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Hegseth Announces "Operation Southern Spear"; At Least Six Killed in Russian Strikes on Kyiv; Epstein Estate Fires Back After DOJ Claims it "Hid" Docs; Border Patrol Sets Sights on Charlotte. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired November 14, 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]

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST AND U.S. ARMY: But it didn't have the same monikers associated with Shield Storm. And that is, we've been going after -- the United States has been going after drug trafficking over the course of the last month, let's say. Now, as you've described, 20 strikes, 80 dead. I don't know that you describe those as KIAs. I would not. I don't know that we're in a conflict just yet.

So, now that you have the positioning, so what -- let me back up, the positioning over the course of the last month of going after the drug boats, set the conditions for the arrival of the Ford carrier strike group. Now, we're transitioning to the possible increase in terms of what's again been described as the possibility of strikes against infrastructure on land in Venezuela. Again, I wouldn't be surprised if that took place pretty quickly.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And the use of the word spear suggests this is going to be an offensive military operation, Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. I mean, why should the everyday American be paying close attention to what's going on here?

MARKS: Well, you know, I think it's -- Pamela, it's very important to realize that over the course of decades, the United States has never really embraced the notion of a near abroad. Certainly historically, Monroe Doctrine, this is our hemisphere, everybody stop mucking around, we own it.

Russia by comparison, China by comparison, they've always had a near abroad. Obviously, Ukraine and Eastern Europe or Russia, Taiwan, and the other first island chain in terms of China. The United States has never done that. We've kind of taken it for granted.

So, I think it's important, and this administration has demonstrated that the North-South alignment, the Western hemisphere, where we live, is extremely important. We are now, the United States, going to apply resources against a policy that has kind of atrophied over the course of years. We're now going to focus in on this.

And it was demonstrated when Secretary Rubio, first day in office, where'd he go? He went to Panama. He didn't go to London, didn't talk to London, which every one of his predecessors has done.

BROWN: That's been quite the message. I also want to ask you about the absence of military lawyers who had been scheduled to attend this briefing with lawmakers about the strikes on these alleged drug boats. Does that raise concerns for you?

MARKS: Big time. Every operation that I was ever a part of, most important person in the room, after you kind of laid it all out, you had your course of action, you had your win sequels and your lose branches, that's kind of inside baseball talk for the military.

But you laid all this stuff out then you'd turn to your JAG, you'd turn to your either civilian general counsel or your military JAG officer, and you'd say, OK, you've been a part of this planning, you get the last vote right now. Are we doing what we can to meet all legal obligations that we have? And that's when the lawyers will say, as they probably did during the planning process, look, we can get you to the solution you're looking for, but maybe this path that you guys want, we may have to tweak a little bit because I can't defend that. I can't give you justification.

So, the kind of the perspective is always, how do I get to yes? And in this case, not having the lawyers there, that gives me big time concern.

BLITZER: And General, very quickly, if this does escalate into a full-scale war between the U.S. and Venezuela, what kind of military capability do the Venezuelans have?

MARKS: Not much. They certainly have a literal Navy, which means they can patrol their local brown water offshore. That's about it. They've got a, you know, modicum of an Air Force, not much. It would be taken out immediately. What they do have is some Russian supplied, pretty sophisticated anti-ship weapon systems. The Navy has a tiered system to protect itself. So, again, I think that can be obviated and addressed. But in terms of military on military, the Venezuelans have no match.

This is really about Maduro trying to maintain control inside his population. For those that oppose him, he wants to make sure the message is, don't come up with any good ideas you think to overthrow me because I've got a military internally that'll take care of that. And then for the domestic folks who don't want Maduro, he's sending an equally strong message, which is, I'm here, we're capable, and we're aware of what's going on.

BLITZER: All right. Retired Major General James Spider Marks, thanks very much for joining us.

BROWN: Thank you so much.

MARKS: Appreciate it.

BROWN: Well, overnight, Russian strikes hammered Kyiv, killing at least six people and hurting dozens more, including children. Several buildings across the city sustained heavy damage. And Ukraine also launched its own attacks using long-range missiles targeting an oil depot right near the Black Sea. At the same time, Russia says it stopped a Ukrainian plot to kill a top Kremlin official. Now, CNN has not verified those claims. Ukraine denies those accusations.

