. government that the account contained national defense information, including classified information.

That's where your jaw drops, Xochitl, isn't it?

XOCHITL HINOJOSA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That's exactly where your jaw drops. And whenever I had a clearance and whenever you go through the training to have a security clearance, you are always told about the handling of classified information and exactly how you must handle it and how you cannot take it home -- take it home. And I'll point out you were reading his statement earlier today. They

talk about how these are handwritten notes. Handwritten notes doesn't necessarily mean it's no longer classified. It just means that the classified information is somewhere else. Just like whether it's on a Signal chat or whether it's in your notes. It needs to stay in a SCIF.

And so, this is the worst-case scenario for the intelligence community. The intelligence community often fears of leaks. They often fear of spills. There are spills with a number of various former government officials where it was a mistake, et cetera.

They had classified information.

[19:15:00]

They did it -- they didn't know that they had it, et cetera. But this is something a little bit different. This is -- what got into the hands of the wrong people. And he knew that he had the classified information and he knew that there was a leak and he did not notify the federal government.

And so, it is -- these are very serious allegations. And, I mean, I think that the indictment just says that.

BURNETT: So, Ryan. Okay, here's the thing, though. Then I look at the back of the indictment, first thing I did, actually, first thing I did was not even read the indictment because this is the world we're in. The first thing I did was go and see who were the people who signed up -- signed it, which, by the way, ordinarily is not something that I would go look at first, but now I do. Who's going to be the prosecutor?

And these are career people that have a lot of experience. Okay? So this is not Lindsey Halligan.

GOODMAN: Right.

BURNETT: As we saw in the other two cases, but the other two cases exist. And Lindsey Halligan is doing them in the first case he's ever prosecuted. When Bolton makes the point about Stalin and Trump comes out today and just talks about what a bad guy Bolton is and how great this is, what does that do to justice.

GOODMAN: So I think to justice as a whole, it impugns the credibility of the Justice Department. And I've got to imagine the people who are the signatures on that indictment don't like what's happening elsewhere, because it really undermines their ability to bring cases forthrightly that are strong cases.

And I do disagree with Ty on one issue, which is I do think Bolton now has actually something a -- in his quiver, which is he can say, oh, I'm just like these other cases because Mr. Trump has been retaliating against me rhetorically for years --

BURNETT: Which is true. Which he has been, right?

GOODMAN: Yeah.

BURNETT: He said he's a bad guy and a terrible guy. I mean, look, the three times in one comment today.

GOODMAN : Absolutely. But with Letitia James and James Comey, they can also say in the case against me is really bogus and weak and would never be brought. Mr. Bolton does not have that.

So if President Trump had instead been silent all this time, Bolton wouldn't even have that possibility of a defense.

BURNETT: Yeah.

Xochitl, can you address one thing, though? Because I know you know a lot of people in justice and you spend a lot of time there. The case that Boltons trying to make, which is that this is political because Biden was looking into it and they didn't bring charges then, and that proves that this is all political.

How do you see that?

HINOJOSA: It is not political. And there is public reporting. And I'll point you to the public reporting that says that it was investigated under the Biden administration.

What I will say is, as investigators gain more evidence than they -- charges, they decide whether or not to charge. I think what is clear and in other classified docs cases is a search that the FBI does. And if they recover classified information and get -- gain even more evidence to ensure that they can prosecute the case and secure a conviction, that is key to bringing these charges.

And so, just because it was investigated potentially over administrations, and now charges are being brought in a different administration doesn't necessarily mean that the Biden administration declined to prosecute it. It's just when you get all of the evidence, evidence, that's when you decide to move forward.

What I will say, though, what is very telling, as were talking about politicization at the Justice Department, is not only the cases that Trump is bringing and who they're signed by, as you mentioned, but it's also the cases that Trump is not bringing.

And I think one -- two clear cases that he is not bringing. One is in the -- in the Mar-a-Lago case, it wasn't just the charges against Trump that were dropped. It was the charges against Walt Nauta and other people, right?

And that is a classified docs case. That is the bread and butter of the justice department. They prosecute those cases.

The second case that they're not bringing any charges anything on is the Signalgate matter. They didn't investigate it. They there was mishandling of classified information. And they're not investigating that.

So I think we have to look at what cases are brought and what cases are not brought.

