Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Trump Says, I Have Never Been to Jeffrey Epstein's Island; House Returns as Partial Government Shutdown Enters Third Day; Trump Administration Considers Appealing Order That Freed Five-Year-Old and Dad. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired February 02, 2026 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, nothing to prosecute. That's what the Justice Department is now saying about the release of millions of new Epstein files. Plus, new backlash this morning over what was left unredacted.

Back in Minnesota, a five-year-old boy and his father are out of federal custody. What's next in their fight to stay here in the United States?

Plus, closing for construction. President Trump announcing that the Kennedy Center will shut down for two years this summer. What is the Kennedy family saying now?

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Pamela Brown is off this morning. You're in The Situation Room.

Happening now, President Trump threatening to sue Grammy's host Trevor Noah, who suggested the president may have visited convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's private island. The president posting on social media saying in part, and I'm quoting now, I have never been to Epstein Island nor anywhere close, end quote. This comes just days after the U.S. Justice Department released more than 3 million pages of files from the Epstein investigation. President Trump has mentioned more than 1,000 times in the newly released documents. The deputy U.S. attorney general, Todd Blanche, signaling that no additional charges will be filed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: There's a lot of horrible photographs that appear to be of taken by Mr. Epstein or people around him, but that doesn't allow us necessarily to prosecute somebody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. Let's go live right now to CNN White House Correspondent Alayna Treene. Alayna, President Trump's name, as I said, appeared more than at least a thousand times in the newly released documents. What does the White House have to say about all of this?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Look, Wolf, I mean, it's clear that the White House strategy throughout this entire saga, really over the last year as it relates to the Epstein files, has been to try to dismiss it and to try and move on from it, particularly, of course, when it comes to the president himself and his name actually being in these files.

And that's exactly the case that you heard the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, make throughout the weekend and particularly on Sunday when he was being interviewed by our colleague, Dana Bash, who was asking about what could this mean. You know, we have more than 3 million files that have been dropped, more still to come. There are still many more materials that the Justice Department is required to release. And all of this has been garnering, of course, more attention and potentially, and this is something Daniel brought up, potentially giving more motivation to perhaps people in the public to come forward with even more information related to Jeffrey Epstein.

But, look, Blanche had essentially that one. Yes, there are disturbing. The nature of these materials are very disturbing. There are disturbing images, photos, correspondence between Epstein and others related to all of this. But there also is not enough, he said, to bring on a potential criminal investigation. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLANCHE: There's a lot of correspondence, there's a lot of emails, there's a lot of photographs. There's a lot of horrible photographs that appear to be of taken by Mr. Epstein or people around him. But that doesn't allow us necessarily to prosecute somebody.

The attorney general wants that more than anything but that doesn't mean we can just create evidence or that we can just kind of come up with a case that doesn't -- that isn't there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Wolf, one thing I will say about what we just heard there in that clip from Todd Blanche is that it is a bit in -- you know, it's a contradiction of what we've actually heard from the attorney general, Pam Bondi, about two and a half months ago, in mid- November when President Trump had called on the Justice Department to look into former President Bill Clinton and other Democrats who he said that were in the Epstein files and that deserved to be investigated. And, essentially, Bondi said, yes, we will do that.

And so I think there is some clarity that is needed between whether or not there's actually any sort of ongoing investigation right now into anything related to Epstein's and the materials in this. But, look, one of the things that we're all, of course, watching for is what's actually going to happen on Capitol Hill this week. The House is preparing to vote this week on potential impeachment and contempt proceedings against the former president, Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, because they have not been cooperating, lawmakers argue, with coming in and talking to them about all of this.

[10:05:10]

We've also heard from others though, saying that if they're going to move forward with that type of proceedings, they need to do that for Bondi as well. And so a lot more still to come on all of this. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Alayna Treene over at the White House for us, thank you very, very much.

Also happening now up on Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives is back in session and facing a partial government shutdown that's now in its third day. The U.S. Senate has already passed a bipartisan funding package. It extends funding for the Department of Homeland Security for only two weeks, a concession to Democrats who are demanding major reforms to immigration enforcement.

CNN Senior Reporter Annie Grayer is up on Capitol Hill, joining us right now, Annie, when is the House likely to vote? And does the House speaker, Mike Johnson, have enough votes to pass it?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Wolf, the earliest we could see the house vote is Tuesday. And the question about whether there are enough votes to pass it is the big one.

