Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

New Release, Epstein Mentioned Trump Multiple Times in Private Emails; Soon, House Members Return Ahead of Vote to End Shutdown; Venezuela Launches Military Drills as U.S. Warships Arrive in the Caribbean. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired November 12, 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, breaking news, new Epstein emails showing that he mentioned Trump multiple times before he became president. Ahead, we will show you those emails.

Plus, sealing the deal, the House will vote today on a deal to reopen the government. Can Speaker Mike Johnson get his razor thin GOP majority on board?

And then later baby formula recall, what you need to know about a multi-state outbreak of infant botulism possibly tied to this popular formula brand.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And massive military mobilization. Venezuela's now escalating a show of force in response to a buildup of U.S. warships and troops in the Caribbean.

Plus, presidential sales pitch, new CNN reporting on President Trump's advisers weighing a nationwide tour to try to sell his economic message.

And later, dazzling northern lights, stunning video shows the night sky illuminate with red, green, and purple, all from a powerful burst of energy from the sun.

Welcome to 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.

And we begin this hour with the breaking news, the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, mentioned Donald Trump by name multiple times in private emails. These were just released from Democrats on the host House Oversight Committee.

BROWN: Trump's relationship with Epstein has been under intense scrutiny amid this fight to release more documents connected to Epstein and his accomplice and convicted sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell. And the emails are all before Trump became president. The president, we should note, has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein or Maxwell. BLITZER: Here with us, right here in The Situation Room, CNN's Chief White House Correspondent and Anchor Kaitlan Collins. Kaitlan, you've been doing excellent reporting on this. Update our viewers on what's going on.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, basically, what we're learning is that Jeffrey Epstein himself personally named Donald Trump in multiple emails over the last 15 years or so. And the reason we got our hands on these emails is because Congress got their hands on these emails because they had issued a subpoena to Jeffrey Epstein's estate. They, in turn, handed over thousands of documents to both Republicans and Democrats on the House Oversight Committee. And this morning, Democrats are releasing these three emails that mentioned Donald Trump specifically.

And Trump didn't send or receive any of these emails. He's not on them. They are just about him, of course. And the White House has denied any wrongdoing. He hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing when in Jeffrey Epstein.

But I want you to just put this in context because the oldest email goes back to April 2011. That's about three years after Jeffrey Epstein got that sweetheart deal down in Florida where he only went to prison for a couple of months and it was basically later seen as a deal where he got off easy for what he was accused of.

But in the email that was dated from April 2011, Jeffrey Epstein emails Ghislaine Maxwell, and he says, I want you to realize that that dog that hasn't barked is Trump, redacted spent hours at my house with him. He has never once been mentioned, police chief, et cetera. I'm 75 percent there. Ghislaine Maxwell responds to Jeffrey Epstein and says, I have been thinking about that, dot, dot, dot.

Now, the woman's name is redacted here in the email that was published by House Democrats, but House -- because they say she's a victim of Jeffrey Epstein's. House Republicans have identified her subsequently since the release this morning as Virginia Giuffre, who, of course, was one of Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent survivors, a huge advocate for survivors after that, and someone who died by suicide earlier this year. And her family has been very outspoken on this.

She has written a book about her experience, about what happened to her and the assaults that happened to her. She doesn't accuse Trump of any wrongdoing. She writes instead, only in the book of about how her dad was a maintenance worker at Mar-a-Lago. That's how she got her job as a locker room attendant, which is then when she went on to work at the spa at Mar-a-Lago. So, that's the background there and something that Republicans are pointing to when these emails are coming out.

There's another email, though, where Jeffrey Epstein's corresponding with Michael Wolf. And, obviously, Pam, we covered the White House together in Trump's first term. Michael Wolf wrote a book on the inner workings of Trump's West Wing at the time, and Jeffrey Epstein emails Michael Wolf seeming to reference when Trump was saying he had kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago. And Epstein writes, Trump said he asked me to resign. [10:05:01]

Never remember ever. Of course, he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.

Now, that seems to trigger what we had heard from Trump earlier this summer when he was saying that Ghislaine Maxwell was poaching and Jeffrey Epstein were poaching women from his spot, Mar-a-Lago. That is where Virginia Giuffre worked, of course, and that the White House has said Trump has kicked him out of the club for being a creep, basically.

