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Israel On High Alert; U.S. Sends Submarine To Middle East; Trump Attacks Kamala On Crowd Size; Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) Is Interviewed About Stunning Ukrainian Offensive Sparks Wave Of Russian Evacuations; Trump Files Claim For Alleged Damages From Mar-a-Lago Search; Greece Pleads For Help As Wildfires Rage Near Athens. Aired 5- 6p ET

Aired August 12, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, the Israeli military is on high alert amid warnings that Iran may attack within days or perhaps even hours. The United States speeding added defenses to the region, preparing for the expected strike by Iran to be significant.

Also this hour, Donald Trump is unleashing fresh attacks on Kamala Harris' record after making brazenly false claims that her huge crowds were faked. This, as Harris is gaining in pivotal battlegrounds, with the Democratic convention now only one week away.

Plus, Trump is now asking for $100 million from the U.S. Justice Department, seeking alleged damages for the FBI's classified documents search at Mar-a-Lago. Stand by for details on the long shot bid and the likely political motive behind it.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Tel Aviv and you're in "The Situation Room." We begin here in the Middle East as the Israeli and U.S. militaries are ramping up preparations for a possible revenge attack by Iran, a strike that potentially could happen at any time.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is standing by for us over at the Pentagon, but first let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson. He's here with me in Tel Aviv. Nic, what's the latest on a potential retaliation strike from Iran on Israel?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I think it's less optimistic than it was just a couple of days ago. Diplomats I've been talking to say that the mood music around these talks set for Thursday is not as positive and optimistic as they were hoping for. We have heard from a diplomat in the region saying that there is a likelihood that Hamas will now attend the talks.

I think you're seeing a lot of posturing in the run-up to the talks. We've heard that the Iranian president today has had conversations with the British prime minister, the German chancellor, the Chinese foreign minister, and to all of them, Iranian media is reporting he has said that Iran has the right to respond and strike back at Israel. So it's a very tough narrative on all sides at the moment, Wolf.

BLITZER: The people here are bracing for a worst-case scenario, the Iranians attack.

ROBERTSON: A real concern that Iran is building up for what may be more than just a limited attack, that this could be a wider strike. Of course, the U.S. naval assets coming into the region will provide protection for Israel and for U.S. troops in this region. But the fact that they've been speeded up, the fact that they've been announced all indicates that the tensions are rising.

The talks Thursday may not even happen. We might not even get there. That said, again, we have to read the machinations and the language we're hearing at the moment as the sort of thing that you hear leading up to high-stakes talks, where everyone's setting out their maximalist position, trying to pressure the other. There is room for diplomacy, but there's also room for mistakes and strikes.

BLITZER: There certainly is. All right, Nic, standby. I'm going to get back to you. Oren Liebermann, you're over at the Pentagon for us. The United States has ordered, what, a major submarine to head to the eastern Mediterranean. Aircraft carrier battle groups are on the way as well. This is a huge decision by the Pentagon.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And it is arguably the largest buildup of U.S. forces in Central Command in the Middle East that we've seen since very early in the war. In a call with his Israeli counterpart, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that he'd ordered the USS Georgia, a cruise missile submarine that was already in the Mediterranean, towards Central Command, towards the Middle East. That is an offensive weapon.

Although the Pentagon has described these adjustments to force posture as, quote, "defensive in nature." A submarine with its land-attack cruise missiles, with its anti-ship missiles is first and foremost a message of deterrence to Iran and its proxies, but it also gives the U.S. a very powerful offensive weapon, should it choose to use them, as it sees how Iran and its proxies choose to carry out this anticipated attack.

Austin also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to accelerate its movements towards the Middle East. Just a couple of days ago, it was in the Pacific Ocean, so that will take time. But it's worth noting that Austin ordered it sped up, essentially get there as quickly as possible. And once it arrives, that means it will have the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, at least for the time being, as well as an amphibious ready group, which includes destroyers and other warships in the Mediterranean Sea.

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So you see that buildup. Of course, the crucial question is, what is Iran planning? What are its proxies planning? And how large will this attack be? You can see in the U.S.'s force posture changes, the U.S. is preparing for what could be a very large attack, at least the possibility of a large attack.

BLITZER: And Oren, I spent several years as a Pentagon correspondent. It's pretty extraordinary for the Pentagon to be announcing publicly the deployment of submarines, especially here in a sensitive area like the eastern Mediterranean. Aircraft carrier battle groups, they announce where they're heading, but not necessarily submarines. This is pretty amazing, isn't it?

