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Comey's Lawyers Argue To Have Trump Admin's Charges Dismissed; Bill Forcing Release Of Epstein Files To Be Sent To Trump; NATO Scrambles Fighter Jets As Russia Bombards Western Ukraine; White House Quietly Hammering Out New Peace Plan With Russia; Plaskett Responds To Failed Effort To Censure Her Over Epstein Files; Trump Defends Saudi Crown Prince's Alleged Role In Khashoggi Murder; DHS: 200 Plus Arrested In Immigration Raids In Charlotte Over Three Days. Aired 10- 10:30a ET
Aired November 19, 2025 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:03]
PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now, waiting for President Trump's signature. How the Justice Department could still step in to stop the release of the Epstein files.
Plus, quote, "I'm traumatized, I'm not stupid." We'll be joined by one woman who survived Jeffrey Epstein's abuse on what she wants to see happen now and her message to the President.
And then later, immigration crackdown agents expand to more southern cities. What sources are telling CNN about Border Patrol's next target?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Any moment, the attorneys for former FBI Director James Comey will make their case to a federal judge to get his case dismissed, tossed, alleging, quote, "vindictive and selective prosecution" by the Trump administration.
Plus, Russia launches massive strikes overnight in western Ukraine, killing at least 25 people. And later, accelerating the push to dismantle the U.S. Education Department, the plan to offload workers to other agencies.
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.
We begin with a legal showdown in President Trump's efforts to go after his political opponents. Right now, lawyers for former FBI Director James Comey are back in federal court, hoping they can persuade a judge to dismiss what they call the Trump administration's vindictive and selective indictment against them.
Let's go live right now to CNN's Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez. He's over at the U.S. Justice Department. Evan, this week, a judge said the Comey indictment may be tainted by, quote, "profound investigative missteps," end quote. Do we know how the prosecutors in this case plan to respond today?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we expect the prosecutors are going to defend this case, and there's a number of ways that James Comey and his attorneys are trying to get rid of this case to make sure it doesn't go to trial in January. And one of them today will be focused on this idea of vindictive and selective prosecution.
Now, these are motions that normally don't get very far with judges, Wolf. It's usually, you know, defendants bring these types of motions before trial, and they usually fail because judges tend to give the deference to the Justice Department. But this is different because we have seen those social media postings from the President of the United States.
We've never had a President who so openly instructs the Justice Department to go after his political enemies. And so that's what makes today's hearing certainly significant. It's the first hearing before the judge, who is actually going to hear this case at trial, Judge Nachmanoff.
And so we'll be watching a lot for how -- the type of questions that he has for prosecutors and for the defense to give us a sense of where this is going. Certainly, we expect that this case is still scheduled for trial in early January. And a lot of the focus is going to be on the statements that have been made by the President of the United States because those statements are going to be part of the record, part of what is being argued today before this judge and certainly will be part of this case.
We'll see, there's a number of different ways that Comey can get rid of this case, including the one you just mentioned, the idea that some of the evidence in this case was tainted. Again, we'll watch for what Judge Nachmanoff, what patience he has for some of these arguments today, Wolf.
BLITZER: Evan Perez over at the Justice Department for us. Thank you very, very much, Evan.
Pamela?
BROWN: All right, Wolf. Happening now, the bill ordering the Justice Department to release all of its case files related to Jeffrey Epstein will soon head to President Trump for his signature. And this comes after Congress nearly unanimously supported the legislation.
CNN White House Reporter Alayna Treene joins us now. Alayna, the White House recently called on the Justice Department to investigate certain Democrats and their ties to Epstein. How could that affect what the department's release -- what it actually releases once the President signs this legislation, as we expect?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, really, Pamela, once this is on the President's desks and he sign it, which White House officials say is expected to happen as early as today, then it's really in the Justice Department's hands. And that is the key question, is when will Americans actually see what is in these files?
Now, the hiccup that could potentially be presented here is whether the Justice Department is, you know, through these investigations says, hey, we can't release some of these material because they relate to an ongoing investigation. I'd remind you that President Donald Trump had asked the Justice Department just a couple of days ago on Friday to open a new investigation into some of the Democrats' ties to Epstein, specifically people like the former President Bill Clinton and his former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
I want you to listen, though. This is something that the House Republican Thomas Massie, of course, one of the two people who brought this bill forward, what he had to say about that possibility.
