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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

House Debating Trump's Mega Bill; Sean "Diddy" Combs' Trial. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired July 03, 2025 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:25]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

MJ LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We begin with breaking news from the US Capitol, where it looks like President Donald Trump's sweeping domestic agenda bill is on its way to final passage. The measure had been hung up on a procedural hurdle since late Wednesday after five Republicans voted against bringing it up for debate. But the holdouts fell in line within just the past hour and the House is now debating the bill. Speaker Mike Johnson says he will move forward with a final vote in the next few hours.

Let's bring in CNN's Brian Todd at the Capitol. Brian, I understand spoke with House Speaker Mike Johnson. What did he tell you?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, MJ, he offered a timeline on final passage and we're going to get to that in just one second. What we can tell you is, that they are debating right now as we speak on the House floor this final debate before that final vote on House passage. That debate started just a few minutes ago.

It could go a couple of hours. Johnson said that he wouldn't be speaking long, but his counterpart, Hakeem Jeffries, could take a little bit longer to speak and then others will, of course, speak during that debate. The final vote on this procedural motion was 219 to 213. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a moderate from Pennsylvania, was the only Republican to vote no on passing that procedural vote.

Others came around. The four remaining holdouts were Congressman Thomas Massie, Andrew Clyde, Victoria Spartz and Keith Self from Texas. Those four had been holding out. They came around at the last minute. That's how it got through.

As MJ mentioned, I did speak to House Speaker Mike Johnson a short time ago and he offered this timeline as to a final vote for passage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), HOUSE SPEAKER: Yes. We'll be going to the floor. Some people will be changing their vote and voting for the first time. We'll pass the rule. We'll go straight into debate.

An hour is allotted, but it probably goes a couple hours because the leader gets a magic minute so that could drag on. And then we'll be voting on final passage between 6:00, 7:00, 8:00 AM. We'll just see how it goes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: So that will be a big relief to House Speaker Johnson and his allies because they had been under significant pressure to get this bill to the President's desk by tomorrow, by the 4th of July so that he could sign it then. Looks like it could very well happen.

And on the subject of President Trump, Speaker Johnson told us that President Trump had been speaking with members throughout the night, that he was "directly engaged, as he always is." So President Trump playing a key role in winning over some of these hard line Republican holdovers.

He had met with them all day, Wednesday, at the White House, airing out their concerns, offering his help in trying to get them to come around. Looks like the President's engagement was key here and that is a big relief to Speaker Johnson.

Now, Speaker Johnson and his allies do believe they will have the votes necessary for final passage in this full floor vote coming up, but that is not quite certain. And we can also tell you, MJ, that one member, interestingly enough, was late arriving for this procedural vote a couple of hours ago. That was Congressman Scott Perry, a Republican from Pennsylvania.

He had actually driven home to his home state of Pennsylvania, had to drive back a couple of hours and was a little late getting there for that procedural vote. So they had to wait for him. And he had -- he was on vacation. He didn't have a change of clothes. So that was kind of a dramatic halt or at least a little bit of a delay at the last minute there this morning.

But it looks like this is on the way to a final vote in the next couple of hours.

LEE: And, Brian, you just said yourself that nothing is certain right now. I mean, could anything come up in the next few hours as a last minute hang up or hang ups?

TODD: Absolutely it could. Again, final passage is not certain because there have been so many hard line Republican holdouts throughout this entire process. Congressman Thomas Massie being one of them, the Republican from Kentucky. He has said he would vote no on this.

They can afford three defections only from the Republican side. No Democrat is going to vote for this. So it's still kind of hanging in the balance. Will someone else just kind of come against this at the last moment, we're going to see.

So it's not quite a done deal. And there could be some anxious moments during that full vote, full House vote for Speaker Johnson and his allies.

LEE: Brian Todd in Washington, we'll keep checking back in with you. Thank you so much.

And Freddy Gray is the US Editor of the Spectator. He joins me now from London. Freddy, great to have you. President Trump's deadline of July 4th, that's Friday, to have this bill on his desk for him to sign had seemed pretty ambitious earlier this week, and now we appear to be on the cusp of final pass.

