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Erin Burnett Outfront

Report: Epstein Investigated For Money Laundering Before Plea Deal; Trump Responds To Judges Ordering Admin To Fund Food Stamps; Cuomo: "I Do Not Believe" NYC "Has A Future" If Mamdani Wins. Aired 7- 8p ET

Aired October 31, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:26]

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Breaking news, following Epstein's money. New details tonight that prosecutors may have reportedly been able to identify other people who helped Epstein with his sex trafficking ring. So what happened?

Plus, Trump making over more of the White House, this time giving the historic Lincoln bathroom an extravagant revamp.

And the final stretch. Voting now underway in one of the most watched races in the country. Independent Andrew Cuomo is here. What's his path to beating Zohran Mamdani?

Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erica Hill in for Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, new details on Jeffrey Epstein's crimes and new connections to some prominent leaders.

According to Bloomberg News, federal prosecutors led an 18-month investigation into money laundering, alongside the sex crime investigation which, of course, ended in a plea deal in 2008. Epstein served just 13 months in a county jail, where he was allowed to leave almost every day for 12 hours a day. That deal also gave Epstein and any potential coconspirators immunity from further federal prosecution.

So, the news that prosecutors potentially had more evidence and could have been able to identify other people who helped Epstein and his sex trafficking crimes is a pretty big deal. The former U.S. attorney who gave Jeffrey Epstein that controversial sweetheart plea deal in 2008, Alex Acosta, the same Alex Acosta who worked in the Trump administration as labor secretary and recently testified to the House Oversight Committee behind closed doors.

Well, now Democrats are calling his testimony into question because, according to the transcript, Democratic Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury asked Acosta, "It's our understanding that there were financial records collected as part of the investigation that included an investigation into international wire transfers. Are you aware of that?" Acosta then responds, "I don't recall a financial aspect of this. We were focused on the inappropriate acts that took place in Palm Beach."

Stansbury then asks, "Was it ever discussed as a part of the federal investigation?" Acosta, "This was 20 years ago. I don't remember".

Acosta's attorney telling "Bloomberg", quote, although Mr. Acosta approved the terms of the Epstein matter, he did not direct that investigation.

Now, this also comes as we're learning tonight about more than $1 billion in suspicious transactions that Epstein engaged in with some very powerful people and companies. Thats according to a newly unsealed court records.

Kara Scannell has been going through all of those documents. She is OUTFRONT tonight.

So, Kara, what more are we learning from this trove of documents?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, we went through these documents today, and what we learned was that in J.P. Morgan, just a few weeks after Jeffrey Epstein had died in jail while he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, that the bank filed a suspicious activity report flagging more than $1 billion worth of transactions involving more than 4,000 transactions, going as far back as October 2003.

Now, banks are required to file suspicious activity reports against certain people when there is unusual activity or, depending on their relationships. So that is what the bank did. But after all of this information about Epstein was already in the news after he was already facing federal charges of sex trafficking. So, the bank highlighted in this suspicious activity report a couple of high profile names, long known associates of Jeffrey Epstein, including Leon Black from Apollo and hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin.

Now, there's no allegation of any wrongdoing against those two. Theres not even details of the transactions that they were involved with Epstein, but their names were put on this list because it was well reported at the time that they had connections to him.

Now, a lawyer for Leon Black told me that Leon Black had paid Epstein only for tax and estate planning advice that saved him and his family billions of dollars. He also said that Black fired Epstein because his fees were excessive, and a spokesperson for Dubin said that there were 12 transactions between the parties over all of those years, all of which related to charitable giving, personal gifts or business matters. They all have denied any knowledge of the sex trafficking.

You know, this comes though, as the banks are under a lot of scrutiny by Democrats on the Hill about what they knew about Jeffrey Epstein back over all these years and how long they continue doing business with them. J.P. Morgan cut ties with Epstein in 2013. That was five years after that non-prosecution agreement. And a statement today, J.P. Morgan says that it does not appear that

anyone in the government or law enforcement acted on those SARs for years. They also say that they regret having Epstein as a client. But lawmakers on the hill continuing to subpoena numerous banks trying to get to learn more information about Jeffrey Epstein's ties and exactly what banks knew when they were dealing with him -- Erica.

[19:05:09]

HILL: Still, so many questions all these years later as more information comes to light.

Kara, appreciate it. Thank you.

OUTFRONT now, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna. He sits on the House Oversight Committee.

Congressman, it's good to have you with us tonight.