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[10:05:09]
REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R), KENTUCKY: And so this shouldn't be about political divides. So I hope that that was sort of a bluff, and I hope that the DOJ will release all the files. But even if they start investigations, there's -- they don't have enough investigators to block all the Epstein files.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: I mean, quite a line there. They don't have enough investigators, Massie says, to block all of these files. And just to get into a little bit of what this bill says timing wise, once this is signed and becomes law, the Justice Department has 30 days to turn over these materials. And then if they want to make any redactions, they then have 15 days to explain those redactions.
So part of the thought process in crafting this bill, Massie and his colleague, Democratic colleague Ro Khanna, that was -- they recognized this, and they put that inside the legislation to make sure that this was a swift process moving forward. So the key question, again, is we're going to see the President likely sign this bill today. How does the Justice Department respond, and how quickly will they release the files that everyone is so eager to see.
BROWN: All right, Alayna Treene, thanks so much from the White House.
Wolf?
BLITZER: Also new this morning, NATO scrambled fighter jets overnight as Russia carried out massive drone and missile strikes in western Ukraine. Watch this.
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BLITZER: At least 25 people were killed, three of them children. Video of the aftermath showed smoke rising from collapsed buildings. Ukraine's emergency services says rescue operations are ongoing. The strikes come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Turkey to try to facilitate prisoner of war exchanges and revive peace talks.
The source tells CNN the Trump administration has been quietly hammering out a new peace plan with Russia to end its war with Ukraine. We're told the President's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has been leading that effort. The negotiations accelerated this week as the Kremlin has signaled a renewed openness to a deal.
Pam?
BROWN: Still ahead here in The Situation Room, Wolf, protesters tackled as federal agents used tear gas on demonstrators following an ICE raid in Minnesota. What ICE and the city's mayor are saying about this incident.
BLITZER: And next, Delegate Stacey Plaskett standing by live to join us right here in The Situation Room after an effort to censure her over a text with Jeffrey Epstein fails. Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.
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[10:11:57]
BROWN: All right. Well, we are just learning that the Senate has now sent over that legislation on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files over to the President's desk. We're monitoring that. Also, you have, you know, this ongoing Epstein saga, Wolf.
BLITZER: And there's a lot of drama still unfolding. The Epstein saga hasn't been without controversy for Democrats as well. The House last night narrowly rejected a Republican effort to censure our next guest, Democratic Delegate Stacey Plaskett, over text she exchanged with Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing with President Trump's Former Attorney Michael Cohen.
Three Republicans joined all Democrats to defeat the effort to remove her from the House Intelligence Committee with another three voting present.
Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands is joining us right now. You're a delegate, a non-voting delegate right now.
DEL. STACEY PLASKETT (D), VIRGIN ISLANDS: Yes.
BLITZER: Tell us a little bit about your reaction to all these late developments.
PLASKETT: Well, you know, first I want to thank the Democrats, the Democratic caucus, not only for voting with me, but for speaking on my behalf during the general debate. As well as those members in the Republican Party who voted with the Democrats and those who tacitly voted with us by either voting present or not voting at all during the censure. And I'm hopeful that we can now get back to the work that we do in Congress rather than the political theater that has been happening. The files have been released, which I have been in favor of all along. And let's let the victims get their justice. And let us get to the work of Congress.
We've been on over a 70-day paid time off. Democrats have been doing town halls, coming back to Congress. Republicans have been nowhere in sight. And the people of this country are in need of our support and of the work that needs to be done.
BLITZER: We know that Epstein had what, property in the Virgin Islands, right?
PLASKETT: Yes.
BLITZER: What was your relationship with Epstein?
PLASKETT: So Jeffrey Epstein was a constituent. He was a resident of the Virgin Islands. Lived there, I guess, more than half of the year because he was registered there. I had received donations from him after his -- the last investigation came out, which was after this texting. I gave any donations that I previously received from him to women's organizations and did not have any contact with him.
But like many constituents, individuals get your phone number. They text you about issues. They speak with you. I have spoken with him about issues that are relevant, things that are going on in the Virgin Islands and elsewhere around the country.