[04:05:10]

A final vote maybe in the next few hours. How did we get here, Freddy?

FREDDY GRAY, US EDITOR, SPECTATOR: Well, as we all know, winning is very important to Donald Trump. I think he's put a lot of stress and emphasis on getting this done by Friday, which was a very audacious attempt to put through a huge piece of legislation with all the problems that you've been discussing. I think in the late hours of last night, particularly looking at his Truth Social posts, it looked as though Trump was realizing that passing major legislation through Congress is as if not more difficult than Middle Eastern diplomacy.

But it does look that, I mean, obviously there's a lot that can change in the next two or three hours, four hours, five hours. But it looks as though he has cleared a major hurdle for the moment. But it does just take four or five Republican congressmen to derail this for him. So it's still in the mix at the moment.

LEE: Yes. Barely any room for error for Republican House members. And, Freddy, the political ramifications of this bill are significant. Whether it's the steep Medicaid cuts or the addition of trillions of dollars to the national deficit, there is a lot in this legislation that gives Republican lawmakers heartburn as they are thinking about their reelection chances.

How do you think Republicans will end up messaging this bill in the midterm elections next year?

GRAY: I think it's going to be really difficult for them. They're going to have to hope for massive economic growth, which they can attribute to the extension of the tax cuts. But I spoke to some Democrats last week who are quite interesting about this. Obviously, Democrats are resolutely opposed in the House, but they do sotto voce off the record. They'll tell you that this is a great chance for them in the midterms.

They think that this bill will be what they'll campaign on the midterms. They'll say when it comes around to halfway through next year, they'll say, you know, Donald Trump's Republican Party voted in a bill that cut your Medicaid, and they really believe that will happen by up to 500 billion if sequestration kicks in, which is a whole other issue.

But Democrats are excited, secretly excited about the prospect of how the Republican Party could fall apart if this bill goes through.

LEE: And President Trump was personally engaged in courting some of these Republican holdouts. Speaker Johnson just told reporters that the President was up as late as 1:00 AM speaking with members. What did you make of the way that the President has wrangled some of these lawmakers?

You know, you pointed out yourself that obviously this was far from the only thing on his plate. He's had to navigate some big foreign policy issues as well, particularly in the Middle East.

GRAY: Well, I think he has been wrangling with everyone. And I think a large argument that MAGA, sort of, Stephen Miller, the core Trump team are making is about the hundreds of billions that are going towards the border. I think it's $150 billion towards the border. And that is the argument that they're going to make with the base, with the MAGA voters to say, you know, this bill prioritizes national security and that's more important than any haggling over the deficit.

But there are a lot of Republicans who say, well, why couldn't there be separate bills? Why did it all have to be lumped together in this enormous piece of legislation that covers everything from military defense to Medicaid to energy to everything.

Trump wanted it to be this One Big Beautiful Bill because he'd get it over the line and then he could go back to sort of politics he prefers. Nobody likes this congressional wrangling. He thought just get it all done in one go. I think a lot of Republicans who he's talking to are frustrated that they are voting for things that they agree with, like border security, but they're also voting for potentially adding trillions.

Well, it seems adding 3.3 trillion to the death to the national debt.

LEE: And as we continue watching the House floor where the debate over this bill is continuing, I do want to ask you about the Democrats for a second. You know, this is a bill that rolls back and weakens so much of what the Democratic Party has worked on for years, whether it's strengthening Medicaid and Medicaid expansion or other kinds of social safety net programs.

What's next for Democrats, politically speaking?

GRAY: Well, I think they will be hoping that sequestration kicks in, that the Republicans then get themselves into terrible mess over whether they want to cut Medicaid or not. There's obviously great divisions among the Republican Party and this is a real opportunity for Democrats, which is why you'll hear them in the House today talking about, you know, this is cut Medicaid for poorest Americans to benefit the richest Americans.

