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Isa Soares Tonight
Trump Vows To Sue Wall Street Journal And Owner Rupert Murdoch; Pope Leo Appeals For Gaza Ceasefire; Bolsonaro Ordered To Wear Ankle Tag; Clashes Mar Shaky Truce In Southern Syria; Brazil's Former President Ordered To Wear Ankle Monitor; CBS To End The Late Show With Stephen Colbert In May; President Trump Signs Landmark Stablecoin Bill Into Law. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired July 18, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, a bombshell story puts the White House
in damage control mode. U.S. President Trump vows to sue the "Wall Street Journal" over a report detailing birthday letters to Jeffrey Epstein.
I discuss why this case just won't go away with a political analyst. Then Pope Leo appeals to Israel's Prime Minister to end the war in Gaza after an
Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic Church killed three people. We have the latest for you. And Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro is ordered
to wear an electronic ankle tag amid fears, he may leave the country before his trial ends.
But first tonight, a new bombshell report is providing rocket fuel to already growing uproar facing the White House over the Jeffrey Epstein
case. This is after the "Wall Street Journal" reported what it is describing is about a 2003 letter sent to Epstein on his 50th birthday,
bearing Trump's name.
Now, the paper says the letter included a suggestive drawing of a woman and concluded with, and I'm quoting here, "happy birthday, and may every day be
another wonderful secret." The President slammed the report, calling it fake, saying, I don't draw pictures of women, and adding that it's not my
language, not my words.
He is vowing to sue the paper, which by the way, is controlled by his friend Rupert Murdoch, posting that he looks forward, as you can see there
on Truth Social, to getting Murdoch to testify. The President, meanwhile, bowing to immense pressure from his MAGA base, is now calling for the
release of what he's calling pertinent grand jury testimony in the case.
Attorney General Pam Bondi indicated that Justice Department officials will be in federal court today to make that request. And Trump's relationship
with Epstein; a convicted sex offender, as you know, goes back decades, and the growing fallout facing the President is in many ways, as we've been
discussing here on the show a week, of his own doing.
After years of fueling conspiracy theories about the case, Mr. Trump rode a wave back to the White House in part on his promise to release the Epstein
files. The administration's announcement last week that there was no Epstein client list and there was nothing to see, you remember, enraged
many of the President's hard core supporters.
Their long believe in Mr. Trump is the person to uncover the secrets of the people they see as the corrupt elite. Well, House Republicans have blocked
votes to force the release of the Epstein files twice now. One lawmaker dismissed as a cynical partisan ploy. But Tim Burchett spoke to CNN
earlier, and said the focus should be on the victims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): This is all politics. We need to be worrying about the victims in this thing, and we need to worry about justice, and
these dirt-bags that were involved with these kids, and we need to publicly ridicule them and possibly hang them. But the reality is, there probably
isn't a list.
You know, I've known a few criminals in my life. Heck, I've served in elected office with a few of them, and they don't keep a list of their
criminal activities. And I -- and Trump's not on this list because he was, Biden would have released it the first day. So, it's a lot of politics and
a lot of hype. We just need to get to the bottom of it, ma'am.
And unfortunately, in this town, when it's delayed, it's kind of like the Kennedy assassination. We're never going to get to the bottom of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, naturally, Democrats are seizing on the latest developments and calling for the release of all the files in the Epstein case. Have a
listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MORGAN MCGARVEY (D-KY): Well, Trump is doing what he normally does, which is lie. You know, he's either lying about what he said about all of
the Epstein conspiracy, or he's lying about the fact they had the files. It's just like he lied when he said he wouldn't touch Medicaid, and now
they've cut Medicaid, released the grand jury files, and then release everything else.
That's what they need to do. And right now, there's no evidence that they're going to do it. When Donald Trump was running, he said he would
release all of the files. I was a lawyer before I was in office, you don't get everything from the grand jury testimony. Release the entire file if
you have nothing to hide, then sunlight being the best disinfectant shouldn't bother you. Release it all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:05:00]
SOARES: Well, we'll go to the White House in just a moment. But first, I want to get the perspective of CNN's senior political analyst Ron
Brownstein, he's also a "Bloomberg" opinion columnist. Ron, great to see you.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to be here --
SOARES: Your first thought on what has been published by the "Wall Street Journal", whether you think the President's kind of losing control of the
narrative here.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I mean, you know, his response today is kind of striking, in that, he has asked a court to do something that it is unlikely to do.
He's -- you know, he's basically promised to release something that he can't control. And he hasn't -- and he hasn't offered to release what he
can control, which is the congressman was saying this was all of the -- all of the files in the possession of the Justice Department.
You know, look, I am not sure that there is any scandal that can separate Trump from his hardcore base. I mean, what may ultimately come out here may
or may not reflect worse on him than what we have seen today. I'm dubious that even if it is -- if it is worse that it will cause a lot of his actual
grassroots supporters to break from him.
