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The Situation Room

Justice Department Releases New Batch of Epstein Documents; Trump's Name Appears in Latest Batch of Epstein Files; Epstein Survivors Slam "Extreme Redactions" in DOJ's File Release; Flu Season in the U.S. Driven by New Subclade K Variant. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired December 23, 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]

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: -- the tremendous success that the Republican Party has. A lot of people are very angry that pictures are being released of other people that really had nothing to do with Epstein, but they're in a picture with him because he was at a party and you ruin a reputation of somebody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: What do you think about what he said?

HALEY ROBSON, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: OK. So, not to play devil's advocate, this has nothing to do with politics. Point blank, I understand where he's coming from because I was targeted by Jeffrey Epstein and his terrible attorneys that did smear campaigns on some of the Florida girls when we first came out back in 2008, 2009. And I will say, yes, I think that we need to use discernment when all these files are coming out because we're not getting the full context. And with matters such as this being sensitive context matters.

So, I do understand, let's not be quick to throw people under the bus just because they're standing next to him in a photo. However, it goes back to the way that you have acted, the way that you have treated this matter, which is a very sensitive matter, the way you have treated the victims and the survivors, you never invited us to the Capitol. You signed the bill, which you had no intention of fully being transparent. So, I'm not quite sure why you've been signed it besides, you know, for theatrics.

We all know that your name are in the files. The girls talk to each other. It is a community. So, you know, this is something you're not going to escape from. It's better to just rip the Band-Aid off. If you're telling the public and the world and the survivors that just because somebody's in a picture with him doesn't automatically mean they were involved in the crimes against children, which I understand. And I get that fully, then why are you so scared to release the files and why has there been so much resistance? If it's just a picture, why are you going above and beyond to hide the identities of these men?

And I do believe because of all the shame and guilt the survivors have gone through and the public scrutiny and the backlash that we've received and the shame and embarrassment that doesn't even belong to us. It belongs to the men that continue to have business and personal relationships with a known pedophile and his accomplice.

BROWN: So, I just --

ROBSON: So, the embarrassment and shame belongs to them, Trump included.

BROWN: And we should note, you know, Trump has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing. But as you said, he is named in these files. There are pictures. And there is now this jailhouse letter that just came out that was sent from a J. Epstein to Larry Nassar. And this letter appears to include a reference to President Trump. It says, Dear L.N., the letter reads, as you know, by now I have taken the short route home. Good luck. We shared one thing, our love and caring for young ladies and the hope they'd reach their full potential. Our president also shares our love of young, nubile girls. What do you make of that?

ROBSON: That is a confession. That is a confession. That is him with his friends admitting without openly discussing details on the kinds of girls, let's not say women, they're girls, that they are attracted to and they're gloating about it without being fully transparent and detailing it. And it's disgusting. I can read between the lines. I'm traumatized. I'm not stupid.

BROWN: What do you think, and again, it hasn't been accused of wrongdoing and context really matters? And DOJ says some of these things are salacious and there's no truth behind it. That's the statement it just released. But what do you think about the mention of Trump in that letter and what it said?

ROBSON: I think it's very apparent in that specific letter that was just publicized from the Epstein files. I think it's very apparent that there are a group of men that enjoy the company of young women and children. And I think that letter emphasizes that he knew what was going on. And that enough, that complicity is enough for me to know you have no business being in the position of power.

BROWN: And just to note for our viewers, you voted for Trump, right? You were a Republican, a Trump supporter at one point at least.

ROBSON: At one point I was, and before that I was independent. I obviously -- you know, it's very hard when you're a Florida girl. And our entire -- the entire investigation started in Florida. You know, Brad Edwards, Brittany Henderson, they represent over 200 clients. And to my knowledge, a lot of the Florida girls, none of us really, to my knowledge, have ever directly pointed our fingers at him or said we were sexually trafficked or abused by him. Because that's not what my experience was.

[10:35:00]

And so, for me, it's more so --

BROWN: You're talking about Trump, right? Just to be clear.

ROBSON: -- as I no longer belong -- I'm sorry? BROWN: You're talking about Trump, right? Just to be clear in terms of pointing the finger or having --

ROBSON: Yes.

BROWN: Yes, exactly.

ROBSON: Yes.

BROWN: And you said that before, that you have never heard anything to implicate him.

