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Key European Will Join Zelenskyy at WH: Hearing Over Legal Authority of FL Detention Center; ACLU Sues Trump administration; Draft of MAHA Report Forgoes Aggressive Action on Pesticides and Processed Foods. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired August 18, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

SUSAN GLASSER, STAFF WRITER, THE NEW YORKER: -- concession from Putin. So, again, this conversation is all taking place today on what very much appeared to be Vladimir Putin's terms.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Good point. Susan Glasser, Jill Dougherty, to both of you, thank you very, very much. Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Wolf, coming up right now, a federal judge is hearing who has legal authority over the detention facility being marketed by the Trump administration as Alligator Alcatraz. We'll discuss with a former federal prosecutor up next.

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BROWN: Happening now at Federal court in Florida is holding a hearing about that controversial immigrant detention facility dubbed by the Trump administration Alligator Alcatraz. The American Civil Liberties Union says immigration attorneys are being denied access to their clients a violation of due process.

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The Department of Homeland Security rejects that claim writing in a statement that the facility, quote, "maintains a physical space for attorneys to meet with their clients."

Joining us now to discuss all of this is former federal prosecutor Berit Berger. Hi, Berit. Thanks for coming on. What do you expect to happen out of today's hearing?

BERIT BERGER, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR AND FORMER PROSECUTOR, U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, EASTERN AND SOUTHERN DISTRICTS OF NEW YORK: Yes. So, this will be a really interesting hearing. Remember, there's been multiple lawsuits that have been filed now concerning this detention center that's been nicknamed Alligator Alcatraz. One concerned the environmental effects of the construction of the facility. Today deals with the civil rights of the detainees that are being held here.

I think a few things are going to happen in today's hearing. First, the judge needs to determine whether this is actually the correct venue for this case to proceed. I think there will be questions over who is actually running the detention center. There has been some confusion about that and the judge has signaled that he may have some questions about that. So, sort of as a threshold matter, it's important to figure out is this being run by the state? Is this being run by the feds? The answer to that question will determine what remedies may be available to the detainees, what procedures and practices need to be followed. So, I think that's going to be a pretty central question that the judge will probably start with.

BROWN: Isn't that unusual though, that we don't know who exactly runs this facility, whether it's the state or the feds?

BERGER: It is very unusual. And I think this case is going to be a really important sort of sea change perhaps in how we look at the extent of state participation in immigration. So, historically, immigration is a federal power. The Feds are the ones that run immigration proceedings, and the feds are the ones that usually have operated immigration detention facilities. This case may sort of test the bounds, and we'll see how involved states can actually be in this immigration agenda. Can states have as much power as the federal government in housing detainees in this situation?

Florida has taken a very strong leadership role in this space. If they're successful in saying, no, the state is in control here, we're doing everything by the book. This is a power that now we can access, we may start to see additional involvement by states in running these immigration detention centers.

BROWN: I want to go to the due process claims that's central to this ACLU lawsuit. The ACLU claims that attorneys can't reach their clients within the facility. The Trump administration is denying that. But walk us through why that allegation is so significant here.

BERGER: So, the ACLU has brought these claims under a few different forms. They've said this violates the detainees First Amendment rights. They've also said it violates their Fifth and Sixth Amendment constitutional rights. Why this is so critical? Detainees can't make informed decisions about how they want to proceed with their case unless they have access to the attorney, plain and simple.

If they can't access their attorney, there's been allegations that people have been given documents without knowing what the documents is and signed over their rights, people being deported without actually having full information about their case.

Let's not forget also, not all of the people being housed in this detention center have criminal records. Some of these people are there purely on civil basis. And so, the idea that they can't meet with an attorney, be advised by attorney really violates sort of our central understanding of what this attorney-client relationship is and how attorneys play a role in this system.

BROWN: As we know and you had pointed out there are multiple lawsuits and legal efforts opposed to this facility. As you look through these lawsuits, what stands out to you the most?

BERGER: I mean, what stands out to me the most is this is simply another avenue that we're seeing these administration's immigration policies really going forward now. The thing that stood out to me was sort of the cruelty, I guess in some ways of how this has been discussed. Even the nickname Alligator Alcatraz, how it's been discussed so casually, you know, the president making reference to, you know, we'll see how fast people can run if they're being chased by alligators.

You know, we're talking about people who do have due process. Again, as I said, people who've not necessarily been charged with a crime. And this idea that it's really been viewed with such cruelty and hostility, I think has been an interesting element to this. So, I will be interested to see how both of these lawsuits proceed. I think the hearing today will tell us a lot from a threshold matter about who's actually running these facilities, which will then help us understand what laws we're going to be looking at.

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BROWN: Right. I want to go to another legal story today that has to do with former Attorney General Bill Barr. He is testifying behind closed doors to the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein case. Barr led the Justice Department, as we know, when Epstein died in prison back in 2019. Why could his testimony matter?

BERGER: I think there's a few reasons his testimony is going to be important. If you remember back in 2019, Barr had actually recused himself from the proceedings due to some interaction between himself and the law firm that Epstein had been really associated with. So, I think there'll be questions about his decision to recuse, the extent of that.

But more importantly, he was the one who actually reviewed all of the surveillance footage after Epstein's suicide. He took a very strong role in investigating the events that led up to this. And then he came out very strong and said, I have reviewed this. This was a suicide. There was no other people involved in this. So, I imagine that he'll be questioned about both of these things, particularly what he was able to review in reviewing those surveillance and what made him come out so strongly with his assessment that it had been a suicide and there was nothing nefarious there.