Let's start -- there are a lot of dynamics at play. Let's start with the House Democrats. So, the top Democrat in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, told Speaker Johnson over the weekend that he could not rely on Democratic votes to fast track this process, which means that Johnson is going to have to clear major key procedural hurdles with just his narrow Republican majority.

So, the first step will be the rules Committee today at 4:00 P.M., where there are two conservatives on that panel who have blocked Republican legislation in the past. So, we'll see what happens there. We know they have some issues on the current government funding plan. But if it passes that committee, then there will be votes starting on Tuesday, and that first procedural vote will again require just Republican votes to pass it.

And Johnson has right now a two-vote margin. But if he swears in the new Democrat who won his special election from Texas, he'll only have one vote to play with. And that is very difficult given all the concerns a number of conservatives have. But he's hoping that because President Trump has come out in support of this deal, that that will be enough to carry it over the finish line.

Now, if all of those procedural hurdles are cleared, we are expecting some Democrats to come on board for final passage. I reported on a call that -- a private call that happened on Sunday where some senior Democrats, including Steny Hoyer and Jim Clyburn, voice support for this deal.

So, we will see how this all plays out, but Tuesday is the earliest where we could see the government partial government shutdown reopen. BLITZER: And, Annie, as Alayna just mentioned in her report from the White House, Bill and Hillary Clinton are also in the spotlight where you are up on Capitol Hill. There's a key vote later today on whether they should be held in contempt for refusing to comply with subpoenas in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. So, how will all of this unfold?

GRAYER: That's right, Wolf. So, the Rules Committee, as I mentioned, who's also discussing government funding, will also meet at 4:00 P.M. to discuss whether to move forward on these contempt resolutions for Bill and Hillary Clinton, which would set up a floor vote at some point this weekend. And this vote's going to be really interesting because this issue has really divided Democrats on Capitol Hill.

When this issue was in front of the House Oversight Committee, a number of Democrats on the panel voted to advance these contempt proceedings against the Clintons because they argue if a Congressional committee issues a subpoena to somebody and they do not show up for their deposition, they wanted to vote to protect the sanctity of that subpoena.

But senior Democrats have argued that Republicans are playing politics here and that the Republicans should not be singling out the Clintons for contempt when they should -- when others were allowed to just meet provide written testimony. They also think the attorney general should be held in contempt and not the Clintons. So, we'll see what happens with this vote later this week.

And then it would head to the Department of Justice for -- where they would've to decide a really unprecedented legal case there.

BLITZER: All right. Annie Grayer up on Capitol Hill, thank you very, very much.

Still ahead, back home in Minnesota. What's next for the five-year-old boy and his father whose ICE detainment spurred nationwide outrage.

And later making history on music's biggest night, Bad Bunny's big win, and his message about ongoing immigration crackdowns in the U.S.

Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:10:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, the Trump administration is considering whether to appeal a federal judge's ruling that freed five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian, from an immigration detention facility in Texas. The boy and his father are now back home in Minneapolis after more than a week in that facility. But their future in this country remains unresolved.

Let's go live to CNN Law Enforcement Correspondent Whitney Wild. I think it's fair to say, Whitney, that the judge's order was scathing. He even made biblical references. What else can you tell us? WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. It was short, but it was sharp. That is the best way I could describe this order that I have right here. Let me just read you a clip from the order. This -- and we'll pull this up so you guys can read it too. The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and in competently implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children.

You know, Wolf, I think it's important to note too, that the order goes on to say that this court and others regularly send undocumented people to prison and orders them deported, but does so by proper legal procedures. And, really, like the point of the order here, Wolf, was a quick civics lesson in why these processes are in place. The order makes clear that an administrative warrant does not itself represent probable cause.

[10:15:02]

As the judge said, that would be the fox guarding the henhouse. The Constitution requires an independent judicial officer. It is a reminder of why certain checks and balances are in place and why it is absolutely critical that all parties, including the administration, abide by that.

Later in the order, the judge finished it with a photo that has become so iconic and that people have really used as the best example of what they perceive as aggression from DHS agents and real overreach from the administration. It is a photo of Liam Ramos in the cold with his hat outside of a salt-stained vehicle with an immigration agent's hand clutching the back of his backpack. And then beneath, it is two biblical references. The first is Matthew 19:14, which reads as let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these. And then finally, Wolf, ends with John 11:35, which is simply Jesus wept. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Whitney Wild, thank you very much for that update. I appreciate it very much.

