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The Situation Room

Police Using A.I.?; Interview With Washington, D.C., Councilmember Charles Allen; Tropical Storm in Atlantic; Trump Set to Meet With Putin. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired August 14, 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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PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news: 25 percent chance of a failure. That right there is the prediction from President Trump on tomorrow's summit with Russian President Putin.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: And we begin with the breaking news.

President Trump now says he believes Russia's Vladimir Putin will strike a deal to end the war in Ukraine. The president's comments only minutes ago come as the two leaders are preparing to meet one-on-one tomorrow in Alaska.

Here's what President Trump told FOX News radio just a few minutes ago.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know that we're going to get an immediate cease-fire, but I think it's going to come. See, I'm more interested in immediate peace deal, getting peace fast. And depending on what happens with my meeting, I'm going to be calling up President Zelenskyy, and let's get him over to wherever we're going to meet.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BROWN: Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has been relegated to the sidelines of the summit, along with all of the European allies.

Zelenskyy sharing a hug with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as we saw. The two met this morning in London and shared a cup of tea and then went right down to business. Zelenskyy says they discussed security guarantees for his country -- quote -- "in detail." We are covering all the angles here. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in the Ukrainian capital this morning, and chief global affairs correspondent Matthew Chance is in Anchorage for the summit.

Matthew, what are you learning this morning?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have learned, Pam, over the last couple of hours there's going to be a joint news conference between Presidents Putin and Trump after the summit is over, which is something perhaps we didn't expect to happen.

Before, of course, back in 2018 in Helsinki, Finland, where the two presidents stood side by side, that didn't go particularly well, from the U.S. point of view, because basically Trump sided with President Putin over his own intelligence officials about whether or not Russia interfered in 2016 presidential election.

So it's going to be fascinating, I think, to watch what comes out of that event after the summit has taken place. Clearly, President Trump is increasingly confident that there will be a diplomatic negotiated solution to the war in Ukraine. That's certainly what he indicated in that clip you just played.

But, again, it's giving President Putin the benefit of the doubt, whereas, in fact, there's very little reason to do so, given that there's been no indication from the Kremlin whatsoever that Putin is prepared to make any concessions when it comes to ending the conflict in Ukraine. He's got these maximalist demands that we often talk about, including territorial demands, getting control over all of the territory in Ukraine that he has formally annexed, but not been able to capture through military means.

That sort of land-for-peace deal is something that's been categorically rejected by the Europeans and, more importantly, by the Ukrainians themselves that say, basically, they couldn't countenance that kind of a swap.

I think what the Kremlin really wants to get out of this is a broadening of the agenda of discussion points between the United States and Russia. Yes, the Ukraine issue is the focus, but the Russians are very keen to broaden that out to exploration of oil and gas resources in the Arctic, arms limitation deals. That's something that's been floated as well.

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And so the Russians very much want to see this Ukraine question as just one part of a much broader bilateral relationship between the two countries. And this is one step, they feel, towards achieving that.

BROWN: All right, Matthew Chance, thanks so much.

I want to go now to CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.

So, Nick, President Trump says he is confident Vladimir Putin is ready to strike a deal. How is that likely to be received by Ukrainians? NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It

will ultimately depend what that deal is.

I'm sure Putin is ready to strike a deal, if indeed it is the one that appears to have been offered to his envoy, Steve Witkoff, at the Kremlin over a week ago now, in which Ukraine pulls out of territory that Russia doesn't occupy yet in exchange for a cease-fire. That's most likely a nonstarter, not just for Ukraine, but its European allies too.

You heard there Matthew talking about the increased desire for Russia to frame this as a U.S.-Russia bilateral meeting, maybe arms discussions there, maybe other things on the agenda. There's so much that Putin could potentially offer Trump that might be in the U.S.' interest that doesn't specifically involve getting the kind of deal around peace in Ukraine that will fly with Trump's European allies and with Zelenskyy, both on the phone with him yesterday from Berlin, Zelenskyy, hammering home again the specific need for a cease-fire first up.