BURNETT: Right, right. Signalgate, of course, when Pete Hegseth told a bunch of people some of whom didn't have clearances that ahead of time about the U.S. strikes in Yemen.

All right. Thank you both very much. I appreciate it.

And next, the breaking news. Trump says he's set to meet with Putin as Russia suggests Trump may already be giving into Putin's demands.

Plus, this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The Democrat Party's main constituency are made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens and violent criminals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: The Democratic Senator Mark Kelly responds.

And a prominent up and comer in the Democratic Party tonight on major defense after our KFILE dug up old social media posts that he actually deleted, posts where he called himself a communist and agreed with a post calling police bastards.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:23:59]

BURNETT: Breaking news, President Trump announcing he will meet face to face with Putin within a matter of days, insisting that this will be different than their last red carpet meeting in Alaska.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I would say within two weeks or so, pretty quick. Marco Rubio is going to be meeting with his counterpart. As you know, Lavrov, and they'll be meeting pretty soon. They're going to set up a time and a place very shortly. Maybe it's already set up.

Alaska actually set a stage. And, that wasn't very long ago, but it set a stage. You have to understand, I came into this situation. I didn't start this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Trump's announcement coming after he spoke to Putin on the phone for a really long time, 2-1/2 hours, and the Kremlin says that Putin asked for the call. Trump took the call 2-1/2 hours on the phone, and Trump made the unusual move during the call of posting on social media that he was speaking to Putin.

While he's talking to him in the middle of the call, he posts and I quote, I'm speaking to President Putin now. [19:25:01]

The conversation is ongoing. A lengthy one, and I will report the contents, as will President Putin at its conclusion.

All this happening as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just landed in Washington for his meeting with Trump tomorrow at the White House, a meeting where Zelenskyy is expected to push Trump for American Tomahawks long range missiles, which could give Ukraine the ability to strike Moscow with missiles, not just drones.

OUTFRONT now, Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a member of the Armed Services Committee, also a retired Navy pilot who flew more than three dozen missions during Operation Desert Storm.

Senator, I appreciate your time. All of this coming up rather quickly today.

Who at this point in the context of where we are, has the upper hand in a second Trump Putin meeting, which frankly, nobody anticipated was going to happen, never mind soon?

SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): Well, I think the president made it clear things happen every -- in two weeks. We hear that a lot from them. This is going to be in two weeks.

It's obvious to me that Putin is stringing along Donald Trump. There's going to be another meeting. There's no promise of anything.

Putin continues to attack women, children, old people. He's attacking hospitals. He's killing civilians intentionally.

Zelensky, by the way, the Ukrainian military, they do not do that to Russia. This is a two-sided war with different standards and morality involved. Ukraine's defending itself.

I think the president needs to sanction Russia significantly and put some real conditions before getting any kind of a meeting. That's what any other president would do. I mean, he's going to roll right in there like he did in Alaska and get nothing for it.

BURNETT: Of course, you know, the reality of it is, too, when it comes to Russia, Senator, as we all know, it's a war economy, right? You take the war away and the whole thing crumbles. It's not just an easy thing of deciding when it's time to sign on a dotted line.

And what territory you get, and the Kremlin said that Trump told Putin that he would, quote/unquote, take into account Moscow's concerns. Right? What their concerns are and also their concerns about those Tomahawk missiles that could hit Moscow, that Zelenskyy has repeatedly asked for. Putin says that giving those to Ukraine would cause significant damage to Moscow-Washington relations.

So where do you think this stands? I mean, you know, I remember back, of course, when it was the bombers that were the big issue back and forth. Right. But it has been the tomahawks now for quite some time. KELLY: Well, I met with Zelenskyy a couple of weeks ago. We spoke

about this. This was the same day he had the meeting with Donald Trump, where Trump said that he would consider giving him Tomahawk missiles.

I'm supportive of giving Ukraine more combat power. If we could figure out how to have a land version -- launched version of the tomahawk. Currently, we use Tomahawks on ships and submarines. But if we could figure out that piece of this, it's going to take a little design work and some manufacturing. I would be supportive of that.

The Tomahawk goes up to about 1,500 or 1,600 miles. It's got a larger warhead.

BURNETT: Yeah.