And coming up, we're going to be joined by the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S. She's going to talk to us about the latest tensions between her country and Russia. That'll be the next hour, right here in The Situation Room.

[10:35:00]

BLITZER: And just ahead, people involved with Jeffrey Epstein's estate clap back after the deputy attorney general accused them of hiding documents from law enforcement.

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BROWN: This morning, a White House blame game as the Trump administration tries to contain growing fallout over the release of emails from Jeffrey Epstein. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is pushing back after being criticized for his controversial interview with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Well, Blanche now says he didn't have all the facts at the time, drawing new pushback from the attorney for Epstein's estate.

CNN Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez is following this for us. How is the Epstein estate responding to this claim from Todd Blanche, Evan?

[10:40:00]

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're disputing what the Deputy Attorney General said. And you know, one of the things that's happening here is that the Deputy Attorney General and the Justice Department are really facing a lot of fire because this is a problem that they created. If you remember back in February, they brought the MAGA influencers to the White House, gave them a binder with documents which turned out to be old documents. So, they've been digging themselves out of this. But it seems like Todd Blanche is just digging new holes.

And so, this statement prompted the Epstein estate attorney, an attorney to respond to it, saying it is inaccurate to assert that the estate has hidden anything. Rather, the estate has always complied with document production obligations, including multiple civil lawsuits and in response to third-party subpoenas and in the current congressional investigation.

And so, what that tells you is that the reason why these documents are new to Todd Blanche is because these were not documents that the Justice Department ever requested from the estate. Congress did ask for all of these documents. And so, that's why they have it.

So, the question is now, will the FBI, will the Justice Department ask for these new documents so they can look at them, so they can stop being surprised? And also, why is -- this was a tweet from Todd Blanche, who was responding to George Conway, why is the Deputy Attorney General even responding to a Twitter -- essentially a Twitter troll online? That's the big question right now.

BROWN: That's a fair question.

PEREZ: You and I, we all learned we don't respond to people on Twitter.

BROWN: No, don't respond.

PEREZ: Don't respond.

BROWN: Just don't do it. But just -- can we just take a step back here?

PEREZ: Yes.

BROWN: I mean, it seems significant that DOJ never requested documents from the Epstein estate when they were investigating all of this.

PEREZ: It is, but you have to understand, right, the documents the department has are documents that were produced as part of investigations. And so, these documents that the Democrats have released aren't necessarily responsive or relevant to the two investigations that were ongoing, one of Epstein and one of Ghislaine Maxwell. So, that's -- that would explain why these documents were not in their possession.

BROWN: All right. Evan Perez, helping us better understand what's going on here with this back and forth over Epstein.

BLITZER: Excellent explanation. Thank you very much. I want to bring back CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Elliot Williams. He's here with us in the Situation Room. What do you make, Elliot, of Todd Blanche's claim that he didn't have all the materials when he interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, to Evan's point a moment ago, he might not have had the documents, and that's OK. It happens in the course of investigations. They may not, you know, have been valid. But I think that -- you know, they may not have been in their possession. But I think that as a matter of common sense and as a matter of public interest, how are you, the deputy attorney general of the United States, going out in public on this matter that there is such immense public pressure around and such immense public interest in and not knowing the universe of what's out there?

To Evan's point, this was a crisis of the Justice Department and the White House's own creation by going out with those binders months ago and saying that they had so much to prove. They created a lot of this public energy around it, Wolf. And now, they're sort of dealing with the fallout and having to issue tweets to George Conway, which is just sort of preposterous.

BROWN: Yes. I mean, just -- again, just to follow up on that, because before Todd Blanche interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell, and that interview has generated a lot of controversy, the steps could have been taken to make sure that all the, you know, they had everything they needed. They were prepared going into that interview.

WILLIAMS: Had they had the attorney general, the deputy attorney general, maybe even the president of the United States said, these are the matter -- these are the materials in the Justice Department's possession, and we're going to make them public. These are the materials, the separate set of materials that we cannot make public because the law does not allow us to. And this is what you, ladies and gentlemen in the public, should take away from this. We think there's nothing to see here. We don't believe the president has engaged in any wrongdoing. But we -- you know, there's certain stuff we can put out there, there's certain stuff that we can't.

