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FBI Raids Ex-National Security Adviser John Bolton's Home; Powell Says Higher Tariffs Have Begun to Push Up Prices; U.N.-Backed Group Confirms "Man-Made" Famine in Parts of Gaza. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired August 22, 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]

BESTY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER AND WRITER: Well, it was really interesting to me, Wolf, that the president continued to lash out at John Bolton, who again served as his national security adviser for about 18 months, fired by Tweet in 2019. The president calling him a low life. Just underscoring the bad blood between these men as Bolton has emerged as really one of the most high-profile people to criticize Biden -- or excuse me, Trump's foreign policy since the president returned to office.

The president also suggested at one point that it was good to have Bolton on his team when he was here at the White House because it gave him a little bit of leverage with foreign leaders who were concerned about Bolton's hawkish tendencies. He also said he was very bad at what he does. Not a smart guy. But the president, again, saying he knew nothing about this search that happened this morning at his home in Bethesda. He said he found out about it on television.

He was asked if he would be briefed on it, and at one point said that he did expect to be briefed later today by Attorney General Pamela Bondi, but then shifted and said that maybe he shouldn't know about it, maybe he should leave it to the Justice Department. So, very interesting comments there.

The president also appearing to pour some cold water on those talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said those two leaders are like oil and vinegar, as you mentioned, Wolf, really casting doubt on the prospect of getting them to a bilateral meeting, which was at the beginning of this week, a cause for optimism to potentially find an end to this conflict in Ukraine. But so far that has proven elusive as the Kremlin has said they are nowhere near being ready to meet together, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And totally unrelated to all of the important news, he was wearing a hat and it wasn't saying, Make America Great Again. He was -- it said Trump was right about everything. It seemed to be -- I hadn't seen that hat yet before. Is this a new development?

KLEIN: He has this hat. It's something that Elon Musk wore early in his term, and the president, we saw just a couple of days ago, has a selection on a bookshelf of a number of hats. They say 45, 47, they say, Make America Great Again, they say Trump 2028, something that he finds funny to stoke -- rile up the Democratic base who has criticized him on that point, but this clearly trying to send a signal here.

He also took a look at the gift shop at this People's House exhibition, just a few steps away from the White House, run by the White House Historical Association, said it was a very nice exhibit.

BLITZER: And he said he was heading over to the Kennedy Center. What's going on there?

KLEIN: The president is expected to oversee some renovations to the Kennedy Center. This is all part of his plans to really overtake. He has installed himself as the chairman of the board of that institution and he announced the Kennedy Center honorees just a few days ago. But now, he is there to inspect some ongoing updates to that facility that he really criticized, says hasn't been updated in quite some time, and he is working, you know, ever the real estate developer to beautify that space.

President also made some notable comments. I just want to flag on Lisa Cook. She's a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. She has been accused, allegedly, of mortgage fraud, and he said, quote, "If -- I will fire her if she doesn't resign." So, that is also something we'll be paying close attention to. But we'll be watching whether the president takes any more questions in the coming moments. Just a few steps away from the White House now, but headed right over to the Kennedy Center.

BLITZER: All right. Betsy Klein reporting for us from the White House. Thank you very, very much. Katelyn Polantz is here with me in the Situation Room. You were listening very closely, I know you're getting messages from your sources. What's your assessment of what we just heard from President Trump?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, before we get to Trump's comments, a source is now telling our own Kristen Holmes at the White House that the investigation also may be looking at the disclosure of classified material outside of what John Bolton wrote in his 2020 book, potentially disclosures he may have made to clients of his, private clients or members of the media.

He has existed essentially as a media figure and consultant in Washington since he left the administration in 2019. That is, first of all, a very, very interesting expansion potentially of what we know so far about this FBI search and what this investigation may be. The court approved so far.

The other thing is that what Donald Trump was just saying is an astonishing tearing down of the distance between the Justice Department and the presidency. We have seen in the past when top political officials, Mike Pence, Joe Biden, Donald Trump himself have been investigated for things just like this, retention of classified material. There has been a special counsel in place to keep independence, even from the political appointees in the Justice Department itself, let alone making sure the presidency has -- and the White House is not aware of these things.