KELLY: It could be a significant increase in their capability. But we've got to make a decision on it. It's ridiculous to just continue to discuss it.

BURNETT: Right. And of course, as you point out, it's not just something, again, that you can just flip the switch on.

Senator, I have to ask you about something, and I know you weren't here plugged in a couple of moments ago, but I played a sound bite. I'm going to play it again from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, today. And, it was a pretty significant thing to say.

She was on Fox and she was responding to Zohran Mamdani, who obviously is the Democratic candidate for mayor of the biggest city in America. He refused to call on Hamas to disarm in a recent interview.

So, in the context of that, she's talking about the Democratic Party. And I wanted to play for you, Senator Kelly, what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEAVITT: This interview proved that the Democrat Party's main constituency are made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens and violent criminals. That is who the Democrat Party is catering to. They don't stand for anything except for catering to their far left base.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: What do you say the fact that the press secretary for the president of the United States said that the Democratic Party's main constituency are made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens and violent criminals?

KELLY: Erin, she works for a convicted felon. I'm the son of two police officers. We're here in the Capitol right now fighting for the health care of the American people, fighting to make them safer.

I mean, Donald Trump is the guy who released 1,600 convicted people from prison who attacked this building on January 6th. She apparently -- it's a ridiculous statement.

I mean, what matters right now, we've got the government shutdown. We could get it open back up very quickly if the Republicans, especially Mike Johnson and Republicans in the House, would come and meet with us and talk about this issue of the cost of people's health care.

It's going to be unaffordable for people. And when people lose their health care, people die, or they go bankrupt. That's the discussion we should be having, not about -- I mean, ridiculous statements that that Karoline Leavitt makes.

BURNETT: All right. Senator Kelly, I appreciate your time. And thank you so much, sir.

KELLY: Thank you. Erin.

BURNETT: Next, a special CNN investigation here on OUTFRONT. And it is into the mysterious drone sightings across Europe. Leaders pointing the finger at Putin. So, we went and did it tracked the movements of Russian-linked ships. Wait until you see what we found. That exclusive investigation is next.

Plus, our KFILE uncovering controversial posts from a rising star in the Democratic Party. Posts he deleted. But of course, KFILE found them. And in them he says rural white Americans are actually racist and stupid.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news is CNN exclusive investigation of mysterious drone flights over several NATO countries, including over key military sites. Russian president Vladimir Putin mocking accusations that Russia is behind the drones. But CNN's extensive examination of shipping routes show Russia's role is still possible.

Katie Polglase is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (voice-over): From Norway to Romania, lately drones have been spotted over key civilian and military sites in Europe. Many suspect Russia is behind it.

BORIS PISTORIUS, GERMAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): The suspicion is obvious. This is part of Vladimir Putin's strategy.

POLGLASE (voice-over): But suspecting Russia is a lot easier than proving it. CNN has now looked into these drone incidents, examining shipping routes, flight data and speaking to Western intelligence sources, and found that while in some cases hard evidence was left on the ground, found here in Poland. In other cases, like Denmark, it left only mystery and confusion.

POLGLASE: For these murkier cases, intelligence sources do keep mentioning one theory, that Russia's shadow fleet, this secretive grouping of boats sailing around Europe, evading Western sanctions, could be involved, although there is no proof.

POLGLASE (voice-over): Let's look at the incident over Copenhagen Airport, Denmark, on September 22nd. Police said they were investigating the presence of ships in the area from which the drones may have launched or landed. Indeed, two Russian-linked ships under Western sanctions were in the area at the time and have been caught up in the mystery.

This one, 60 miles away from the airport, sanctioned by the U.S., has a highly erratic route leading up to the incident and then afterwards sails on to St. Petersburg, Russia. Then this ship sails all around the coast of Denmark, passing several other airports and military installations where drones were sighted.

A French defense source said that this route could be viewed as suspicious, but it's difficult to draw definitive conclusions at this stage.

It was then detained by French authorities on maritime offences, suspected of being part of Russia's Shadow Fleet. They found no evidence of drone operations, a French defense source said, but added even if the vessel had been used as a launch platform, it's plausible nothing would be detectable.

CNN was unable to reach the management company of either ship for comment for this. Western authorities are clearly closely monitoring Russia's fleet. Air traffic data shows American and British military aircraft circling close to Kaliningrad, a key Russian military hub and port, in the days after Denmark's drone sightings. But so far, authorities are staying tight-lipped about their findings.