[04:10:07]

And that will be a line that they'll repeat over and over again. You'll hear them in the House today talking about, you know, this is

cuts Medicaid for poorest Americans to benefit the richest Americans. And that will be a line that they'll repeat over and over, and over again. But there's no doubt that entitlements are a major fiscal problem for America, that they are out of control and they need to be brought down. So do Democrats want to be put themselves on the side of endlessly

expanding the debt, endlessly lifting the debt ceiling, or do they find some joy in attacking Trump for undermining Medicaid, undermining, you know, health benefits for poor Americans, because Trump's very sensitive to that line of attack.

LEE: Yes. This will certainly end up being big talking points for the Democrats heading into next year. Freddy Gray, thank you.

Entertainment mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs has been denied bail after a jury returned a split verdict in his federal criminal trial Wednesday. Combs was cleared of the most serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, but he was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

Prosecutors accused Combs of leading a criminal enterprise and using employees to commit criminal acts, including forcing Combs, former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, and another woman into drug-fueled sex acts. Ventura's attorney says they wanted convictions across the board, but that they are pleased that Combs now faces time in prison.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG WIGDOR, CASSIE VENTURA'S ATTORNEY: We're pleased that he's finally been held responsible for two federal crimes, something that he's never faced in his life. He still faces substantial jail time. Of course, we would have liked to have seen a conviction on the sex crimes in RICO. But we understand beyond a reasonable doubt is a high standard, and we're just pleased that he still faces substantial jail time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Combs could face up to 20 years in prison, though will likely serve a shorter sentence. CNN's Kara Scannell has more details on Wednesday's events from New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sean "Diddy" Combs was acquitted of the most serious charges he was facing. The jury finding him not guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. He was found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Still, his lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo, after court called it a great victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK AGNIFILO, SEAN COMBS' ATTORNEY: Today is a great victory. It's a great victory for Sean Combs. It's a great victory for the jury system. You saw that the Southern District of New York prosecutors came at him with all that they had, they're not stopping. But one thing stands between all of us and a prison, and that is a jury of 12 citizens.

And we had a wonderful jury. They listened to every word. And they got the situation right, or certainly right enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: Inside of court, as the jury four person said that they had found Combs not guilty of the first two charges, racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking involving Cassie Ventura. Combs had given a slight fist pump and members of the family in the spectator section, his supporters, let out a yes and a whoo. Clearly release of tension that they had felt as they were awaiting this verdict.

Sean Combs himself had dropped to his knees before he spoke to his family members, putting his hands again in the sign of a prayer. And then he turned to them and he said to them, I love you. And as he was escorted out of the courtroom -- now, once his lawyers were left there, they addressed the family members. They were hugging each other, slapping each other on the back.

And as Combs had left, they were -- the family members were applauding. And then they turned and they started chanting "dream team, dream team" to his lawyers. Now they came back later in the day and the judge denied releasing Combs on bail, saying that there was a history of violence and that Combs had blatantly disregarded the law.

Combs seemed surprised by that. His eyes had widened, his mouth had dropped open. And at one point he wanted to talk to the judge, waving his hands in the air, although that -- his lawyers seem to have convinced him not to do that. The judge sent a tentative sentencing date for October, though there is a hearing next week because his legal team wants to expedite this sentencing hearing so that he can get sentenced, and then eventually be released to his family.

As Combs again was leaving the courtroom, he said, I'll see you when I get out. Love you all. Be strong. Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: Attorney and Legal Affairs Commentator Areva Martin says it's no surprise that Combs was cleared on some of the charges. Earlier, she spoke with CNN about the difficulty of securing racketeering and sex trafficking convictions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY AND LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, I was disappointed, but not totally surprised. When you think about racketeering and RICO charges, typically you think of mob bosses. You think of gangs who are prosecuted under that particular federal statute.

[04:15:00]

You think of a mob underboss on the witness stand, pointing his finger at the mob boss sitting at that defense table, saying that this guy directed me to engage in criminal conduct. We didn't see that. This was a very unconventional prosecution. The prosecutors did not bring forth any of the alleged co- conspirators. There was no one else charged along with Sean "Diddy" Combs. There were no witnesses on behalf of the prosecutors who came forward, to point the finger and say that Sean Combs directed them to engage in criminal conduct.