LIEBERMANN: Absolutely. Aircraft carriers, you can track that publicly, and there are OSINT accounts that do that. Not so with submarines. The movement of U.S. submarines, whether it's a cruise missile sub, a fast attack sub, a ballistic missile sub, these are very secret and nearly always done not publicly. They're rarely ever announced. And if they are, that in and of itself is a message.

The U.S. publicly saying that the USS Georgia is headed to the region, that's very public signaling to Iran and its proxies that the U.S. effectively means business here, that the U.S. has very powerful forces in the region. And depending on what Iran chooses to do, the U.S. retains the option to use them.

Wolf, it's worth noting this is not the first time we have seen the U.S. publicly announce the movement of a submarine during this war. Back in November, in early November, the U.S. very publicly moved the USS Florida, another cruise missile submarine, into the Middle East. Again, that then was a warning to Iran and its proxies about what they should choose to do. This is that same message delivered with a tremendous amount of other U.S. forces in the region as well.

BLITZER: Yeah, the public announcement of these submarines, where they're heading, it's a message to Iran. Clearly, you mess with Israel, the United States is going to mess with you. That's the message that's being delivered, clearly. Oren, thank you very much. Nick, thanks to you as well.

I want to get some analysis right now. Joining us, CNN political and global affairs analyst Barak Ravid, along with CNN military analyst, retired U.S. Army Major General James Spider Marks. Let's talk a little bit, Barak. First of all, you've been doing amazing reporting on what's going on. What are you hearing right now about the timing and preparations for a possible Iranian attack on Israel?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good evening, Wolf. So, several things. First, what I heard just in the last hour from at least four sources, two of them U.S. officials and two of them Israeli officials, the assessment is that this is not happening tonight. That's what I heard from both sides. They think it will still -- it might happen tomorrow, it might happen the day after, but it is not happening tonight.

Another sign for that, President Biden's top Middle East advisor, Brett McGurk, is traveling to the region tonight to Cairo to start working or to continue working on the hostage deal, on the Gaza hostage deal. So, the U.S. is trying to say by that that, you know, business as usual, plans as usual, they're moving forward. And the next thing is that what I hear from both U.S. and Israeli

officials is that they see two things. First, with Hezbollah, they see that Hezbollah's weapons systems, long-range missiles, are ready to fire at any minute and once Nasrallah will give the order, they can fire. On the Iranian side, extensive and significant steps on the ground in the drone units, in the missile units for a possible attack on Israel.

BLITZER: Yeah. People are really worried about all of this. So, General Marks, give us your analysis of the U.S. move to send this missile-guided submarine and to speed up the arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier battle group to the region, to the eastern Mediterranean, right near where I am right now.

JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I think it's a very wise move on the part of our Department of Defense to try to get another carrier strike group into the region to make sure that that capability has now doubled in size and capacity. The announcement of a sub movement, I think, is unnecessary. When you have a carrier strike group, you have submarines that are a part of that carrier strike group.

The additional announcement, I understand it sends a strong message, but that's out of the norm. What we should try to do is simply move the capacity in there, and then we've got a very broad array of capabilities from which to choose in terms of what type of a response we want to try to make. And I think what's important at this point is if those carrier strike groups or any element within those are under attack or get in the way of what Iran tries to do, the United States then has a choice to make in terms of how it wants to try to respond very directly.

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Is it just in support to help defend Israel, or is it to go after those capabilities that the Iranians or their proxies might use to harm the United States' capabilities as well?

BLITZER: And that offensive potential, military capability is very, very impressive indeed. Barak, how much would a possible Iranian retaliation undermine Thursday's scheduled ceasefire talks that are supposed to take place either in Cairo or Doha, Qatar?

RAVID: Well, first, the talks, as far as I understand, are expected to take place in Doha. This is still the plan. At least the U.S. and Israel and the Qatari and Egyptian mediators all still say that they're going to be there on Thursday. But there's Hamas, and Hamas announced that they don't want another round of negotiations.

And one of the interpretations of this statement is that Hamas and its leader, Yahya Sinwar, in Gaza, in the bunker, 100 feet under the ground in Gaza, is waiting for this Iranian attack and for a Hezbollah attack, hoping that after such an attack he can get better terms for the deal.