[10:35:00] What Trump said that really jumped out at me is that he said that he hasn't been briefed by the Justice Department yet, he expects that later in the day, but he said, I could know about it. I could be the one starting it. I'm actually the chief law enforcement officer. But then he said he's telling the attorney general, Pam Bondi, you have to do what you have to do. And right now, he doesn't know anything. I looked, the Justice Department on its own website says the attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government, not the president.

BLITZER: Interesting. And normally, you would think that in a major development like this, the FBI going to the home of Trump's former national security adviser, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Bush administration, you would think that they would inform the president in advance, give him a heads up, this is about to happen. He says he didn't know anything about it until he saw it on television this morning.

POLANTZ: Well, that actually would not be that unusual, not to inform the president with this, the attorney general would know because the Department of Justice does, in the past, operate very separately at the time of this similar searches in the Biden administration. Joe Biden was staying out of it. Merrick Garland was the attorney general and he was the one that was knowing and letting a special counsel operate with independence in those sorts of investigations.

BLITZER: All right. Keep working your sources. We'll get back to you. Katelyn Polantz, thank you very, very much. Coming up, much more on the breaking news, the stunning FBI search of the home of former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton. We're getting more information.

Plus. could an interest rate cut be on the horizon? We're dissecting the Federal Reserve chairman's speech over at the Central Bank's annual gathering. Stay with us. More information coming up on that as well. You're in the Situation Room.

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[10:40:00]

BLITZER: We'll of course have much more on the breaking news of the FBI search of former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton's home just outside Washington, D.C., but there's other breaking news we're also following right now. The Dow is in record territory following a key speech by the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, where he hinted, keyword hinted, at a possible rate cut, an interest rate cut.

Let's go live the CNN Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich who's watching all of this. Vanessa, what exactly did Jerome Powell say?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the first time, Wolf, that Jerome Powell has really signaled that a rate cut could be coming. And you see the Dow, you see investors reacting. This is what they wanted to hear. The Dow now in record territory again, up more than 800 -- or was up just about 800 points, as you saw in moments ago.

This was Jerome Powell's. Speech as fed chair at this event. So, that was important because he is ending his term in May of 2026. But this was a speech that investors were watching very closely for clues about how Jerome Powell sees the economy. He said that tariffs are having an impact on prices, but that there's something unusual or curious going on in the labor market where there is both a lack of supply and demand of workers. And he says that that puts the Federal Reserve's dual mandate of price stability and full employment intention.

However, he did said -- it did say it might be time for a rate cut. Listen to Jerome Powell, what he said just a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR: The effects of tariffs on consumer prices are now clearly visible. We expect those effects to accumulate over coming months with high uncertainty about both timing and amounts. The question that matters for monetary policy is whether these price increases are likely to materially raise the risk of an ongoing inflation problem. A reasonable base case is that the effects will be relatively short-lived, a one-time shift in the price level. Of course, one time does not mean all at once.

Nonetheless, with policy and restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH: Now, at the same time, Jerome Powell was speaking in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, President Trump was speaking to reporters and he said that he is going to fire one of the Fed governors, Lisa Cook, if she does not resign. There's a DOJ probe going on into this individual, this Fed governor, essentially saying that she committed mortgage fraud. The president saying that he's going to look to fire her. We did not hear Jerome Powell make any sort of comments about that, but you can just see the pressure that's being put on the Federal Reserve, the institution at the same time that Jerome Powell in Jackson Hole, Wyoming is trying to conduct monetary policy, Wolf.

BLITZER: And if he fires her, he'll be able to name a new member of the Federal Reserve that potentially would be more in line with his thoughts on interest rate cuts.

YURKEVICH: That's exactly right. The president would have the power to put someone else in that position and that would now be two people that he's able to appoint this year, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Vanessa Yurkevich reporting for us, as always, thank you very, very much. Coming up, we'll have much more on the breaking news we're following. The truly stunning FBI search earlier this morning of the home of the former Trump National security adviser, John Bolton.

Also coming up next, a Situation Room special report. We go one-on-one with someone from the controversial U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Just as a new report confirms that famine exists right now in parts of the Gaza enclave.

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[10:45:00]

BLITZER: Parts of Gaza right now are officially experiencing what is being described as a quote, "manmade famine," that according to a monitoring group backed by the United Nations. And it warns the situation will get worse as the conflict goes on. This news comes as a controversial U.S. and Israeli-backed aid group launches a new program aimed to help people in Gaza safely get the food they desperately need.