All of this new reporting here. We heard from the ranking member on house oversight earlier, saying that there was a major breakthrough in your investigation. What is that major breakthrough, why?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Erica, we have now seen documents of financial crimes that Epstein committed. And we now realize that Acosta had this information. It's not just that Epstein abused and raped young girls. He also was engaged in money laundering. And the reality is that Acosta never pursued this prosecution of Epstein.

So, the question is, what were these crimes? Who are the rich and powerful men who were paying millions of dollars to Epstein? What were they paying him for? And this is why we need a full release of Epstein files.

This is what Thomas Massie and I have been pushing for. We have 217 signatures. The day Adelita Grijalva gets sworn in, we will get a vote to have the full release of the files.

HILL: You're mentioning this investigation into -- into potential money laundering. "Bloomberg" also reporting tonight, this 18-month investigation into money laundering for people who are not familiar alongside the federal sex crimes probe that ended in this plea deal in 2008.

So, when you talk about Alex Acosta, as we referenced, he was asked specifically by Congresswoman Stansbury about whether there were in her words, she said, it's our understanding. There were financial records collected as part of the investigation.

Asked if he was aware of it, he said, "I don't recall a financial aspect of it. We were focused on the inappropriate acts that took place in Palm Beach." She then asked, "Was it ever discussed as part of a federal investigation?" He answers, "That was 20 years ago. I don't remember."

Do you believe then that he lied to Congress? KHANNA: Well, the evidence that's come out shows that obviously there was financial fraud, and that's what the judge unsealed. And so, he's going to have to explain himself.

But the issue here is honestly not Acosta. The issue is why is the Trump administration protecting rich and powerful men who were providing millions of dollars to Jeffrey Epstein? First of all, what were they paying him for?

This is someone who was running a sex abuse operation where there are over 1,000 victims. And why is it now that the Trump administration is hiding all of these files? Why don't they just release the files?

So, my concern is that a government has been protecting people who protected Epstein.

HILL: I do want to point out Acosta's attorney did tell Bloomberg the existence of a financial aid would not be inconsistent with his statements to the committee, saying that, quote, back in 2006, the Southern District employed over 200 attorneys, and at any given moment conducted countless investigations. Although Mr. Acosta approved the terms of the Epstein matter, he did not direct the investigation or any investigation for that matter.

In terms of what we are learning here, in terms of your continued call for more of these documents, in the U.K., what we are seeing happen with Prince Andrew being stripped of his title, being forced to move out of the royal residence, Amy Wallace, who's a coauthor with Virginia Giuffre of her posthumous memoir, told CNN last night she hopes that that move in the U.K. will start a reckoning.

Do you believe it could have an influence here on this side of the pond, in terms of potential reckoning, in terms of documents?

KHANNA: Yes, I do. First of all, the survivors have been so courageous. They stood with Thomas Massie and me in front of the Capitol, and Marjorie Taylor Greene telling their stories of being raped and abused at the age of 14, having to recruit other junior high and high school students. And it's their courage and activism that has led to the Prince Andrew being stripped of all his titles. It's their courage and activism that has led to the British ambassador being sacked.

I believe that there are hundreds of other rich and powerful men who were involved, either in the coverup of Epstein's crimes, involved in the financial crimes, or actually involved in abusing young girls, and they need to face justice.

And the day these Epstein files get released, they will face justice. We've already seen two people, prince Andrews and the British ambassador, face justice. I believe dozens of more will face justice.

This is a simple thing. We need to have a vote on Massie and my bill to release all the files. By the way, if it comes for a vote, if Johnson re-opens Congress and we have a vote, I believe 50 to 60 Republicans would vote with this. It would be overwhelming. And we'd finally get these files.

[19:10:01]

HILL: Well, we'll be watching waiting for that. But just to follow up on that point, J.P. Morgan Chase, of course, filing this report, alerting the U.S. government to these tens of millions of dollars of potentially suspicious transactions involving Epstein and others, in terms of the investigation into those transactions, what could that mean and the figures associated with them? Where would that stand?

KHANNA: Well, we need to have them come before Congress. Ron Wyden, Senator Wyden has done an excellent job in tracking down some of the financial crimes. We should have them come before the Oversight Committee. We are demanding that J.P. Morgan and others come before the oversight committee. And lead transparency -- and transparency to where this money is coming from, and why someone is paying Epstein.

I guess that's the big question. What are they paying him for? Why is he getting hundreds of millions of dollars? What is all this money going for? What is he doing when we know he's running a sex trafficking ring? Why? Why are such powerful people involved with him?