The Kremlin has said the allegation that they launched drones over Denmark is unfounded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin even joking about the claims in an interview in the weeks after.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Vladimir Vladimirovich, why are you sending so many drones to Denmark?

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I won't anymore. I won't anymore. Not to France, not to Denmark, not to Copenhagen. Where else are they flying to?

POLGLASE (voice-over): We spoke to a former member of Danish intelligence, who said authorities have good reason to scrutinize these ships.

POLGLASE: Do you think the Danish authorities would be looking into these ships?

JACOB KAARSBO, FORMER CHIEF ANALYST, DANISH DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE: Well, I suspect they are investigating and tracking and see what they can dig out, because all these ships have displayed some suspect maneuvers and tendencies. So, I think it would be -- it would be odd if they didn't try to pursue and investigate these ships and see.

POLGLASE (voice-over): Russia has been increasingly suspected of launching drones over Europe since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Many flew over places of strategic significance. In September and October 2022, drones flew over Norwegian energy installations here. In August and December 2024, drones were sighted over German military sites.

It's still unclear who sent the drones. But what is clear is that Europe urgently needs better equipment to track them, with Denmark now installing this drone radar equipment at Copenhagen airport.

Katie Polglase, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: And OUTFRONT now, former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who served in the U.S. Air Force in the Air National Guard.

And, Congressman, you know, you see Katie's reporting. She's putting it all on the map, showing it, thinking about the incredible disruption that this has all caused in Europe. Airports shut down multiple times because of these drones.

[19:40:01]

So, what do you think is happening here? Obviously, the maps are pretty clear.

ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, this is gray zone warfare. So, what Russia does and they did this. If you can think back to when they sent little green men into Crimea and claimed it wasn't them.

They always will push a certain level with plausible deniability. And they'll push as far as they can go. So, this is a very disruptive thing. Obviously, they can potentially get intelligence from it.

But keep in mind, the shadow fleet as well, which is actually pretty large. And finally, it seems like the West is starting to crack down on it, which are these kind of illegally flagged ships basically, that are in many cases carrying Russian oil. That's been -- that's been sanctioned.

There have also been accusations of dragging anchors and cutting, basically big Internet lines below the sea. So what they're doing is creating a lot of damage, a lot of disruption. And basically it's like showing, hey, we can do this. We can get away with this.

And the West has got to be better at tracking this, stopping this and holding Russia accountable to this.

BURNETT: All right. So because here's the thing, congressman, in the context of all of this, there was something I saw the other day that I am so grateful to have you on, to have a chance to play it, because it really made me stop. So, the NATO secretary general so the secretary general of NATO is who

I'm about to play, Mark Rutte, was talking about, China invading Taiwan, and he said that if that happens, Putin could actually spread this war throughout Europe. It was a pretty stunning thing for the secretary general of NATO to just come out and say.

So let me play it for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: It is my absolute conviction that it will not be a one front war. They will probably first call their junior partner, the famous paper tiger in Moscow, and ask him to attack somewhere in NATO territory here in Europe. So, we have to be prepared for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: I found it pretty incredible that not only is he thinking that and planning that, but he wanted to say such a thing publicly, right? That if China goes into Taiwan, it could ask Putin to go ahead and invade and attack NATO in Europe.

KINZINGER: Yeah. And I mean, this is the key. This is why it's so important that Europe steps up, that Europe increases their defense capacity. They're doing it just not fast enough.

So, you have this unholy alliance now between -- I mean, Russia is almost becoming a client state of China. They so rely on China. So, you have Iran, China, Russia, North Korea.

And so, if you think about it, if China makes the decision, which they very well could at any time to go after Taiwan, the U.S. has a decision to make at that point. Do we defend Taiwan or not?

Well, also, now if you've created a problem, let's say Russia decides to march into Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, a smaller country, and then NATO has a choice to make. Do we defend it? Could these United States come in or do we let this go, because there's other things happening? In which case, if you let it go, that kills NATO.

BURNETT: Well, it does. And of course you know, whatever, Neville Chamberlain, whatever you want to talk about, it changes. It changes the world.

All right. Congressman, thank you very much.