ROBSON: Exactly. It wasn't until I started meeting some of the other women from different countries and different states where I really started to hear their stories. And of course, as a survivor sister and going through what I went through, I do believe these girls. But at the end of the day, I am no longer supporting this administration. I redact any support I've ever given to him, Pam Bondi, Kash Patel. I am so disgusted with this administration. I think that Pam Bondi and Kash Patel both need to resign. And I would love to see number 47 get impeached over this. And I'm just waiting.

BROWN: Should Pam Bondi be held in contempt, you think, for the release of these files?

ROBSON: She needs to be held more than in contempt. Absolutely.

BROWN: OK. Haley, stand by. We're going to take a quick break and then we'll rejoin the conversation.

ROBSON: Sure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

BROWN: And we want to continue our conversation now with Haley Robson, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse. I had mentioned the Justice Department statement in our last segment, but I want to read it verbatim. It says, some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false. And if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already. What do you think? Does DOJ have a point there?

ROBSON: No, I think their point is moot. And the reason why is because everybody keeps making this political. And what we as the American people and what the public needs to understand, this is not about Trump. This is not about Jeffrey Epstein. This is about a larger network of perpetrators and predators that were sexually abusing, exploiting, and trafficking young girls, children, and young women.

And at the end of the day, it's not just about one perpetrator, because as we're connecting the dots, we're finding, you know, through the community of survivors that there's a lot more to this that needs to be unpacked. And of course, as a community of survivors, we all talk to each other. You know, we share our experiences with each other. We lean on each other. We support each other. And we've all heard things.

And at the end of the day, there are a lot of missing documents thus far, and a lot of redacted, unnecessarily redacted documents that have been coming out. And it's really disappointing and it's -- the DOJ is very, very sloppy.

BROWN: And it sounds like you don't trust the redactions thus far.

ROBSON: I don't trust my government. I don't trust the redactions. I don't trust the DOJ. I don't trust this administration. I think there may be three people in Congress I trust with my life, and I think that's about it.

BROWN: And that would, who, be Ro Khanna, Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene?

ROBSON: And Marjorie Taylor Greene.

BROWN: Yes.

ROBSON: Yes.

BROWN: Before -- and just given what you said, and before the break as well, you were criticizing this administration. There was a group of your fellow survivors in the family of Virginia Giuffre who released a statement yesterday criticizing the administration's handling of the release of the files. But your name was not among them, and I'm just wondering if there is a reason for that.

ROBSON: Oh, boy. I like to take space. When I'm overwhelmed and when I'm going through a lot of emotional -- just feeling a lot of different emotional waves, something that the public and what I don't -- I haven't spoken on is, when I was at the Capitol September, the beginning of September, my father was diagnosed with cancer, glioblastoma.

BROWN: I'm so sorry.

ROBSON: We were told we had six months to a year, and I buried him Thursday, the day before the files came out.

BROWN: Oh, I'm so sorry.

ROBSON: So, I had to take -- listen, it's been a hard week for me. I had to take a step back. I had to prioritize my mental health. But at the end of the day, I'm always in spirit with the girls. I will always support these girls. I am very protective over these girls. And this is why I'm so ticked off about the DOJ and the sloppiness and just the redactions, and then not redacting certain names. They're playing games with us. This is retribution for standing against the system.

BROWN: Well, one of your fellow survivors on that note, who has chosen to identify herself only as Jane Doe, spoke exclusively with CNN. And she said that she was mortified to discover that her name was among the few pieces of information not blacked out in Friday's document release. What is your reaction to that?

ROBSON: I am beyond mortified. I'm just -- I don't even have the words to be quite honest with you. But again, it goes back to, I'm not shocked. I'm not surprised. I went through this in Florida with the Florida girls. If you go back to, I think it was March 2022 or 2023, Brad Edwards, myself, Courtney Wild, and Jena-Lisa Jones, we did a press conference with Governor Ron DeSantis to release the files on a state level. And one of my questions in that press conference was, how are the redactions going to happen? Are the victims going to be protected? Are they going to be redacted?

[10:45:00]

So, the state level, we didn't really have a lot of issues. So, for some reason, the DOJ can't, I don't know, get it together. They don't want to get it together, but I just want all the girls and survivors and victims to know whether they've come public or not, I don't -- just because you're anonymous or you want to stay anonymous, you still have a community of women that are here for you to help you get through the publicity, to help you get through whatever it is that you're enduring, and that we're here for support and to lean on.