And that's really what the investigation will uncover.

HILL: All right. Congressman, we appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.

KHANNA: Thank you, Erica.

HILL: OUTFRONT now, Barry Levine, the former editor of "The National Enquirer" and the author of "The Spider", which is about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

So, this new reporting, Barry, from Bloomberg, that Epstein was under investigation right at the same time, under investigation for money laundering. Why is that so significant in your view?

BARRY LEVINE, AUTHOR, "THE SPIDER": You know, Erica, this is truly devastating to, you know, study and read this report in the sense that we know that there was suspicious banking activity going back to Jeffrey Epstein all the way back to 2002. This was even three years before the Palm Beach police began investigating him, and already, the antenna at the banks were going up over the suspicious transactions.

And now we learn that the Department of Justice was in the FBI, was looking into, money laundering at the same time, the Palm Beach police produced 40 victims for them back in 2007. So, it is so upsetting that they had two opportunities to put Jeffrey Epstein really behind bars, not only on the victimization, the sexual abuse of these women, but also now for financial crimes. And he got away with, for the most part, a slap on the wrist.

HILL: Well, and to that point, you follow this so closely, the fact that this could have been going on when this sweetheart deal was ultimately approved. I mean, how does that happen? LEVINE: You know, we are still wondering what Alexander Acosta meant

when he said that Jeffrey Epstein was part of intelligence and it was over his head. We have not seen the -- his assistant, Anna Maria Villafana, drew up a 60-count indictment over 82 pages that would have put Jeffrey Epstein away for many, many decades in jail. And that indictment remains sealed. It's part of the Epstein files.

We're not going to know specifically what she had on him related to not only the sexual sex abuse, but also possible financial crimes.

And Alexander Acosta, it is outrageous that tonight, based on this report, you know, it's come out that he has not copped to acknowledging the fact that they were investigating Jeffrey Epstein for financial crimes. It is a slap to the more than 1,000 victims that have been waiting for justice all of these decades.

HILL: Some of the reporting also raises new questions about what people knew, who was involved, how this worked out. All of these individuals in Epstein's orbit, right. What they knew or didn't know maybe looked the other way.

Do you think any of this new information changes things?

LEVINE: Well, I would hope so. And we're thankful for Senator Ron Wyden, who has been going down the financial trail. And initially flagged the billion dollars worth of, payments that Jeffrey Epstein made not only through U.S. banks but through Russian banks.

And now we're hearing about some of the individuals, the very powerful individuals who received money. People like Leslie Wexner through his trusts, who was one of Epstein's benefactors. Leon Black, the other major benefactor to Jeffrey Epstein.

Glenn Dubin, the financier here in New York whose family has known Jeffrey Epstein -- had known Jeffrey Epstein for decades. Glenn Dubin's wife, in fact, was a previous girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein.

[19:15:01]

And he was the -- Epstein was the godfather to their children.

Alan Dershowitz, who led the dream team, back in 2007 to get -- to get Epstein that slap on the wrist conviction.

So, all these men are saying have never been accused directly of wrongdoing, and they're all acknowledging that any monies that were received were for, upstanding --

HILL: Legal services.

LEVINE: Legal services and so forth.

HILL: Yeah.

LEVINE: Attorney services on Dershowitz's part, but it really does begin now to focus. We're getting to see inside the web. We're getting to see directly, you know, who is paid. And you know, it's also so upsetting to know that Jeffrey Epstein's estate, the co-executors, who the former attorney general in the Virgin Islands, said, labeled these men as the co-captains of his criminal enterprise.

They tied up his estate. They created 150 bank accounts. There was money flowing in all different directions all over the world. And this was money that, Jeffrey Epstein used to conduct his sex trafficking for two decades.

HILL: A lot of questions being raised. The more we learn, the more we want to know.

Barry, really appreciate it. Thank you.

LEVINE: Thank you.

HILL: OUTFRONT next, Trump revealing he has renovated yet another part of the White House, a historic room now covered in marble and gold.

Plus, Democrats currently leading in three crucial races. If they can pull off victories there, it could offer some clues about the midterms. But what? Harry Enten tells us something we don't know.