And likewise with the sex trafficking charges, unconventional way in which they were prosecuted by this team. Typically, again, many people think of sex trafficking as involving individuals in an arm's length relationship, not people involved like Cassie and Sean combs in an 11 year relationship. And then the three year relationship that Jane, the witness who testified as Jane, and Sean Combs who were in a three year relationship.

So there were many elements to the prosecution's case that were unconventional. And quite frankly, the jurors decided that the evidence presented by this prosecutorial team fell short of providing what they needed obviously to convict him on those charges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: The man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in their home in 2022 has formally admitted to their murders. Thirty-year old Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty, Wednesday, in a deal with prosecutors which will spare him the death penalty. CNN's Jean Casarez reports from outside the courthouse in Boise, Idaho where the victims' families remain torn over that plea deal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bryan Kohberger now an admit murderer.

STEVEN HIPPLER, JUDGE: Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?

BRYAN KOHBERGER, FORMER CRIMINOLOGY STUDENT: Yes.

CASAREZ: Pleading guilty to all Counts of the 2022 murders, students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin.

HIPPLER: Did you, on November 13, 2022, enter the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho with the intent to commit the felony crime of murder?

KOHBERGER: Yes.

CASAREZ: Kohberger agreed to spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of appeal.

HIPPLER: You understand that by entering the guilty plea in this case you would be giving up your right to appeal?

KOHBERGER: Yes.

CASAREZ: But he will not face the death penalty, part of the agreement made in a packed courtroom. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't think four life sentences is justice?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, of course not. It's daycare. Prison is daycare here.

CASAREZ: Families of the young victims were in court for the hearing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're all destroyed. We're all let down.

CASAREZ: Earlier, Goncalves' father expressed his outrage to the deal to CNN.

STEVE GONCALVES, FATHER OF KAYLEE GONCALVES: You don't deal with terrorists and you don't deal with people who kill you kids in their sleep. So we'll never see this as justice.

CASAREZ: Not all the victims' families are in agreement.

LEANDER JAMES, REPRESENTS MOTHER AND STEPFATHER OF MADISON MOGEN: We support the plea agreement 100 percent. While we know there are some who do not support it, we ask that they respect our belief that this is the best outcome possible for the victims.

CASAREZ: The prosecution outlined detailed evidence it was planning to present at trial.

BILL THOMPSON, MOSCOW, IDAHO PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: Each victim suffered multiple wounds.

CASAREZ: The four college students returned home around 2:00 AM on November 13, 2022 after enjoying a night out. Between 4:00 and 4:25 AM, a man, all in black, entered the apartment and stabbed the young students while they slept.

THOMPSON: As the defendant was either coming down the stairs or leaving, he encountered Xana and he ended up killing her also with a large knife.

CASAREZ: During the investigation of the gruesome scene, a leather knife sheath was found next to Mogen's body.

THOMPSON: A DNA sample was taken from him and it matched the DNA found on the knife sheath next to Maddie's body.

CASAREZ: Without a trial ahead, some families of the victims are unsure they will ever learn Kohberger's motive. The father of Xana Kernodle writing in a statement, "I had hoped the agreement would include conditions that required the defendant to explain his actions and provide answers to the many questions that still remain."

The families have questions. One of them is why did he commit these murders? The families will be able to give victim impact statements on July 23rd during the formal sentencing of Bryan Kohberger right here at the Ada County Courthouse. Jean Casarez, CNN, Boise, Idaho.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LEE: There's a glimmer of hope for a ceasefire in Gaza, but there's still at least one major hurdle to clear before it becomes a reality. That's just ahead. Plus, with Ukrainian forces already strained, they could now face the prospects of tens of thousands of more North Korean troops on the battlefield fighting for Russia.