So the possibility of an Iranian attack, of an attack by Hezbollah, will influence the talks in any case. So I think this is a very -- those two things are intertwined.

BLITZER: General Marks, as you know, an Israeli airstrike the past few days on a Gaza school sheltering civilians killed at least 90 Palestinians, according to Gaza officials there. Israel says it was attacking Hamas terrorists who were based at that school and a nearby mosque as well. It was the fifth strike on a school-turned-shelter within the past week, at least the 21st since July, according to the United Nations. What concerns does that raise?

MARKS: Well, the first thing I think we need to consider is that Hamas is not the least bit bothered by a strike that kills Palestinians. They have demonstrated no interest in the welfare of the Palestinians since this fight, this war has begun. Secondly, I would say, as described, this makes the likelihood of talks very, very precarious.

This was a significant strike by the Israelis. They went after Hamas targets. Clearly, Palestinians were wrapped in on all of that. And so I think moving forward, this becomes very tentative. But as Barak indicated, you move forward in anticipation of trying to get a diplomatic solution. That has to take place until other factors weigh into it that deny it.

BLITZER: We'll see what happens Thursday in Doha, Qatar, when these negotiations are scheduled to resume. General Spider Marks, Barak Ravid, to both of you, thank you very much for your excellent, excellent analysis.

Coming up, Donald Trump lobs new attacks at Kamala Harris and teams up with a former enemy in hopes of stealing some of his opponent's thunder.

Plus, Vladimir Putin vows to kick the enemy out of Russia as Ukraine is now expanding its assault across the border. Stay with us. You're in "The Situation Room."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Tonight, Donald Trump is off the campaign trail, but he's all over the map as he tries a variety of new attack lines and tactics against Kamala Harris. The Republican nominee seeming to grow more rattled by his Democratic opponent's momentum right now as she heads into her party's convention one week from today in Chicago. CNN's Alayna Treene is covering the Trump campaign for us. Elena, is Trump struggling right now to sharpen his message against Kamala Harris?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: -- as well as his allies, that they are still trying to figure out which lines of attack work best against Harris. And yes, I think it's fair to say that they are struggling with exactly how to define her.

Now, I do want to point your attention to what we saw over the weekend, because I think it shows that any hopes that his allies and his advisers had that he would focus on policy and going after Harris's record were dashed when he shared and pushed this false conspiracy theory claiming that the crowd at one of her rallies in Detroit was manipulated by artificial intelligence. I also think that, you know, perhaps even more ominously, he had

pushed this idea that only Democrats can win elections by cheating. And of course, we know that it's reminiscent of what he had said back in the aftermath of 2020. But I'm going to read for you what he wrote. He wrote, quote, "she A.I.'d it and showed a massive crowd of so- called followers, but they didn't exist. This is the way the Democrats win elections, by cheating, and they're even worse at the ballot box."

Now, let's just be very clear. Of course, Democrats do not only win elections by cheating. That's one thing. But the other thing about this crowd size and Donald Trump's fixation on it, there were thousands of people who have been showing up to her rallies, including media outlets, including CNN. We have our own footage there that you're seeing of the crowd at that Detroit rally that Donald Trump was talking about.

So this is just completely false. But it does speak a bit to the headspace that he is in. We know from covering Donald Trump for several years that he's obsessed with crowd size. And this is really getting under his skin, the fact that Harris is able to draw thousands of people to her own events.

And it's, of course, a change from what has been in the past, where Donald Trump has really taken pride in the fact that so many people come out for his own events and that people like Joe Biden were unable to kind of have that same type of showing. But that has changed with Harris. And then just one other quick point on this, Wolf, is that this isn't happening in a vacuum. Donald Trump didn't just come up with this himself.

This was something that he bought into. It's a far-right conspiracy he saw online that he bought into and he is amplifying. And it's pretty striking, because I don't feel like I've seen this level of him doing that since after January 6th.

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And so it's been interesting to see how he's kind of responding to this online. And clearly, it is a result of him being so frustrated with the enthusiasm around Harris.

BLITZER: He's clearly frustrated by all of this. Alayna Treene in Washington. Alayna, thank you very, very much.

I want to bring in our panel of political experts right now, Yasmeen Abutaleb. As you know, Yasmeen, Tim Walz had a bit of fun with Trump's obsession with this whole issue of crowd size. Watch and listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM WALZ, DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: On Wednesday, the largest crowd of the campaign showed up in Detroit, Michigan. But Arizona just couldn't leave it alone, could you? It's not as if anybody cares about crowd sizes or anything, so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So Yasmeen, what does all -- what does this tell you about the race right now, where it stands?

