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The Situation Room

Travel Nightmare; Supreme Court Extends Pause on SNAP Benefits; Venezuela Launching Military Exercises; Trump Mentioned in Newly Released Epstein E-Mails. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired November 12, 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)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: We are following the breaking news.

The White House is responding now to those newly released e-mail from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein mentioning President Trump multiple times in private e-mails.

Now, we want to note these were largely before Trump was president, and he has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein or his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

CNN's Alayna Treene joins us now live from the White House.

Alayna, how is the White House responding?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, we are getting the first comments now to these e-mails that were released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee this morning, Pamela.

I'm just going to read for you some of what this statement says. It's from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, really lashing out at Democrats and argue that they -- arguing that they're selectively leaking some of these documents in order to try and embarrass the president.

She writes -- quote -- "The Democrats selectively leaked e-mails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump. The unnamed victim referenced in these e-mails is the late Virginia Giuffre, who repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and couldn't have been friendlier to her."

They go on to argue things that we know they have in the past, which is that the president had long ago kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club, calling him a creep, and all of that they have highlighted.

And we should point out that, one, Donald Trump has never been, convicted or accused of really any wrongdoing here by any victims. And one of the e-mails that they are referencing, the White House specifically that, of course, was released publicly this morning that CNN was able to review does talk about and does have a victim, a redacted name in one of these e-mails where Jeffrey Epstein mentions the president by name in an e-mail to Ghislaine Maxwell, of course, his accomplice in a lot of these sex trafficking and sex crimes.

But what they're arguing is that her name, Virginia Giuffre, was the one we know from House Republicans on the committee now that was the name that was referenced in this e-mail. The House Democrats had redacted it when releasing it. Their argument is that Giuffre, who has been very vocal about what she had experienced and survived through all of this, has never once argued that Trump had treated her inappropriately.

And so that's really what they're trying to argue here. Now, one thing I do want to be clear on and I think we should all be paying attention to is that Leavitt, the press secretary, does have a White House briefing today. And so you can imagine that there's going to be a lot of questions about this, and she's going to have to come with a lot of answers for reporters who are eager to hear more about this and why this has not been released before or come up before at least from the Trump administration side.

BROWN: Alayna Treene, thanks so much. Should be an interesting briefing, for sure -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And one other sentence from that White House statement that I thought was significant, "These stories" -- this is the White House saying -- "are nothing more than bad faith efforts to distract from President Trump's historic accomplishments, and any American with common sense sees right through this hoax and clear distraction from the government opening back up again."

BROWN: Of course, the victims, as we know, or the survivors, we should say, of Jeffrey Epstein say, this is not a hoax, this is very real.

BLITZER: Right, very real indeed. All right. We will see what the White House press secretary says in the briefing that's coming up fairly soon.

[11:35:01]

And just ahead, how the Trump administration's recent strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean is now straining the U.S. relationship with one of its top allies.

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BROWN: Well, new this morning, Venezuela announced it is launching large-scale land, air and naval exercises in response to a U.S. buildup of warships and troops in the Caribbean, calling it a reaction to a -- quote -- "imperialist threat."

[11:40:03]

The Trump administration says its operations target drug trafficking.

BLITZER: All this comes as sources are telling CNN the United Kingdom has stopped sharing some intelligence with the United States over concerns that these deadly U.S. strikes on suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean is illegal.

Brett Bruen is a National Security Council official, was a National Security Council official during the Obama administration in the Obama White House. He's joining us now in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Brett, thanks so much for joining us.

Tell us why -- why does this matter so much that the United States -- to the United States that the U.K., arguably the closest U.S. intelligence ally of the United States, has stopped sharing intel on this sensitive matter?

BRETT BRUEN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT: Yes, Wolf, look, you're familiar with the notion of the Five Eyes, those closest English-speaking countries like Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

And yet, under the Trump administration, what we have seen, and I have heard directly from British officials, is a heightened level of concern, not just with what's happening in and around Venezuela, but on a whole range of topics.

Trump has also played pretty fast and loose with classified material, including very classified material that he had holed up in his bathroom at Mar-a-Lago. So all of this has worried foreign intelligence officials. And taking this step, Wolf, is a dramatic one.

