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The Situation Room

Trump Meets With Turkish President; Trump Administration Targets James Comey. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired September 25, 2025 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:40]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We're following breaking news right now.

Sources tell CNN that the U.S. attorney general, Pam Bondi, and other prosecutors have concerns about whether to charge the former FBI Director James Comey with perjury.

CNN has learned that prosecutors are examining whether Comey made false statements to Congress during his 2020 testimony about his handling of the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

CNN's Evan Perez is joining us now. He's here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Evan, as you know, the statute of limitation expires this coming Tuesday.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right.

BLITZER: However, there's a lot of speculation that an indictment could still come perhaps as early as today.

E. PEREZ: Right, exactly, as soon as today.

All eyes right now both are in the courthouse in Alexandria. And these concerns that the attorney general, Bondi, has about this case really reflect what prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have about what they have, the evidence that they have to work with.

And, keep in mind, these allegations about Comey and whether he lied during that 2020 testimony with Congress has been looked at before. It was investigated under the previous Trump administration. Bill Barr, the attorney general, and John Durham, who was a special counsel, looked at all of the aspects of the 2016 Russia investigation, 2016 to 2018 Russia investigation.

And they decided not to bring a case on this. And so what prosecutors are looking at right now is whether this is a winnable case and whether it's a case that should be brought. And that is right now where the decision lies. And we expect, again, that this is going to come to a head as soon as this afternoon, as soon as the next few hours, because the deadline is approaching.

We don't expect that this will go all the way until Tuesday. And we have played some of the clips of that testimony where Comey refutes that he ever authorized leaks to the press. That's really at the center of this investigation by those prosecutors.

So, Bondi, the prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia, they all have raised the same concern that, yes, they probably could bring a case, but the problem is whether you bring a case that you know is likely to fail. That's where the ethical responsibility for lawyers comes in. And they're not allowed to do that if they believe this is a case that they cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

BLITZER: Yes, it's much more difficult to convict as opposed to simply getting an indictment from a grand jury.

E. PEREZ: Right. And, by the way, we can't assume that because we have seen recently a number of cases where grand juries have rejected indictment requests from the Justice Department. So it's not a slam dunk, as it used to be.

BLITZER: All right, Evan, thank you very, very much. We will see what happens.

I want to go over to the White House right now. You see a vehicle approaching the West Wing over there. There's the president waiting for the president of Turkey, President Erdogan, to arrive. This will be an important meeting, to be sure, Turkey a NATO ally that has serious problems with the U.S. right now.

Among various issues, Turkey severed all diplomatic and commercial relations with Israel a while ago. The U.S. opposed that. Turkey also started purchasing some sensitive Russian military equipment, even as it was seeking advanced weaponry from the United States. I know that some reporters are shouting questions. They're not going to answer now. They're going to go into the Oval Office and then answer some reporters' questions in the Oval Office.

We will have coverage of that as they go in. But there you see the president of the United States and the president of Turkey entering the West Wing of the White House for this very important meeting that it's about to begin.

Our special coverage of that and much more will continue right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:39:59]

BLITZER: Now to another SITUATION ROOM special report.

The Trump administration says more than 1.5 million undocumented migrants have left the United States since the start of the president's immigration crackdown. Some are parents forced to leave their U.S. citizen children behind with no friends or relatives to take care of them.

CNN senior investigative correspondent Kyung Lah has one family's very powerful and moving story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What happened to mommy?

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: ICE took him.

LAH (voice-over): For more than a month, six-year-old Phoebe (ph), nine-year-old Angelo, and 14-year-old Isaac have been in Galveston, Texas, separated from the only parent they have. ICE arrested and deported their mother to Honduras.

The siblings can explain they missed their mother. Why it's happened is what they don't understand.

ISAAC PEREZ, MOTHER WAS DEPORTED TO HONDURAS: Do you know what ICE is? Say immigration.

[11:40:03]

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Immigration.

LAH (on camera): Do you know what that means? Did you guys get to say goodbye?

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Yes.

LAH: Did mommy say something?

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: "I love you."

LAH (voice-over): Those were the last words they heard at home. Their mother's arrest was just the beginning of their goodbyes. The eldest, Isaac, is leaving. He came to the U.S. at age 8 and is undocumented, now self-deporting to join their mother in Honduras.

(on camera): Your brother is leaving tomorrow.

