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Inside Politics

Trump's DOJ Indicts Another Of His Self-Proclaimed Enemies; Israelis Celebrate Shabbat In Hostage Square; Ceasefire Begins As Hostages Could Be Released By Monday; White House Attacks Nobel Committee Not Giving Award To Trump; Federal Workers Get Final Paycheck Until Shutdown Resolved. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired October 10, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST, INSIDE POLITICS: Today on Inside Politics, new reporting reveals the president's Truth Social post, demanding more prosecutions was meant for Pam Bondi's eyes only as her Justice Department indicts another official on that enemies list.

Plus, a break from battle. The Gaza ceasefire takes hold. Israeli hostages could be free this weekend. And the White House lashes out at the Nobel Committee for not recognizing the president with the peace prize.

And the two women who want to be Vaginia's next governor met on stage last night. We heard one of the wildest sentences you'll hear all year, and that's saying something.

I'm Dana Bash. Let's go behind the headlines at Inside Politics.

We begin with that blurred line between the White House and the Justice Department. In just 48 hours, a perceived top political enemy of the president's was arraigned in federal court and another indicted.

New York Attorney General Letitia James' indictment on mortgage related charges follows a long history of bad blood between James and President Trump. It goes back to a sprawling civil fraud suit she filed and won against the Trump business empire in 2024. Here's a sampling of what he has said about her over the years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We have a racist attorney general who's a horror show. She's got serious Trump derangement syndrome. There's no question about Letitia James, the corrupt attorney general of New York. Did you ever watch her? I will get Donald Trump. James ought to be looked at. He's like the puppet master of the judge. Letitia James is a total corrupt, all they do is want to go after political opponents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now it was less than a month ago that President Trump urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to file charges, saying we can't delay any longer. I'm joined by a terrific group of reporters here. And Evan Perez, I want to start with you. So many questions.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: So many questions.

BASH: So many questions. Let's just start on the James' indictment, because it is interesting that the U.S. attorney that the president put in place, who happens to be his -- one of his former defense attorneys, was, once again, just like with the Comey indictment, the only prosecutor on the case. So, what are you hearing from your sources? Is that because she wanted to be the only one on there or is it because others didn't want to take part.

PEREZ: So, at this point, she has decided she is going to do this alone. She's not going to wait and try to ask people in the office. So, no one in the office was actually told to come on the case and refuse, same thing in the Comey case. She was aware, fully -- fully aware of the opposition within the office to this case, as well as to the case against James Comey.

But she decided, obviously, she arrived two weeks ago, knowing full well what the president wanted, and she decided that she was going to bring these cases, and this -- and let the grand jury decide what it would. And, you know, we have to say, look, I mean, she's -- this is only her second time going before the grand jury, and she's managed to, both times, get indictments that she was looking for. In the Comey case, she got two out of the three charges.

But what it shows you is, a, you know the former president -- the president's former personal attorney, knows her remit, and she is going forward with cases that she knows are very important to him, which has been a hesitation inside the department, right? We've seen this in Trump season one and Trump season two now.

BASH: It's a hesitation in the department because this is shattering the norm.

PEREZ: It's shattering the norms. We've never seen a president openly tell the department what he wanted to do against his political enemies. There's always been that sort of unspoken thing where you -- the Justice Department supposed to act independently, partly because what you want is the public to have confidence that these cases are being brought, not for political reasons, but because of the merit and the facts and the law.

BASH: Now, the man who the president initially wanted for this job, for the U.S. attorney's role--

PEREZ: A Trump supporter.

BASH: A Trump supporter. Well, yes. I'm talking -- I was actually going to bring up somebody different. Ed Martin, he tweeted out, who is -- who is a huge loyalist to the president. He's now in the Justice Department, doing January 6 cleanup. He put on Truth Social the following, promises made, promises kept. So, if we didn't have that very lengthy post from the president himself, this is just, which tells us what's happening. This underscores that, and that's just two days after he showed a photo of himself with Lindsey Halligan, who is that attorney that we were talking about.

PEREZ: Right. And he also tweeted another one of -- an eagle flying over Brooklyn or New York. A very clear indication of what he knew was about to happen, right? And look, I mean, I think Ed Martin and Lindsey Halligan are showing how this new justice department works. They have direct relationships with the president. They can pick up the phone and talk to the president anytime they want.

[12:05:00]

In previous Justice Department, including in the first Trump administration, there was a separation that only the attorney general -- deputy attorney general, very limited ways that they could communicate with the White House. That norm has been shattered. And everyone is basically like, we don't care what your norms are. This is how it's done now, and we don't really care what people's perception of it is. They're going to go forward.

