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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
Trump Claims "We Won" In Iran, But Need To "Finish The Job"; Trump Says Iran Conflict Is Both A War And An "Excursion"; Epstein's Longtime Accountant Testifies In House Probe. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired March 11, 2026 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ASST. CHIEF AARON EDWARDS, NYPD COMMANDING OFFICER, PATROL BOROUGH MANHATTAN NORTH: --and you're talking to people, and just listening, hearing the stories. You get to learn a lot.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Yes.
Well, I know there's a lot you can't say about the incident, because there's obviously ongoing court case. But I appreciate you coming in to talk a bit -- a little bit about it. It's really an honor to meet you.
EDWARDS: Absolutely. Thank you so much, Anderson. Appreciate it. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: One of our great public servants.
The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: President Trump claims the United States has won the war with Iran. As Iran is in turn targeting the world's oil supply with tankers on fire in the Persian Gulf.
I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.
12 days after launching a war with Iran, President Trump today claimed victory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We've won. Let me tell you, we've won. You know, you never like to say too early you won. We won. We won the bet -- in the first hour, it was over.
We did an excursion. You know what an excursion is? We had to take a little trip to get rid of some evil, very evil people.
They're very strong. You know, they're going to try and take over the whole Middle East.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That was the President, this afternoon.
And tonight, there are scenes like this unfolding in the Middle East. Oil tankers exploding into huge fireballs in the night sky, as Iran claims that it blew up the tankers using an underwater drone. You can see the flames in the water surrounding the tankers. That's likely the result of an oil spill. And we know tonight, as we come on the air, at least one crew member is dead, and dozens more had to be rescued because of this scene.
In the Strait of Hormuz, it has now become a battlefield of its own making, with at least three ships coming under attack just today alone. And as we've been reporting, this strait is incredibly important because it connects the Persian Gulf and its oil to the rest of the world. About 20 percent of the global oil supply actually passes through that stretch of water that you can see there.
Iran is actually getting more oil onto tankers now than it was even before this war started. That's according to research analysts that track crude oil. And while the rest of the world's oil is stuck on tankers, essentially that are being held hostage in the Gulf.
President Trump said this today about this battle on the high seas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We knocked out their Navy, OK? Let's put it that way. But they also knocked out the mine layers. They call them mine layers. They put mines in the water.
They'll all be gone. By the time I'm finished speaking, they'll be gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: For the rest of the world, this is what shipping traffic has looked like over the last three days. All those dots that you see there are ships waiting on either side of the Strait, unable, or unwilling in many cases, to sail into the clear danger there. Normally, more than 60 ships a day would be crisscrossing your screen.
And if you've been filling up your gas tank this week, you know how that traffic jam that you see there is driving up prices here in the United States. That led the President today to highlight the largest ever release of strategic oil reserves earlier, including the release of a 172 millions of barrels from the American reserves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm pleased to report that earlier today, the International Energy Agency agreed to coordinate the release of a record 400 million barrels of oil from various national petroleum reserves around the world. (CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Which will substantially reduce the oil prices as we end this threat to America and this threat to the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And as all of this is continuing, we are hearing from sources tonight that the Pentagon told Congress, in a private briefing, that the preliminary cost of the Iran war was at least $11 billion, over the first six days. A $11 billion over the first six days.
Obviously, we are now on day 12. The fighting has continued. This is what it looks in Lebanon this hour, where Israel was bombing in the suburbs of Beirut earlier. According to the IDF, they were targeting Hezbollah there. And late tonight, a barrage of rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. And Iran's Revolutionary Guard said that it carried out a joint operation with its proxy, Hezbollah, to attack more than 50 targets across Israel.
And despite what the President said earlier, declaring victory and saying that he believes the United States has won this war, here's what he said just five minutes later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We don't want to leave early, do we? We got to finish the job, right?
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And then about two and a half hours after that, shortly before we came on air tonight, the President told reporters this.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think we're in very good -- we're in very good shape. The main thing is we have to win this thing, win it quickly, but win it. And there are many people, I'm just watching some of the news, most people say it's already been won. It's just a question of when, when do we stop? We don't want to let it regrow, and ideally would like to see somebody in there that knows what they're doing. In other words, they can build a country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My lead source tonight was the Deputy Director for Plans and Strategy at U.S. Central Command, and is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East. Retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt. And it's great to have you here, sir.