And in Minneapolis there's no sign that the federal immigration crackdown is about to end in that city nine days after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti. We're learning more about the two agents who shot Pretti. Investigative news outlet ProPublica citing government records reports that both are from South Texas. One is a Border Patrol agent who joined the agency back in 2018. The other is a Customs and Border Protection officer who joined in 2014. That officer was assigned to a special response team that can conducted high-risk operations.

Joining us now is John Sedwig. He's a former acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, known as ICE, during the Obama Administration. He's a former acting general counsel in the Department of Homeland Security as well. Thanks, John, very much for joining us.

Let me get your take, first of all, on this new information, the fact that both of these officers worked for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. What are your thoughts?

JOHN SANDWEG, FORMER ACTING GENERAL COUNSEL, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Yes, Wolf, I think it highlights, you know, again, what this administration has done in order to support this mass deportation effort is pull agents off the border. And the issue here is that these are agents who are not regularly trained to operate in an urban environment, certainly agents who don't have much experience in their normal course of duties dealing with protesters.

So, one was a Border Patrol agent. I think we knew that. Interesting to me as well, though, one was a Customs and Border Protection officer. So, these are the officers you encounter when you cross the border, either at the airport or at the ports of entry along the U.S.- Mexico border.

But, again, officers whose training and experiences and the tactics they utilize are just entirely different from those that are -- you know, we would normally see in, let's say, local police forces or individuals who are used to operating in an urban environment and who are used to operating with these protesters, and they're more familiar with the First Amendment issues that are presented.

BLITZER: The White House border czar, as he is called, Tom Homan, says officials are working toward an eventual drawdown in Minneapolis, but President Trump appeared to contradict that, and residents are skeptical, understandably so. How do you see all of this unfolding?

SANDWEG: It's hard to say, Wolf. I mean, certainly, I think if Tom Homan had his way, and what I heard Tom Holman say, and I've worked with Tom, you know, for five years during DHS, I think if Tom had his way, we would see ICE revert back to these more traditional tactics we've seen. And I think it's really important to note, Wolf, that what we've seen in Minneapolis is a real departure from the type of operations ICE historically conducts. We've seen all these Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement agents pulled in. They were doing these more canvas-style operations, these roving patrols where they're I.D.ing people less targeted.

Tom says he wants to get back to a targeted approach with a priority on public safety threats. So, I think there's a pathway here where you can continue to say, we are engaged in this mass deportation effort. We haven't backed down in our immigration enforcement efforts, but we transform it. We get the Border Patrol agents off the streets, we stop the roving patrols, get back to a more regularized order. But, again, at the end of the day, although Tom may want that, it's the president's in charge. And I think, you know, time's just going to, we're going to see in the next couple of days how this plays out.

BLITZER: One resident of Minneapolis actually told CNN that, to him, it feels like a battlefield, a military occupation that's causing fear and dread throughout the city. Is that the kind of image that federal agents should be projecting here?

SANDWEG: No. I mean, no, of course not. I mean, listen, you as a law enforcement agency, Wolf, you need to have that public trust, right? You need to have the public knowing that you're out there fighting for them, fighting for all Americans, fighting for public safety. Unfortunately, we, based on -- you know, first, you start switching the operations where you're arresting people like Liam rather than those kind of public safety threats, that draws protesters. And we've seen this really aggressive response to the protesters, especially in the tactical military-style gear.

A lot of that is a natural byproduct, Wolf, of when you put a Border Patrol agent in charge of the environment, as I've kind of said a lot of times here, just the different way in which they do enforcement when they're out there patrolling that southern border in the middle of the night in the remote parts of the Arizona desert as compared to Minneapolis.

[10:20:12]

But at the end of the day, listen, you need to have the trust and confidence of the public that you're out there fighting for them. And when you lose that, you lose your effectiveness as a law enforcement agency.

BLITZER: This weekend, a federal judge ruled that the operation of Minnesota can continue after the state and city sued federal officials, but the judge also noted evidence that federal agents have engaged in racial profiling and used excessive force. What's your view of this ruling?