I should say, though. This case against Letitia James, you know, this is a paperwork case. These cases are traditionally, you know, pretty simple for prosecutors to bring and to be able to get a jury to buy into. So, she does have a problem here because it is the paperwork, right, she does.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: And to your point about the difference between season one and season two, it is one of the biggest frustrations of President Trump from his first term in office, was Jeff Sessions and how he did not take control of the Justice Department. When you talk to the president's top advisors, that is the thing--

(CROSSTALK)

ZELENY: --for sure, for sure, during the whole first term. And Bill Barr was loyal, but just not loyal enough. But this is an entirely different ball game. So that is what the president is, that's what he wanted. That's what he's getting. And it also is obviously sending a message to a handful of others that those indictments are likely to come next. We can almost list through people who you'll be covering coming up.

PEREZ: Yes, exactly.

BASH: And David, we -- our colleague Alayna Treene matched some reporting from friend of the show Josh Dawsey, over at The Wall Street Journal, which just going back to that lengthy social post that the president put out there on September 20, several weeks ago, that it will live in infamy. Where he said, Pam, I have reviewed 30 statements, and this is the one in which he talks specifically about Comey, about Adam Schiff, about Letitia James. And so, what Alayna is now reporting as well is that that wasn't meant to be public. That was supposed to be a direct message. A lot to unpack with that as well. First of all, like this is how the president communicates privately with his attorney general, not just the method, but obviously the substance. Particularly since most of this is -- are things that he has said public.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF & POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, that I think is key, right? I mean, yes, this clearly was intended, according to our reporting and others, as a direct message. But in no way is it different from what he was saying publicly for everyone to be able to hear him and understand what his directive was.

Although, the fact that it was intended as a direct message, I would imagine, Evan, correct me if I'm wrong, for the lawyers you talk to. But like that will come into a selective prosecution case as a data point that that I would imagine defense attorneys would bring.

PEREZ; Oh, absolutely. These are exhibits that are going to be used in a motion to dismiss this and in the Comey case as well. Because, I mean, it does show that the president is putting his weight behind this.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, BLOOMBERG POLITICAL & POLICY COLUMNIST: Yeah, I mean, it shows him directly pressing her to do something very specific. We talk about the other folks who likely get indicted. Adam Schiff is on that list. You'll probably--

PEREZ: John Bolton is coming, right?

HENDERSON: Yeah, in the next weeks or so.

BASH: You mentioned some names. Let's just--

HENDERSON: Yeah. These are other folks. And listen, this is something that Donald Trump campaigned on. He talked very openly about him being the people's retribution, and his second term has ended up being one that's essentially a revenge tour where he is breaking these norms, where the Justice Department are essentially operating as his own lawyers in going after people that he wants to go after.

BASH: David, one of the many reasons I love having you on the show is, I get to pull the curtain back for our viewers. And they can hear some of the very smart things you tell us all behind the scenes. And putting this -- putting all -- connecting all the dots and putting this in perspective, so.

CHALIAN: Well, I mean to me, I think this is just a fear for the country, because Donald Trump is not always going to be president, right? And somebody else will be president. My big concern is, if you rip the blindfold off of justice, the way it is intended to be, and we get into a cycle of partisan political retribution through the justice system in this country as administrations change. I don't know how the American people are going to have any faith in a truly blind justice system. And to me, that's -- I'm not saying, we're the potential slippery slope. I think we are on that slippery slope. BASH: All right. Up next. And the winner is not Donald Trump, and the White House is attacking the Nobel Committee for snubbing President Trump as the tenuous Gaza ceasefire starts to take hold.

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[12:10:00]

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BASH: Israel says the ceasefire is in effect, and IDF troops are withdrawing from parts of Gaza. Since the ceasefire went into effect, thousands of Gazans have been heading toward northern Gaza, many on foot, carrying their belongings. And in Tel Aviv, families are gathered in Hostage Square, starting to observe Shabbat as they eagerly anticipate the return of their loved ones who have been held captive by Hamas for more than two years. Now, according to the deal, the hostages have to be returned to Israel by Monday at noon local time. President Trump will be in Israel on Monday.

[12:15:00]

Vivian Salama of the Atlantic joins us here at the table. This is one of those moments where we just have to stop, as we did yesterday, and say, wow. This is a really big deal.