But they have created -- they have compounded a problem that is not going away, and their initial response to basically turning to the courts and
saying, you handle it at the same time that they're -- you know, disavowing the legitimacy of the courts and all sorts of other fronts. It doesn't seem
like it's going to put this out.
SOARES: On that point on his base, Trump said regarding this article, Ron, he said, this is not me, this is a fake thing. It's a fake "Wall Street
Journal" story. I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't -- I don't draw pictures of women. It's not my language. It's not my words. And then we saw
some of the kind of major right-wing personalities who previously had criticized him --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes --
SOARES: Handling of this, saying, they don't buy this at all. I'm thinking here of Laura Loomer, Trump ally who had broken previously on him -- with
him on Epstein, she said, and I'm quoting here, "it's totally fake. Everyone who knows President Trump knows he doesn't type letters. He writes
notes in big black sharpie. Trust me, I would know."
Does this "Wall Street Journal" story, Ron, potentially help him win some of that MAGA, those MAGA key personalities? Could this help him kill the
story, so-to-speak?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, it's a miniaturization of the larger truth that we've seen with Trump and the right, particularly evangelical right from the
beginning. I mean, as long as he is fighting their enemies, right? As long as he is kind of a warrior against all the forces in society that they
believe are marginalizing or disrespecting them, they are willing to forgive almost anything in his personal behavior.
Like, you know, when he said I could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue, yes, so long as you are also taking on the news media and elite universities and
law firms and DEI, and all of the other causes the right wants him to pursue. So, having the opportunity to now say, well, the problem is really
the media and they're being unfair to me, gets them back onto more familiar and comfortable ground.
But you do have to say, it is kind of odd that all of these voices on the right have been clamoring for the release of all this --
SOARES: Yes --
BROWNSTEIN: Material, without acknowledging that Trump himself has been repeatedly photographed with this guy, and was potentially vulnerable to
some of the disclosures as well.
SOARES: Yes, and we certainly had B-roll before you to show our viewers, that is just the --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes --
SOARES: Case. Look, speaking of taking on the news media you just brought up there, he said today, as you saw on Truth Social, and that he's going to
sue Rupert Murdoch, as we have seen President Trump as been successful, I think it's fair to say are suing the media, "ABC", "CBS". Where do you see
this battle going between these two heavyweights? If it does go down, you think, the legal route here.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I mean, Trump has been successful, not necessarily because the quality of his legal arguments are so strong --
SOARES: Yes, indeed --
BROWNSTEIN: And people, for example, think the 60 minutes case was ludicrous. But because you have corporate owners who have decided that it
is in effect cheaper to settle because he's willing to leverage all the awesome power of the federal government as kind of a tool to advance his
personal grievances and to hold over those, you know, he believes has wronged him.
I mean, that is really a larger truth that goes way beyond the media. I mean, obviously, what they've done with law firms, even just threatening to
revoke contracts from Elon Musk when Musk broke with him, you know, basically they all reflect the same belief of Trump, that the federal
government really is fundamentally an extension of his will.
A very different vision than we have operated with through all of our history. I assume that this would not have gone into print at a Murdoch
publication without a lot of confidence at the very highest levels, they had to recognize the magnitude of what they were doing, and I suspect they
are going to prepare to fight this in court.
And the question will be whether Trump can find another point of leverage, as he did with "CBS" with the merger or "ABC". That would, you know, compel
or pressure the journal and Murdoch to make a settlement that they might not otherwise based on the facts that they have in their possession.
SOARES: Yes, I imagine a story of this magnitude want to be done overnight in months, of course, in the making --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes --
SOARES: For something like the "Wall Street Journal". Just add some meat here to what happens next into the legal for our viewers around the world,
because we did hear President Trump ask Pam Bondi, his Attorney --
[14:10:00]
BROWNSTEIN: Yes --
SOARES: General, to produce what he called any -- and I think he said any pertinent right? Any and all pertinent grand jury testimony subject to
court approval. What exactly does that mean? Explain what the grand juries are in terms of material they gathered here.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, so a grand jury is, you know -- is a panel that a prosecutor convenes to determine whether there is enough evidence to return
an indictment in a case. It's not the jury in the actual trial. It is the kind of the first stage. And traditionally, I'm not a lawyer, but that
information is kept secret. So, as we were saying, you know, Trump is basically pledging to seek the release of information he doesn't control.
While not yet promising to do anything about making public the information he does control within the purview of the Justice Department, and of
course, as others have pointed out already today, this is the same administration that has openly questioned whether district courts should
have the authority to block their initiatives.
I mean, they've kind of suggested that they will not abide by court decisions below the Supreme Court on policy issues, like their use of the
Alien Enemies Act, for example. And now, they are basically saying, hey, there's nothing we can do. You know, it's in the hands of a district judge,
and they will be the ones who decide it.
I suspect, you know, the judge is probably going to be pretty leery of releasing grand jury --
SOARES: Yes --
BROWNSTEIN: Information, but I don't think that's going to be the end of it if a judge says no.