And he sure sounds a lot like Trump. He's got a massive following, much like the president. You're going to meet the Trump impersonator going viral in China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP IMPERSONATOR: All they want to do is to show me getting my hair cut. That's crazy. Well, today, I'm doing it. Okay. Let's go, let's go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:21:18]

HILL: Breaking news, Trump cannot cut off food assistance for 42 million Americans. Two different judges just ruling the administration must tap the billions of dollars in emergency funding for food assistance program known as SNAP. It's a program the Trump administration had said would run out of funding tomorrow because of the government shutdown, a dire situation that they were hoping to use as leverage to get Democrats to reopen the government.

But in a powerful ruling, Judge John McConnell saying in part, quote, there is no doubt and it is beyond argument that irreparable harm will begin to occur if it hasn't already occurred and the terror it has caused some people about the availability of finding food for their family.

Just moments ago, President Trump, responding to the ruling, writing in part, our government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available. I don't want Americans to go hungry just because the radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and reopen the government.

Therefore, he went on to say, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.

OUTFRONT now, former Democratic Congressman Mondaire Jones and editor at large of "The Bulwark", Bill Kristol, who was also chief of staff for then Vice President Dan Quayle.

Nice to have you both here.

Congressman, I saw you out of the corner of my eye, and you sort of heard you in response to what the president was saying there in terms of the funding.

Is this a sign, though, that he could be giving in when it comes to cutting off that funding for SNAP? What do you make of his take on the ruling?

MONDAIRE JONES (D), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: Of course, it's a sign he's giving in.

Look, he wanted to get away without, with -- with not providing food assistance to millions of needy families in this country. And now we've got not one, but two federal judges saying, actually, the money is available and you have to spend it. So -- he no longer has the ability to blame Democrats for why this money is not being distributed and why, you know, people are going hungry in this country.

You know he doesn't actually care about these benefits because earlier this year, he passed the so-called one big beautiful bill, which cut SNAP funding by $186 billion over the next decade. Turns out, some of the biggest recipients of these funds, you know, funds that I grew up on, by the way, we call them food stamps. When I was growing up, that's what a lot of people call them in this country -- go to red states. I mean, these are these are his base, like working class people who significantly voted for him in the last election, who are going to be most harmed if this money doesn't get administered.

HILL: It's interesting, too, when we see the change, we saw the language there, Bill, where he was saying, still pointing the finger at Democrats. But ahead of that ruling, continuing to really lean into pointing the finger at, I just to play a little bit of what the president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When you're talking about SNAP, if you look, it's largely Democrats are hurting their own people.

The shutdown proceeds because the Democrats just don't know what they're doing. I don't know what's wrong with them. They've never done a thing like this. It's their fault. Everything is their fault.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Is the messaging working at this point?

BILL KRISTOL, EDITOR AT LARGE, THE BULWARK: No, pretty clearly not. I mean, he looks a little desperate there, don't you think? It's everything is their fault. They don't know what they're doing.

I mean, they were pretty confident, the Republicans, a month ago that there was not that much support for Medicaid. There wasn't that much support for Obamacare subsidies. And now that the movement, the debate has moved on to SNAP, the Republicans are pretty used to saying, well, that goes to -- A, those programs are wasteful, they're bloated, they could be caught. There are a lot of people who don't deserve to be on them, who are using fraud and taking advantage of them.

We've all these have been Republican talking points for a long time. And what strikes me is that in this particular fight, they're not working very well. And it turns out a lot of people have sympathy for the recipients of these programs. They know people who have benefited from them or need them.

Democrats have done a pretty good job, I think, of explaining what these programs do. And so, I think right now Trump is losing this this fight.

HILL: I do want to ask you about something that popped up today that I think had a few people scratching their heads. President Trump unveiling another renovation project at the White House, posting images on social media. So, this is the bathroom for the Lincoln bedroom, newly redone, a lot of marble there. As you can see, some gold accents.

We don't know exactly who paid for the bathroom overhaul. This, of course, comes on the heels of those private donations for the new ballroom.

Congressman, you've said this is nothing but another attempt to troll Democrats.

JONES: Yeah, it's clearly an attempt to troll Democrats. It's so tone deaf. But again, I guess for him, you know, he doesn't -- he knows he doesn't have to run for election again. So he doesn't care so much about the optics of this, unfortunately.

But you got people who are on the cusp of going hungry. And by the way, the delay with which these food stamps are going to be distributed has to the -- to the judges' point in that opinion that that you quoted has already caused harm, right?

They're not going to get their money tomorrow, November 1st. It's -- there's going to be a delay.

Meanwhile, he's talking about the importance of renovating the White House. You know, he's already destroyed the East Wing, for example, you got also, as all this is happening, people who are preparing to see their Medicaid benefits cut and so on and so forth.