KINZINGER: You bet.

BURNETT: And next, a man who has quickly made a name for himself in the Democratic Party facing questions now about some online posts he made and subsequently deleted. Our KFILE found them and spoke to him.

So, what is his response? You're going to want to hear this.

And Trump once was so quick to sing John Bolton's praises. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: John is somebody that I actually got along with very well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, what happened?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:48]

BURNETT: Breaking news, a CNN exclusive. A rising star in the Democratic Party facing backlash after KFILE uncovered deleted social media posts agreeing that all police are and that all rural Americans quote, actually are racist and stupid.

Now, the post came from someone called Graham Platner. You see him there. He is the Democratic Senate candidate in Maine. He's got a blunt, anti-establishment style that has made him a grassroots favorite and someone really important to watch.

So, Andrew Kaczynski is OUTFRONT with more tonight on his exclusive reporting.

So, Andrew, you know what this -- is so fascinating about this is everything that you found out --

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: Yeah.

BURNETT: -- and what he -- the fact that he is responding to you, he is responding to this in detail. So, what did you find out? What's he saying?

KACZYNSKI: Well, what's really interesting, Erin, about these posts that we found is it shows most of them took place in the last few years. And it really shows this authenticity that has driven his campaign and made him so popular. But it also shows some of these left-wing positions that could really prove costly in a state that is known for electing moderates.

I want to walk people through some of those comments, and I want to play a little bit of our conversation with Platner. He spoke to us for about 30 minutes. We had a very thoughtful conversation about what he believes, what he disavows, and what he maybe wishes that he had said a little bit differently. There was one thread in particular about a black army lieutenant who was held at gunpoint and pepper sprayed during a traffic stop. Platner replied to a user who said, cops are bastards by saying, quote, all of them, in fact. And then another post he said, F these cops.

Now another comment that took aim at white people in a 2020 thread titled white people aren't as racist and stupid as Trump thinks, to which Platner replied, quote, living in white rural America, I'm afraid to tell you they actually are. Now, he told CNN he didn't remember that specific exchange. He said it

reflected anger and frustration he felt at the time. After he returned home from four tours of duty. He also said to us, look, I'm a marine veteran. I don't think cops are because these are literally my buddies. And he said these posts were not indicative of who he is today.

Listen to a little bit of our conversation.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GRAHAM PLATNER (D), U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE FOR MAINE: I don't want people to see me for who I was at my worst Internet comment.

[19:50:00]

KACZYNSKI: Yeah.

PLATNER: Or even frankly, who I was in my best Internet comment. I mean, quite honestly, I don't think that -- I don't think any of that is indicative of who I am today, really.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BURNETT: And I just want to emphasize again, he did take a half an hour to talk to you and to go on tape.

KACZYNSKI: And a lot of -- a lot of people would not.

BURNETT: Look, this is the KFILE.

KACZYNSKI: Yeah.

BURNETT: A lot of people will say absolutely nothing to you and deny it. So this is.

KACZYNSKI: And he also -- he also was like look, like he's like, I'm not going to say it and say it. He's like, I believe some stupid things. And you know, like he owned up to it. But he also as I was talking about, he explained sort of how this made him who he is today.

BURNETT: Right. And he was very reflective about himself. You were saying in a way sometimes in the past that's controversial.

KACZYNSKI: Yeah. That's right. Now, in one post from 2021, he wrote, quote, I got older and became a communist. In another, he called himself a vegetable growing, psychedelics taking socialist, writing that after his four tours overseas, he stopped believing in what he called the patriotic nonsense that got me there in the first place. And he finished that post by saying he was a, quote, firm believer that the best thing a person can do is help their neighbors and live a loving life. Still got the guns though. I don't trust the fascist to act politely.

We asked Platner about those comments. I want people to listen to a little bit of that. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

PLATNER: That was very much me (EXPLETIVE DELETED) around the Internet. I'm not a communist. I'm not a socialist. I own a small business.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BURNETT: So again, going into the details and now, you know, in the context of Mamdani and socialists and Trump calling him a communist and all these words actually, you know, they are front and center.

So, a major aspect about Platner. And I know what you've talked about, perhaps what's been resonating because he is getting so much attention, multiple tours of duty both in Iraq and Afghanistan. And you found posts where he talked about these experiences specifically and how they changed his view of America.