BROWN: All right. Berit Berger, thank you so much. Wolf.

BLITZER: And just ahead, CNN has a look at the draft Make America Healthy Again report. The new reporting on how HHS, Health and Human Services, is dialing back aggressive action against processed foods and pesticides.

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BLITZER: New CNN reporting, the Trump administration is now reportedly adjusting the strategy to Make America Healthy Again, their words. The MAHA Commission led by the Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is set to release its finalized recommendations in the coming weeks. However, according to a draft of the document obtained by CNN, HHS will avoid aggressive regulatory action on farm used pesticides as well as on ultra-processed foods.

BROWN: All right. For the latest, we are joined by CNN Medical correspondent Meg Tirrell. Meg, this draft report is pretty surprising given how much RFK Jr. has been outspoken about ultra-processed foods and pesticides.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And also given the fact that in May we saw an assessment essentially of the MAHA, Make America Healthy Again, Commission's look at what they think is driving chronic disease in children in the United States. This all comes out of a February executive order, establishing this MAHA Commission, MAHA, of course, being the slogan of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary's movement.

In May, they released this assessment called Make Our Children Healthy Again, where they focused on sort of four key drivers of what they see as causing this problem among American children. In August, of course, this month, this strategy about how to implement this was due, but in May, they focused on poor diet, environmental chemicals, lack of physical activity and chronic stress and what they call overmedicalization.

And based on that report, which of course had flaws in it, and you know, sort of famously had a lot of citations, for example, that led to studies that didn't exist, they have corrected that over time, but there was a lot of criticism of that initially. But there were some folks in the public health world, and especially in the Make America Healthy Again movement who liked some of the things they saw in that assessment when it came to the regulation of pesticides or a focus on them anyway, and of ultra-processed foods.

So, now, we've obtained this draft document of the strategy essentially to address these things. And a lot of critics of it say it doesn't go far enough when it comes to pesticides. There's a focus on what they call precision technology to decrease volumes of pesticides. Not anything really in there about potentially regulating them more on ultra-processed foods. Sort of an announcement of things that they've already said that they were going to do, developing a definition of ultra-processed foods for potential regulation in the future, but not going as far as some people wanted them to go.

And there are entire sections in here about agriculture and food deregulation, guys. We should of course note though, we've reached out to the White House about this draft report and they say, quote, "Until officially released by the White House and MAHA Commission, any documents purporting to be the second MAHA report should be disregarded as speculative literature." So, we are still waiting to see the official report, but based on this hearing a lot of criticism from folks who wish it had gone farther on those issues.

BROWN: And again, it is a drop for report, but how have farmers been responding to some of these potential regulations? TIRRELL: Well, they came out strongly after the May assessment, really concerned about the focus on certain pesticides and herbicides, the mention of two of them specifically. The National Corn Growers Association, for example, has said that if those were regulated more tightly or if they lost access to things like glyphosate and atrazine, that costs would go up and yields would go down. So, they, of course, have been lobbying heavily against those kinds of things.

BROWN: All right. Meg Tirrell, thanks so much.

TIRRELL: Thanks.

BLITZER: And coming up, an incredible shot to win it all. Scottie Scheffler's historic run continues, all thanks to a birdie.

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BROWN: Can Scottie be stopped? We do not think so. Scottie Scheffler the world's number one ranked golfer cruising a victory in the BMW Championship over the weekend.

BLITZER: Scheffler taking home a cool $3.6 million for the victory. That brings his official PGA Tour winnings to some $23 million for the year. CNN's Coy Wire is joining us now with one of the greatest chip shots you'll ever see.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf and Pamela. Scottie Scheffler, continuing on one of the greatest heaters we've ever seen in golf. He is hot, or you could say he is so cold out there, as LeBron posted afterwards. The world number one continues his dominance, adding a fifth title of the season after rallying ahead of Robert MacIntyre.

17th hole, an 81-foot chip on a long roll, and in. Scottie Scheffler, are you kidding me? It gives him a two-stroke lead over McIntyre. Finishing the round three under. His 17th consecutive round under par on the PGA Tour. 15 under for the tourney. Of all the memorable moments and monumental success he's had in his career so far, this was a signature moment.

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Every golfer who's had back-to-back five win seasons in the last 40 years, Tiger Woods, Scottie Scheffler. That's it.

Play of the date Giants Jung Hoo Lee makes a catch you have to see. Top of the fourth, flying in with a sliding grab against the rays, and upon further review, look where he snags it. He kegels it. I mean, catches it right between his knees. All that money he spent on the late-night QVC, ThighMaster purchases pays off. Abductor dominance. Catch of the year, catch of the decade. It's got to be up there. Lee, helping his Giants secure the seven to one win, and he's so nonchalant about it. It might be a very long time, Pamela and Wolf. before we see a catch like that again in MLB.

BROWN: Yes, no big deal. Just catching it between the ankles.

BLITZER: A pretty good catch.

BROWN: Yes.

BLITZER: Yes.

BROWN: All right. So, Coy teed me up for your golf game. Have you gotten to birdie lately?

BLITZER: I'm taking lessons now.

BROWN: Yes.

BLITZER: I'm just a beginner in golf, but I'm really enjoying it and I think I have some potential.

BROWN: I think you do too. And your coach said it too.

BLITZER: My instructor?

BROWN: Yes.

BLITZER: Yes.

BROWN: Your instructor. All right. Your instructor. We don't -- we're not going to coach yet.

BLITZER: Coming up after the break, the United States is the world's largest importer of coffee. Why that could now change because of President Trump's trade war? We'll be right back.

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