VIVIAN SALAMA, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: It is a really big deal. I think a lot of people are cautiously optimistic, and we keep hearing that over and over again because ceasefires in the past have failed where, you know, one side or the other breaks the agreement, the fighting begins again. This time, officials seem a lot more optimistic, and there's a couple of reasons for it. A, they've agreed to a permanent ceasefire, which is a little bit different than what we saw in the past.

Most of the ceasefires were meant to just last temporarily. And Hamas usually use the hostages as bargaining chips. They would never really agree to release all of them in the way that they have this time around. Obviously, time has passed, and that has worked in the favor of these negotiators.

There's a fatigue on both sides. Hamas, certainly, their military capabilities have been diminished. But even Israel, you know, economically, militarily, they've suffered losses in the last two years, and everybody just getting to a point where they want to see the fighting stop. And so, we're waiting and seeing. Obviously, the hostages being released is going to be a huge moment.

President Trump heading over there to the Middle East to kind of take part in that. Once that happens, I think everyone is going to be looking very positively toward what is to come next. But it's a long road. Gaza is in ruins. And so, we have to remember that, you know, it is -- it is a great first step, but enormous challenges remain, and the ceasefire remains very fragile.

BASH: Yeah. And, you know, hopefully Western journalists will finally be able to get into Gaza to really see for themselves, which is too dangerous, understandably until now. This is Inside Politics, so I want to talk about the politics of this war that has been so prominent, particularly within the Democratic Party.

I want you to listen to Congressman Greg Meeks of New York this morning. And how he talked about this deal vis a vis the president, but also what's happening on the ground there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D-NY): I think the White House should be complimented for successfully getting to the first phase or so it seems. I want to make sure that we dot every I and cross every T. I want to see those hostages home and safe. I want to see aid flowing into Gaza. We've got a lot of work to do, but this is a very big and important first step.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And that mirrors almost verbatim what we heard from the Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democrats. How do you see this playing specifically within the Democratic Party?

CHALIAN: Yeah. I would say Greg Meeks actually went even a little further by actually crediting the White House. A lot of Democrats, Barack Obama included, have been sort of welcoming the development, but not quite going as far to credit President Trump or credit the White House, which they clearly deserve credit to get to this moment.

Dana, do you recall? I know you do. So, I shouldn't ask it that way. But a year and a half ago, more than that, do you remember that Michigan primary that Joe Biden was running in against uncommitted and where we saw the pro-Palestinian forces inside domestic American politics. That was a big story we covered. That has been coursing through democratic politics for the last two years.

And so, we see it in the current Michigan primary. We see it in the New York City mayor's race. We've seen this divide inside the Democratic Party over this issue as a real factor inside the party. And I would just wonder, and I don't know how this will play out, but going to this new phase, this ceasefire, this war coming to an end potentially. If that has also an effect of sort of cooling those intra party tensions that have been a key identity component of the Democratic Party in the last two years.

BASH: Yeah. I mean, it is interesting that the ceasefire now -- protests have been very quiet now that there's actually a ceasefire now.

HENDERSON: Yeah. I think that's right. I mean, you talk about it coursing through the Democratic Party. I mean, Kamala Harris is on book tour, and she is getting protesters around this. She had to remind people that she is not the president at this point, but it was so determinative.

And listen, it's, Evan, still as you said, playing a role in the Mamdani race with people not wanting to come out and endorse him, particularly African, Americans because he was uncommitted and didn't endorse Kamala Harris. So, this is something that hangs heavy, and you see the polling here--

CHALIAN: But she endorsed her.

HENDERSON: Yeah, yes, she did, she did. You see the polling shifting on this in terms of support for the -- for Palestinians, in terms of criticism around Israel's handling of this war. So, this is a new phase. It's the beginning of a new chapter over there, ideally, and we'll see if this piece holds.

[12:20:00]

BASH: I want to talk about the Nobel Peace Prize. This is from the president's Communications Director, Steven Cheung this morning, when he did not win for 2024. President Trump will continue -- 2024 into now. President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars and saving lives. He has the heart of the humanitarian and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will. The Nobel Committee proved they placed politics over peace.

And as I bring you in, Jeff, I just want to read a couple of quotes from the Norwegian Nobel Committee press release this morning. When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.

And then they went on to talk specifically about what's happening in Venezuela and the mistreatment of its own people, saying that it is not unique. We see the same trends globally, rule of law abused by those in control, free media silenced, critics imprisoned, and societies pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarization.

ZELENY: Look, I mean, that could be certainly said by some critics of the president here, it was obviously not intended for this domestic audience. But look, the bottom line of this is we talk about norms being broken. One of the norms that has been shattered as well is the president openly campaigning for this and his team openly campaigning for this.