YASMEEN ABUTALEB, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: There's just a sort of remarkable amount of energy and enthusiasm behind Kamala Harris and Tim Walz right now. I think part of that is evident in that they -- the campaign seems to almost be struggling to manage the huge crowds that they're getting at these events, but people ended up waiting a long time in the heat and they're passing out water, having to stop the event to deal with attendees who are, you know, have been standing there for so long that they're starting to get sick.

But I think it also just demonstrates almost the relief of the Democratic Party that they have a new candidate, that they have a young, energetic candidate who can hit the campaign trail, you know, seven, eight times a week. And how much like Alayna was saying, this has really rattled Donald Trump. I mean, he's sort of reverted to some of his worst instincts and attacking Kamala Harris, you know, talking about her race and questioning sort of basic facts.

And I think he was much more comfortable when he was running against Joe Biden, which I think is evidenced by the fact that he keeps sort of lamenting that Biden was forced out of the race, saying he wants to come back without any evidence. And he just cannot seem to adjust to running against Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in a completely different dynamic in this race.

BLITZER: Yeah, an important point indeed. Charlie Dent, I'm anxious to get your thoughts. Trump's claim about an A.I., an artificial intelligence generated photo of a crowd at a Kamala Harris rally is demonstrated -- demonstrably false. What are you hearing from Republicans about this?

CHARLIE DENT, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Well, Republicans are wishing that Donald Trump would simply focus on some issues where they think Democrats are vulnerable, like on border security and inflation specifically. But because he is so undisciplined and so obsessed with crowd size, you know, and he also, of course, gets obsessed with Governor Kemp of Georgia and distracted by Kamala Harris's race. Is she Indian or is she black? I mean, all these sideshows, these distractions are harming his campaign.

The campaign is somewhat disciplined this time, the Trump campaign. But of course, Donald Trump himself is completely undisciplined. And this is what happens when an undisciplined candidate and a disciplined campaign collide. You get this mess. So Republicans just wish Donald Trump could focus on these issues where they're vulnerable. They think they can actually win there. But they're not going to win if he uses this precious time to make things up about crowd size.

BLITZER: Yeah. He's clearly nervous about all these latest polls that's making him pretty upset right now. Ashley Etienne is with us as well. Ashley, what do you make of how Trump reacts to this enthusiasm around the Harris campaign? ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: I mean, it's

clear that Kamala Harris is getting under his skin. It's clear that he is completely rattled with no plan and no strategy on how to attack her. And you know, and it makes a lot of sense. He's getting his butt kicked in the polls. I mean, there was a "Financial Times" poll that came out this weekend that said that more Americans trust her to manage the economy than Donald Trump.

That's their number one attack line against Kamala Harris and her campaign, is that they've mismanaged -- Biden and her mismanaged the economy. And to find out now in the polls that more people trust her than him, it's got to be unraveling them and completely finding him on his back heels.

But here's the one thing I think Democrats should do. We need to get on the offense about this. These false claims are just bizarre. They're even beyond weird. They're just bizarre. And the fact that he could not come up with a coherent answer on a number of issues during his own press conference, we need to start making the you know, making the point, asking the question, is Donald Trump okay? Is he all right? We should be questioning his mental faculties.

You recall when he was in the White House, his cabinet officials were talking about invoking the 25th Amendment because he wasn't all there and to have your finger on the trigger was incredibly dangerous.

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And he's got that opportunity again now. So if I'm the Democratic Party, I'm shifting gears and starting to make hay of all of this sort of bizarre claims and falsehoods from Donald Trump.

BLITZER: Charlie, you want to respond to that?

DENT: Yeah, I think Ashley made a fair point. As long as Joe Biden was in the race, Republicans were able to make fitness an issue that Joe Biden wouldn't be able to serve an additional four years and that, you know, he was certainly diminished. That was their argument.

And that, frankly, made it easier for people not to look at Trump's own fitness. But now that Biden is out of the race and you have a more younger, dynamic candidate in Kamala Harris, now the question of Trump's fitness is once again at the forefront. And I think Ashley is absolutely correct. Democrats should make an issue of that.

