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The Situation Room

Interview With Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren; Trump Threatens India With Tariffs; Interview With Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO); Tsunami Triggered. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired July 30, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news: tsunami triggered. One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded prompts tsunami alerts across the Pacific.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Pamela Brown is off today. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

And we begin this hour with the breaking news. Several countries, including the United States, are on high alert after an enormous 8.8- magnitude earthquake hit off of Russia's far eastern coast, the quake prompting tsunami warnings from Japan to Chile.

In Peru, the country's national emergency center warning that the Peruvian coast could experience waves more than seven feet high. And here in the United States, part of Northern California's coastline remains under a tsunami warning, the highest level of alert.

We're monitoring this breaking story from all angles.

Joining us now from Santa Monica, California, is CNN correspondent Veronica Miracle.

Veronica, what kind of impact has the West Coast, California specifically, seen so far?

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this morning here in Southern California, so much relief because there were no significant waves here, no flooding, no damage. There were certainly concerns overnight.

But the focus this morning, officials are asking people to really stay out of the water. L.A. County beaches -- beaches managed by L.A. County, they have been shut down and they will be shut until noon today. They don't want people in the water. They are concerned about strong currents and they're asking people to move away from the coastline. And you talked about Northern California. That's really the biggest

area. That's the biggest concern all up and down the West Coast from Washington to California. The biggest waves we saw were in Northern California up to four feet.

And, actually right now, officials are holding a press conference there talking about potential damage and assessing that situation, as there is still a tsunami warning there. There are concerns of secondary waves, of aftershocks from that massive earthquake in Russia.

In Hawaii, there is -- the harbors are being reopened. People are being allowed back into their homes along the coastline. And some tourists who were stranded either at the airport because their flights were canceled or even on the Big Island of Hawaii, where a cruise ship actually had to leave some people behind because the cruise ship had to leave the port, those are all being sorted.

But there was some damage in Hawaii. There was some flooding there. They saw some big waves almost up to six feet. So officials are saying, stay vigilant and do not get in the water in certain areas because there could be some very strong currents. People -- officials want people to be very careful today as the focus remains on safety -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And, Veronica, what areas out there on the West Coast are still on alert?

MIRACLE: Yes, Northern California, that's really the main point of concern there because of the way that the coastline is in Northern California and how big those waves already are in Northern California.

Well, now that the tsunami has impacted that area, yes, waves were being seen as high as four feet there. And so we will be waiting to hear what those officials who are holding the press conference right now have to say -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, we will check back with you later. Thanks very much, Veronica Miracle, for that update.

We're continuing to monitor this breaking story across the Pacific.

CNN correspondent Marc Stewart is joining us now from Beijing.

And, Marc, you have been reporting on the evacuations across Japan. What's the latest information you're getting?

MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Wolf.

In Japan, at least, the tsunami warnings there have now been lifted. But, right away, I want to take you to Russia, where a volcano in this general proximity of this earthquake zone is now erupting. We have seen images of lava oozing from the side of the volcano. Authorities have reported explosions.

In fact, there are some tourists in the area who've said they want to stay to watch the eruption. So that is all taking place as this earthquake struck this far east coast of Russia several hours before. The earthquake itself is having an impact on Russia. Let me show you some pictures from inside an operating room at a cancer center. A camera caught the scene inside as the earthquake hit.

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There are doctors who are trying to brace themselves. They are holding the patient. They are holding surgical equipment as this is all taking place as this earthquake strikes. Throughout this region, through -- along this coastal region of Russia, we have seen a number of images of waves. We have seen the water pushing debris along the way, as well as some small buildings.

So it's obvious that the 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Russia certainly having an impact there. But the impact is not just limited to Russia. Japan also experiencing the aftermath of all of this. At one point, when there were tsunami warnings, we saw people in Japan going to the top of a fire station for safety.

We saw a parent, presumably, carrying a young child as these waves were crashing along the coast of Japan, an area that knows very well the dangers of hurricanes and tsunamis. Wolf, I'm sure you remember, back in 2011, when the tsunami hit there doing damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. That was a pivotal moment.

Wolf, we're going to keep watching the global impact of all of this. But, at one point, warnings were issued in British Columbia in Canada, as well as far south in Latin America, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, I do remember all of that, of course.

Marc Stewart, thank you very, very much.

Also new this morning on another major issue we're watching, the U.S. Department of Justice is making the case for unsealing information on Jeffrey Epstein, the Department of Justice filing a memo in the Southern District of New York late Tuesday night asking a judge to unseal additional investigative records in the case of the sex trafficker, as well as his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Let's go live right now to see in a senior crime justice reporter Katelyn Polantz, who's here with me in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Katelyn, what can you -- can you walk us through the efforts to unseal these documents?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, the Justice Department had asked this federal judge in New York, it's time to unseal these things around the Jeff Epstein case, specifically all of what took place before the grand jury, something that's usually very confidential and secretive.

