Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Sources Say, Vance to Host Dinner Meeting to Talk Epstein Strategy; Witkoff, Putin Meet in Moscow as Trump Sanctions Threat Looms; Gov Asks Texas Supreme Court to Remove Key Democrat from Office. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired August 06, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, sharpening strategy on the Epstein case. Top Trump officials are meeting for dinner tonight to hash out how to handle the escalating fallout.

Plus, reaching out for a pardon, Sean Diddy Combs legal team confirming conversations with President Trump about a possible pardon. We've got an exclusive interview on that ahead.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Pamela Brown. Wolf Blitzer is off today, and you are in The Situation Room.

And we begin this hour with new CNN reporting. Sources tell us that Vice President J.D. Vance will assemble key members of the Trump administration to discuss something that they wish would go away, the Jeffrey Epstein case. The goal of this evening's dinner at the V.P.'s residence will be to hammer out a unified response, including whether to release last month's conversation between Epstein Accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked the president about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Do you believe that she's credible to be listening to your deputy attorney general sat down with her recently?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, he's -- let me tell you, he's a very talented man. His name is Todd Blanche. She's a very legitimate person, but I didn't talk to him about it. But I will tell you that whatever he asked would be totally appropriate and it's not an uncommon thing to do that. And I think he probably wants to make sure that, you know, people that should not be involved or aren't involved are not hurt by something that would be very, very unfortunate, very unfair to a lot of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House. Alayna, you and several colleagues broke this story. What more are you learning?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, so the officials who are going to this dinner at the vice president's residence tonight, Pamela, include the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, of course, the vice president, who's hosting the attorney general, Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and, of course, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was the one who sat down with Ghislaine Maxwell last month.

But I think the context of the other story we also broke earlier yesterday was that there are tapes, we were learning, of that interview that Blanche had conducted over a period of two days. I'm told there's more than ten hours worth of audio that the Justice Department has been digitizing, transcribing, redacting. And, really, the key question now, of course, is when and if they are actually going to make those materials public.

I spoke with two senior Trump administration officials who told me that that material could be made public as early as this week. So, I think that's important context.

Now, I'd also want to point out that we are hearing, there have been some discussions behind the scenes here of having Blanche potentially do a high-profile interview possibly with Joe Rogan, although the officials here argue that those are very preliminary discussions and it's not expected to come up at that meeting this evening, but also maybe do a press conference as well.

I think all of this just shows you, Pamela, that they are really trying to lean in on the strategy here. A lot of people in the White House believe that they need to be the ones being more proactive, calling the shots, and really trying to take control of the optics and the narrative here. And so that's really what this dinner is going to be about.

BROWN: All right. Alayna Treene, thank you so much.

And new this morning, constructive and useful. That's how the Kremlin describes a meeting between U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin. The two met earlier today for about three hours in a last ditch effort for Russia to avoid the new sanctions President Trump has threatened to impose Friday.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow. And, Fred, Witkoff met with Putin under very different circumstances than when he met with him several months ago, right.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he certainly did. And I think both sides really acknowledged how important this meeting was and how far down the line the two sides are.

Of course, we've had these threats from President Trump over the past -- really, over the past couple of weeks, saying that if there's no progress towards a ceasefire in Ukraine, that there could be massive sanctions against the Russians by the end of this week and, of course, also threatening tariffs against countries that buy Russian oil and gas, first and foremost, China and India, both of which are extremely important to keeping Russia's economy afloat.

[10:05:03]

So, all of that, of course, on the table as this meeting between Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin happened.

One of the interesting things that we picked up on is that, aside from Putin in the room was also one of his senior aides, Yuri Ushakov. And it was Ushakov who, after the meeting, came out and sort of gave the Russian readout, the Russian point of view as to what transpired in this almost three-hour meeting. He said that the meeting was both useful and constructive, and he also said that obviously the conflict in Ukraine was really the centerpiece of what was discussed.

And what's interesting from the Russians is that they say that they received signals from the Trump administration, as far as the conflict in Ukraine is concerned, but that they also sent signals to the Trump administration as far as their point of view is concerned.

Now, we know from Ushakov that, so far, apparently, President Trump has not been briefed on the results of this meeting, but the Russians are also saying that, for them, Ukraine was not the only topic. That also possible expansion of relations between the U.S. and Russia was also something that was discussed. Of course, all this at the same time as the president of the United States continues to threaten those strong sanctions against the Russians, if there's no headway on a ceasefire in Ukraine. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Fred Pleitgen in Moscow for us, thank you so much.