The fact that these are very unhealthy obsessions, they are bizarre. He's also -- you know, if you look at the video of Donald Trump, look at the tape when he was much younger. He was much more coherent and able to string together sentences better than he does today. So if I were the Democrats, I would focus on this fitness question.

It's fair game and it's a turnaround. This whole issue is simply rebounded on Trump, but it's a real vulnerability for him. And he only makes these matters worse when he goes off in these obsessive rants.

BLITZER: Yeah, Kamala Harris is what, 20 years younger than Trump. I'm sure that's going to be an issue coming up during the course of this campaign. To all of you, thank you very much for joining us. Up next, we got more news.

We're following Ukraine expanding its jaw dropping incursion into Russia, seizing more than two dozen villages and hundreds of square miles of territory. I'll get reaction from a key Democrat in the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees. Congressman Jason Crow is standing by live and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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BLITZER: Tonight, Russian President Vladimir Putin is vowing to put an end to the stunning Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory, which has seen Kyiv's forces take control of more than two dozen Russian settlements and forced a massive wave of Russian evacuations. Our senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Ukrainian troops sweeping through Russian territory. Dear Ukrainians, this soldier starts, and then says, his forces went into a Russian supermarket, but that Ukrainian stores have a better selection.

Videos released of several areas inside Russia showing Ukraine soldiers taking down Russian flags and raising Ukraine. And while the Kremlin claims its forces have held up Ukraine's advances in some areas, posting videos of bombed out alleged Ukrainian vehicles. The numbers the Kremlin does admit are staggering. Almost 30 villages under Ukrainian control, more than 120,000 Russian civilians evacuated in the Kursk region alone, and more under evacuation orders in Belgorod region to the south.

Russian President Vladimir Putin irate vowing to respond while ripping into Ukraine and its Western allies.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It appears that the enemy, with the help of its western masters, is fulfilling their will, and the West is fighting us with the hands of the Ukrainians. So it looks like the enemy is seeking to improve its negotiating position for the future. The enemy will certainly receive a worthy response, and all our objectives will undoubtedly be achieved.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): All this as Russia and Ukraine blame each other for what appears to be a major fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, an area under Russian control. So far, no increased radiation levels have been detected. Kyiv has published little information about its offensive into Russian territory, but Ukraine's President justifying the incursion. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): From the beginning of this summer and only from the Kursk Region, our Sumy Region, suffered almost 2,000 strikes, artillery, mortars, drones. We also monitor every missile strike. And each such strike deserves a fair response.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): And it seems Ukraine's response is not over yet, even as Moscow scrambled to prevent further loss of territory.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And Fred Pleitgen is joining us now live. Fred, how do these incursions into Russia by Ukraine fit into Ukraine's overall war goals?

PLEITGEN: Well in several ways. One of the things that the Ukrainian president, Wolf, did tonight as he came out, and he said that the Ukrainians want to create a buffer zone in that area between Ukrainian territory and the Russian military. The Ukrainians, of course, saying the Russians have been striking Ukrainian territory from the Kursk Region specifically. That, of course, would mean that the Ukrainians will try to hold on to the territory that they have now gained, even that the Russians are trying to squeeze them out.

The other big thing for the Ukrainians as well, though, Wolf, is the fact that they want to get the Russians to have to divert some of the troops that are putting pressure on the Ukrainian military in the east of Ukraine, where the Russians have been inching forward, and make those forces go up to the Kursk Region to try and beat back the Ukrainians.

And of course, also, Wolf, for the Ukrainians, this is a big morale boost. Their army's really been on the back foot over the past couple of months. Now it's moving forward that certainly has already done a lot to boost morale, Wolf.

[17:35:11]

BLITZER: Yes, very important indeed. Fred Pleitgen reporting for us. Fred, thank you very, very much.

I want to dig deeper right now with Democratic Congressman Jason Crow. He sits on the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committee. He's been well briefed. Is this operation, Congressman, the best use of Ukraine's limited military resources, or should the U.S. pressure Ukraine to wind down its presence on Russian soil?

REP. JASON CROW (D-CO), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Well, Wolf is bold, to be sure. There's no doubt about that. And what the Ukrainians, very clearly, are trying to do right now is impose additional costs on Vladimir Putin. Because what we know, absolutely know without a doubt about Vladimir Putin, is that he will not stop his aggression until the costs outweigh the benefits.