You never really see those records until there's a trial, but they're asking and they're arguing to the judge, now's the time, let's do this. Their argument to the judge in this motion last night said that the fundamental purpose here is that, given the magnitude and abhorrence of Epstein's crimes, they want to provide information to the public, while remaining sensitive to protecting the rights of victims.

Now, what all might be in these grand jury records if the judge agrees to unseal them? It might not be a lot, Wolf. We already did see the indictment and the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell that ended in her conviction. She's now serving a 20-year sentence in prison.

And whenever they detailed what happened in the grand jury, in speaking to the judge last night, the Justice Department said the grand jury met for two months in 2019, two months in 2020, one month in 2021. And there were only two witnesses, an FBI agent and a New York police detective.

Altogether, that might not be much more than the case as it's already known. However, Ghislaine Maxwell in prison never did fully offer her interpretation of what happened. We know she sat down with the Justice Department in a bit of an agreement recently. And now she is offering to testify to Congress, but we will see what happens there.

BLITZER: You also have, Katelyn, some new reporting about an effort by Senate Democrats, I'm told, to force the release of the Epstein files. What can you tell us about that?

POLANTZ: Yes, Wolf, now another effort. This is on the congressional side.

This is the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, and the Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security Committee. They're asking the Justice Department to release everything, not just if they get grand jury information, but also FBI documents, the long-pursued documents that are also out there.

The Senate Democrats, they're trying to use a law on the books that allows a small group of them to go to court. But we have seen a case like that before. It was over documents related to the Trump Hotel, actually, in the first Trump administration. It dragged on for years. There was no final resolution in court, and it ended with the Biden administration actually turning over some of those documents.

So these sorts of efforts by small groups of members on the Hill, whether they're senators or representatives, to get documents out of the executive branch, it's really hard for them to do, even if they go to court and sue. And there might not be a resolution for years.

So the last thing then is still Ghislaine Maxwell. What does she have to say now at this time? How willing is she to make disclosures? And would Congress, as they have subpoenaed her, accept any sort of negotiation she would want to make to testify to them, maybe with limited immunity?

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BLITZER: She's demanding some very specific conditions in exchange for her testimony. POLANTZ: She is.

BLITZER: We will see what happens.

Katelyn Polantz, thank you very, very much.

For more on the Jeffrey Epstein files and the political fallout that's unfolding, I want to bring in Republican Congressman Eric Burlison of Missouri. He's a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

Tell us why your committee still has not issued its subpoena for the Justice Department to release what are called the Epstein files. Do you have an update on when that might happen?

REP. ERIC BURLISON (R-MO): I know that Chairman Comer is heartfelt and earnest in his pursuit. I think, right now, he's focused on getting Ghislaine Maxwell in front of the Oversight Committee staff for a deposition.

And I know that negotiations are going on -- are ongoing at this time.

BLITZER: CNN has learned, Congressman, that Senate Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee are planning to use an arcane law to try to force the Justice Department to release additional files from the Epstein case. You have called for the files to be released.

Do you support this move by these Democrats?

BURLISON: I support any mechanism that will release files without harming the identities of the victims.

I think that the American people need to know. And I also think that any exculpatory evidence that might help someone prove their innocence should also be released. Let the American people decide based on what files have been released.

But I think that, until we demonstrate that we are transparent on this issue, people are going to continue to -- the conspiracy theories are going to continue to run amok.

BLITZER: Yes, they certainly will.

The president, President Trump says -- said yesterday, I should say, that the Epstein stole, his word, stole young women who worked as employees in his Mar-a-Lago spa down in Florida, including one of the most well-known Epstein accusers, Virginia Giuffre, who died earlier this year by suicide. What's your reaction to Trump's comments.

BURLISON: Yes, I think that Trump -- Trump did not visit Epstein island. I take him at his word for that.

I think that he's -- he's trying to make sure that the files are released in a proper way. I think that what he's also having to deal with this is the fact that some people in his administration overpromised without knowing exactly what was available to them when it came to releasing the files and not knowing where the status of the investigation truly was.

And so he's -- I think he's having to handle that situation delicately. So I believe that, at the end of the day, the goal is to get these files released without harming the victims. And I think that that's a shared goal that we all have.

BLITZER: I know you have called it a political mistake to have raised expectations about new revelations related to Epstein. Have you spoken to the president or anyone in his administration, for that matter, about how to better handle the political fallout surrounding Epstein?

BURLISON: Yes, I think that -- I mean, this is -- these are not mistakes of the president, in my opinion. It's Pam Bondi's office and the way in which they overpromised, and not knowing exactly what she had access to and what information was on her desk.