BROWN: Right. But on that day that we're talking about, you initiated the text exchange at 7:55 in the morning. So why were you even texting with Epstein at the time? He was a known sex offender then.
PLASKETT: Sure. You know, I explain to people I'm a -- I've been a prosecutor for many years. And there are a lot of people who have information that are not your friends that you use to get information for to get at the truth. This was seven years ago.
And people need to understand this was a huge hearing that was taking place with Michael Cohen finally coming forward to talk about monies that he had with the hush money, potential hush money, that had been paid to Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about the allegations against Trump.
[10:15:15]
We were entering a hearing. Lots of people were texting me. Lots of people were giving me information. And I find it really interesting and almost rich that the Washington Post took 30 seconds one set of question line that I did and say that Epstein was directing you as to what to question Michael Cohen.
I have five minutes of questioning. I had a lot of questions, 20 years of experience that I had at the time, along with other information I was getting from many sources about issues that should have been raised. And I also want to say that the issues that I raised in that hearing related to individuals who were closest to the President and who could know about money has never been looked into.
BROWN: Right. And we have the full transcript right here. But, you know, no doubt you have an impressive resume, right. You're a former federal prosecutor. You were an impeachment manager. But yes or no, if Epstein had not brought up Rhona to you in that text, would you have asked Michael Cohen about her independently?
PLASKETT: Probably not. I asked about three other individuals as well. Everyone knew -- other people knew that this woman had been the President's assistant. I talked about other individuals who were also close to him that other people had given me information about that I'd found other information about. And there were other issues that I talked with him about as well, Michael Cohen, that I brought up during that time.
BROWN: Right.
PLASKETT: So as a prosecutor, as an investigator, you glean information, get information where you can. Some of it is relevant, some of it is not, and you put it all together and you ask the questions.
BROWN: And I understand you're saying, look, he was a constituent, right? And whether or not they're good or bad, you're just trying to get information to get to the truth. But at this time, this was happening after he had already pleaded guilty to state prostitution charges.
And then there was that Miami Herald article that came out in 2018 --
PLASKETT: Sure.
BROWN: -- detailing how widespread the sexual abuse was, interviewing 80 women who said that he sexually abused her. So -- abuse them, I should say. So I'm wondering, as you look back, do you think that it was an error in judgment to be communicating with him at all? Do you have any regrets?
PLASKETT: Well, listen, I think Jeffrey Epstein is a reprehensible person. Absolutely disgusting. I live in a house, lived in a house during childhood with a mother who had been sexually abused by her dad. And I know the effect that that had on her as well as us as her family.
And so I understand what the victims are going through. And I want them to get their relevant, their justice, their peace out of this. I believe that Jeffrey Epstein had information and I was going to get information to get at the truth. Having a friendship with him is not something that I would deem to have.
And so I'm just looking forward. I'm moving forward. And I think that that's what, we, as American people, should do, is move forward. If individuals are not involved in illegal activity, extending his criminal enterprise or his financial enterprise or all of those things, I think that we need to look at what people are doing moving forward.
BROWN: Wait, let me just better understand that. What is that point, because at the time he was a known sex offender and it had been detailed all the sexual abuse.
PLASKETT: There are a lot of people who have done a lot of crimes. And as a prosecutor, you get information from people where you can. I've interviewed confidential informants. I've interviewed narcotics, drug traffickers and others, and that doesn't mean that I'm their friend.
That doesn't mean that they are friendly with me. It means that they have information that I need. And that I'm trying to get at the truth, and that's what I did.
BROWN: So no regrets, basically, is what you're saying.
PLASKETT: I'm moving forward.
BLITZER: Before I let you go, Congresswoman, and I call you Congresswoman, you're a non-voting delegate, but --
PLASKETT: Well, limited voting.
BLITZER: -- you're in Congress.
PLASKETT: We vote in committee, vote on amendments on the floor --
BLITZER: All right.
PLASKETT: -- but not in full vote.
BLITZER: That's why I call you Congresswoman.
PLASKETT: Thank you.
BLITZER: Congresswoman, let's talk a little bit about this visit by Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince. You're on the Intelligence Committee, you're well informed. Yesterday, President Trump was strongly defending him in the Oval Office as far as the murder of the Washington Post Columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
And he was saying basically he knew nothing about this, the murder or anything. Even though the CIA had reported at the time that there was strong evidence that the Crown Prince personally ordered the murder of this journalist. What's your reaction?