And -- and so far, that has not happened. So the Ukrainians are -- are trying to figure out different ways to increase those costs and make Vladimir Putin feel the pain in his own territory. And until he starts feeling domestic pressure at home to wind down this operation and -- and stop its aggression, he -- he will just continue. So the Ukrainians appear to be having a very successful operation in that regard.

BLITZER: Do you have any concerns, Congressman, that this Ukrainian operation could potentially backfire by helping Putin justify his war, or even by causing U.S. weapons to be used deep inside Russian territory?

CROW: Well, any military operation can backfire. It doesn't matter where it is, who's doing it, how -- how you're conducting it. So you always have to be careful about escalation. You always have to be careful about the use of weapons. You know, we've been very clear about the restrictions on the U.S. provided weapons to Ukraine. I -- in fact, have been, you know, pushing for a very long time for us to loosen some of those restrictions, because I do believe that Ukraine should continue to be more aggressive and have more flexibility in how it pursues its campaign against Russia.

So, yes, we -- we always have to look at that. We have to look at the intelligence. We have to look at what -- how Vladimir Putin is responding. And the Ukrainians have proven themselves very adept at doing that, understanding what Russia is doing and looking two or three steps ahead.

BLITZER: Turning to the Middle East right now, Congressman, what are you bracing for when it comes to a possible Iranian attack on Israel and what -- and would that potentially derail Thursday's expected ceasefire -- ceasefire talks?

CROW: Well, this is a similar situation, and that escalation remains a -- a big concern, right? You always have to look at the escalatory risk. And for the United States, we want to make sure that Israel has the ability to protect itself, number one. Number two, that it does not escalate and draw in Hezbollah in the north, you know, Israel has been fighting Hamas as -- as it should, the terrorist organization that continues to do brutal and -- and terrible things to Palestinians and to Israelis alike.

But we don't want to have happen as Hezbollah to enter into this fray, because it's a much larger military, has a lot more capability, but open up a northern front. So we want to make sure that that doesn't escalate, and that this doesn't create a situation where there is a direct conventional military conflict between Israel and Iran, either. So we have to be very careful here going forward. And as you mentioned, all within the context of making sure we don't derail -- derail the plans for a ceasefire, because we need a ceasefire.

We need a deal to bring back the hostages, to stop the fighting in Gaza, to flow humanitarian aid, to -- to help the civilians that are just under terrible, brutal conditions in Gaza right now.

BLITZER: And we'll see if that ceasefire negotiation actually takes place Thursday in Doha, Qatar. Congressman, let me get your reaction before I let you go to some news just into CNN, the FBI now says it's investigating an alleged hacking incident of the Trump political campaign by Iran. What concerns does this raise for you. And what in your view would Iran gain from hacking Trump's campaign?

CROW: Well, of course, it would be unacceptable for Iran or any other country or even non-state actors to try to meddle in our campaigns. And it doesn't matter whether you're talking about a Republican candidate, a Democrat candidate. This is unacceptable. And we have to make sure that we're taking every measure possible to secure the integrity of our campaigns and our election process. But I also need to point out to folks that, you know, this type of stuff happens a lot right now.

The United States is under constant assault by our -- our state adversaries and by non-state actors, organized crime organizations and others constant hacking assaults all the time. We just live in an era of very vulnerable cyber security concerns and questions. And that's why the Intelligence Committee that I sit on takes this very seriously. And we work very hard to make sure that we're taking the measures necessary and supporting the administration to secure our elections and our candidates and our national security infrastructure.

[17:40:11]

BLITZER: Congressman, thanks very much for joining us. Appreciate it as always.

CROW: Thanks for having me.

BLITZER: And just ahead, news from back in the United States with Donald Trump filing a $100 million lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department over the search of his Mar-a-Lago property.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Lawyers for Donald Trump have filed a $100 million claim against the U.S. Justice Department related to the FBI search of Mar- a-Lago for highly sensitive top secret classified documents back in 2022. Trump is alleging the search was inappropriate and hurt his reputation, although the search was approved by a federal judge. I want to bring you CNN legal analyst, Carrie Cordero. Carrie, what exactly does Trump allege in his claim?

[17:45:09]

CARRIE CORDERO, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So this is the very first step, Wolf, in his civil suit against the U.S. government. And what he's doing is he is saying that he will make a claim under the Federal Tort Claim Act, which is the law that allows individuals to sue the U.S. government, which normally would have immunity from these types of suits. And in certain circumstances, they can pursue a claim.

