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Trump Administration Targets Drug Prices; Epstein Survivors Blast Justice Department; Search For Nancy Guthrie Continues. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired February 05, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now: pleading for proof. Savannah Guthrie and her siblings are begging for any evidence that their mother, Nancy, is alive, now on day five of her disappearance.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And facing scrutiny. Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein are accusing the U.S. Justice Department of botching the release of more than three million documents. Were possible enablers concealed by redactions? A SITUATION ROOM special report just ahead.

We want to welcome 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.

Happening now: The search for Nancy Guthrie is in its fifth day, and the urgency and the fear, they are growing by the hour.

BROWN: Her adult children, including NBC today show anchor Savannah Guthrie, are now sharing their desperate plea in a new video release.

Authorities believe she was kidnapped from her home right near Tucson, Arizona, some time after 2:00 a.m. on Sunday. Her family is begging anyone involved for any proof that she is still alive.

Here's part of their message. And, of course, we will keep the tip line number on the screen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, CO-HOST, "THE TODAY SHOW": On behalf of our family, we want to thank all of you for the prayers for our beloved mom, Nancy. We feel them and we continue to believe that she feels them too.

Our mom is a kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light. She's funny, spunky, and clever. She has grandchildren that adore her and crowd around her and cover her with kisses.

She loves fun and adventure. She is a devoted friend. She is full of kindness and knowledge. Talk to her and you will see.

ANNIE GUTHRIE, DAUGHTER OF NANCY GUTHRIE: The light is missing from our lives. Nancy is our mother. We are her children. She is our beacon. She holds fast to joy in all of life's circumstances. She chooses joy day after day, despite having already passed through great trials of pain and grief.

We are always going to be merely human, just normal human people who need our mom.

Mama, Mama, if you're listening, we need you to come home. We miss you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So raw, so emotional. And you can just -- you feel for them. There's nothing like the love for your mother, right?

BLITZER: It's so heartbreaking.

BROWN: I just -- oh, my heart goes out to them.

And as this investigation continues, I want to go live now to CNN's Ed Lavandera in Tucson.

Ed, what are you learning this morning?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's day five of the search for Nancy Guthrie.

And investigators are expected to hold a press briefing here later this morning. And this comes just on the heels of this incredibly excruciating, difficulty to watch the video that Savannah Guthrie and her sister and brother put out last night, which came at also another fascinating moment, because, as that video was being released, there was a team of investigators that had returned to Nancy Guthrie's home yesterday afternoon.

For about two hours, a team of, from what we could tell, about 12 investigators returned to that home. They cordoned off the property with crime scene tape. And the team of investigators spent a great deal of time in the backyard going through that area as well.

We also saw investigators going back inside the home through the garage. And at one point, we saw some investigators bringing out several bags, brown paper bags of evidence. We don't know what was in the bags. We will obviously ask investigators here today why this search was needed and what exactly they were looking for.

But, so far, investigators here have continued to reiterate that simply they do not know where Nancy Guthrie is or have any suspects or persons of interest in this investigation, but those investigators going back to the crime scene yesterday afternoon.

And it was significant because they had said earlier in the week that they were done with their search of the home and had turned that property back over to the family. But, despite all of that, those investigators felt the need to come back there.

[11:05:00]

What prompted it, why they were doing that, we haven't heard officially from investigators here in Tucson. But it's day five of this search, and clearly a great deal of movement going on behind the scenes. We don't know, as you heard in that video where Savannah Guthrie makes a plea to a potential ransom holder or who might have been the author of these notes that were sent to the celebrity Web site TMZ, as well as two other CNN affiliates here in Tucson.

And we should be clear, investigators have not said that -- definitively that they think these ransom requests are indeed legitimate. They have not been able to authenticate them, as far as we know, but clearly there's a plea there from the Guthrie family, perhaps trying to determine if that is indeed the case.

But so far, we don't have any indication. They have only said that they take this -- these notes as any other piece of evidence. They're looking into it and they are taking it seriously -- Pamela and Wolf.

BROWN: All right, Ed Lavandera, thank you so much -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I want to continue this conversation.

Joining us now, Joshua Skule, a former FBI executive assistant director for intelligence.

Joshua, thanks so much for joining us.

What do you take away from the family releasing this video plea, so emotional, so powerful? What's your takeaway?