SOARES: Yes, I can almost see it playing out, saying -- the courts saying no, the judge saying no. And then he said, well, I tried, you know, I
called for it first, right?
BROWNSTEIN: That's what he's going to do --
SOARES: Do you see this playing -- is that how you see it playing out?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I think that is. But I don't think that will be sufficient because it's so transparent.
SOARES: Yes, Ron, appreciate it as always, appreciate your insight, Ron, good to see you --
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
SOARES: Now, let's go to the White House, and CNN's Betsy Klein is monitoring all this. Betsy, we were just talking to Ron Brownstein, trying
to get our -- wrap our heads around this story. What has been the reaction from the White House, from President Trump to this blockbuster "Wall Street
Journal" report?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, I think today, there has really been a turning of the tide, a shifting of the message, with the
President now going on offense. And just to recap, it was a little less than two weeks ago that the Department of Justice and the FBI released that
memo that essentially concluded that Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide, and that there was no so-called client list.
Since then, MAGA world has really been in revolt, demanding access to documents, calling for transparency and more information from the
President. The President, meanwhile, has said that this is sorted and not interesting, and really has sought to downplay the Epstein so-called client
list and the files, really essentially wanting this to go away.
And it has really pitted the President against some of his most vocal and ardent supporters, setting up really a loyalty test between the President
and this MAGA movement that he created. It's really been the Frankenstein scenario here. But as that pressure on the President intensified, including
that new "Wall Street Journal" story that detailed a birthday letter that the President -- it says the President sent to Jeffrey Epstein on the
occasion of his 50th birthday back in 2003.
That letter bearing Trump's name. The President announced that he was going to ask Attorney General Pamela Bondi to unseal any pertinent testimony
related to Jeffrey Epstein. The President saying in a post to social media last night, quote, "based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to
Jeffrey Epstein, I've asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent grand jury testimony subject to court approval."
And then we heard from Bondi herself who responded in her own statement, quoting the President and adding, "President Trump, we are ready to move
the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts." Of course, it's a little easier said than done. A Justice Department official confirmed to
CNN, that the government will file that request in federal court in Manhattan at some point today.
It's unclear if that has happened at this stage. But this really could kick off what could be a very lengthy process. And if that request is granted,
big "if" there, that testimony would really only represent a small fraction of the entirety of the evidence that was compiled during the Epstein
investigation.
Meanwhile, the President continuing to lash out at the "Wall Street Journal". He says it is not his words. He says he doesn't draw -- he's
really reverting here to a familiar playbook that he has -- that has served him well, attacking the media, and that has reunited him with some of those
supporters who he had been at odds with in recent days. The President, calling the story and the letter fake, and vowing to sue the "Journal" and
Rupert Murdoch, its owner.
SOARES: On Rupert Murdoch there, clearly, the President, Betsy, is fuming with this report from the "Wall Street Journal". What does he have to say
about Rupert Murdoch? Because that is, you know, quite a relationship they both had.
[14:15:00]
KLEIN: Right. They have had a very lengthy and close personal relationship. And it's notable that the President was in New Jersey with Rupert Murdoch
in his box at the FIFA Club World Cup Championship just on Sunday. So, clearly, they are very close. The President said that he had warned Murdoch
against publishing this story, said that he told him it was fake, and the President now saying essentially that he plans to sue his and his words
here, I'm quoting his ass off.
So, clearly, we will wait to see. We don't know yet at this stage if the President has spoken with Rupert Murdoch since the "Wall Street Journal"
published this story, but that will be something to watch there.
SOARES: Betsy Klein, thank you, Betsy. Well, in Los Angeles, at least, three people have died after an explosion at a Sheriff's Department
Training Center. That is according to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bondi says that federal agents are at the scene and working to learn more
about what caused the incident.
A source tells CNN, the explosion happened early on Friday at a facility housing the county sheriff's bomb squad. And still to come tonight, a very
rare trip to Gaza by senior church leaders from Jerusalem. They visited a Catholic Church hit in an Israeli strike, and they didn't come empty-
handed. And peace on shaky ground.
Details ahead on this week's ceasefire in Syria as the U.N. weighs in on the conflict. Both those stories after this very short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Senior church leaders from Jerusalem made a very rare visit to Gaza today to show solidarity with the congregation that came under attack. They
visited Gaza's only Catholic Church a day after an Israeli strike killed three people there. Church leaders say hundreds of displaced people were
sheltering inside at the time, and that includes children.
Israel says stray ammunition hit the church by mistake, adding it, quote, "deeply regrets the incident". Church leaders brought hundreds of tons of
food aid with them, as you can see there as well as medical supplies, as Gaza's population faces a deepening humanitarian crisis. Gaza -- Israel,
pardon me, tightly restricts access to Gaza.
So, the church leaders visit is unusual enough, but they say they also ensured that people injured in the strike would be evacuated for treatment
outside Gaza. The director, Al-Ahli Hospital is asking where they can leave while all the other scores of wounded in Gaza cannot, suggesting they are
treated differently based on their religion.