[04:20:05]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEE: An update on our breaking news out of Washington, where debate is underway in the House on President Trump's domestic policy bill after it cleared a key procedural hurdle just a short time ago. The bill advance after a group of Republican holdouts reversed course, leaving just one GOP no vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson says he expects final passage of the bill in just a matter of hours.

[04:24:58]

Top Hamas leaders are expected to meet today to decide whether to accept the new US ceasefire plan for Gaza. That's according to a source who said that if Hamas agrees, it would quickly move on to further talks with Israel. The Israeli government is already on board with the proposal, which reportedly offers Hamas stronger assurances about reaching a deal to end the war.

The proposal would reportedly lead to the release of at least some hostages held in Gaza and more humanitarian aid. But the US State Department now says Gaza can never receive enough humanitarian aid as long as fighting is going on. Paula Hancocks is watching developments from Abu Dhabi.

Paula, what more are you learning about this latest ceasefire proposal that's been accepted by Israel and is the expectation that Hamas will accept these latest terms?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, MJ, certainly what we have learned from a source familiar with this situation is that, there have been efforts to try and bridge the gap between Hamas and Israel, specifically when it comes to putting in stronger US assurances that they will develop a permanent end to the war. It's believed this deal at this point is a 60 day temporary cease fire within which that timeframe the two sides will then try and secure that permanent ceasefire.

Now it's understood that Hamas has been pushing for this permanent end to a war for some time, but Israel has been more resistant, preferring a temporary rest and trying to secure the release of more hostages, but being able to go back into Gaza militarily if it feels that it needs to. So this appears to be the significance difference with this proposal that there would be, we hear from one source, even after the 60 day ceasefire, if there's not an agreement, then it wouldn't be an automatic return to war, that there would be an effort to continue those negotiations.

So we know that Hamas will be meeting on Thursday. Top Hamas officials will be discussing this proposal. And we understand from a source familiar that the Israeli side has agreed to the proposal in this form.

Now we know that the strategic affairs minister of Israel, a very close confidant of the Israeli prime minister, was in Washington on Tuesday. He met with Trump administration officials and that is where he agreed to this deal which led to the US President saying that Israel has met and agreed to the conditions to finalize this deal.

Now, President Trump has been very vocally supportive of a deal and a ceasefire hostage deal in Gaza. And certainly that kind of pressure would have some bearing on the Israeli prime minister. Now, a source also says that within this proposal we would see a significant amount of humanitarian aid getting into Gaza during that 60 days, but through the UN run humanitarian infrastructure.

So this was how it used to be done before the US and Israeli backed GHF was put in place. A controversial aid site group that has seen hundreds of Palestinians being killed while waiting for aid or trying to get to the areas where aid was being distributed. So this is a key issue as well, the fact that it would go back to the United Nations run, the United Nations approved infrastructure which is in place. And it seems to be answer to pressure from the UN, from all the humanitarian aid groups on the ground saying that the way it was done through GHF was simply not working and it was a deadly way to try and distribute aid.

So looking for the next few days, we know on Saturday, there will be a full cabinet meeting in Israel that Benjamin Netanyahu will hold. He will be discussing this proposal within that meeting. And then on Sunday, he travels to Washington where on Monday he will meet with the US President.

So there are a lot of moving parts at this point, but certainly we appear to be closer than we have been for many months. But of course there is always that caution that we have appeared to be close to a deal many times in the past only for it to fail. But certainly that does appear to be some momentum this time around. MJ?

LEE: Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, thank you. Iran's president has approved a law suspending cooperation with the UN Nuclear Watchdog one week after Parliament passed the legislation. Iran is accusing the International Atomic Energy Agency of collaborating with Israel and providing a pathway for strikes on its nuclear facilities, claims that the IAEA denies.

The US State Department is slamming Iran's decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAMMY BRUCE, US STATE DEPARTMENT PRESS SECRETARY: It is, we'll use the word unacceptable, that Iran chose to suspend cooperation with the IAEA at a time when it has a window of opportunity to reverse course and choose a path of peace and prosperity. Iran must cooperate fully without further delay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)