I. PEREZ (through translator): Don't cry. Don't cry. You are strong. Don't cry.

LAH (voice-over): Phoebe and Angelo in limbo. They're different from Isaac and their mom. They were born here and are U.S. citizens.

Their mother is Kenya Perez, who raised the kids alone after her husband died during the pandemic. She fled Honduras 10 years ago and was detained at the border. She was eventually released. She had a legal U.S. work permit, no criminal record, paid taxes, never missed an ICE check-in. What's happening to citizen children like Phoebe and Angelo is

unfolding across the country. CNN found more than 100 U.S. citizen children, many through public GoFundMe pages, essentially orphaned in recent months because of ICE enforcement. No one is tracking these children, and experts say it's just the beginning.

Estimates show nearly two million citizen children live in households where both parents are undocumented, vulnerable to ICE's new immigration enforcement. These children met their new reality on June 4.

I. PEREZ: Like I woke up to, like, calls and texts on my phone. It was my mom. She was like, run, like run away as far as you can. I jumped out the window. I just kept running because I'm like, if I -- if I -- if I get taken, too, there's not going to be a way for Angelo and Phoebe to like, figure out what's going on.

LAH: Without their mother, the kids were left in the care of friends like Jeff Chaney.

JEFF CHANEY, FAMILY FRIEND: This is my first time ever coming here.

LAH: Kenya had asked him to become a temporary legal guardian for the children one day before she was picked up by ICE.

CHANEY: If you would have told me, no, they're going to get families, too. I said you're crazy. That's not going to happen.

LAH: But it is happening.

CHANEY: No. It's happening. It's happening now. It's shameful. It's shameful what our nation has become.

LAH: Today, Isaac is leaving the U.S. for Honduras. We're following him on his journey.

(on camera): What is it like to leave your siblings behind?

I. PEREZ: I hate it because I know my brothers going to be scared. My sisters going to be scared.

LAH: What is it like to say goodbye to them?

I. PEREZ: I was crying. I didn't want to leave them. I thought I was going to go with them to Honduras.

LAH (voice-over): Isaac is flying alone. His younger siblings were supposed to join him, but since they don't have U.S. passports yet, they can't legally fly out of the U.S.

I. PEREZ: Never thought I would be...

LAH: Worried about your brother and sister to go?

I. PEREZ: I never wanted to leave them behind. I wanted them to come with me. But... (CRYING)

I. PEREZ (through translator): I'm here.

KENYA PEREZ, MOTHER: I love you. Thank you for coming.

I am happy, but not complete.

LAH: You're not complete.

K. PEREZ: No. I need my two kids. My daddy today. Tell me, mom, I need. I need to hug. No, it's not easy.

LAH: Kenya now lives in San Pedro Sula, a city in the northern part of Honduras. This country tops Central America in its murder rate.

(on camera): This is a working-class community that is heavily controlled by gangs. The big concern about her kids coming back to this community is that the recruitment age for gangs is between 13 to 15.

Hello, Kenya.

K. PEREZ: Hello. One more time OK, yes.

Welcome for my new room. This is the bed for Phoebe, Angelo and me. Probably Isaac go for my mother.

[11:45:02]

LAH: All three of you will sleep here.

K. PEREZ: Yes. I need my kid here. My daughter. My son, not easy, not easy. He tell me: "Mom, it's OK. It's OK."

But, no, it's OK. No, it's OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: All right, the president of the United States is meeting with the president, President Erdogan of Turkey, in the White House right now. I want to listen into their statements. Then they will take some questions from reporters.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... rampage against Ukraine. And they have been fighting. They have lost millions of lives already. And for what? For what? It's disgraceful.

And I said yesterday, let it keep going because their economy is absolutely terrible right now. And I think it's a shame that they're doing that, killing a lot of people unnecessarily; 7,818 people were killed last week, mostly military people, Their people and Ukrainians, more Russians, actually, than Ukraine, a little bit more.

But it's such a waste of human life. And so we ought to stop. Putin ought to stop. And with that, we will get to a little bit of a discussion. We're going to make some great trade deals for both countries. We do a lot of business with Turkey. They build great products. They build beautiful, great products, really fantastic manufacturers.

And we buy a lot from them and they buy a lot from us. Would you have any questions, please?

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) You have repeatedly called out Obama and Biden administrations for their stupid decisions. One example you gave was the refusal to sell the Patriot and sell defense systems to Turkey, which resulted in the (INAUDIBLE).