BROWN: So, what is the White House say in reaction to this?

COLLINS: They haven't issued a comment on the record or anything like that. Obviously, we reached out to them to let them know because this has been something that they have been fielding for months now. I mean, there has been a real pressure cooker here in Washington. This is likely to only inflame that over the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files and releasing that.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche went and interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell for two days before she moved to her new prison, which one has much less security in Texas, as you all have been covering. And so in that, you know, Ghislaine Maxwell denied in that interview ever recruiting people from Mar-a-Lago.

But this has been a point of question about how not just Trump and whether or not he has any involvement, which he's denied, but also how the White House has handled this because Republicans, even some of his most loyal advocates, say that these files, these documents that the federal government has should be released.

BLITZER: And as I mentioned, as you know, Kaitlan, these emails were released by Democrats, Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee. What more do we know about their work to release even more Epstein documents? There's still plenty of them out there.

COLLINS: Yes. And that's what the House speaker, Mike Johnson, has pointed to saying they don't need that discharge petition to force the DOJ to release it because they're doing their own investigation. Obviously, these are coming out from Democrats on that committee.

But can I mention a third email that actually references CNN. It's from Michael Wolf to Jeffrey Epstein. This comes at the height of the 2016 campaign. So, CNN's about to host a Republican primary debate and Michael Wolf emails Jeffrey Epstein a heads-up and he says that here's CNN is planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you, either on air or in a scrum afterwards.

And Jeffrey Epstein, according to this email, said, if we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be? Michael Wolf responds, I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn't been on the phone or been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable P.R. and political currency. And Michael Wolf tells Jeffrey Epstein, you can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or if it really looks like he could win, you could save him generating a debt.

Now, I want to be clear. We looked at the transcript. CNN did not ask Trump about Jeffrey Epstein that night, so it's not clear where that's coming from. But I talked to Michael Wolf and he said he didn't really remember the context of these emails, but it was when he was having in-depth conversations with Epstein about his relationship with Trump at the time.

And so it just goes to show the times that Jeffrey Epstein was clearly emailing, talking to his closest confidant, Ghislaine Maxwell, about Donald Trump.

BLITZER: Kaitlan Collins, excellent reporting, as I said. We'll see you later tonight, 9:00 P.M. Eastern on your program, The Source. We'll be watching.

BROWN: And at the White House. A busy day for you, Kaitlan. Thank you.

BLITZER: She's a hardworking young girl.

BROWN: All right, so joining us now to discuss more is Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi. He sits on the House Oversight Committee. Thanks for coming on.

So, before we get into this, I want to reiterate once more that President Trump did not receive or send any of these messages, as Kaitlan laid out, which largely predated his time as president, and he has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein or Maxwell. But I'm wondering, as we just reviewed these emails, how are you reading them?

REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): I think they're deeply disturbing, especially the one where basically Epstein says he knew about the girls, that if he were to deny that he was in Jeffrey Epstein's house or had been on his plane, that would somehow be, you know, a lie. Also, Ghislaine Maxwell weighs in on some of this, chiming in, agreeing with Jeffrey Epstein. And so all this basically raises the question like, why are the bulk of the Epstein files not being produced.

Now, you should know that the Epstein estate has more of these files, and we will continue to receive them in tranches from the Epstein estate. So, one way or the other, we're going to get our hands on those files. So, in light of that, I think the administration should produce the Epstein files right away.

BLITZER: Congressman, I want to dive into that email from 2011. I think it's significant. That's where Epstein emails his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, and says, and I'm quoting now, I want you to realize that that dog that hasn't barked is Trump, redacted victim, then spent hours at my house with him. He has never once been mentioned, police chief, et cetera. I'm 75 percent there. And Maxwell responds and I'm quoting now I have been thinking about that end quote. An unredacted version of the email shared by an administration official identified the redacted person as Virginia Giuffre, who we know is one of Epstein's most prominent survivors, who died by suicide back in April.