Obviously, the reason the government is shut down is because Republicans, including Donald Trump, insist on allowing these Obamacare subsidies to expire, thereby doubling and tripling in many instances, the health care premiums on a monthly basis for millions of Americans.

And this guy wants to showcase photos of marble in the Lincoln bathroom. It's just -- it's so out of touch. But its consistent with the president who cares more about his own comfort instead about the comforts of his billionaire buddies who he's prioritizing giving tax cuts to on the backs of working class people.

HILL: Bill, when he posted this, he was also posting pictures from the last renovation, which was sort of art deco in the '40s, and said that he believes this is a little bit more in tune with what would have been like. He says in the time of Abraham Lincoln, I guess jokingly saying this could be the marble that was originally there.

I mean, we can all make fun of it. It can be a trolling point. It does also raise questions about there's the upkeep of very old home that he is currently living in, right? And then there are also questions about if he's leaning in so much to the renovations. What does this say about how much time he may think he's planning to spend there, Bill?

KRISTOL: Yeah. He doesn't look to me like a guy who's planning to move out in three years. This is his taste. We know this from Mar-a-Lago, and he's redesigning the White House in his taste. Why did he do that? Maybe you think your taste is wonderful and everyone would love it for the next 100 years. Maybe you think that's the kind of way you'd like to like to live.

I don't think Abraham Lincoln would have liked that better.

HILL: Real quickly before I --

KRISTOL: Everything we know about Lincoln, right? That is not the style that Abraham Lincoln.

HILL: Doesn't look so log cabin, does it? I don't really. That was the style, perhaps in the 1860s. But what do I know? I wasn't alive then.

Real quickly, before I let you go, the president pushing to use the filibuster. Senate Majority Leader John Thune pushing back. Mike Johnson also sort of calling into question the reality is the president has a great ability to get Republicans to fall in line. Do you think there's a chance they also fall in line with this push to, in fact, use the nuclear option, as the president calls it, Bill?

KRISTOL: No, I don't think they will. Republican senators do like the filibuster for good and bad reasons, honestly. But I think this gives the president an excuse, though. See, I could have gotten if they listen, we would have resolved this, but it's my own. Some of the weak weaklings in my own party who aren't listening to me.

Trump's always good at creating the sort of predicate for excusing failures. But I do think it gets to the point we were discussing earlier that I don't think he thinks he's winning this showdown right now. HILL: Good to have you both here. Thank you.

OUTFRONT next, in the final push to election day, one local race continues to grab national attention. Andrew Cuomo joins us.

Plus, U.S. search and rescue teams now on the ground in Jamaica. And we are live as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:33:14]

HILL: Breaking news, early voting is surging in the most closely watched race in America. Nearly half a million ballots have already been cast in New York City's mayoral election. It is a record-breaking number.

On the campaign trail, Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist and frontrunner doing tai chi at a senior center in Manhattan. His primary opponent, New York's former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, campaigning in a Republican stronghold in south Brooklyn.

And OUTFRONT now is Andrew Cuomo, independent candidate for mayor of New York.

Governor, nice to see you tonight.

So, you have been out there campaigning hard. The polling, every major polling is showing Mamdani with a double digit lead over you. Why do you think it is that New Yorkers are consistently choosing him over you?

ANDREW CUOMO (I), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think the race is just starting to take shape, right? Tuesday is the big day, and I think New Yorkers tend to focus late.

Also, he is the Democratic candidate. He won the Democratic primary. So, there's a knee jerk to go with the Democrat. Interestingly, he's a Democratic socialist. I'm actually a Democrat. So that also has to play out. And the turnout, as you mentioned, is extraordinary. And I think that's the most telling thing,

New Yorkers are concerned, you have this Democratic socialist. What does it mean to have New York being run by a person who favors socialist economic policies?

Public safety is a very big issue. I want to add police. He has been very anti-NYPD. And then you have the highest rate of antisemitism incidents in New York City, in the country, which is really shocking. So, there's a lot that is animating the people of New York, as it should.

[19:35:03]

HILL: Uh-huh. Animating them, getting people out to vote. We don't yet know, right. Sort of. To your point, we don't even know how they vote. We'll find out on Tuesday when the results are in.

You were campaigning today in south Brooklyn with a Republican city councilwoman who just endorsed you. And I just want to play something that she said about your opponent, especially as you talk about the very real rise in antisemitism in this city, specifically. So that moment in your response here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INNA VERNIKOV (R), NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: Aside from the fact that he's a communist and antisemite, he has no idea what he's doing.