He doesn't think he's going to get that, said Trump. Well, that's a really tricky starting point for European allies and for Ukraine. They need that, they say, before you can start talking about freezing front lines or other steps in some kind of wider peace deal.

Trump even did say, look, I'm not going to be making phone calls if I don't like how the meeting went, potentially suggesting things could sort of drop in midair to some degree.

And I think the heightened anxiety we're seeing here in Ukraine is the history of these two men together, the capacity we have seen in the past for Putin to drag Trump back towards his narrative about a war that Russia started unprovokedly back in 2022.

And the worry that, while Trump may be very happy to say to his European allies the things they wanted to hear yesterday, there will be serious consequences, I'm not going to negotiate about Ukrainian territory without Ukraine being there, I want to see a cease-fire immediately, that, when he's in the room with Putin, Putin may offer things which are to Trump's liking, but not necessarily Ukraine's.

And the conversation may take a very different path. That's the heightened anxiety here, frankly, how unpredictable this is and the massive stakes for not just Ukrainians, but Europe too.

BROWN: Yes, for sure.

Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And new this morning just ahead of tomorrow's Alaska summit, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is praising, praising President Trump's -- quote -- "energetic and sincere efforts" to stop the war in Ukraine.

CNN national security correspondent Kylie Atwood is joining us here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Kylie, big picture, what does Putin expect and want to gain from all

of this? He certainly seems to have a lot -- he has potentially a lot to gain.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you were hearing from Matthew Chance there that Russia really wants to reset U.S.-Russia relations in this meeting.

They're interested in new business deals between the two. We even heard from President Putin earlier that there could be a strategic arms agreement between the two. That would effectively demote the focus on Ukraine and focus on U.S.-Russia.

When it comes to Ukraine, they have said Ukraine needs to stay neutral in its status. We have heard this time and time again from the Russians, but they are reiterating this going into the meeting. And they are opposed to land swapping. That is something that President Putin -- that President Trump has said would be likely necessary to reach a deal here.

The Russians are making the case that all of the territory that they have already militarily invaded in Ukraine should be theirs and even some of the territory that they don't have military control over right now. They are not talking about an immediate cease-fire.

BLITZER: What does President Trump hope to get out of this?

ATWOOD: President Trump has said that this is a feel-it-out meeting with President Putin, that he wants to understand Putin's parameters for ending the war and that he wants a fair deal, but not defining what a fair deal actually is.

He wants follow-on talks with Putin and Zelenskyy. He said that should happen immediately if things go well in Alaska. He's also mentioned land swapping, but we don't know exactly what that would look like, what he would be open to discussing with President Putin.

And just today, as you guys were saying, he said that it's not likely that an immediate cease-fire would come, and that is something that the Ukrainians have consistently said should be the goal of this meeting.

BLITZER: So what else about the Ukrainian president, Zelenskyy? What does he hope to get out of it?

Yes, as I said, Zelenskyy on the same page with the Europeans, consistently saying publicly, telling President Trump that a cease- fire, an unconditional cease-fire, is needed as a first step here. Then Zelenskyy wants follow-on talks to happen quite quickly with President Putin and President Trump.

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He has also talked about security guarantees for Ukraine. And if there is no cease-fire, the Ukrainians want there to be rapid new Russia sanctions that go into effect. President Trump has said that there would be repercussions if there's no breakthrough here, but he hasn't defined what those would be for Russia.

BLITZER: We should find out hopefully fairly soon.

Thanks very, very much, Kylie Atwood. Excellent reporting -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, happening now: A newly formed tropical storm is growing in strength as it churns across the Atlantic Ocean. Erin is expected to become the season's first major hurricane.

So let's go straight to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar, who is tracking the storm.

What is the storm's path right now, Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right, so it's still moving due west, exactly where we expected it to be heading, but we are starting to notice it intensify a little bit more. So now it is up to 60 miles per hour, with those wind gusts up around 70 miles per hour, still moving due west at about 17 miles per hour.