Look, we will see if he gets it next year. He'll certainly be nominated. We will see if peace holds in the Middle East. We will see what the status of the Ukraine, Russian war is. If that would somehow come to an end and the Middle East peace holds, it would be a pretty extraordinary to not have Donald Trump be very seriously considered for this.

However, it is the Nobel Committee, you know, made up of people who don't think the same way Donald Trump does. But I'm thinking back to a Barack Obama -- President Obama winning this in 2009. And it was announced in the fall on an October, Friday, I recall. The White House was stunned.

BASH: Yes. ZELENY: They were not ready for this. They had no idea this was happening. And then I traveled to Oslo with President Obama at the time, and he gave a speech about how some wars are just wars. But again, the Nobel Committee was saying that, one of the reasons that Trump was not heavily considered is because it only went up through January. Well, that was also the case then--

BASH: Yeah. Which is -- real quick, right of time. Which is why -- one of the reasons why Donald Trump is so pissed.

ZELENY: Right.

SALAMA: Oh, absolutely. He has made that very clear. He doesn't make any secret.

BASH: Yeah.

CHALIAN: Maybe one of the top three reasons.

BASH: Ok. Well, on this issue.

HENDERSON: Why he wants the Nobel Prize?

BASH: All right. What happens when hundreds of thousands of federal workers don't get paid?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KADY FRAIZER, NAVY WIFE: We get paid every two weeks. So, yes, that one, if we don't get paid after that, it can start to become a real stressful situation and we will struggle, so.

BASH: Jeff is here now, but he just came back from a city powered by federal workers and he'll tell us what he learned there.

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[12:25:00]

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BASH: It's pay day for more than 1 million furloughed federal workers. But unless there's a breakthrough in the shutdown stalemate, it will be their last check, and it isn't even for a full pay period. Jeff Zeleny visited Hampton Roads, Virginia, where thousands of residents rely on government paychecks to survive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASHTYE BAILEY, NAVY WIFE & VETERAN: We're very stressful, and honestly, I pray that it doesn't roll into those many days this time around.

ZELENY (voiceover): Bashtye Bailey is thinking back to the last government shutdown and counting the days until her family's military paycheck may stop again. BAILEY: We got paid on the first and we'll see what happened from here on out, but there's already a strain there.

ZELENY (voiceover): A navy wife and a veteran herself. Bailey is standing in line at a food bank for military families, where demand is rising, as the shutdown stretches into its second week. The U.S. government is the economic lifeblood of Hampton Roads, Virginia, with tens of thousands of active-duty military, shipbuilders and civilian contractors. Here, fallout from a shutdown is more practical than political. Richard Maigue is already frying up fewer smash burgers at Kitchenfinity, the restaurant he and his wife own just outside the world's largest naval station.

RICHARD MAIGUE, OWNER, KITCHENFINITY: I think they're looking at, hey, I don't get paid in the next week or so. Where do I put those funds? Everyone needs to eat but they could probably try to maybe cut corners somewhere.

MARICEN CORRALES, OWNER, KITCHENFINITY: Yeah.

MAIGUE: Yeah, that'll affect us.

CORRALES: But tomorrow, we don't know what is our business -- how we're able to survive, really, you know. We don't have any customers coming in.

ZELENY (voiceover): For this region alone, economists estimate the impact of a month-long shutdown at a billion dollars.

BOB MCNAB, CHAIR, DEPT. OF ECONOMICS AT OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY: If you think about how much the federal government occupies a role in our economy, $4 out of every $10. You can see how a prolonged shutdown will have dramatic impacts upon families' finances, but also our ability to function as a region.

ZELENY: How are you?

ZELENY (voiceover): The blame is more immediate.

EVELYN ANDERSON, VIRGINIA VOTER: I think it's Trump and the Republicans, because the Republicans are the ones that's agreeing with him, the yes people that's agreeing with him.

ZELENY (voiceover): And there's plenty to go around.

GRACE COOK, VIRGINIA VOTER: The government shutdown is the Democrats, OK. That's a shimmer shutdown.

ZELENY (voiceover): When President Trump visited here on Sunday to mark the Navy's 250th anniversary, he offered this promise.

TRUMP: We will get our service members every last penny. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it.

FRAIZER: I think we're going to get a broccoli.

ZELENY (voiceover): But back at the food bank, Kady Frazier is worried for her husband, a navy technician and their children.

FRAIZER: We get paid every two weeks. So, yes, that one. If we don't get paid after that, it can start to become a real stressful situation. We will struggle, so.