BROWN: So, from what we know from a reporting that we have, the pulling back of the intel sharing from the U.K. to the U.S. relates to what's happening there in the Caribbean with these drug strikes.

But are you concerned, based on what you just laid out, Brett, that it could go beyond that with intelligence sharing?

BRUEN: I do worry about that. And, Pamela, the thing here is, if the U.K. is not sharing intelligence -- and there are various degrees of not sharing intelligence.

There are going to be certain things on a day-to-day basis that don't get passed over the transom for domestic political reasons, other reasons, but that they're taking this policy stance sends a signal throughout the intelligence community in the United Kingdom that we need to be more cautious with what we're sharing, not just on Venezuela, but it could be on other matters as well.

So, a lot of Americans, I think folks on Capitol Hill, need to take a closer look at this.

BROWN: And I want to also get your reaction to what I laid out in the beginning, that Venezuela is launching this massive mobilization, as it calls it, of military personnel, weapons, and equipment, in response to the buildup of U.S. warships and troops in the Caribbean sea.

In your view, are the U.S. and Venezuela posturing for an impending war here?

BRUEN: Well, I can tell you, Pamela, having worked at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, that Maduro and Chavez before him have been preparing for this moment for a long time.

I don't think we're ultimately going to get to a direct conflict. Maduro, in fact, is using this to try to strengthen his weak hold on power. He's also using this, and the Russians, the Chinese, the Iranians, who have alliances with Caracas are using this to strengthen their own presence in our own hemisphere.

So all of this saber-rattling does have a strategic cost for Washington and for Americans. So we really ought to think closely about our next step.

BLITZER: The joint U.S.-U.K. operations rely heavily on shared intelligence, as you well know. Could this suspension weaken ongoing missions and make coordination even more difficult on various sensitive issues?

BRUEN: It does. It creates a level of suspicion, a level of distance, and you don't want to have this.

We need only go back to the days, the months before 9/11 in understanding how some of those disconnects within our own government, let alone across other governments, can create missed signals and missed readings of some of these issues.

So, in the world of intelligence, it's critically important, especially with London, that we have open channels of communication. That the British government, that MI6 felt like we cannot any longer be a part and parcel of what Trump's doing. I think, one, it does speak to the illegality of it, and that ought to be revisited.

There ought to be more pressure from Capitol Hill to say, on what basis are we just firing missiles into these boats in the Caribbean, as well as the Pacific Ocean?

BROWN: Very quickly, Venezuela says this is about regime change. Is that how you see it?

BRUEN: No, look, I don't think that Trump actually wants to invade Venezuela. We have seen how messy that can get. I think, ultimately, he's trying to push Maduro to make concessions to crack down on the narcotraffickers.

[11:45:07]

That is ultimately, I think, what Trump and what Secretary Hegseth are after with this deployment. But we are going to see, I think, increasing pressure on Maduro.

And, Pamela, just briefly to mention, that also has consequences in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, other countries where we need their support as well.

BROWN: All right.

BLITZER: Brett Bruen, thanks very much for your expertise. We appreciate it.

BROWN: Thanks so much, Brett.

BLITZER: And coming up: Millions of people who rely on food stamps here in the United States keep struggling and they are confused, as the U.S. Supreme Court leaves this month's payments on hold for now.

We're going to check in with one of those scared and very worried recipients. That's next.

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[11:50:24]

BROWN: Happening now: The Supreme Court keeps full SNAP benefits for November on hold, as Congress moves closer reopening the government and putting those SNAP benefits back.

But millions of Americans are still in limbo, worried where their next meal will come from potentially. For weeks, we have been talking to Najee Kinard, a Georgia mom who relies on food stamps to help feed her daughter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAJEE KINARD, SNAP BENEFITS RECIPIENT: If we don't receive relief soon, it could put people in desperate situations to make mistakes that they cannot come back from, and that's not OK.

Feeling like our food and health care are being put on the line as bargaining chips in this political shutdown. And me, as a hardworking American, that is totally unacceptable. The people who are in the powers to be or in Congress need to get it together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Joining us now is Najee Kinard.

Najee, we wanted to touch base with you again. Bring us up to date on your situation. Have you gotten any of your November benefits?

KINARD: Yes, once again, thank you for having me.