So -- and then I think that the whole bringing in the social media influencers for a release, it demonstrated to me a political failure. And so I think that, hopefully, they have learned from that and they're more diligent and thoughtful in the way in which they're going to release information and thoughtful in the way in which they're going to set expectations.

BLITZER: And what are you hearing, I'm curious, from your constituents, Congressman, about how they think the president has so far responded to all of this?

BURLISON: Yes, I'm surprised. Actually, whenever I'm in my district or when people from the district come to visit my office, some -- many of them are wearing Trump hats or MAGA hats.

And they -- they -- you can have both views, that you want to support the release of these files, but also wholeheartedly support President Trump in his efforts. And so I think that that's where my district stands. They love President Trump, but they also love the truth. And they think that truth is a great -- sunlight is great disinfectant.

BLITZER: Yes, truth is important.

Where do you stand, Congressman, on Ghislaine Maxwell's offer to testify before your committee in Congress, but with very specific conditions, including immunity and getting advanced word on the questions you want to ask?

BURLISON: Yes, I think that I'm fine with getting -- giving her some advanced word on the questions.

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I'm also fine with giving her some form of immunity. In speaking with a friend of mine who is a former U.S. prosecutor, he advised that when he was in this situation that he would provide immunity on the things that the witness is going to testify to provide immunity against themselves, that individual for further prosecution, so long as -- and he would put a clause in that -- that it's proven that what they said is true.

And so I think that this is probably what Congress should be pursuing, what Chairman Comer should be pursuing. And I have told him this, that we need to -- if she's asking for immunity, then we need to make sure that it's predicated on the fact that she be -- that she's honest with her testimony.

BLITZER: And, as you know, Congressman, she's currently serving a 20- year prison sentence for participating in the sexual assault cases against these young girls who were working down there.

The president has not ruled out a pardon for Maxwell. Why isn't the president explicitly saying he won't pardon a convicted sex trafficker?

BURLISON: I think he's keeping his powder dry. He -- a lot of times, when we're asked questions on the spot, having not had the opportunity to fully vet them, you're -- the safe place is to keep your powder dry.

And so I think that, in general, and if you're asking my opinion, I don't think that pardoning her is even remotely something that should be thought about. I think that, if she's able to bring forward truth and bring forward information that might be able to benefit the lives and help some healing occur for some of these young victims, there's things outside of a pardon I think that we might -- that should be considered.

BLITZER: All right, Congressman Eric Burlison, thank you very much for joining us. Appreciate it.

BURLISON: Thank you.

BLITZER: And still ahead: The United Nations says time is running out for the people of Gaza, with a quarter of the population there enduring famine-like conditions, and it's only expected to get worse.

Also, a glimmer of hope for Ukraine right now, as President Trump dramatically slashes his deadline for Russia to make peace. But will the Kremlin care?

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

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BLITZER: New this morning, President Trump is dropping the hammer on India, the president announcing 25 percent tariffs, plus an additional import tax penalty to start on Friday. The penalty stems from India's buying Russian oil and military equipment.

Let's go to CNN's Alayna Treene, who's over at the White House for us. Alayna, Trump has often touted a very close relationship with India's

President Modi. How could this decision, this latest decision, impact that relationship?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, I think it's still to be seen, but this is surprising, Wolf, because, from the beginning, ever since the president had really mapped out wanting to work out dozens of trade deals with a number of the United States trading partners, he often said that India was one of the countries that he believed would be the first to make a deal.

And we know that many officials from the White House have been going back and forth between Washington and New Delhi to really try and finalize that. But now we're seeing that he's really ratcheting up the pressure on India and calling into question the prospect of a deal. And this comes just days, as you mentioned, Wolf, before his August 1 deadline, where he's going to be reimposing some of the reciprocal tariffs that he had previously put on pause.

And this is what he said in a pair of social media posts this morning. He essentially sharply attacked India's trade barriers, but he also directly targeted India's sustained reliance on Russia energy and military equipment.

He said, essentially, that India's tariffs are far too high. They're among the highest in the world. And he also said specifically that they are -- quote -- "Russia's largest buyer of energy along with China at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing."

Now, he, as you said, doubled down on his threat to impose a tariff of 25 percent on all imports from India beginning this Friday, a little bit higher than the kind of the average we have seen him strike with other different countries.

And all of this comes, and from what we're hearing from officials here in the Trump administration, is that, really, the president is emboldened by his recent trade agreements with Japan and the European Union, kind of leading him to take a much harsher stance as we get closer to that Friday deadline.

Now, we did hear from the president's National Economic Council director, Kevin Hassett, this morning, who was trying to break down to report or some of the president's frustrations here. He essentially said that he believes that the president is frustrated with the progress that they have made and feels that a 25 percent tariff will address and remedy the situation.