[14:20:00]
Every day, it seems a humanitarian crisis sinks to an unfathomable new low. The Palestinian Health Ministry says an unprecedented number of starving
civilians are now arriving at hospitals, their bodies so weakened by hunger and fatigue, as we've showed you, that they're now at the risk of imminent
death.
The Health Ministry says 69 children have already died from malnutrition. Our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson joins me now. Nic, let's
start first or with the church leaders that we saw on this following this attack at the only Catholic Church in Gaza. And I remember this church
because the priests in that church from covering the previous pope, he had daily calls with --
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Francis, knew the pope --
SOARES: Well, Francis, right?
ROBERTSON: Yes, very well. This priest, the Parish priest has been there 30 years, who was Argentinean, shared that --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: With the pope, and the pope, you know, through the whole of the Gaza war, wanted to know what was going on. And he would call in and they'd
have daily conversations about the situation. So, it's very significant, I think, and you get a sense of just how much pressure there is on Prime
Minister Netanyahu at the moment to be ending the war, to be getting a lasting ceasefire.
That he came out very quickly and spoke about the -- you know, that this was a mistake, that this was errant ammunition. And indeed, he spoke with
Pope Leo today as well, saying the same thing. And the pope told Prime Minister Netanyahu, you know, avoid religious sites, ease the humanitarian
situation. That's not happening.
SOARES: And the fact that these religious leaders are being allowed into Gaza --
ROBERTSON: It's huge --
SOARES: That's quite significant --
ROBERTSON: It is -- again, this speaks to the amount of pressure the Israeli government is on from the international community, you know, from
religious leaders like the --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Pope, from so many others to end the conflict in Gaza. That the sensitivities are so high that so quickly, Israel would let these religious
leaders go in to sort of draw out, if you will, some of the ire to show that they're doing the right thing. The problem is when Prime Minister
Netanyahu assures the pope and others that they try to avoid civilian casualties and avoid hitting religious sites, that no one in Gaza believes
that, because they see what's happening --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Around them. So, they're -- and so, you know, for the people in Gaza, those are empty words. You know, I think the other part of the
context that you're talking about, the malnutrition. But there was video from the markets in Gaza today, people running through, protesting that the
prices are so high. What we're watching is society breaking down in Gaza --
SOARES: Yes, crumbling, a total crumbling --
ROBERTSON: Yes --
SOARES: Down of society as we've been showing our viewers here on the show. And this speaks to the pressure or maybe the lack thereof when it comes to
ceasefire. We saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. There was so much momentum and hope that something would come out of that.
He left empty-handed, and now we're hearing from both sides, not great signs, why is it stalling? I mean, there are so many --
ROBERTSON: We know --
SOARES: Elements in this --
ROBERTSON: Why is it stalling? It's very hard to know because we're not inside the rooms where the --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Discussions are being had. Look, there are divisions within that I'm hearing from sources within, you know, between inside of Hamas,
different factions of -- with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, where they both agree is that they are not seeing a clear position from the United
States. What happens after 60 days?
SOARES: Right --
ROBERTSON: They want that. So, that's been a very big -- and this is what we're hearing today. Just sort of giving you a bit of background of why
people have been thinking that perhaps there was some momentum getting back in the talks in the past couple of days because Israel had decided to
withdraw its demand that troops would stay in this Morag --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Corridor. That was very important for the Palestinian groups. But now you have Hamas saying, look, if Israel, you don't get into
negotiations about a permanent ceasefire, we're not going to guarantee you that we're ever going to stop fighting you. And by the way, we won't be
able to guarantee that we can release these ten living hostages that are potentially part of the deal that's under discussion.
And Israel is saying, well, Hamas is proving intransigent because they won't give us the sort of the key of how many Palestinian prisoners get
exchanged for Israeli prisoners in the past. This is something that generally gets worked out. So, both sides are blaming each other. So again,
it looks like an impasse.
SOARES: And very briefly, what is United States say on this? Because I haven't heard President Trump touch on this, on Gaza for some time now.
ROBERTSON: But we've heard this ambassador get quite short with the Israeli government over the issue of visas for religious -- Christian religious
groups that visit Israel. We've heard him be critical over the -- over settlers for the killing of an American-Palestinian in the occupied --
SOARES: It's just being investigated apparently --
ROBERTSON: Which is being investigated. But again, I think what we're hearing -- what President Trump wants, a ceasefire.
[14:25:00]
He put on pressure. He created the expectation that was coming. It hasn't happened. And now you're getting a sense from the Israeli -- from the U.S.
Ambassador to Israel about these other underlying frustrations. I think it speaks to the fact that President Trump would like to see it done, and
believes that Prime Minister Netanyahu is the one that can move it most.
But as I say, both sides are putting out their positions, Friday. They're both putting out positions of why the other side is not helping.