But there's been this drip of information that they have allowed to fester. And they're dealing with what is now fully a public relations mess, not even a legal one. Like, no one's in legal trouble right now. It's really just the public concern that they're not getting straight answers from these folks, including on social media.

BROWN: Yes, and how does the fact that the estate is now saying that, look, we've complied with all of the documents requests and pushing back against Todd Blanche's claims feed into all of this?

WILLIAMS: I think it does. You know, America loves a conspiracy theory and as does the internet, and it fuels it. And I think the mere fact that there is ambiguity or uncertainty, or at least not a lining up or a meeting of the minds of what's been provided or not, absolutely fuels public suspicion around this.

You know, who knows -- you know, I spoke pretty forcefully a second ago. Who knows if the public would have been satisfied several months ago? But they could have. Some of this could have been contained. It's so much more a PR concern than a legal one right now.

[10:45:00]

BLITZER: Elliot, I want to ask you about the Trump Justice Department opening up a mortgage fraud probe into Congressman Eric Swalwell right now. He's the fourth Democratic official to face fraud allegations in recent months. If the Trump Justice Department decides to bring charges against him, do you expect Swalwell's defense to argue they are politically motivated?

WILLIAMS: Absolutely, they can argue that. Now, he's in a slightly different position in a slightly different class, I believe, because the president hasn't issued social media calling for his prosecution. He's definitely in a different bucket than Jim Comey might be. But there's certainly no secret that the president has made a point of wanting to see some of his political opponents, you know, targeted or prosecuted or gone after.

Now, to be clear, what a referral is and what you've seen here, any citizen can refer something to the Justice Department for prosecution. Congress can do it. They can just write a letter saying, you know, we believe Evan Perez or Pamela Brown has committed a crime, and you just take a look into it. Anybody can do that.

Now, this came from the head of the -- I believe it's the Federal Mortgage Financing -- I'm going to get the acronym, FHA (ph), referred that for prosecution or for investigation. They can find that there's nothing there. They can find that there's something is and move forward with it. But that's really up to them. Right now, it's just in the take a look at it stage.

BROWN: All right. so many mortgage fraud cases.

WILLIAMS: And I don't think he committed a crime. I just -- you committed a crime, Pam, or Evan Perez. No, I used both of your names. I was teasing.

BROWN: To clear the air here. To clear the air.

WILLIAMS: For the record, viewers, yes.

BROWN: Thank you, Elliot Williams.

BLITZER: Elliot, thank you very much.

BROWN: I really don't need allegations on a Friday.

WILLIAMS: It was the first name I saw. You were there.

BROWN: All right. coming up in our next hour, Republican Congressman Don Bacon will join us to talk about the upcoming House vote on the Epstein documents.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

BROWN: Well, new this morning, Charlotte, North Carolina appears to be next on the Trump administration's list for an immigration crackdown. Border Patrol agents will surge there as soon as this weekend, according to CNN sources.

BLITZER: The Mecklenburg County sheriff tells CNN that federal officials have not shared any details of their plans. But what happened in Chicago could give us an idea of what's in store.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Scenes like that have played out almost daily in the Chicago area. Joining us now the Charlotte City Councilman Malcolm Graham. Councilman, thanks so much for joining us. Have you been in contact with anyone from the Trump administration? And what's the Queen City, as it's called, doing to prepare?

MALCOLM GRAHAM (D) CHARLOTTE, NC CITY COUNCIL: Well, thank you for the opportunity. No, we haven't been. We've been talking to our local officials, our CMPD chief, certainly the Sheriff Department here locally, literally no contact from the administration or ICE in reference to who, what, when, where, why, to what extent. So, we're rallying here locally with local grassroot organizations, those who care about humanity, dignity, and the respect of all people, the rule of law.

Charlotte is an embracing city. We love our diversity and our commitment to inclusion. And so, we're just bracing for whatever happens. We don't know what. But certainly, we hope that things will go well here in Charlotte.