JOSHUA SKULE, FORMER FBI EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR INTELLIGENCE: Well, first of all, Wolf, it's gut-wrenching for them to have to go through this.

The reason they did this is likely to make a plea to those that have abducted their mother and humanizing her to make sure that she's OK. And then they want A proof of life. They want the hostage-takers to communicate with the family and prove that their mother, Nancy, is still alive.

BLITZER: In a video plea like this, how involved is law enforcement in coaching and crafting the actual message?

SKULE: They work directly with the family to make sure that they're eliciting the right response from the hostage-takers, that their plea is genuine, and they're using verbiage that the family would use, calling her by names that they normally would call her, such as Mama, if that's how they referred to her, which clearly they did in this video.

And the hostage negotiators that are very professional, have done this for decades are sitting side by side with the family, helping them develop the note and then talking through who's going to talk at each point.

BLITZER: Were there any specific phrases or word choices that stood out to you?

SKULE: Wolf, there was multiple that stood out to me. And as I already stated, they're really getting a plea that they want to open a line of communication with the hostage-takers.

That was clear. They want to make sure that Nancy's humanized, that she's loved. I mean, she's in a very precarious situation right now. As far as we know, she doesn't have her medication. She has heart ailments. So they want to get this moving as quickly as possible.

And they have determined -- and they have also stated, the money doesn't matter to us. Our mother matters to us.

BLITZER: In the message, Savannah Guthrie conceded that voices and images nowadays can easily be manipulated. How much does A.I., for example, now factor into authenticating something like what's called proof of life?

SKULE: It makes it significantly more difficult to prove that Nancy is still alive. Photos can be manipulated. Date, time stamps can be manipulated. Voice-overs can all be manipulated.

And, unfortunately, in circumstances like this, you see other criminals look to prey on the vulnerable, such as this family, by eliciting -- or trying to elicit money or take advantage of them.

So, really, what they're trying to do is get a proof of life that can be substantiated. Law enforcement, specifically the FBI and others, have tools that can help determine whether or not the pictures that they will send are of the same date and time, but it's still a very arduous process.

BLITZER: In the old days, they would have someone hold up a newspaper with a date on it to show that person was still alive. But, nowadays, an image like that can easily be distorted, and they could create a false image. So that's a problem, as we know.

Joshua Skule, thank you so much for joining us.

And, to our viewers, this is very important. If you have any information at all, please reach out to the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 520-351-4900.

And still ahead: The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way now for California to use a new voting map that benefits Democrats.

BROWN: Plus: Who will win it all, Team Fluff or Team Ruff? We have a preview of this year's Puppy Bowl XXII.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:14:02] BLITZER: The U.S. Justice Department is now facing new criticism over its latest release of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

BROWN: Epstein survivors say private information was revealed in the files. And officials say they have acted quickly to fix those errors. And lawyers for survivors say a resolution has been reached.

But there's also concern about what some are calling the overreaction of people believed to have aided Epstein.

CNN senior national enterprise correspondent M.J. Lee is here.

Obviously, this has caused a good deal of outrage among Epstein survivors, M.J.

M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, survivors, Pam, but certainly the broader public as well.

We have had this rolling process where people are going through the files and uncovering each new day new information about Epstein and the people around him. One thing that is continuing to raise questions is not just the information that the DOJ decided to put out, but the information that they decided to hold back from making public.

[11:15:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEE (voice-over): The Justice Department under fire, facing criticism for over-redacting information about individuals who may have aided Jeffrey Epstein.

In a 2014 e-mail released in the files, a person writes to Epstein -- quote -- "Thank you for a fun night. Your littlest girl was a little naughty." But the identity of the individual who wrote that message is redacted.

And in this image of Epstein's inner circle from the files, we see associates like convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein's assistant Lesley Groff. But several others in the graphic are blacked out. The released files also showed numerous e-mail exchanges that appear to describe the procurement of women.

"New Brazilian just arrived, sexy and cute, 19 years old," a 2013 e- mail to Epstein reads from someone at a Paris modeling agency, that sender's name redacted.

"I found at least three very good, young, poor," a 2018 e-mail to Epstein reads. "Meet this one," the person continues. "Not the beauty queen, but we both liked her a lot." This sender's name also redacted.

A DOJ official said in a statement to CNN: "Any fully redacted names are of victims. In many instances, and it has been well-documented publicly, those who were originally victims became participants and co-conspirators. We did not redact any names of men, only female victims. Names of law enforcement officers were also among the redactions."