And new this morning, Israel's president backs even further away from the possibility of a two-state solution with the Palestinian people. Isaac Herzog's comments come as the Israel-Hamas war is about to enter its 22nd month.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman joins us. So, Ben, what exactly did President Herzog say this morning?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we heard is something that we've heard from others, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and that is that he is not at all a big fan of the idea of a two-state solution. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISAAC HERZOG, ISRAELI PRESIDENT: In order to move towards a two-state solution or discuss what is the solution, you have to have people-to- people dialogue, you have to deal with the security elements in trust, and you have to be pragmatic as to what you suggest. The whole idea of a two-state solution right now is futile. It will be adverse to the whole notion of peace, will not help one Palestinian, will make people more frustrated, will be viewed as a price to terror.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WEDEMAN: And the question is, what is the solution? Certainly, many people are starting to talk about a one state solution, the idea of all the people who live within Mandate Palestine, which includes the West Bank, Gaza, and occupied East Jerusalem live with equal civil and political rights. That doesn't exist at the moment.

And then the other solution, if you can even call it that, is the expulsion, the forcible expulsion of the Palestinians, which some have in Israel are calling for when it comes to Gaza. That's not much of a solution either. So, it really underscores just what an impasse this century-long struggle has reached and the lack of any sort of leadership to get the two sides out of that impasse. Pamela?

BROWN: Ben Wedeman, thank you so much.

And new this morning, the redistricting fight in Texas intensifying by the hour. Governor Greg Abbott now wants the Texas Supreme Court to remove Democratic State Representative Gene Wu from office. Wu is among more than 50 Democrats who dashed off to other states to protest the Republican redistricting plan. And in response, Wu accused Abbott of using the law as a weapon to silence his people.

Also new this morning, President Trump says the FBI may have to help bring those Democrats back to Texas. A lot going on on this front.

CNN Senior National Correspondent Ed Lavender is in Austin. What more can you tell us about this standoff that's happening right now, Ed?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, we've been talking about for several days, Pamela, about how this situation in this redistricting fight continues to escalate and really still no clear signs that any side here is willing to back down, especially now that Republicans here in Texas are moving into the courts, as you mentioned, the governor asking the Texas Supreme Court to remove the chairman of the Democratic Caucus, Gene Wu, a representative from the city of Houston, and also the attorney general vows that if these Democrats do not return to the State House by the end of this week, that he will move into trial courts to try to achieve the same goal for all of the Democrats as well. So, clear indications here that no side's willing to back down.

Democrats meanwhile are saying that they're not willing to come back yet. There's about just under two weeks left in this special legislative session. So, they would've to stay gone that long to at least kill the redistricting bill temporarily. But Democrats say that these -- the legal efforts that Republicans are pursuing simply just do not stand any kind of legal merit.

[10:10:06]

They do not feel that the governor or the attorney general will succeed.

But, nevertheless, both sides making this as painful as they possibly can in the middle of this redistricting fight. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Ed Lavandera in Austin, Texas, for us, thanks so much.

And happening now, the clock is ticking in a major deadline approaching. There are two big job openings at the Federal Reserve and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and President Trump has said he'll fill them any day now.

So let's go to CNN Business and Politics Reporter Vanessa Yurkevich. Vanessa, we're going to ask you about that in just a minute, but we just got this news in that Apple is going to invest another $100 billion in the U.S. What can you tell us about that?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Pamela. We expect later today the president will announce this investment by Apple another $100 billion, bringing the total this year for Apple's investment into the United States to $600 billion.

Now, this investment will launch an American manufacturing program aimed at bringing Apple supply chain back to the United States. Apple has been hit with billions of dollars worth of tariffs, and the president has been pushing major tech companies like Apple to bring their operations to the United States, Apple manufacturers, a ton in Asia. But a lot of experts have said that that is challenging because there's simply not the skilled workforce here in the United States. And also you would have to pay people much more in order to produce Apple's products. But Apple's saying that they're going to make that investment. The president out with more details later today. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. So, let's go back to the two positions the president is expected to fill. What is the significance of these vacancies?

YURKEVICH: These are critical economic positions that have effects on Main Street and on Wall Street. The first position that's open right now is the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is an appointed position by the president that has to be confirmed by the Senate. It's a four-year term, and this is coming right from the Labor Department's website.

The job really is about ensuring the independence from partisan interests, making sure that the data that is collected is fair and accurate, and that way businesses can make decisions based on that data. Also, this is a position where the individual will brief the White House and policymakers on what is going on with the economy, and it's also critical to protect the confidentiality of the data providers, of the businesses that share this data.

We know that the president, according to Kevin Hassett, the economic adviser to the president, is looking for someone that he knows and someone that is part of his administration, perhaps.

The other position that is open right now is the Fed governor position that was just vacated by Adriana -- excuse me, from one of the Fed governors who just resigned, Adriana Kugler. She left the position. There was about four months left on her term, but this is a 14-year term. This is someone who votes at those critical meetings on interest rates. They lead committees on studying economic issues, and they are responsible for overseeing 12 Federal Reserve banks.