SOARES: My goodness, we are far away from this for now. Thank you very much, Nic, appreciate it. Well, we're going to leave Gaza for just a moment
and turn to Syria because a shaky ceasefire appears to be holding for now. But the country's President says there are some violations, and he's
calling for restraint from militant groups.
This week, Syria deployed troops, as you all know, to the flashpoint city of Sweida amid fighting between the Druze and the Bedouin communities.
Those troops have since pulled out, but Israel says it won't rule out further strikes. It launched a series of attacks on Damascus after vowing
to protect the Druze.
Meanwhile, the U.N. says nearly 80,000 people have been displaced by the violence. Get more from our Ben Wedeman. And Ben, you know this story
better than most. You've been covering it for years. Just give us, first of all, your sense of whether -- first of all, do we know whether this is
holding?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If it's holding, it's not holding very well. I've spent the day looking at social media videos of
summary executions, beatings, variety of atrocities, dead bodies in the streets of Sweida, and certainly, the indications are that it's not
holding.
We -- it does appear, for instance, that there was fighting to the north and west of the city of Sweida. And what we heard, for instance, from
Volker Turk, the head of the U.N. Human Rights Office, is that they are receiving credible reports of what he described as summary executions,
arbitrary killings, kidnappings and looting.
And certainly, that is confirmed by the video that we've been watching today. We've heard from residents of Sweida who say that the situation
there is very tense, that the city is full of Druze militia men, and the outskirts, there are many Arab tribal Bedouin elements as well, who have
been involved in clashes.
The city of Sweida has had very intermittent communications, apparently, they haven't had electricity for the last five days. There isn't any water
either, bakeries are closed, so, the situation does seem to be deteriorating, despite the fact that earlier this week, U.S., Turkish and
Arab diplomats worked out this ceasefire, perhaps to prevent a further escalation of the switch situation.
But really, I mean, what we're seeing is after decades of rule by the Assad dynasty, suddenly the lid is off in Syria, and all sorts of demons long-
suppressed are escaping. And of course, this isn't the first incident of communal violence we've seen in Syria. Back in March, as many as 1,500
people were killed in along the Syrian coast, many of them members of the Alawite minority, to which, of course, the Assad family were members.
And back in May, there was a somewhat smaller outbreak of fighting between government forces and Druze as well. So, a situation very unstable, and
there is a lot of pessimism regarding how long this latest ceasefire is going to --
SOARES: Yes --
WEDEMAN: Hold. Isa.
SOARES: And you were touching on some of the sectarian divisions there, Ben, within Syria. And that speaks to -- just underscores how much of a --
of a challenge this will be for President Sharaa. I wonder if this is an opportunity also, here Ben, for him to engage kind of politically with the
-- you know, the Bedouin tribes, the Druze militias. Just how challenging do you think this will be for him? How does he navigate this?
WEDEMAN: Well, keep in mind that there's a lot of distrust towards the provisional government in Damascus because of course, Ahmed al-Sharaa was a
leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which is an offshoot of al Qaeda. And so, many of the minorities, the Druze, the Kurds, the Alawites, the Christians
in Syria are very wary, very distrustful of them.
You know, it's like the Pandora's box has been opened, you know, but it's in backwards. Initially in December, with the fall of the regime, there was
an outpouring of optimism, of hope. Hope, of course, was the last thing to come out of Pandora's Box. But now, we're seeing all these sectarian demons
coming out, and the government in Damascus, even though it has incorporated some technocratic elements, members of the various other sectarian groups
in Syria.
[14:30:14]
The question is, how long can he keep it together? And I think we're starting to see, since certainly March with those clashes along the Syrian
coast, cracks beginning to appear and those cracks are getting wider.
SOARES: A very worrying picture indeed. Ben Wedeman for us. Thank you very much, Ben. Good to see you.
Well, I want to go to Russia because the Kremlin sharply criticizing the latest round of E.U. sanctions, calling them illegal, as well as anti-
Russian. The measures focus in large part on Russian oil and gas. Some of the Russia's main sources of income used of course to finance his war
effort in Ukraine.
The E.U. has banned operations of the Nord Stream pipelines, a pair of natural gas lines running under the Baltic Sea. The sanctions also impose a
lower cap on Russian oil and target more than 100 shadow fleet ships used to dodge international sanctions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
has welcomed the move, calling it essential as well as timely.
And still to come tonight, Brazil's former president under curfew and forced to wear an ankle monitor. The latest in the case against Trump-ally
Jair Bolsonaro ahead. Plus, CBS calls it a financial decision. We'll dive into the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert just days after
his criticism of the network's settlement with President Trump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:14]
SOARES: Welcome back everyone. To Brazil now where the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, is under curfew, ordered to wear an electronic ankle
monitor and barred from speaking to foreign officials. CNN Brazil reports police also raided his home and political headquarters today. All of this
over his alleged plot to overturn the 2022 presidential election and remain in power.