And I know a lot of us, Jena-Lisa Jones has been my rock through all of this. I'm so blessed to call her a sister. And she -- man, she loves to read and she gets in those documents and she just goes through them like a book in a day. And if there's any victims or survivors who want to reach out and need help, please feel free, reach out to me. I'm on social media, contact the attorneys. They can reach out. We'll all help each other get through these files.

BROWN: Well, I'm really glad that you all have each other. And I imagine these files coming out, while several survivors wanted this transparency, it also probably opens up some old wounds. Haley Robeson, you've also, as you note, have been going through a lot. I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your dad. That's really tough, but we appreciate you coming on to lend your voice to this conversation. Thank you and happy holidays. We'll be right back.

ROBSON: Thank you. You too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

BROWN: Right now, tis the season for the flu. And this year, it's kicking into gear earlier than expected. While folks are spreading holiday cheer, they're also sharing this new virus variant called Subclade K, which caused an early and busier flu season in Europe, Australia, and Asia. The latest information comes from the CDC, and it shows a 15 percent increase in flu cases from last week, with at least 14 state health agencies reporting high or very high transmission.

Joining us now for more insight is Dr. Megan Ranney, the Dean of Yale School of Public Health. Let me tell you something. This flu variant ran through my family a couple of weeks ago, and it was brutal. I fortunately didn't come down with it. But, man, tell us why this flu is hitting especially hard right now.

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, DEAN, YALE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Yes, Pamela, we're seeing early and severe flu across the country. Here in the Northeast, our emergency departments are full, seeing increased hospitalizations, and even, sadly, increased deaths. Not totally sure why we're seeing more severe and more early flu than usual but part of it might be this new variant that you mentioned, this new subclade that we're just not quite as immune to, as familiar with. We're still doing testing to figure out the reasons.

But in the meantime, we know how to protect ourselves. You can get your flu vaccine if you haven't already. It doesn't totally protect you from catching the flu, but it helps make it less severe, less likely to end up in the ER or in a hospital. You can have -- wash your hands. You can wear a mask if you're on a plane. And, of course, if you do get sick, you can get tested. And there are some medications you can take if you're high risk for complications. So, there are things you can do while we figure out why we're seeing it so severe so early.

BROWN: Yes, there is actually, beyond just Tamiflu, another medication that's out. You just take it one time, just learning about this this year. So, tell me more about the flu shot, because what I read was this flu shot, the seasonal flu shot, didn't include the strain. So, how protective is it, and how concerned should someone be if they did receive the flu shot?

DR. RANNEY: So, every year we make the flu vaccine based on our best guess about what the flu is going to look like in the fall. We have to make decisions in the early summer about how to manufacture the flu vaccine for the next year, because it takes a while to create the new strains and to get them into vials and to distribute them. Unfortunately, this new variant developed after we made that best guess in the spring and early summer of this year.

The good news is that early studies out of England and elsewhere suggested the vaccine is still pretty good at preventing hospitalization and even death, particularly for little kids and older people, who are the folks at highest risk.

BROWN: Yes, it was very, very sad to see my kids battling this flu variant because it was hard on them, you know. I also want to put this out there because I learned when my family came down with the flu that you can take a Tamiflu or another kind of antiviral that combat the flu as a preventative measure if you've been exposed to the flu. And I wonder if you can elaborate on that.

DR. RANNEY: Yes. So, there are two medications, both antivirals that you can take as prevention or better yet as treatment. We really only recommend those for the folks who are highest risk because they're both expensive and they have some side effects. But if you have family members who have flu and you are high risk for some reason, little kids, old folks, people who have cancer or immune problems, talk to your doctor about getting a prescription for those medications. [10:55:00]

They shorten the duration of the flu and can make it less severe, which, gosh, my kids' classrooms have had flu going wild through them. Like we're all seeing it and especially going into the holiday season, we expect to see a lot more spread in the next few weeks. So, it is good to know that those medications are an option, particularly if you're someone high risk.

BROWN: That's why I'm putting it out there because I just learned that this year. All right. Dr. Megan Ranney, thank you so much. Nice to see you.

DR. RANNEY: Nice to see you too.

BROWN: And coming up after the break, a new economic report out this morning signals some growth, but nearly half of all Americans say their finances are falling behind. So, what's behind the disconnect? I'll ask the White House's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, after the break.

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