Now, you are known to be a great dealmaker in Turkey. What can you do to undo this stupidity?

TRUMP: You're from?

QUESTION: Yes, CNN Turk.

TRUMP: CNN?

QUESTION: Well, because you sounded like a nice guy.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: But CNN is fake news. But you sound like the real deal to me, so I will answer the question.

We're going to be discussing the Patriot system, which is the best system. We will discuss that. We're going to discuss the F-35. We will be discussing all of the things that you know about and that some of that you mentioned.

And I think you will be successful with buying the things you would like to buy.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: Well, we will have to see. I have to -- we haven't even started yet. But I know he wants the F-35, and he's wanted that. And we're talking about that very seriously. And the F-16, we're in great shape. Certain other things he needed, as you know, and I'm going to see to it that we get that to him. He needs certain things, and we need certain things.

And we're going to come to a conclusion. You will know by the end of the day.

Go ahead, please.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Hold it, because I haven't learned his language yet. What did he say?

QUESTION: The gentleman was asking, Mr. President, you have referred to President Trump's peace efforts, and you have also contact with many leaders in the region. And what do you think that you can do about this? And Mr. President has said that, yes, I believe in the peace efforts that President Trump is leading, and together we will be able to overcome the challenges in the region.

[11:50:10]

TRUMP: I think it's true. He's got tremendous influence in the region.

Yes, please.

QUESTION: Mr. President, when are you planning to lift (OFF-MIKE) sanctions against Turkey?

TRUMP: Against -- sanctions against Turkey?

QUESTION: Yes.

TRUMP: Could be very soon.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: If we have a good meeting, almost immediately.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) tariffs on U.S. goods? And what impact it would be in U.S. production?

TRUMP: Where are you from?

QUESTION: Turkey.

TRUMP: I see. We have a lot of people from Turkey here. That's good, because I like the questions very much, actually. They're very much nice questions.

And we will see you about tariffs. We're going to be talking about tariffs.

QUESTION: You already removed them.

TRUMP: Well, we're going to be talking about that.

(CROSSTALK) QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) sanctions on Russia, even if not all NATO countries stop purchasing Russian oil?

TRUMP: We're going to be seeing about that. The NATO countries were disappointing in that regard, but they have been very amazing in other ways. They did -- as you know, they went from 2 percent to 5 percent GDP. And that's a big step.

And it's paid. I mean, they have the money there. And we're selling a tremendous amount of military equipment to NATO. We're selling. We're not giving like Biden did. We're selling it to NATO. And it's a lot. They're buying a lot. And I assume they're giving it to Ukraine. They could buy it for other reasons too. But I assume they're giving most of it to Ukraine.

But they're buying highly sophisticated weaponry. And they're paying for it full price. And that's how we're involved. Biden gave $350 billion. Look, this war would have never started if I were president. If I were president, this war would never be happened -- would have never happened.

Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Mr. President, I would like to ask about Gaza. Are you on the same page Mr. Erdogan for Palestine-Israel?

TRUMP: Well, I don't know his stance. I can't tell you about that. I just say that we want to get Gaza over. I had a great meeting with the leaders of that area, of that region, generally speaking, the Middle East. We had a great meeting the other day at UNGA, as you know.

And I think we're close to getting some kind of a deal done, yes. We want to get the hostages back, have to get the hostages back. We're the ones that got the hostages, all of them that we have now. But it looks like there are 20 living hostages and probably 38 or so dead hostages. Pretty sad. And the parents of those dead souls, those dead mostly men, boys, in many cases, like, literally boys, they want those bodies back so badly, as much as though they were alive.

And so we had a very good meeting with the representatives of the most powerful countries in the Middle East, and I think we're going to be close to a deal.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Mr. President, we have noticed that in the Iranian war and during the Israeli-Iran war, the airspace of the NATO countries is very fragile, and it needs to be stronger.

And in that sense, Turkey being the second largest army in NATO, it needs to support its air force and air defense. How do you look at this issue in general as a NATO...

(CROSSTALK) QUESTION: ... eastern plank of...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: We're -- yes, we're in NATO. And they're paying now 5 percent of GDP. Nobody thought that was possible, and they agreed to that six months ago when I was there. And the relationship is very good. The NATO countries are -- I mean, with us, is the strongest it's ever been.