I received a partial of my benefits. So if you are in Georgia, you can get up to 65 percent of what you typically receive for the month. And I'm thankful to receive that because there's a lot going on. But, however, that is not enough. With the high price rise of everything going on with inflation, the tariffs, our dollars are not stretching as much as it need to.

During this time, I'm definitely reaching out to different local communities, organizations that have definitely stepped into help supplement those things for me. So that's what is happening now. BROWN: So you received the partial benefits up to 65 percent, which

is what the administration had initially committed to. What has this back-and-forth between the administration and the courts over SNAP been like for you?

KINARD: It's been very difficult.

The uncertainty can really put you in a mental anguish. I know I'm not going through this by myself. Individuals and families in rural areas, they're impacted the most. Our seniors, people disabled, our military, and even our government employees who have been laid off will also be affected by this.

And it's unacceptable. Food should not be up for a bargain. Everyone should have the right to eat.

BROWN: Yes, bring us into that a little bit, the conversations you're having and just the chaos and confusion among SNAP recipients like yourself with what's been going on.

KINARD: Well, the conversations that I have with my neighbors is just to make sure that we properly inform, making sure we check in with our local offices to see what's up to date, what we receive, also looking to other states as well, because even though we are receiving partial, and I know myself and others are definitely grateful, but our state should definitely still aim to supplement the rest.

Like I stated before, with these high prices at the grocery store and even with everyday items, we still need our full allotment and even more relief.

BROWN: I'm wondering how it made you feel that the administration found the funding for WIC recipients and for the military, but you're not getting your full benefits. It said that it didn't have enough, although a judge stepped in and said it did. And then, of course, the Supreme Court put everything on hold. How did that make you feel?

KINARD: Well, I'm grateful that those families who are part of the military, as well as WIC recipients, are receiving a full allotment.

I don't think anyone should be shortchanged. So I don't have a direct personal feeling about it because everyone deserve what they need. I have been on WIC before when my daughter was younger. So I know how impactful that resource is.

And I definitely give my support to the military, because that's a very hard job to do, not just only the ones in service with their families, but also putting their lives on hold to protect our great country. So, for me, I personally don't have any sort of ill will, animosity.

It's just everything can be handled. I know we have the funds to do so to take care of us all.

BROWN: Najee Kinard, thank you so much.

KINARD: Thank you.

BLITZER: And good luck to Najee and everyone who needs this food badly.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Also happening now, Marriott and a short-term rentals company named Sonder are abruptly ending their licensing agreement.

The move forcing travelers to vacate some properties, even if they were midway through their stay.

[11:55:01]

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich is joining us right now.

Vanessa, is Marriott working with travelers to try and help them find new accommodations?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Marriott says they are trying to work with travelers, but we know so many are stranded in really what is becoming a travel nightmare for many people who are booking through Sonder.

This is a booking platform much like Airbnb. A gentleman named Patrick on social media talked about how he was on his anniversary trip. He gets an e-mail on Sunday saying he has to leave the hotel he is staying at in less than 24 hours, by 9:00 a.m. Monday morning.

And this is because Sonder, that booking company, which was once a billion-dollar company, a rival to Airbnb, filed for bankruptcy, and then immediately their licensing agreement with Marriott was terminated. And that forced so many travelers to have to leave the either hotel rooms or furnished apartments that they were staying at.

Now, Sonder in a statement saying that they have explored all options or alternatives, but they were left with no choice than to "proceed with an immediate wind-down of operations and liquidation of our assets."

Marriott confirming also that Sonder properties are not available for new bookings on Marriott. So this is really becoming sort of a travel nightmare situation for those people staying at those properties. Potentially, in addition to all of the travel mess that we are seeing in airports.

In terms of recourse that these people have that were staying at these properties, unfortunately, Wolf, there is not much. Marriott has not been specific about what they are doing to try to help these travelers. Also worth noting that some of these people may have been on day one of a five night stay, and, unfortunately, because Sonder filed for bankruptcy, a lot of these travelers are out a lot of money.

And, Wolf, I will just say this holiday season and everything that is going on with the government shutdown and this situation, this may be a good time to actually buy that travel insurance. That can protect travelers against these types of situations.

BLITZER: Yes, it's a rough situation indeed.

Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you very, very much.

And, to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning.

BROWN: "INSIDE POLITICS" with our friend and colleague Dana Bash starts right after this quick break.

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