BROWN: We've seen a lot of these stepped-up efforts under the banner of fighting crime. But according to the latest numbers from Charlotte police that we looked at, homicides, aggravated assaults, and robberies are all down by double digits this year. Why do you think Charlotte is being singled out right now?

GRAHAM: Well, again, when you look at what's happening across the country and the changing demographics of our nation, the attack on people of color, black and brown folks, certainly no one knows that better than I do. My sister was a victim at the Emanuel AME church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina. So, I understand where we are in our nation in terms of racism, discrimination.

And I wrote a book, "The Way Forward," that talks about what we have to do as a country to move forward. And so, the demographics are changing. There's nothing that we can do about it. We can't export all the people of brown and black descent out of the country to make America great again. And so, we have to embrace where we are as a community and fight to ensure that everyone has dignity, everyone is treated equally, and that diversity is this country's greatest strength.

BLITZER: Charlotte, as you know, is designated as what's being called a certified welcoming city, a formal designation for cities that make commitments to immigrant inclusion. Is that enough of a reason for this administration to launch operations there?

GRAHAM: Well, I think you've already said it before, we're a safe city, right? Obviously, we have our moments, just like every other major city throughout the country in terms of crime and violence. But for the most part, we're putting our steps forward in terms of ensuring public safety for every individual in our community, black, white, rich, poor, young, old. The commitment of me as a council member is to ensure that public safety is our number one priority, which includes the immigrant communities, those who call Charlotte home, those who work in our communities, those who labor every day to support their families. We want to encourage everyone that lives in our city to be protected under the rule of law.

And so, I'm not sure why they have chosen Charlotte, but we are here to demonstrate that we are a peaceful city, that we will follow the rule of law. Local police officers, CMPD, are not involved in any immigration roundup. We're encouraging citizens to utilize and call 911, say something, see something along the way, and making sure that local individuals in Charlotte have access to resources to help them if something should occur.

[10:55:00]

BROWN: And just -- I just want to drill down a little bit more. You're saying people should call 911, see something, say something. What specifically are you advising them on?

GRAHAM: Well, again, there are a number of resource organizations that we have already identified. Matter of fact, there was a local press conference this morning that communicated where individuals from the immigrant community can turn to for help and support. Obviously, we still have a public safety responsibility that we take seriously here in the city of Charlotte as a council member. I support that for sure.

And so, we still have to police our city. We will not be involved in any immigration roundup at all. But we also are encouraging our citizens to be vigilant. And as we always say here in Charlotte, if you see something that's out of the way, say something, call 911 to ensure that everyone is being protected throughout the City of Charlotte.

BROWN: But if there is someone in Charlotte who is here illegally, who has a criminal record, do you not think they should be rounded up?

GRAHAM: Those individuals who are in our community, and according to the administration, they're looking for the worst of the worst, violent crime, individuals that have committed violent crimes, certainly they should be arrested. If they have a legal warrant, they identify those individuals, of course, they should be arrested. But that's not what's happening in what we're seeing in other cities in Washington, D.C. or New York, and certainly not in Chicago.

Everyday individuals who are going about their way, who are in our country, who are not violent in any way, have been literally just rounded up off the street. And that's very concerning to me, certainly, as a council member.

BROWN: All right. Thank you so much. Charlotte City Councilman Malcolm Graham, appreciate it.

BLITZER: Me too.

GRAHAM: Thank you for the opportunity.

BLITZER: Coming up after the break, another multi-million dollar mafia betting ring busted, this time involving college students.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:00]

deaths; Hegseth announces "Operation Southern Spear"; Sources: Military lawyers missing from critical briefing on legality of campaign targeting alleged drug boats; Sources: Trump briefed on military options for Venezuela; Venezuela has a tough, yet aging Soviet-era military; At least six killed, dozens hurt in Russian strikes on Kyiv; Russia says it foiled Ukrainian plot to assassinate Kremlin official; Epstein estate fires back after DOJ claims it "hid" docs; Epstein estate fires back after deputy AG claims it "hid" docs; White House accuses Dem. Rep. Eric Swalwell of mortgage fraud; Sources: Border Patrol sets sights on Charlotte after Chicago>