Again, the key thing here is going to be watching over the next few days because, if it doesn't change course, it would head straight towards the islands. But that's not what we're expecting. We're expecting it to start to shift and pull back towards the north as we head into the weekend.

But also, at the same time, we're going to continue to see this storm intensify. In fact, it's expected to rapidly intensify Friday into Saturday. So we expect it to become a hurricane by the time we get to Friday and then eventually into a major hurricane by the time we get to very, very early on Sunday.

At the same time, though, it is going to start to veer and pull up towards the north. That pulls it away from land. That's exactly what you like to see, so that it kind of stays away from a lot of the populated areas.

But there is still some discrepancy in the models on exactly when it makes that turn. And that is very important, because, if it makes that turn early on, it stays farther away from shore. If it takes a little bit longer, it's able to get a little bit closer to the coastline before making that turn.

And because of that, in turn, it could likely end up pretty -- causing some very strong rip currents, very strong waves. But also it leads to some of the outer bands of that being able to spread some moisture, including some showers and even some thunderstorms right there along the coast. And we know it's still August. It's that time when folks like to go out to the beach.

So if you do have some plans this weekend to head out, be sure you keep a very close eye on the forecast.

BROWN: We certainly will. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much -- Wolf. BLITZER: All right, still ahead, the D.C. Councilman Charles Allen

will join us live. We will get his take on the federal officers as they continue to fan out across the nation's capital.

BROWN: Plus, police departments across the country looking to use A.I. as a core part of their work. The critics say that's a real risk. We're going to talk with the police chief making use of this technology.

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BLITZER: New this morning, federal law enforcement is out again here in Washington, D.C. Take a look at this new video. Shows police and the National Guard detaining a man outside of Union Station, the main railroad station here in Washington.

This comes after President Trump's decision to federalize the police force in Washington, D.C., but this is already causing some community outrage. Watch.

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BLITZER: This was the scene overnight at a checkpoint along one of the city's busiest streets. Protesters made clear their feelings about the increased federal law enforcement presence.

A commander with D.C. police told CNN it was a routine operation.

Joining us now is Washington, D.C., City Councilmember Charles Allen.

Charles, thanks so much for joining us.

First of all, what do you know about this checkpoint set up on the very popular 14th Street near U Street Northwest here in Washington, for those people who know the area? Is that typical for law enforcement in that area?

CHARLES ALLEN (D), WASHINGTON, D.C., COUNCILMEMBER: Well, what's routine is that MPD will do and has been for a number of years conducting traffic safety checkpoints. That's everything from looking for impaired drivers to looking for outstanding warrants.

They make arrests occasionally from that, but it's constitutional and legal. And we haven't had protests around those because they're largely effective. It's also where community policing takes place. MPD will even look to check and make sure someone's car seat is installed correctly.

So those have been standard for the last several years. They have had good effect around getting at dangerous drivers. What's different is now you have got all these federal law enforcement folks. They don't wear a badge. They don't wear their name. They're covering their faces. And that's very different.

And what you see from the community reaction is what I'm concerned about, that federal law enforcement fundamentally changes the dynamic of community policing. They're not trained for it. They're not equipped for it. And it just amps everything up in a way that's very unconstructive and can lead to actually more dangerous situations.

BLITZER: President Trump just a little while ago said crime in -- here in Washington, D.C., is -- quote -- "totally out of control," his words, I'm quoting once again, "worse than ever."

What's your response to that?

ALLEN: Well, we need to be able to call out the lie where it is. And that's just simply not true. He continues to say it, but it is not true. He's painted this dystopian vision, and it just doesn't track with the facts on the ground. Over the last two years, we have driven crime down by about 50 percent of violent crime.

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Now, listen, everybody will be the first to say any crime is one too many. And so we still have work to do. We still have progress. But that happens best with the coordination between the mayor, the council, the community, MPD.

But that's what's gained and had the gains over the last several years. The federal law enforcement aspect, putting military members on the streets of our city, does not make us safer.

BLITZER: Has the administration been communicative with local officials like yourself about its strategy here?

ALLEN: Oh, I don't know if there really is a strategy.