This position, the president said, will likely only be filled for the four months remaining on the term that was just vacated. And the president indicated that this may be someone that ultimately he may nominate to be the chair of the Federal Reserve. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Vanessa Yurkevich, thanks so much.

And still ahead right here in The Situation Room, a CNN Exclusive with a member of Sean Diddy Combs defense team, what she's saying about a potential pardon for her client from President Trump.

And next, it's being called the, quote, Speedway Slammer, a look at the newly announced state run ICE detention facility.

You're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

BROWN: Well, this morning, Texas Democrats are on notice. The State's attorney general, Ken Paxton, says the ones who fled to avoid a redistricting vote have until Friday to return. And if they don't, Paxton says he'll start asking courts to remove them from office.

Let's discuss with former Texas Democratic Congressman and 2020 Presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke. His political group is a top funder for Texas Democrats who have left the state. Beto, thank you so much for being here with us.

So, Paxton says Democrats' failure to return constitutes what he calls a, quote, dereliction of their duty as elected officials, what is your response to that?

FMR. REP. BETO O'ROURKE (D-TX): I think what they're doing is the highest form of public service. They're trying to stop the consolidation of authoritarian power in America as Trump and Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton and Republicans in Texas, thick as thieves, try to steal these five seats in Texas because without them, Trump's going to lose a majority in the House of Representatives. And without that majority, there's a check on his lawlessness, accountability for his crimes and corruption, and the possibility of free and fair elections going forward. Those 56 Texas Democrats are all that stand between that future and where we are right now. And so we've got to have their backs.

And I'm so grateful that tens of thousands of Americans have texted fight to 20377, to make sure they have the resources for their lodging, their food, their flights, and to the point that you made earlier, the defense that they're going to need, as both Greg Abbott, the governor, and Ken Paxton, the A.G., take them to the courts.

BROWN: You also have one of your senators, Republican John Cornyn, urging the FBI to locate or arrest these Democrats.

[10:20:04]

President Trump has said the FBI may have to get involved. Do you take these threats from Republicans seriously?

O'ROURKE: Absolutely. I mean, they've got DPS state troopers trying to hunt them down right now. They may face the long arm of federal law enforcement as well. I mean, they are doing this at extraordinary risk to themselves personally. They've left their families, their careers outside the legislature, to do something, not just for the people of Texas, but all 330 million of us across this country. I mean, they are the champions for this democracy for America, for the rule of law, and for our Constitution. And we've got to have their back so that they can persist and ultimately prevail and stop this power grab in Texas and make sure that there's accountability for Donald Trump and free and fair elections going forward.

BROWN: Just really quickly, do you know if law enforcement has actually contacted any of them or if there's been anything on that front?

O'ROURKE: Not to my knowledge. I saw that yesterday. Gene Wu, who's leader of the State House Democrats, Greg Abbott filed with the Texas Supreme Court to remove him from office. So, you know, that's going to be an expensive and tough legal fight for him. We just got to make sure that we have his back because he's the first in line. 55 follow him. After that, we've got to stop them in whatever ways they're trying to attack these people because they're standing up for all of us.

BROWN: So, as we mentioned, you're helping to cover the costs for these Democrats who fled. You did the same thing in 2021 when Democrats fled the state over a voting bill. They ultimately returned and the bill was passed. Yet at that time, you spent over half a million dollars. I mean, we could see a similar scenario this time around. Is it worth it?

O'ROURKE: Absolutely. You know, if we fail, the consolidation of authoritarian power in America will be nearly unstoppable. That means more masked plain clothes federal agents without badges or warrants sweeping our fellow Americans up off the streets. It means more retribution and persecution and even violence for Trump's political opponents. And it also means that a Republican majority Congress with these five stolen seats, if we allow them to succeed, will roll out the royal red carpet for a Trump third term.

So, this is literally for all the marbles, and it comes down to what is happening in Texas right now. So, wherever you live around the country, you have a vested interest in these 56 Texas Democrats succeeding right now. So we need your help. Please text fight to 20377 and let's have their backs.

BROWN: But just, you know, you talk about all the vulnerable people you're concerned about, could the money that you're raising now be better spent helping those people rather they go toward the Democrats who, you know, we've seen it in the past, they flee, but then inevitably they have to come back, right? You can't just stay out in perpetuity and the governor can just continue to call these special sessions. And so do you think the money could be better spent helping those folks you mentioned?

O'ROURKE: I actually believe that they can stay out long enough to stop this steal in Texas. But I also think there are other things that other people can be doing right now. I'm heartened to see what Governors Newsom and Pritzker and Hochul are talking about seizing the initiative and redrawing Congressional districts in their state to add a Democratic advantage.