REPORTER: Do you believe, as the council member said, that Mamdani is an antisemite and communist?

CUOMO: I don't think the council member said that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: So, Governor, now that you were able to hear clearly that she did in fact say that, do you agree with her that Zohran Mamdani is antisemitic and a communist?

CUOMO: Yeah. I didn't hear her referring to him as an antisemite. I thought she was referring to him as fostering antisemitic sentiment. He has said some highly inflammatory things on the campaign trail. And he has offended the Jewish community. There is no doubt about that.

He refuses to denounce globalized intifada, which basically means kill Jewish people. He's refused to denounce a fellow named Hasan Piker, who is a friend of his who said America deserved 9/11. America deserved 9/11. In New York, every New Yorker was traumatized by 9/11.

So, these are highly inflammatory and divisive comments. And he has -- he's made them and he's stuck by them. He refuses to recognize the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state. So, he has been very outspoken on these positions, and he has offended the Jewish community, by and large, in New York.

HILL: So then just to just to put a point in the question, though, do you believe that he is, as the congresswoman said, her exact words, an antisemite? Do you agree with her?

CUOMO: Yeah, she was a councilwoman. And, look, I don't -- I don't -- I don't have the power to look into somebody's soul. I don't know if somebody's a racist, somebody's a bigot, somebody's antisemitic.

I know what he has said is highly inflammatory and offensive to the Jewish community. There is no doubt about that. When you say you won't denounce kill all the Jews, that's inflammatory.

HILL: You were campaigning in Harlem yesterday, and you painted a very bleak picture of what you believe New York City would be with Mamdani as mayor. Here's some of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CUOMO: This is about the future of the city of New York. I do not believe the city of New York has a future if Zohran is elected mayor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: New York, as you well know, is a very resilient city. It certainly had a future after the horrific 9/11 terror attacks. It had a future after COVID. More than 47,000 people died during the pandemic.

Why do you believe specifically that the city itself won't have a future if Mamdani is, in fact, mayor?

CUOMO: Two reasons. Number one, the Mamdani is hostile to public safety, hostile to the NYPD. He said the NYPD. His words are racist, wicked, corrupt, anti-queer a threat to public safety. He is supported defunding, disarming, and disbanding the police.

The public safety is job one in New York City and many cities. If people feel unsafe, that's very bad for the city.

Number two, he's anti-corporate, anti-business, anti-wealth. One of the problems we're having in New York City now is our taxes are very, very high. And people are leaving, as you mentioned post-COVD remote work moved to a place that has a lower tax rate because you can after COVID, with remote work.

So, if you are anti-public safety and you are anti-corporation, and anti-business and hostile to the economy in New York City, yeah, you're going to see more people leave you. You are seeing it now, right? He will accelerate the number of people and companies leaving.

HILL: Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, you say the race is just getting started. Gaining momentum. We'll be watching the results on Tuesday. Appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.

CUOMO: Great. Thanks. Thanks for having me.

HILL: OUTFRONT now, Harry Enten to tell me, all of us something I don't know.

(LAUGHTER)

HILL: Look at that laugh, Harry.

Okay, so, Harry, when were looking at races, you've got New York, you've got New Jersey, you've got Virginia. So much attention being paid to these three races.

What is happening? How much of this really those races is actually a test of Donald Trump? How much is it actually about the races themselves and what's happening in those areas?

[19:40:02]

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yeah, I mean, look, if they're a test of Donald Trump, then Donald Trump can't be too happy with what we're seeing in the data right now. I mean, you talk about New Jersey. What do we see there?

I know a lot of Republicans want to think that Jack Ciattarelli is closing the gap. But in all honesty, what we see there is that the Democratic candidate, Mikie Sherrill, has a clear advantage about six points. That's the closest of the three races that we're talking about.

Virginia, you see Abigail Spanberger way up there, up there by double digits, up by ten points. And then, of course, you were just interviewing Andrew Cuomo. But you see that Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, is ahead there by 16 points at this point in time. And granted, you know, election day, we'll see what happens. But at this point in time, to me, it seems like the Democrats are most likely going to sweep all three of those races.

And that's in part because of Donald Trump. But it's also in part because especially in a place like Virginia, they have a much better candidate than the Republican candidate.

HILL: How rare would it be or how rare is it in this moment, perhaps, for Democrats to be leading with those margins?