He argued that tariffs on India could cause them to reconsider their practices. So stay tuned for all of that, Wolf.

BLITZER: We will stay tuned, for sure. Alayna Treene at the White House, thank you very much.

At the same time, the hunger crisis inside Gaza is showing no sign of abating. The Palestinian Health Ministry is now reporting that another seven people have died of starvation in Gaza over the last 24 hours. And we're getting a new measure of the deepening crisis. This morning, the United Nations' World Food Program reports that 39 percent of Gaza residents go days at a time without eating and that one in six children in Gaza now languish in levels of malnutrition.

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More aid is trickling into the Palestinian enclave. Jordan is one of several countries now providing airdrops of supplies, but relief workers inside Gaza insist it falls tragically short of the amount needed to alleviate this enormous hunger crisis.

Let's discuss this more with the former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren.

Ambassador, thanks so much for joining us.

As you know, President Trump is publicly breaking with Israel, saying there is -- quote -- "real starvation" happening in Gaza right now, but, as you know, the Israeli government is denying that. Are the prime minister and other top officials in Israel being honest with the rest of the world about the very desperate situation in Gaza right now? This is clearly a crisis.

So many Palestinians, including children, are starving.

MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: Well, it's clearly a tragic situation, and it's one that's not new.

The U.N. has been warning about starvation in Gaza, Wolf, since exactly October 12, four days after the October 7, 2023 attack. So we hear again and again and again about starving Gazans, but we actually don't know the degree to which Gazans are really hungry. It's true the Israeli government -- not just the Israeli government.

The Israeli army has said again and again that there is enough food going in. Even they -- they even count the caloric intake per capita of every Gazan, saying there's enough. The problem is the distribution, that the U.N. will not distribute the food, and then, if it is distributed, Hamas will either capture the food, it will sell the food, it will give it to its own fighters, and it will kill those people who are trying to distribute it.

So it is a hellish, hellish situation. At the end of the day, I think that Israel has to accept a large degree of responsibility and do whatever it can to relieve the situation. I'm not a spokesman for the government, but I will tell you, since the very beginning of this war, I have strongly advocated for flooding Gaza, flooding it with humanitarian aid and medical assistance, precisely to prevent this type of situation from emerging, because there has to be a solution.

BLITZER: The Israeli military's pause in fighting in recent days, especially in some of the populated areas of Gaza, is doing little to address the fears about the growing hunger crisis.

The United Nations emergency relief coordinator now says that, while the pause is our progress, more aid is desperately needed. Why isn't Israel doing more right now?

OREN: I think Israel is actually doing much, much more than it has been doing, and that, again, the IDF, the Israeli army is saying that there is enough food going in, it's just not being distributed.

And the distribution has to be greatly improved. And even these distribution centers that have been set up with an American company have to be better organized and guarded, which is a major, major problem, just simply security.

I have spoken to Israeli soldiers who have come out of Gaza who have been around these distribution areas. And they say they can actually see Hamas terrorists going over and stabbing people who are online to get food and then they were claiming those same Palestinians were shot by Israeli soldiers.

This is the type of situation we're dealing there. We have seen the Hamas put up a picture of a woman with a supposedly starving baby,but it turns out that this child is suffering from some type of horrible genetic condition as well. So we don't know.

I'm going to proceed on the assumption that there is a hunger situation or an acute hunger situation in certain areas of Gaza, not in all of Gaza, and that this has to be addressed to the greatest degree possible by Israel, in cooperation, in cooperation finally, and not adversity, from the United Nations.

BLITZER: This week, Israel and the United States, for that matter, actually boycotted a United Nations meeting to try to promote the creation of a two-state solution in the Middle East, Israel, and a new state of Palestine.

If the Israeli government doesn't want that, why aren't they putting forth solutions of their own?

OREN: Yes,well, you're going to have to ask somebody in the government. Just right now, a two-state solution, to my mind, is an oxymoron. The vast majority of Israelis, not only do they want it. They view it as an existential threat, a Palestinian state.

And even the Palestinians don't want it. I don't even see any evidence that the Palestinians want a state in the West Bank or even in Gaza. Nobody knows who would run that state. Nobody knows what that state would look like, whether it would be a jihadist state. Nobody knows.

But there are other ways we can move forward. We can move forward through local autonomy, through what I call the Swiss cantonment system. There are other ways. It's a shame that everyone's beating their heads on this solution that people have been trying to implement now for well over 40 years, without success.

And the recognition, the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state by France and now by Great Britain apparently is totally ineffective. It's not going to change anything. There are 134 nations in the world that have already recognized the state of Palestine, and it hasn't advanced the creation of a state of Palestine one iota. It's also rather pathetic, because the French and the British aren't

the powers that they used to be. But, really, bottom line is, it's tragic, Wolf. It's tragic for the Palestinians.

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