Also included in the release Epstein files, a highly controversial draft indictment from the 2000s that would have charged Epstein along with three others. They were described as having been employed by Epstein and having conspired to persuade, induce and entice individuals who had not attained the age of 18 years to engage in prostitution. Their names are redacted.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): So you have a Justice Department that's leadership cared more about protecting the men who committed these crimes than the survivors who were victims of the crime.

LEE: The law that forced the DOJ to release the Epstein files mandates the DOJ to make certain redactions, such as identifying information about victims and child pornography. Some individuals who helped connect Epstein with young women were also victims.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche acknowledging errors were made and that his department is working around the clock to correct failures to redact victims' information.

TODD BLANCHE, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: You're talking about pieces of paper that stack from the ground to two Eiffel Towers. And so the minute that a victim or their lawyer reached out to us since Friday, we immediately dealt with it and pulled it down, and we're continuing to do that. We knew that there would be mistakes.

LEE: Epstein survivors are outraged.

SHARLENE ROCHARD, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Publishing images of victims, while shielding predators, is just a failure of complete justice. Why should anybody come forward? Because the justice system is not going to be the justice system.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: And I think this point is worth emphasizing. Some of the people who were actually recruiting women for Epstein, they were themselves victims.

So this gives us a window into how complicated sex trafficking can be. And just with regards to some of the victims who are seeing their names in the Epstein files, I have heard from multiple survivors in the last day or two saying their names have been removed. They're relieved, but they also say that the damage is already done.

BROWN: Oh, M.J. Lee, thank you.

BLITZER: Thanks very much, M.J.

Up next: It's the president's promise to help rein in drug prices. So will TrumpRx, as it's called, launch today, and will it work?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:22:56] BLITZER: Happening now: Sources tell CNN President Donald Trump is

expected to launch a direct-to-consumer prescription drug platform today.

The Web site will be called TrumpRx and will give cash-paying patients the opportunity to buy certain medications directly from drugmakers. The prices will be negotiated by the Trump administration.

This latest initiative is part of the White House's push to lower medical costs. But it's unclear whether it will actually provide lower prices for the large majority of Americans who already have insurance.

One area patients could see a difference, popular weight loss drugs that aren't always covered by insurance. The Trump administration previously announced it had negotiated lower prices for the drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.

Here with us now is CNN's Alayna Treene over at the White House.

Alayna, what has the Trump administration said about all of this effort so far?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, this is going to be a huge moment for the president and his administration, particularly because the president has been fixated on this idea of TrumpRx for months now.

Really, he sees this as his administration's way, really Republicans' way of trying to get in on health care. It's an issue, of course, that Republicans have struggled with for roughly a decade or so now. And this is what he believes is going to give them that edge.

And just to give you a sense of what TrumpRx has been described like by some of the officials in that building behind me, essentially, the Web site will serve as a clearinghouse that will connect consumers directly with drugmakers to negotiate certain prices.

And it would be cash prices, rather than -- going to these drugmakers directly, rather than going through insurance. You mentioned that some of the big drugmakers and drugs that have been mentioned so far have been some of these popular weight loss drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy. It's looking like it could be potentially as low as $149 a month to purchase some of those on this new Web site.

[11:25:00]

But it's also been a bit scant. We have had -- we know that 16 drugmakers so far, drug manufacturers, have negotiated agreements with the Trump administration to have this type of direct-to-consumer relationship, to have their drugs be posted on this Web site that is expected to be unveiled later today.

But, again, we don't necessarily know what the medications they are going to provide or what exact prices they are going to come in at. And you mentioned this, Wolf, but this is also something that some people are skeptical is actually going to benefit many Americans, that, over time, actually, sure, if you're paying with cash, some of these might seem cheaper, but that, in the long run, paying for certain medications through your insurance may still be better.

And so all of that, we're hoping to get more details on. We will have to see how this actually looks in practice. But it's something, again, that Trump has really wanted for a long time.

It kind of goes to this overall agenda item of him, this idea of most favored nation, having the United States pay the most competitive prices for drugs, compared with other countries, particularly countries in Europe, something he has been fixated on for a long time. We will see if this is as successful as he and his officials are arguing it will be.

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

BROWN: Just ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM: President Trump's new warning to Iran's supreme leader just days before the start of nuclear talks.

We have got all the details in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)