Here's how he responded to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAIR BOLSONARO, FORMER PRESIDENT, BRAZIL (through translator): I am a former president. I am 70 years old. It's a supreme humiliation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, it comes after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was launching a steep 50 percent tariff, if you remember, on a tariff on
Brazil. That is despite the U.S. having a trade surplus with the country. He tied the move to the prosecution of Bolsonaro who is one of his allies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: President Bolsonaro is not a dishonest man. He loves the people of Brazil. I believe it's a witch hunt
and it shouldn't be happening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's go to Stefano Pozzebon standing by live for us in Bogota, Colombia. So, this is -- I mean, Bolsonaro wearing you know an ankle tag.
He clearly is not very happy at all as we heard there. This speaks to fears perhaps that he may flee. Just give us a sense of what you're hearing from
authorities here.
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, Isa. Well, we heard that yes, the motivation behind these measures that were announced today, which also
include he's barred from speaking to foreign officials. He's barred from using social media. He's barred to speaking with his own son, Eduardo
Bolsonaro, who is currently in the States and lobbying President Trump.
Well, all of this is because the prosecutors felt that Bolsonaro might be at risk of fleeing the country to avoid this trial, this verdict that is
coming at any point right now for him. But at the same time, just like you said, like the shadow cast by the current president -- the shadow cast by
the current president, Donald Trump, is wide and long over all over this story.
There is striking similarities between what happened in the United States in the election in 2021 and then the January 6, 2021 riots, and the
election in 2022 in Brazil and the riots in 2023 at the Brazilian capital in Brasilia. You see, these similarities are what we think are pushing
Trump to take such a strong and personal connection into these trials. Take a listen to what one analyst told me just an hour ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN WINTER, AMERICAS QUARTERLY: I think this is very personal for President Trump. I think that he believes that what is happening in Brazil
right now is political persecution of former President Bolsonaro in a way that reminds Trump of what happened to him, and the parallels between the
2020 election in the United States and the 2022 election in Brazil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: And one thing, Isa, that is really interesting that Brian was telling me -- the analyst, Brian, was telling me just an hour ago, is that
we are here for a collision course between the two current presidents, Lula on one side and Trump on the other, because they really don't have any
incentives to try to mediate. And neither Brazil is very much dependent on trade from the United States, and the same could be said by Trump.
These are countries that although the trade is massive, we're talking about more than one billion U.S. dollars in trade that could be impacted by these
tariffs just on the orange juice trade which is one of the biggest projects that is coming. Well, it's still these two men don't really have any
incentive to backing down. And so you can see that this situation could very much escalate even further especially if Bolsonaro ends up being
convicted.
SOARES: Yes, on that point, Stefano, I mean, the Supreme Court trial, how close are we to this? At what point will -- do you think they'll reach a
conclusion? Where are we on this? Do we have a sense of that?
POZZEBON: If I knew it, Isa, I mean, I would maybe take a flight again to go back to Brasilia. What we heard from sources and from our affiliate in
CNN Brazil would be that the verdict could come maybe late August, maybe early September because the judges are still deliberating. But perhaps
nobody foresaw today's acceleration, today's escalation. Maybe we can see that these could come at any point really now.
And so, well we're keeping a very close eye on Brazil and we'll be ready whenever it happens.
SOARES: You will indeed. Stefano, thank you very much indeed. Pozzebon live for us there in Colombia.
Well, CBS is pulling the plug on one of the most popular late night TV shows in the U.S. It says The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end in
May of next year. The network calls the decision financial, and it made the announcement just weeks after Paramount, CBS's parent company, settled a
$16 million lawsuit with President Trump. Colbert is an outspoken Trump. And this cancellation comes ahead of Paramount's merger with Sky Dance
Media, which will need federal approval.
Here's how Colbert shared the news with the audience at a show taping on Thursday.
[14:40:25]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, THE LATE SHOW: The network will be ending The Late Show in May. And -- yes, I share your feelings. It's not just the end of
our show, but it's the end of The Late Show on CBS. I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Very sad, indeed. Hadas Gold joins me now from New York. So, Hadas, I mean, this was quite the bombshell when it dropped. And it comes as we've
just said a few days after he criticized the parent company. Just thread those two stories for us here.
HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, there are two sort of storylines going on. The one is the economics of this. And CBS when they
are saying that this was a financial decision, they are right. The economics of late-night TV are challenging these days. These shows are
expensive to produce. And as our colleague Brian Stelter has reported, a source telling him that the Colbert show was not profitable. These shows
are just not bringing in the ad money that they were bringing in in the past. So, the economics are changing.
There's also logistical issues, you know, in terms of when contracts need to be signed. Perhaps that's why they announced this when they did. But you
just cannot ignore the political situation that this is happening and this is announcement is coming, the timing of all of this.
As you noted, that settlement with President Trump, most legal scholars called that lawsuit by President Trump over how 60 Minutes, the news
magazine edited interview with Kamala Harris, most of them called it completely bogus. But CBS wanted to get -- and Paramount wanted to get it
off their plate because Paramount is trying to merge with Skydance and that merger needs approval by the Trump Administration and the Federal
Communications Commission.