PLASKETT: Well, my reaction is that the President that we have in office right now is more interested in financial gain and pecuniary interests than he is in other things, whether that be Americans continuing to have the moral high ground or us, you know, engaging in the manner that we should.
[10:20:05]
Should he meet with this world leader? Yes. Should he be fetting him or giving him a pass on past transgressions? I believe not. BROWN: All right. Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, thank you so much for coming on.
PLASKETT: Thank you.
BROWN: We really appreciate your time.
PLASKETT: Thank you.
BLITZER: And we love the Virgin Islands.
PLASKETT: Thank you.
BLITZER: Thank you very much.
And coming up, a new CNN reporting on the timing of when a top Border Patrol official will head to New Orleans as immigration crackdowns expand in the South.
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[10:25:05]
BROWN: Happening now, immigration crackdowns are expanding to more cities. Federal agents unleashed tear gas and tackled a protesters to the ground in Minnesota.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey! Hey! Hey!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey! Hey! Hey!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you doing?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: This was the scene during an ICE raid in St. Paul yesterday. An ICE spokesperson says agents write a paper supply company to serve a search warrant. The mayor's office says agents use tear gas on the crowd and some protesters were arrested.
The mayor wrote on social media, quote, "Remember, you have rights." Adding, "St. Paul police officers will always identify themselves and they do not wear face coverings."
BLITZER: Also new this morning, Customs and Border Chief Gregory Bovino is expected to arrive in New Orleans the first week of December, that, according to sources. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, agents carried out raids in Wake and Durham counties yesterday. Hundreds showed up to protest in Raleigh last night.
And in Charlotte, residents spoke out at a county commission meeting before the board passed a resolution affirming constitutional protections for immigrant communities.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today, the Charlotte I know and love is being terrorized by masked men operating under the authority of the federal government.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are getting phone calls in our ICE hotline of individuals who do not know where their loved ones are, who have been picked up three days ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is happening in the streets of Mecklenburg County is not public safety, it's not security, it's meant to instill fear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: All right, let's go live now to CNN National Correspondent Dianne Gallagher in Charlotte. Dianne, are you still seeing the same level of activity there in Charlotte?
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Pamela, my phone has sort of been going off all morning from some of these organizations that have been tracking sightings of CBP officers and their vehicles around the city. More than a dozen this morning alone since about 7:30. So, yes, there is still activity being spotted around the city.
I think that there were a lot of people in Charlotte who expected once that operation began expanding outside of the Queen City limits into some of the neighboring communities, but also up there in Raleigh and Kerry and Durham, that perhaps things would slow down a bit in the city. But that does not appear to be the case.
We have been talking with many of the organizations, as well as just the people who live here who say that, look, if fear was the goal, they have achieved that right now. We are still here in East Charlotte, where so many of the businesses have shut down.
The Business Collective that represents a lot of them here say that about the 400 mom and pop shops that they work with, roughly 50 percent of them have shut down in some way this week because of these immigration enforcement tactics. Not just because they're afraid for themselves, but mostly due to customers or just potential harassment, they said.
Now, look, the DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem, said that she used intelligence, basically, that they used intelligence and investigative work to highlight Charlotte. That's why they're here. It's been a question for many in leadership here because they say they're still in the dark.
There's been no real communication. The governor says he's talked to the White House or he's asked to talk to the White House, but they haven't responded to him. And CBP hasn't either. Kristi Noem said, however, that there were, quote, "a high number of child abuse, trafficking, neglect-type instances that we had identified over our work there." And that is why they're in Charlotte.
The people who live here, though, say they feel like this is a fishing expedition. And they cite the percentages of the people who DHS says have violent criminal histories that have been arrested versus the total number, more than 200, they say, of undocumented people that have been arrested thus far.
BLITZER: Dianne Gallagher reporting for us. Dianne, thank you very, very much.
Pamela?
BROWN: Thank you.
And just ahead here in The Situation Room, Wolf, how the Trump administration is fast-tracking its plan to get rid of the Education Department. You're in The Situation Room. We'll be back.
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