[10:10:08]

Question, this seems to suggest that Trump was more aware of the abuse than he let on. What is your reaction to this specific correspondence that has just been released?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Yes, that was my reaction as well. And also the next thing that came to my mind is, of course, we know that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor spent a lot of time with Giuffre, and so that's another reason why Windsor should come before Congress and testify. I said voluntarily, but one way or the other, we should either subpoena him or serve process and get him to come here and testify because he would also probably know about Giuffre and whether perhaps there were links to Trump as well.

BROWN: As you well know, Congressman, President Trump has talked about the fact that he ended his relationship with Epstein. He kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago and so forth. These emails go back to 2011 and beyond through when he was running for president. What do you make of the timing?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, interestingly, I thought the 2011 emails are very -- I don't know. They kind of give a glimpse of what Epstein thought about Trump before he knew that Trump was either going to run for the presidency or would be president. So, even at that time, he felt that Trump had some connection to his girls, so to speak, as he describes them, and spent time with at least one person in his house for hours, as he said. And so I think that there's a lot of veracity to that particular email, in my opinion.

So, in light of all this, again, it just raises the notion that we should get these Epstein files. We should get this produced by the administration. I don't know why they're holding it back, but this set of documents just should persuade them that, one way or the other, we are going to see these files, we're going to see these emails and correspondence. But for the sake of justice, for the survivors, they should be able to have access to those files too and then, of course, to prevent this from ever happening again. And we need to know how this cover-up happened and how rich and powerful interests have managed to escape justice for more than 20 years at this point.

BLITZER: Earlier this year, Congressman, as you know, Maxwell told the U.S. deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, that she, quote, never witnessed the president in any appropriate setting in any way, and that she didn't recall ever seeing Trump at Epstein's house. We learned this week through Representative Jamie Raskin that a whistleblower is alleging Maxwell is receiving special treatment in prison, including meals tailored to her and access to computers with guests. How does that fit into everything else that's happening in the Epstein space right now? KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, look, she's going to say and do anything to basically get a commutation or kind of relief from her sentence. She's a liar. She's a convicted perjurer, and she's a sex trafficker.

All that being said, this email, going back to that 2011 email raises the question of whether she actually knows more than what she led on even in that interview that Todd Blanche had done. And I think there's going to be a lot more correspondence in the Epstein files that would be helpful in cross-examining her going forward. I hope that she comes before our committee so that we can do that as well.

BLITZER: The Oversight Committee, and you're a member of that Oversight Committee, says these emails are some of the thousands of pages of documents received by your committee. Can you shed any more light into what else is within that trove of information and should we expect more of these documents to be released anytime soon?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Possibly. I think our staff, Robert Garcia, and his staff, have done an excellent job of. Kind of doing an initial kind of review, but they're going through with a fine tooth comb right now. And the idea is release as much of this as possible because there is a big appetite for understanding what's in the general Epstein files.

I think that more people are going to come forward because of what's happened with the Epstein estate, and I think that we're going to learn more and share more in the days to come.

BROWN: All right. Well, we will be looking for that.

BLITZER: We certainly will.

BROWN: Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, thank you.

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Thank you.

BLITZER: Thank you.

And still ahead, members of the house are back in Washington for the first time in weeks to vote, to try to reopen the federal government. But will there be enough votes? We're live up on Capitol Hill with the latest developments.

BROWN: plus, scary moments caught on camera, passengers thrown around and knocked down on board a train in San Francisco. The reason just ahead.

[10:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Happening now, after 43 days, the end of the government shutdown finally might be in view. Members of the House are set to return to the chamber in about two hours. That's nearly two months after they left. They're going to get to work on the Senate-approved spending bill that would reopen the government and break the shutdown's painful on the paychecks, pantries, and travel plans for millions of Americans.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is on Capitol Hill for us. So what can we expect in the coming hours? Do we expect any 11th hour drama? What do we think?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pam, the House is returning to session for the first time in 54 days to begin votes to end the government shutdown.

[10:20:03]

Now, Republican leaders are trying to sell this bill that was negotiated in the Senate to their conference, but sources tell CNN that GOP leadership is confident they will have the votes to pass this bill.

But there are a few complicating factors to keep in mind. House Republicans are operating with a razor thin majority. They can only afford to lose two Republican votes on this bill. Congressman Thomas Massie from Kentucky voted against the House-passed version back in September. He's widely expected to oppose once again when this comes up for a vote later today. So, we will be watching to see where those Republican, other Republican votes stand.