We used to complain that they're paying 2 percent, but they're not paying. The United States was paying almost everything. And now they're paying 5 percent, and they paid. And that's trillions of dollars. We're talking about trillions of dollars, and they're spending that, giving that money to us, and we are giving them great defensive -- the Patriots and all of the different -- Javelins, all the different missile systems and everything else that they want.

But it's trillions of dollars. So we appreciate that they did that. So they went from 2 percent to 5 percent of GDP, and that was something that nobody even would bring up. Biden should have brought it up a long time ago, because, under Biden, we paid $350 billion, and all it did is make things worse. So we will see how...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) fighter jets, F-35s.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Yes, we're talking about fighter jets for Turkey. Yes, we are.

(CROSSTALK)

[11:55:00]

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) going on in the Gaza, Palestine? Are you going to...

TRUMP: It could be today, yes. It could be today.

We have a very strong dialogue going on with Saudi Arabia, with -- I would say you have four or five real leaders that are being good. As you know, I met with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE. We met with Jordan. The king of Jordan was there. We had great -- we had a really great meeting. I think a lot was determined at that meeting.

And I have to meet with Israel, and I have to do that also. They know what I want. And we think -- I think we can get that one done. I hope we can get it done. A lot of people are dying. But we want the hostages back. We don't want them back one this week, one in two months from now, three later, and like the way it's been going.

We got them all back. We got a lot of them back. We got our American -- the American, Alexander. We got the American hostages back. But we have now 20, plus 38 bodies, dead bodies. And we want them all back. And we want them back at one time.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: Do I think what?

QUESTION: Do you think President Erdogan will help to release the hostages?

TRUMP: I don't know if he will help in that. I don't really think we have -- I don't think it'll be necessary in this case. I think we're going to be in a pretty good position. There are a lot of people that want that done.

I met with great leaders, look, over -- you saw the people that were there, and great leaders, Egypt, who's also represented. We met with the leaders of that part of the world. And they want to see if they can get something done. And I'm going to have to tell Israel, let's go. We want to get the hostages back. They want -- everybody wants to see that war over with, by the way, everybody.

So we're going to see what happens.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Mr. President, how do you see a joint initiative with President Erdogan to bring the president of Russia, Putin, and President Zelenskyy to (INAUDIBLE)

TRUMP: Well, I can tell you that President Erdogan is very respected by both of them. Everybody respects Erdogan. They really respect Erdogan. I do.

And I think he could have a big influence if he wants to. Right now, he's very neutral. He likes being neutral. So do I like being neutral. But he's somebody that, if he got involved -- the best thing he could do is not buy oil and gas from Russia. If he didn't -- if he did, that would be probably the best thing. He knows Putin like I know Putin.

I thought Putin -- I have settled, as you know, seven wars, and it's probably more than that, if you really want to know the real facts, but seven wars, and I thought this would be among the easier ones to settle. But I'm very disappointed in Putin. And he's been fighting hard.

He's been fighting long, and they lost millions of -- they lost like a million soldiers. And they have -- with all of the heavy bombardment over the last two weeks, they have gained almost no land. Think of that. They have gained almost no land. And I'm not going to ever call anybody a paper tiger, but Russia spent millions and millions of dollars in bombs, missiles, ammunition, and lives, their lives.

And they have gained virtually no land. I think it's time to stop. I really do.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) Can you follow...

TRUMP: Where?

QUESTION: You met with Aliyev and Pashinyan, Azerbaijan President Aliyev and Pashinyan. Can you follow up on what you want to say about current process?

TRUMP: No, I can't. I just -- I have -- I can't tell you.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I like this guy. I like him. He's from CNN, fake news, the worst fake news, but I like him.

So, it's CNN Turkey.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I will get Brian.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Go, go, go.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Syria been a major issue between the two countries for the past decade.

TRUMP: That's right.

QUESTION: And you said the future for Syria is in Erdogan's hands back in, I think, December and January. And the countries are in the process of integrating (INAUDIBLE) fractures into the main government.

When do you want to see that happen?

TRUMP: Well, I think President Erdogan is the one responsible for Syria, for the successful fight in ridding Syria of its past leader.

And I think this man is responsible. He doesn't take the responsibility, but it's actually a great achievement. They've been trying to do it for 2,000 years. I said, he does it. He did it.

I mean, they're your surrogates. I think you should take the credit for it.