These types of cases take years and years to take -- to go through the process. So this potentially could be something that goes on for a very long time. The government first has an opportunity to settle the case. I don't think that they will take that in this case, because I think the Justice Department and the FBI certainly would take the position that this search was a lawful search executed pursuant to a search warrant issued by a judge based on probable cause. So this is the very first step in what potentially could be a long argument made on behalf of the former president.

BLITZER: Carrie, what do you think the Department of Justice will argue when they formally, officially respond to Trump's claim?

CORDERO: Well, I think they will, as they would in any other type of criminal search warrant. And in this particular case, this was a national security case, they had engaged with the former president's team to try to understand the scope of documents. They had requested return of documents. And so what the Justice Department would say in this case is that they went to -- they conduct an investigation they had engaged with the former president's team, they then sought a neutral magistrate under the Fourth Amendment to issue a search warrant, and then they validly executed that search. So they would say standard criminal procedure was followed.

BLITZER: Does the fact that Judge Cannon dismissed Trump's classified documents case play into this at all? What do you think Carrie?

CORDERO: Well, I think it will be interesting to see sort of in the timing, because the Justice Department has appealed her dismissal of the case. And she dismissed the case not related to the search warrant per se, but she dismissed the case based on an argument that she accepted that the special counsel was not a valid individual to lead that investigation.

So I am curious as to how the timing will work out in terms of waiting for the appellate court to consider whether or not she properly dismissed that case, and I think that's a real question that is still out there.

BLITZER: Certainly. Carrie Cordero, thank you very much. Always appreciate having your expertise.

Coming up, the growing wildfire crisis in Greece and the fight to get the blazes under control as they close in on the capital city of Athens.

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[17:52:19]

BLITZER: A growing wildfire crisis in Greece, where authorities are pleading for more help as extremely dangerous blazes force evacuations near the capital city of Athens, CNN's Nada Bashir has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): The scorching orange blaze, illuminating the night sky over Greece's Attica Region, just north of Athens. Hundreds of firefighters and volunteers desperately working to battle a devastating wildfire which broke out on Sunday.

As dawn breaks, the air is filled with thick smoke. The damage already evident with some homes in this community now destroyed. Residents left powerless in the face of disaster.

MARIANA PAPATHANA, SUPERMARKET EMPLOYEE (through translator): The situation is very difficult. We still have strong fires. From midnight onwards, some houses started to burn. We are trying to protect our local restaurant. The firefighters are doing very well.

BASHIR (voice-over): As the fire edges closer to the capital, Athens, authorities have urged some residents to evacuate. More than a dozen people in the area are said to have already been treated for respiratory problems or burns. At least three hospitals are now on heightened alert, with two in the region already evacuated. But as the blaze continues to intensify, officials warn extreme weather conditions could continue throughout the week.

DIMITRIOS PIPIKIOS, RESERVIST (through translator): The situation is chaotic. Our military unit has been here from the beginning. We're trying to help the fire unit and volunteer teams. You can see we're surrounded by fire here. The night will be very hard.

BASHIR (voice-over): Officials in Greece have now called for air and ground assistance from the European Union, with France, Italy and the Czech Republic, among those sending emergency personnel or equipment. Greece has already faced dozens of fires so far this summer, the country recording its hottest June and July on record this year.

But experts warn that weather conditions are only growing more dangerous, with wildfires set to become more frequent and potentially more deadly in the coming years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASHIR (on camera): And, Wolf, we are expecting to see a real ramping up of that effort to contain the wildfire spreading around this region of Greece, with foreign firefighters coming in, more than 100 already committed to come into this region, as well as, of course, emergency equipment, including helicopters, aircrafts and fire trucks to support in this effort.

But as you heard that, the authorities in Greece say they do expect these extreme weather conditions to only intensify over the coming days, and that could certainly mean that we will continue to see a spread of these wildfires, a huge concern, of course, for local residents and the government.

[17:55:11]

BLITZER: Nada Bashir reporting for us. Nada, thank you very, very much. Hope those folks in Greece are going to be OK.

Coming up, more on the race for the White House, Donald Trump, rattled by the momentum of the Harris campaign, launching new and brazenly false attacks at his opponent. Stay with us. You're in "The Situation Room."

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[17:59:55]

BLITZER: Happening Now, Donald Trump is going back to familiar territory to unleash new attacks and false claims against Kamala Harris. That includes a return to the site formerly known as Twitter, and a hyper focus on crowd size.