My colleague, Pamela Brown, interviewed the spokesperson for that group. It's called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in this Situation Room special report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: An aid group supported by the United States is announcing a new program that allows families in Gaza to reserve aid packages before traveling to its distribution sites. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private organization backed by the U.S. and Israel hopes the new system will resolve the scenes of disorder and chaos we've seen at aid sites amid the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

Joining us now is Chapin Fay, the spokesman for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Chapin, thank you for coming on. So, the GHF just launched this new pilot program. Can you tell us more about what that entails?

CHAPIN FAY, SPOKESMAN, GAZA HUMANITARIAN FOUNDATION: We're very happy and pleased to announce this pilot program this week. You know, our humanitarian staff works alongside local Palestinian workers from Gaza on our sites, they communicate with the crowd, they take feedback, they ensure we're adhering to, you know, humanitarian principles and getting the aid seekers what they need.

Sometimes the younger, faster men can get there first and get aid first, and sometimes women, children, and families can get left behind. So, this was an innovation to prevent that. Working through a local Palestinian worker. People can sign up and give us their information and we give them an I.D. card. We take their picture. And we use those -- that information only for the purposes of them reserving aid.

BROWN: The Gaza Ministry of the Interior, as you know, is warning Gaza's against providing their personal data and information to GHF as part of this new program, saying that it could be used against them for security and intelligence purposes. How are you ensuring that you're protecting their information?

FAY: Well, so, some of this -- you know, some of these ministries in Gaza are Hamas ministries and they're waging and active disinformation campaign. I mean, this is up against the background of Hamas. You know, trying to cause disinformation and cause chaos at the sites. So, I would urge some skepticism on some of -- a lot of the information coming out of Gaza.

Our humanitarian workers work alongside local Palestinian workers on our sites, and they interact with the crowd. And we do have a great trust with the people that come. They rely on the food and the aid that we're distributing. We also have international NGOs, Samaritan's Purse. This is solely to ensure that the right people get the aid when they show up.

[10:50:00]

And we do not share the information and it's highly secured and encrypted with multiple layers of security.

BROWN: Is there a vetting system in place to ensure Hamas fighters can't access aid through this new program and at the four current GHF sites?

FAY: So, certainly Hamas is an ongoing threat. The IDF is conducting daily operations against them. Our sites are safe and secure. We've only had two incidents of violence months ago that were Hamas fomented and injured two American aid workers. And there was one instance of a -- unfortunately tragic incidents when Hamas fomented a stampede.

But our sites are safe. And we ensure that the aid gets into the people who need it the most. One way we do that is the reservation system that we're talking about. Another way that we do that is we have separate women's distributions, totally separate. So, to ensure that they're getting aid and they can feed their families. We also have women's distributions immediately after the main distribution. Once the crowds are dispersed many women stay behind. We had a record day this past weekend, and now, we're consistently hitting -- feeding over 3,300 women, specifically and separately as part of our distributions.

BROWN: You bring up that tragic incident where 20 people died in that crowd crush at an aid distribution site run by GHF. You said that this was driven by Hamas. The Palestinian Health Ministry said it was due to chaos from tear gas fired at a crowd of people waiting for aid. And I want to give you an opportunity to address that.

FAY: Well, again, that's Hamas saying that, the Gaza Ministry of Health. We do not have tear gas on our sites. We use only non-lethal methods of crowded control. Our security personnel are very highly trained, very highly skilled U.S. veterans, and more importantly, very highly intelligent. They are not there because they know how to pull a trigger. They are there because they know how not to.

BROWN: I want to follow up with you. First of all, I just need to note that the Gaza Ministry of Health, for its part, says that it is not an extension of Hamas. And it is true, we did check the United Nations own tracker before this interview. A vast majority of their trucks are looted or don't make it to their intended destinations in Gaza. Now, they say that it's a scarcity issue. I know GHF wants to work with the U.N. What have those discussions been like?