And then there are issues relating to attendance. Lawmakers have been racing back to get to Washington over the last 48 hours in preparation for this vote. So, we will see how many actually are able to get here in time for a final passage.

But then on the Democratic side, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has really been working to try to keep his Democratic caucus together to oppose this bill because they feel like it does not do enough to guarantee some of their healthcare demands. Remember, the Senate version does nothing to guarantee an extension of the expiring Obamacare subsidies, something that has really wrinkled a lot of people within the Democratic caucus.

Now, there will be a lot of people watching closely to see if there are any Democratic defections on this bill. Congressman Jared Golden of Maine, who is set to retire after the 2026 elections, he had voted in favor of this back in September. So, he will be one to watch going forward.

But, really, in the coming hours, we will just be watching to see whether there is any final corralling of votes to ensure that this can pass House Republican leadership eyeing a final vote on passage, potentially in the 7:00 hour, but that could shift later and potentially unlock the end to the standoff in the government shutdown.

BLITZER: And it takes a while for those members to vote, and we are now told they're expected to start voting around 5:00 P.M. Eastern later today. We'll see what happens.

Arlette Saenz, thank you very much.

And coming up rising tensions, Venezuela announces a massive military mobilization as the U.S. Navy's largest warship moves into the Caribbean

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:00]

BROWN: New this morning, Venezuela says it is launching a massive military mobilization in response to a U.S. buildup of warships and troops in the Caribbean.

BLITZER: The defense minister of Venezuela announcing that the country will conduct what he calls land, air, and naval exercises today, calling it a response to what he calls the imperialist threat from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PADRINO LOPEZ, VENEZUELAN DEFENSE MINISTER: We love peace. We deeply love peace. We don't want war here nor in any other place around the world. But if they dare to touch Venezuela, they're going to find us in every street.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Tensions have been rising as the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group, arrived in the region. Now, Washington insists the mission targets drug trafficking, but Caracas accuses the U.S. of plotting a regime change.

BLITZER: All right. Let's discuss. Joining us right now, CNN Military Analyst, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Colonel Leighton, thanks so much for joining us. How critical is this moment right now between the United States and Venezuela?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I would say it's very critical, Wolf. And the reason is that, you know, you see all these forces moving into the region. You have got the Gerald Ford, as Pam mentioned, coming in. And we say there are about 15,000 or so sailors Marines into other troops in that area on the U.S. side. And the Venezuelans, they're ramping up their preparations for this. And you heard the defense minister talk about how he is going to deploy those forces.

Basically, they're talking about deploying them in the streets, kind of, creating either a guerilla warfare situation on an or an anarchy situation where they would -- if U.S. forces actually set foot on Venezuelan soil, they would actually use that as a guerilla campaign or try to use that as a guerilla campaign against the U.S.

BLITZER: And the Gerald Ford is not just any aircraft carrier. It's the largest aircraft carrier. I think it's the newest aircraft carrier, a powerful aircraft carrier battle group, indeed, with thousands, as you correctly, point out, thousands of sailors and Marines on board.

LEIGHTON: Yes, that's exactly right. It is basically the best power projection method that we have in the United States, but it's designed for some very specific missions, and that includes major theater war, combat in places like the Middle East. And it's designed to do major operations, conduct major operations on the littoral areas, in other words, the coastlines of various countries.

BLITZER: So, based on what we're seeing right now, are both sides posturing themselves for war right now?

LEIGHTON: It looks like it, yes. I mean, if you were to step back and take a look and see where the forces are deployed and how the various countries are in the region are basically preparing themselves for this, it does look like they're preparing for war.

Now, there's always a way to step back from this kind of thing, but when you have forces deployed in a region and you've got them moving into a certain area, it becomes difficult to step back sometimes, and especially when the U.S. projects power like this, we saw that after the Iraq war in 2003, it's very hard to pull back. And in that case, we obviously did not pull back.

BROWN: Yes. I mean, what could be done now to deescalate?

LEIGHTON: So, there would have to be major diplomatic efforts, I think, to do that.

[10:30:01]

And one of the things though that's interesting about this gets us into the realm of intelligence sharing.