There's been no word from the administration to myself. When I talk to members of the Council, we're not hearing anything. And I think that's part of the problem. It's even created chaos and disorder even within MPD, where command staff and officers on the ground aren't quite sure who's calling the shots, what is the strategy.

So there's a lot of bluster that we will see from behind a podium or in front of a camera from the administration, but we're not seeing an actual coordinated strategy or, frankly, the willingness to come in as partners. And that's the problem, because there are a number of ways the federal government could come in as a partner and that could actually be a good thing. But we're not seeing that.

BLITZER: I want to play something for you, Councilman, and get your response on the other side. Listen and watch this.

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JEANINE PIRRO, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: And then he took a Subway sandwich about this big and took it and threw it at the officer. He thought it was funny. Well, he doesn't think it's funny today, because we charge him with a felony, assault on a police officer, and we're going to back the police to the hilt.

So, there, stick your Subway sandwich somewhere else.

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BLITZER: That was the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, describing an incident involving a man who allegedly threw a sandwich at a federal law enforcement officer.

The individual has been charged with assaulting a federal police officer. Give me your reaction, Councilman, to all of this.

ALLEN: I hope every American out there can understand the incredible irony that is taking place right now.

The very same administration that pardoned hundreds, thousands of people who committed violent acts against our police officers here in D.C. on January 6 in an attempt to overtake the Capitol and pardoned all of those convictions on assaults on a police officer, who tried to harm and kill our police officers, and she wants to throw the book at a guy that threw a sandwich.

Take the irony of that, and that tells you everything you need to know about how serious they are actually trying to be.

BLITZER: D.C. City Councilmember Charles Allen, thanks once again for joining us. Appreciate it very, very much.

ALLEN: Absolutely. Thanks.

BLITZER: All right, Pamela.

BROWN: And up next, Wolf, we are talking with the California police chief whose department is one of several turning to a new A.I. software to speed up its workflow, but some are sounding the alarm about the potential dangers here and all the risks.

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BROWN: Well, these days, it sure does seem like artificial intelligence is creeping into every part of our lives, right, social media, online searches, even what we're streaming, and now add law enforcement to that growing list.

The company behind some of the body cameras used most by police have launched Draft One. This is a new technology using A.I. to process body-worn camera audio to draft police reports. And it could soon become the norm for police departments across the country.

So let's discuss more now with Captain Ian White. He is the public information officer for the Campbell Police Department in California, which has tested this new technology.

Hi, Captain White. Thanks for being here with us.

First off, just tell us what your department's experience has been using this A.I. technology.

CAPT. IAN WHITE, PUBLIC INFORMATION, CAMPBELL, CALIFORNIA, POLICE DEPARTMENT: Yes, good morning, Pamela. Thank you for having me on.

So we went in -- we started testing Draft One about a year ago. Our experience has been that it has reduced officers' report writing time by about 50 percent, depending on the type of report. A lot of thought went into why we wanted to adopt Draft One.

And like many agencies throughout the United States, we're no different that hiring and staffing has been difficult lately. And, historically, we have been the agency who has written the most police reports, taken the most arrests in our area. And so we're really looking to find a way to support our officers, to make them more efficient and to get them back out into the community and supporting our community.

BROWN: So, this technology only processes audio, not the video that body cameras worn by officers are capturing.

Of course, as you well know, video can tell a much different story than audio can. Is this really fair to use? Is there a system in place to verify these reports generated by A.I.?

WHITE: Yes, I think any type of automation that we use in law enforcement, whether it's with drones or A.I. report writing, human interaction with the technology and human verification, in my mind, is always going to be a part of how we use these tools.

And we look at Draft One as a tool, not a fix to officers not having to write police reports. And, really, it does take the audio from the video transcription and it creates a draft for the officer. And in our conversations with our prosecutor's office, we're very clear that that end product still needs to be the officer's end product.

They still need to verify the police report. They still need to make changes and add context, because, as you said, it's not the video, so it can't make statements, like a person took an aggressive stance, because it's not perceiving that.