SANDWEG: Well, first of all, Wolf, I think it would've been an extraordinary ruling for a federal judge to say that, a federal government can't do -- you know, force federal law in a city. Obviously, that would've been a, just a significant ruling that probably would've been challenged on appeal. But, listen, multiple federal courts have now found that the way in which ICE and DHS, we should say, is conducting these immigration enforcement operations, we keep hearing the same complaints, concerns that they're arresting people or detaining people without reasonable suspicion or probable cause and excessive use of force.

But both of those are a byproduct of putting these officers out of proposition, right? We're asking them to do things that they are not trained to do that they don't normally do. We're having them, like as I said, doing these canvas-style operations. Historically, ICE makes an arrest that's targeted. And you heard Tom Homan say that word probably ten times in his press conference last week. But the point of a targeted operation is you know who you're getting in advance. You don't need to sit there and make that snap determination is. Is this person based on the color of their skin or whether they have an accent, are they an undocumented immigrant or not? You've done -- that research has been done before the officers go out in the field. It minimizes those problems.

Everything though we're seeing again is a byproduct of this kind of efforts or round up as many people as possible, which triggered protests and then the aggressive confrontation of the protest, again, officers out of position. It doesn't surprise me because, I mean, I think this is to be expected when you deploy your assets and your resources in this manner. BLITZER: All right. John Sandweg, the former acting ICE director, thanks very much for joining us.

SANDWEG: My pleasure.

BLITZER: And coming up, detectives in Arizona are not ruling out foul play this morning as they search for the missing mother of Today's show anchor, Savannah Guthrie. What we're learning, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:00]

BLITZER: New this morning, President Trump is facing pushback over his surprise announcement that the Kennedy Center here in Washington will close for two years for renovations. The nation's premier art center has seen a flood of performers canceling after the president's handpicked board of trustees added his name to the building.

As you can see, the president received top billing with the new name and that same handpicked board even named him chair of the center.

I want to bring in CNN's Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter. Brian, the president says the building is in disrepair. Is he sharing evidence of that?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Well, no, not really. And the venue was prestigious enough for the world premier of his wife's movie last week, the Melania documentary had its premier at the Kennedy Center. But Trump and his allies have been complaining about the building and alleging that there is dilapidated facilities there for several months now. And Richard Grenell, the president of the Kennedy Center, said on X last night, this will be a brief closure in retrospect, and he's confident this will set the stage for a revitalized building.

So, the Kennedy Center now scrambling to figure out how to implement this plan from the president, and there are some artists left in limbo, because after all, the National Symphony Orchestra and other groups do perform at the facility, even though there has been a flood of other performer cancelations in recent weeks and months, even more so after Trump added his name to the building back in December.

So, there are some artists now left in limbo wondering where will they perform if the building does close in July.

BLITZER: For two years. All right, Brian, another important media- related story, the former CNN anchor, Don Lemon, says he's looking forward to trial on federal charges. Lemon was arrested on Thursday, weeks after he covered a nonviolent protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. His arrest has raised serious concerns among journalists and First Amendment advocates.

CNN issued this statement in response, and I'm quoting now. The Department of Justice already failed twice to get an arrest warrant for Don and several other journalists in Minnesota where a chief judge of the Minnesota Federal District Court found there was no evidence that there was any criminal behavior involved in their work.

The First Amendment in the United States protects journalists who bear witness to news and events as they unfold, ensuring they can report freely in the public interest, and the Department of Justice's attempts to violate those rights is unacceptable. We will be following this case closely, end quote, that statement from CNN.

Brian, what are you watching next in this case?

STELTER: Well, Lemon's supposed to appear in a court next week, February 9th, for an arraignment. He said this morning on his YouTube show, I'm not going to let them steal my joy. He said he and his legal team will vigorously fight these charges. And Lemon is set to appear on the Jimmy Kimmel Live Show tonight, of course, Kimmel also a recent target of the Trump administration.

You know, I spent the weekend talking with media lawyers about this case, Wolf. It is very clear it's going to be hard for the government, for the prosecution to actually prove these charges. But it raises a question, is winning in court actually the point or is the point to chill journalism or to have the appearance that the government is fighting for the rights of those churchgoers, while, in this case, also challenging the rights of a journalist.

[10:30:00]

It does seem that chilling journalism might be the goal here, but we've heard from Lemon and many other members of the media saying they will not be deterred. They will not be chilled by these charges.