And so, there's a lot of questions about, you know, that that settlement needed to be made to get it out of the way so they can make this merger. A
lot of questions being raised about whether Ste getting Stephen Colbert off the air is part of trying to grease the wheels for the merger. Perhaps the
new owners don't want it as well.
Again, CBS is denying this. They say that this decision has nothing to do with the show's content or anything going on with Paramount. But even when
you're talking about a financial decision, when you do look at the ratings, Stephen Colbert was the number one watched show. When you compare him to
the other late-night broadcast shows. When you compare him to Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon, he had higher ratings in that hour. And Jimmy Kimmel and
Jimmy Fallon, who I should note, have expressed support for Stephen Colbert, their shows are not getting cancelled.
Now, President Trump is of course celebrating this because Stephen Colbert has been one of his harshest critics now for quite some time. He said he
absolutely loves that Colbert got fired saying his talent was less than his ratings.
What is interesting though, Isa, is to hear actually from members of Congress are getting involved. Senator Warren has said that America
deserves to know if his show was cancelled for political reasons. And Senator Schiff, who by chance happened to be a guest on the show the day
that Stephen Colbert announced that the show was going to be cancelled, has also called for something to -- for people to look into this to see what is
going on, to see whether politics had a play in this.
Now again there the economics of late-night TV, they're hard, they're changing. This is all part of the broader story of people abandoning
traditional TV, watching things online, watching things on social media, but again, Stephen Colbert was the number one show for that hour. And it
doesn't appear as though there was any sort of opportunity given to him to say let's find a way to cut costs maybe once a week, maybe you cut your
salary, cut your staff, something like that. They just made the decision to pull the plug entirely. Isa?
SOARES: And we got the reaction from the President and some politicians. What about Americans? What has been the reaction to this?
GOLD: Well, I mean, when you look on the social media pages for Stephen Colbert -- now, obviously those are going to be his fans -- they are all
protesting this. They are very disappointed. And it has been interesting to also see from his competitors. Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel, both posting
-- Jimmy Kimmel actually posting a bit harshly towards CBS about this decision and how it was made because it also does spell some trouble for
them and for their shows and what the future of late-night TV in this sort of traditional format will really look like.
SOARES: Hadas, thank you very much. Hadas Gold for us there in New York. I appreciate it.
Still to come tonight, anti-migrant sentiment leads to clashes in southeastern Spain. We'll tell you what has led to multiple nights of
violence. That's just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:47:15]
SOARES: Intense wildfires in Spain have led to evacuations as firefighters rush to stop the flames. Video shows efforts to combat the billowing smoke
in towns near Madrid. Spain civil guard has evacuated dozens of people in Mentrida and Calypo Fado.
And immigration rhetoric from far-right groups in Spain is surging on social media, adding fuel to the fire. Violent clashes have broken out in a
southeastern town between far-right groups residents and North African migrants. At least 13 people have been detained after many nights of
unrest.
Pau Mosquera takes a look at how the conflict began.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAU MOSQUERA, CNN SPAIN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tension has boiled over in Torre Pacheco, a small town in southeastern Spain, after days of
antimigrant clashes. For several nights, violence rocked this community of 41,000 where nearly a third are foreigners most from Africa. The spark, a
violent assault on July 9th when a 68-year-old local was attacked. He claimed his attackers were Moroccan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Those without papers should pack up and leave.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We are tired of the situation. Very tired. We don't feel safe when we go out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): What times we live in? We are in the year 2025. We should be valuing immigrants united with mutual love.
MOSQUERA (voice-over): Police arrested some suspects, but have not confirmed their nationality, only that they weren't locals. Still, far-
right groups ceased on the incident, using social media to organize what they call migrant hunts. 13 people have been detained in connection with
the unrest. More than 100 civil guard officers were deployed.
The alleged ringleader detained in Mataro, hundreds of kilometers away, now faces hate crime charges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): How is this our fault? We're afraid to leave town because of this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is a diverse municipality. We only want to live in harmony and peace.
MOSQUERA (voice-over): Officials are urging calm and warning against hate speech, blaming far-right agitators.
ELMA SAIZ, SPANISH MINISTER OF INCLUSION, SOCIAL SECURITY, AND MIGRANTS (through translator): We don't know how far these far-right groups can take
this. Today it's immigrants, but tomorrow it could be women, LGBTI groups.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MOSQUERA (on camera): Although the situation has calmed down, the authorities will maintain the deployment of security forces until the
municipality returns to normal.
Pau Mosquera, CNN, Madrid.
SOARES: I want to take you straight to Washington where U.S. President Donald Trump is signing the Genius Act. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They named it after me and I want to thank you. I want to thank you. This is a hell of an act. You know
I did something very unusual. I said this has been something. It's been -- a lot of people thought it was impossible, some of the things that have
been done. And of course, the great big -- I added the word "great." The Great Big Beautiful Bill. That was something that nobody thought possible.