ENTEN: Yeah. Okay. So, this to me is what's so interesting, you know, that I like going through the spreadsheets. I like going through the history books.

HILL: Harry likes the data and the history.

ENTEN: I like the data. I like the history. I'm a little bit of a nerd. So, you know, I was interested. How often do we actually see the Democratic side sweep all three of these races? New Jersey governor, Virginia governor and New York City mayor. And it happened back in 2017.

But beyond that, there are very few examples in history where we've seen the Democrats actually sweep all three of these. All three of these races, 1989, of course, that was Dinkins in New York City. That was Jim Florio in New Jersey, and that was Douglas Wilder in Virginia.

And then before that, you have to go back before either of us were born to go back to '61, '57, '53. It is only happened five times in the last 90 years. What seems like is going to happen this Tuesday.

HILL: All right. We got 30 seconds left. Tell me something I don't know.

ENTEN: Okay, I will tell you something that you don't know, Erica Hill. Beyond the fact that it is Halloween and I dressed as a dumpster fire this morning on national television.

HILL: I saw you.

ENTEN: It was a good look. It was look. It was a good look. And that is the five times that I mentioned that the Democrats swept all three of those races each and every single time. The following year, they won a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

So, if Democrats sweep on Tuesday and in my opinion, is a very good sign, looking forward to 2026 and taking back that majority from the Republicans.

HILL: We will be watching for it. Happy Halloween.

ENTEN: Happy Halloween, Erica Hill.

HILL: Nice to see you, my friend, as always.

ENTEN: Nice to see you.

HILL: OUTFRONT next, Obama about to hit the campaign trail and meet the man whose ability to parody Trump has turned him into a star in China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP IMPERSONATOR: People ask me, how do I feel today? I'll tell you, I feel fantastic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:16]

HILL: New tonight, the White House just announcing a new rule that will limit reporters access to the offices of senior White House communications aides. Now, this is according to a new memo that was just sent by the White House communications office.

Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT at the White House.

So, Jeff, practically speaking, what does this mean? I feel shades of the Pentagon, quite frankly, in this, Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Different than the Pentagon, certainly, because reporters are not being restricted from working here at the White House. In fact, I'm standing here at the White House, as you can see, it's right behind me, just a few steps away from the West Wing.

Our reporters are not allowed to do that at the pentagon anymore, because they did not sign an agreement that certainly violated every First Amendment principle. The White House is not doing that. What they are doing, though tonight, is quite unusual in and of itself. In a new memo that was sent out a pretty late on Friday afternoon, it's restricting reporters from going to an area called upper press. What that means is where the press secretary works for some of the other press advisors work.

Routinely, reporters can effectively wait in the hall there, ask the press secretary some questions. Some other advisers questions when there's breaking news that often happens, there's reporters who are standing there. This has happened from administration to administration. Now, that is not going to be allowed to happen.

The White House says that there is a sensitive information. They believe that cabinet secretaries and others do not want to be bombarded by reporters. So now reporters will only have access to a smaller set of offices of junior advisers, junior aides, junior press secretaries.

So, the bottom line here is, yes, its restrictive, there is no doubt about that. But it is not as restrictive as the Pentagon. We should also point out this is not the first time this has happened. Many administrations like to try and restrict the press access back in the Clinton administration, it was discussed for a while to effectively ban reporters from being here.

That did not happen. A firestorm ensued. So, we will see what happens here. But it is definitely restricting access, but not to the degree the Pentagon has.

HILL: All right, Jeff, really appreciate it. Thank you.

ZELENY: Sure.

HILL: OUTFRONT next, he may be the most popular Trump in China. So just who is he?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN CHEN, TRUMP IMPERSONATOR: In Chongqing, China. It's so high. It's so high. Vintage style. I love the facade. Right? They're doing a pretty good job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:54:14]

HILL: Tonight, a Chinese man going viral for his uncanny impersonation of president Trump.

Mike Valerio is OUTFRONT we are in John King China.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHEN, TRUMP IMPERSONATOR: In Chongqing, China. It's so high. It's so high.

Vintage style. I love the facade. Right?

They're doing a pretty good job. They're doing a pretty good job. It's a harmony. It's a harmony. I love this city.

People ask me, how do I feel today? I'll tell you, I feel fantastic.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Call it a different kind of U.S.-China summit with the Chinese Trump. CHEN: Ladies and gentlemen --

VALERIO (voice-over): Meet Ryan Chen, a 42-year-old business manager who started making imitation videos of the U.S. president only a few months ago.