KACZYNSKI: Yeah, yeah, it's very interesting. And that's right. Not all of these posts were angry or combative. Some of them were very, very reflective about his time in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What he saw overseas, how that shaped his politics. Theres one post where he wrote, my time in America's imperial wars definitely radicalized me further. I'm significantly more left today than I was back then.

It's difficult to see all that horror as well as the grift, corruption, and not find the whole thing totally bankrupt. He also added that he became clear that those wars were a waste or waste to him from his service. This is what he told us about those posts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PLATNER: The only thing I don't stand by anymore with that is that I no longer am like, disgusted, like I'm angry.

KACZYNSKI: Yeah.

PLATNER: I'm -- I still remain -- I still remain very, very skeptical and angry about American foreign policy. I'm very angry still about the wars I had to fight in and what I had to take part in. I don't believe in them. I don't believe that they were -- they were necessary. I don't believe that they were good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: By the way, something people may agree with him on the left and on the right, right? A lot of that could sound like what Trump says.

You did find a post that Platner did not express regret about.

KACZYNSKI: That's right. Theres one post in particular that he did not say he regretted. He took aim at Ted Nugent, the musician who is also very sometimes inflammatory conservative activist. BURNETT: Yeah.

KACZYNSKI: And this is what he wrote. He wrote, quote, as a combat veteran, that motherf-er makes me want to puke when he spews his warmongering macho bullshit. Suck a blank, Ted, listen to what he told us about that comment.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

PLATNER: To be fair, I -- I'm not really regretful of that one.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: So, Erin, it was a very interesting conversation and it's going to be interesting to see how the race plays out. Janet Mills, the sitting governor of the state, just got in. So, it's going to be very contested primary and we'll see where it goes.

BURNETT: Yeah. Obviously going to be a crucial one.

All right. Thank you very much.

And next Trump wants consider John Bolton a trusted advisor. So how did they become enemies?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURENTT: Tonight, from friends to sworn enemies. How did Bolton become one of Trump's top targets?

Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: John is somebody that I actually got along with very well.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In his first term, President Donald Trump and John Bolton were buddies close enough for Bolton to defer to Trump's power.

JOHN BOLTON, FORMER TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: He'll make the decision. It's his call.

FOREMAN (voice-over): To defend him against some accusations of improper conduct.

BOLTON: I mean, really, the conspiracies are about as obscure as you can imagine. And just subjects of people's imagination.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And for Trump to listen when Bolton spoke.

TRUMP: I like John, I get very good advice from John.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And why not? Bolton had worked for every Republican president since Ronald Reagan. He had cheered the new commander in chief for building up the military and would become Trump's national security advisor.

But soon, the two were clashing over foreign relations, intelligence assessments and the chaos of Trump's orbit, which Bolton compared to the inside of a pinball machine.

Trump dumped him. Bolton wrote a blistering book describing Trump as stunningly uninformed, obsessed with his image and bumbling through relations with North Korea, China, Russia and more.

BOLTON: He doesn't operate the basis of grand strategy or even policy. He operates on the basis of what's good for Donald Trump.

FOREMAN (voice-over): He even spoke to the various serious accusations of Trump trying to meddle in federal investigations.

BOLTON: I don't think I know enough about all the circumstances, but I'll tell you, it did feel like obstruction of justice to me.

FOREMAN (voice-over): With the 2020 election looming, Trump attacked, suggesting Bolton, through his book, had raised a security risk.

TRUMP: He released massive amounts of classified and confidential but classified information. That's illegal. And you go to jail for that.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Trump's Justice Department launched an investigation, and after Trump lost the race, the Biden administration dropped it.

But after Trump retook the White House in 2024, the Justice Department made surprise searches of Boltons home and office, and Trump resumed the drumbeat. Bolton was an unhinged war hawk whose good times with Trump are over.

TRUMP: I'd be with foreign leaders, and I didn't even have to act tough because they said, look, that moron John Bolton, he's crazy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: This friendship that turned into a feud has only picked up fury in all these years, since it really broke out into the open. Now, it may be coming to a turning point. The big question is, Erin, in the end, which man gets to say he won.

BURNETT: Tom Foreman, thank you and thanks to all of you.

"AC360" starts now.