[14:50:09]
They thought it would be in anywhere from seven to maybe three that'll go the opposite direction, but three to seven different bills. And we said,
let's just put it in one because this way there's something for everyone. And there really is a lot of things for everyone. And when we get the word
out how great that is for every single person in this country, virtually, and the all they have is a sound bite -- death. You know what their
soundbite is? Death. Aren't they nice? Death. They are the most incompetent people. They've lost their confidence. They've lost everything if you think
about it.
But Jasmine Crockett is on her way. She's on her way. That's just -- she's the new star of the Democrat Party, Jasmine Crockett. They're in big
trouble. But I have to tell you that was great, and this was great. And I am so tired of making phone calls at 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning
getting calls from our great speaker. Sir, we have 12 hard nos. I said, Mike, Mike, it's 2:00 in the morning. We have 12 hard nose.
The good news is, I call up, hello, Jim. How are you? Sir, you have my vote. Boom. Sir, you have my vote. I really just -- they just want a little
love. Unfortunately, it's always the same. It's always the same 12 people. That's -- it's five senators and it's 12 congressmen.
And I actually said to John Thune, and I said to Mike, I said, listen, I want to have a party, but not to those people that I have to speak to
endlessly every time. And they're wonderful because they always seem to come through other than a couple. Rand Paul Jr. from the Congress and Rand
Paul from -- you know, other than a few people. But I said, I want to have them over. We're going to have a party for -- everybody in Congress,
everyone in Congress except 12 we're going to have. And Mike is -- Tom -- I'll tell you what, Tom is definitely coming. The whole group.
Where are those 12 people? They're the only people I don't see. We could do it today. We don't have to vote. And I would say of the 53 senators -- 48 -
- we're going to have 48 in here. You won't even have to come to that one. But these are the greatest people because they always vote yes, and we
don't have to go crazy. You trust us, we trust you, and it's been a very special group of people. We really do. I mean, 96 percent phenomenal and
four percent extremely difficult. Do you agree with that? But they get there, most of them, not all of them. Those are the ones we really don't
like.
But I want to thank you all for being here. This is really a big day. This afternoon, we take a giant step to cement the American dominance of global,
finance, and crypto technology as we sign the landmark Genius Act into law. So, congratulations to everybody. This is a big deal. We've come a long way
since the Biden administration when they had no idea what you were all talking about and half of you were under arrest for no reason whatsoever.
True, for no reason.
And we want to have it, not China. China wasn't actually have -- they were watching this and they like it. And we -- we've got this, we've got A.I.
We've got a lot of -- a lot of great ones happening. And this is a very big thing.
And I want to thank the bill's author, Senator Bill Hagerty, a very good friend of mine. Thank you, Bill. Thank you, Bill. He's a great guy. He's a
great guy. He's a very handsome guy. Looks great. He's got the whole package. But, you know, I got to know him. He was ambassador to Japan. And
we had a little problem with Japan on trade. But he was my ambassador to Japan. And I went to Japan, and he is speaking fluently Japanese. I said,
did you learn it as a child? No, no, I just learned it over the last four or five months. I said, you learn Japanese. Maybe the single hardest
language to learn. It's actually breathing rather than -- it's breathing.
I'm not going to imitate it because we'll end up with a big story and I don't want that. But he spoke totally fluent Japanese. I said, that's very
impressive. And he was introducing me to Mr. Honda. I said, oh, are you in the car business? He goes, yes. I said, You're a very rich man. And then he
said, Mr. Toyota, right? Toyota. And I said, what business are you in? Let me guess. He said, cars. He was my interpreter, and I was so impressed. And
I was getting ready to leave. He said, sir, I'd like to run for the United States Senate. I said, where are you from? He said, Tennessee. I said,
well, I love Tennessee, but do they know you there? No, but if you endorse me, I'll win, right? And I endorsed him, and he took a 48-point lead. And
they didn't know who the hell he was, and he's turned out to be a great senator. And now they all know who you are.
SEN. BILL HAGERTY (R-TN): Thank you, Mr. President.
[14:55:25]
TRUMP: You are, you're fantastic, and we thank you and you. Just the fact that you're doing this and you understand this as a complicated world and
you understand it, Bill. So, you've been great. Thank you very much.
We're also pleased to be joined by our great Vice President J D Vance. J.D., thank you very much. Good job. And he's been up speaking late at
night on the phone. I said, J.D., how about you take three or four of these people, please? Because three or four I cannot speak to. I just can't. And
he take --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: You have been listening in there to President Donald Trump who is about to sign the first-of-its-kind cryptocurrency bill, the last landmark
Genius Act into law. He said it's named after himself. Then basically what it does, it paves the way for a regulative framework for payment
stablecoins. It's -- these are digital coins which have values tied to regular currencies like the U.S. dollar. More importantly, this is the
first time we are seeing the president since the fallout of the Epstein and that article on the Wall Street Journal.
We'll keep an ear out for the President. Max Foster will have much, much more in the next hour with "WHAT WE KNOW" when the president potentially
takes questions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