I was in Nebraska last night where we were talking about winning the second Congressional district currently held by Don Bacon to advance the opportunity for Democrats to hold power in the House of Representatives, because that matters more than anything else right now. It matters more than being right. It matters more than any other priority. We have to stop their power grab. We have to win power and then we have to use it to provide a check on Donald Trump and to deliver, Pamela, for those folks that you're talking about right now, only with that power are we going to be able to help America. And those 56 Texas Democrats right now are giving us the best chance that we have. We've got to have their backs.

So, you mentioned the blue states that are now looking at redrawing their maps. You say you should fight fire with fire. You now have J.D. Vance going to Indiana to talk to Republican leaders there about redrawing the state's Congressional map. I mean, where does this end?

O'ROURKE: It ends with Democrats win in power. I think for far too long, my party has been more concerned with being right and coloring within the lines than they've cared about being in power while the other side only cares about power, regardless of what is right, what is ethical, what is legal even. So, we've got to take the gloves off. And we've got to fight them and we've got to seize the initiative and stop waiting for these would-be fascists to land the punch and throw ours first and throw it harder. And that's what I'm starting to see from some of these Democratic governors across the country, and so more of that.

And I think these Texas Democrats have inspired them, have set the example and have shown the way.

[10:25:01]

I think the election of 2026 is going to be decided in the summer of 2025. So, we have to fight now and every day going forward.

BROWN: All right. Beto O'Rourke, thank you for joining us.

O'ROURKE: Thank you.

BROWN: And new this morning, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is sharing details about a new ice detention facility in Indiana, which the Trump administration has dubbed the Speedway Slammer. This is video of a facility that's about an hour north of Indianapolis. Noem says to expect more of them across the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We've got several of these facilities that'll come online soon, and it really is meeting a need that our country has to clean up our streets.

We also have others will announce in the future. Alligator Alcatraz was the first model and the big, beautiful bill provided us the resources that we need to get these beds online so we can continue to do our work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, right now, federal judges holding a hearing over whether to block operations at the ICE facility in Florida's Everglades. Environmentalists say the site's construction bypassed required environmental impact studies.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez joins us in now. Priscilla, what other details do you have on this new facility?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's still a lot of details missing about this, but what we do know, however, is that this facility in Indiana would expand attention space by 1,000 beds. So, it would add to their capacity, which is something that they are keenly focused on in this moment by the end of the year. They want to have a hundred thousand beds, so more than doubling ICE's capacity, and they're looking to states to do exactly this.

Over the last several weeks, senior Trump officials have said that they are in ongoing discussions with states about replicating what you heard there from the Homeland Security secretary, Alligator Alcatraz, that makeshift facility that was erected in a matter of weeks in Florida, deep in the Everglades. That has come across multiple issues, both with conditions inside as well as what environmentalists are saying. But all the same, they're standing by and they want more of that in these states.

So, Indiana is just the latest example of that, as you saw with Florida Alligator Alcatraz, now they're naming Indiana the Speedway Slammer.

Now, the funds they're using to do this are the funds that were passed by Congress. Remember, we've talked about the historic amount of funding that ICE received to expand detention space. And this is going to be one of the ways in which they use those funds.

We also heard from the Indiana governor who said -- and he was very proud, quote, to work with President Trump and Secretary Noem as they removed the worst of the worst with this innovative partnership.

The reality here, Pamela, is that as they try to ramp up arrests, they need a place to put people before they deport them. That process can take days, weeks, if not months. So, they have been running overcapacity. Now, they are trying to build out as quickly as they can and looking to partner states to do it so that they can detain people, then deport them. BROWN: And tell us more about who these people could be. Obviously, they say that this is for people who are here illegally. They've also said in the past that they'll be the most serious, you know, criminals out there. But has that been borne out with Alligator Alcatraz?

ALVAREZ: So, I can think of a couple examples here. Guantanamo Bay, that was where they wanted to send the worst of the worst. As we learned more in our reporting about who was being sent there, there were someone serious criminal records, there were also people who did not have those serious criminal records.

Similarly, Alligator Alcatraz, I have spoken to some of the detainees that are being held there. Some of them do have serious criminal records, others do not, some of them, for example, traffic violations.

So, what we have borne out over the last several weeks in our reporting is that, yes, there are people who are held in detention facilities who have a lengthy criminal history. There are also people who are being held who only has traffic violations or not even that are simply considered having a record because they're here illegally.

So, we'll see what happens with Indiana. But so far, when we talk about the worst of the worst or the only ones going in, that's not exactly right.

BROWN: All right, important reporting. Thank you so much, Priscilla.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:00]