CHEN: China. People from Qingdao, China. They love dumplings. They really do.

Trust me, nobody does seafood like Qingdao people. They literally turn all of their seafood into dumplings.

[19:55:01]

I think it's vegan food. It's still good. It's still good.

I went into a truth or dare with my friend, and I lost this dare, and he dared me to do Trump and put it on my account. And it turned out the video went viral. You want to take a picture with me?

VALERIO (voice-over): He's now exploded into one of China's biggest online stars, with more than a million followers on the Chinese version of TikTok. Trump's mannerisms down, and even more astonishing.

VALERIO: It's incredible that you've never been to America, and you have Trump just spot on that you're able to do it.

CHEN: Yeah, yeah, because I'm a little bit gifted in acting. Actually, a lot of people, after they see my video, they come to Chongqing.

VALERIO (voice-over): Chongqing is his hometown, a mega city of more than 32 million people.

Chen highlights the metropolis and its culture and his Trump videos, trying to entertain and monetize while staying clear of any political landmines that would run afoul of censors on Chinas tightly controlled social media platforms.

With the U.S. and China increasingly at odds with each other on the global stage, Chen says he aspires to act as a comedic ambassador between the superpowers.

CHEN: I can help bridge the gap of, you know, bridge two cultures so that spread happiness. So, I can help foreigners to see what real China is.

VALERIO (voice-over): Starting with the best of Chongqing's famous spicy cuisine.

CHEN: We call it thousand year egg and it's really delicious.

VALERIO: Wait. What is this taste like?

CHEN: MSG, right?

VALERIO: MSG? CHEN: All eggs should be like this.

VALERIO: Oh, really?

CHEN: Yeah. I love this guy. He likes everything. He likes every controversial food.

So, the CNN people, they come to Chongqing, and all they want to do is to shoot me. Getting my haircut. That's crazy. Well, today, I'm doing it.

Okay. Let's go, let's go. Hey, Mr. Tan, Mr. Tan, that's my guy. That's my guy. The best barber in town.

It's very professional. This guy.

I'm going to look 30 pounds lighter after this. We had a promise, right? A deal is a deal.

MR. TAN, BARBER: You like it.

CHEN: I think its tremendous.

MR. TAN: Tremendous.

VALERIO (voice-over): After their meeting in South Korea, President Trump gave his assessment of the talks with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping.

TRUMP: From zero to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was at 12.

VALERIO: Ryan, on a scale of zero to 10, how would you rate this interview?

CHEN: Interview with CNN people?

VALERIO: With CNN people.

CHEN: I give it a 67. It's a big number. It's a big number.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: It's like he's bringing in the 67 there.

So, what is next at this point? He said he wants to be a comedic ambassador. He wants to spread happiness. Does Ryan Chen have travel plans, Mike?

VALERIO: Yeah, absolutely. He wants to go to America. He is dying to come to the states and seeing all parts of America, from Oklahoma to especially New York City.

And, you know, the crazy thing, Erica, is among the myriad crazy things in this story is that Chongqing is about four times bigger than New York City in terms of population, but every street corner that we went to in Chongqing, we hung out with him for the entire day. There were at least four people on every street corner who knew who Ryan Chen was taking selfies with him.

So, if he's big in Chongqing, you know, maybe he can be big in New York.

HILL: He could be.

VALERIO: But watch this space when he goes. We will go there as well. You know, again, he's not done yet.

HILL: Maybe he needs to come here to escape all the paparazzi.

Mike, appreciate it. Thank you.

VALERIO: Yeah.

HILL: This Sunday, CNN's "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER" is featuring "The Hidden Homeless", delving into the homeless crisis here in New York City through the eyes of one inspiring young singer.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hadn't made music in a while, honestly, because it really hard. There's not really a good place to do it. So, I went to the shelter restroom and I closed the little window that we have in there. What I do is I just literally I'm on my phone like this, but I'm playing a piano. And yeah, I just started to make the lyrics as I went.

A lot of people don't know this too. But there are also a lot of really talented homeless people. They just don't have the funds or the means to be able to fully express it.

SONG: It almost feels as if I'm stranded and I can't see how I could have landed in a place where I know I don't belong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER," "The Hidden Homeless" airs right here on CNN, Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. It is a beautiful, deeply moving, very human and incredibly important hour, and I hope you'll join us for that.

Thanks so much for joining us tonight. I'm Erica Hill.

"AC360" starts right now.