FAY: So, our executive chairman had some meetings a week or two ago in the United States with the U.N. personnel. We have seen some ratcheting down of the rhetoric against GHF coming out of those meetings, which is a positive development. The point of all of this is to feed more people in Gaza. And I would argue that anyone trying to shut down GHF or criticizing the way that we're doing this is arguing for less aid. And I would meet that with extreme skepticism. There's nothing humanitarian about playing politics with this desperately needed aid.

We're going to continue focusing on our mission, which has been successful, to feed people to the tune of 130 million meals in less than three months. And we push the governor of Israel and the IDF every single day to let us expand and to keep going.

BROWN: The U.N., for its part, says that the system it had in place before the blockade with more than 100 aid sites, that worked. Now, there's a scarcity issue, which is why these attacks are happening. And now, more than 200 NGOs say that they want GHF to be dismantled. If your system is so effective, if it is working, as you say, why do you think all these NGOs want you gone?

FAY: Well, you don't have to take my word for it. Just last week, more than 200 other NGOs from more than 15 countries issued a public letter in support of us urging that the United Nations work with us and collaborate to feed more people. So, you'd have to ask the others what their agenda is.

Our model is to feed people without any diversion. And we've been successful at that. The U.N. has -- you know, the legacy system was a failure. That's the main reason we are in operation. And we're going to continue doing it.

BROWN: Let me just follow up with you quickly, because there was an internal analysis conducted by USAID that showed, according to this U.S. government report that there was no widespread theft by Hamas. They looked into 150 incidents of waste, fraud, and abuse, and that's what the finding was. It was by USAID.

FAY: You can see for yourself all over social media, for the past couple of weeks of Hamas and armed mask men parading the U.N. convoys around Gaza.

[10:55:00]

One of the main reasons we are able to now do the reservation distribution system is because the food insecurity is lessening with all the aid being pumped in now. Market prices are coming down. The chaos and -- of the crowds has been coming down at our sites. You know, we could -- we have, you know, a model that is working when you compare it to the others.

And again, we can solve this problem together. If all of these other NGOs and the United Nations spent as much time working with us on how to feed Gazans and less time on their PR smear campaign, imagine how many people we could feed.

BROWN: Right. And just to note, we did reach out to the U.N. before the interview. They said it has no intention to undermine any operation that brings more desperately needed aid into Gaza. What we have emphasized is that aid should be delivered according to humanitarian principles. We conveyed this message directly during a constructive meeting that we had talked about earlier in the interview.

I also just want you to get your response to the death that the U.N. says has happened of Palestinians on their way to a GHF site or leaving. The U.N. contends that Gazans have two choices, to either starve or die getting to a GHF site. What is your reaction to that and where do you place the responsibility?

FAY: Well, that's some of the rhetoric I mentioned earlier that just makes it more dangerous for aid seekers and causing confusion. And those are also some Hamas talking points that they're repeating.

BROWN: But there have been people who I'm not here to tell you have died.

FAY: I'm not here to tell you that there are no casualties -- so, I'm not here to deny that there are casualties in this war that Israel's waging against Hamas. A lot of those deaths are unconfirmed. IDF has difficulty confirming them because the Gaza Ministry of Health, for example, doesn't distinguish between combatants and civilians. The other thing I would point out is that if you look at the U.N.'s own statistics and reporting coming out, there are many casualties up north at their aid convoys.

As I said, this is an active war zone and it is dangerous. And Gaza is also very small. It's one of the most densely populated places on planet earth. And everything can be a few kilometers from one of our sites in Gaza. So, what I would tell you is to meet some of these statistics with extreme skepticism. But I will also say that we push the IDF and the government of Israel to deconflict, to make the rest of Gaza safe and secure and create more humanitarian corridors.

But our sites are safe and secure, and it's up to the IDF to make the rest of Gaza safe and secure. We are also very hopeful that we can collaborate with the United Nations. Again, imagine how much -- how many people we could feed if we all worked together to come up with solutions to this complex humanitarian crisis together and feed people.

BROWN: Chapin Fay, we appreciate you coming on. Thank you so much.

FAY: Thanks for having me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And special thanks to my co-anchor Pamela Brown for that interview. Coming up, we'll have more on the major breaking news right now. Right now, sources telling CNN that FBI agents are searching the Washington, D.C. downtown office of President Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton. You're looking at live pictures over there. We're getting a lot more information. Stay with us. The next hour of the Situation Room starts right after this.

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