Because, I think just even taking the politics out of this, because we'll have plenty of that to get into. From your lens, as a General, where do you think this war stands tonight?
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT (RET.), U.S. ARMY (RET.), FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR THE MIDDLE EAST, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR PLANS & STRATEGY, CENTCOM: Well, I would say that the military campaign has been nothing short of brilliant.
The amount of ordnance that's been dropped, the amount of targets that have been taken out, it's really unprecedented in modern warfare, in terms of what they've been able to do. Now, taking that and translating that into strategic victory, I think we've got some way to go.
COLLINS: And in terms of where that can go. I think the question the President raised on the tarmac tonight, just there, was important, because he said it's a question of when do we stop? He said, We don't want to let it regrow, and ideally we'd like to see somebody in there that knows what they're doing.
I think those are pretty big questions that haven't been answered yet, in terms of whether or not the United States is happy with the new Supreme Leader, or what a U.S. exit here could look like? What do you think?
KIMMITT: Well, look, my feeling, Kaitlan, is that we went to war because we were unable to achieve three key issues at the negotiating table. A continuation of the nuclear program of Iran. A continuation of the ballistic missile and drone program of Iran. And a continuation of the proxy program that Iran has run since 1979.
We couldn't get anything out of the Iranians. They did their typical delay, deny, dissemble, deceive. So, we took those goals into the battlefield.
I think we ought to do everything we can to compel the Iranians back to the negotiating table, having given up those programs as an entry ticket, because we've got a lot to talk to the Iranians about, in terms of their economy, sanctions, their inflation, their access to the international SWIFT system. The country is a mess, and we can help them with that, but they've got to give up their nukes to get that help.
COLLINS: Yes, they don't seem willing to talk, just based on how they're still retaliating tonight, something even the President has said he was surprised by just how much and how forcefully Iran has been retaliating.
The Strait of Hormuz, though. I think, we just showed the standstill in traffic there, that is directly impacting people here in the United States. I can tell you what I'm hearing from people in the administration, it's a huge concern in terms of energy and oil prices. When you see Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz, and the danger that potentially poses, what do you see from a military and economic perspective?
KIMMITT: Well, first of all, I see the Tanker War of 1981 to 1989 when the Iranians and the Iraqis would not -- try to close Persian Gulf. Started off by Iraq in order to try to choke the Iranian economy. 450- plus ships were attacked. We had 37 Americans killed in an attack on one of our ships, hundreds of sailors.
So, there is precedent, and I think that precedent is actually prolong to where we're going to go, which is, we've got to get the convoy escorts running again. We've got to reflag those tankers, again, as we did with Kuwait tankers. So, we've got some work to do, but there's a way through this.
COLLINS: Yes. A lot of questions about it.
General, thank you for joining us tonight. It's always great to have your expertise on this. So, I do really appreciate it. Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt.
KIMMITT: Yes. Thank you.
COLLINS: Also here tonight, I have CNN's National Security Analyst, Beth Sanner; and our Senior Law Enforcement Analyst, Andrew McCabe here.
And obviously, as we're looking at how this is all playing out. Beth, I just wonder your perspective in terms of the President's arguments today, about declaring victory, and then moments later, saying you've got to finish the job, and then what he said to reporters tonight. As you're looking at that, what does it say to you about where his mindset is on this?
BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: I think that he is of two minds. I think that, he's seeing the pain and not sure how long that will go on.
But nobody wants to be in a position like George H. W. Bush after the first Gulf War, when people came back and he stopped, and the big cry was, Why didn't you finish it when you had a chance? And that became the criticism, right?
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So, if you start this war with all of these costs, and I mean global costs, our American lives and treasure, and then they still have 40 kilograms of nuclear fissile material that that can be turned into a bomb, and you have remnants of this regime who are absolutely the same, if not more hardline than the previous guys? Then that sets you up for a problem.
I think the big problem is changing that calculation, getting, you know, How do we get control of that fissile material? Are we going to have to send in Special Operations? Or, as General Kimmitt suggested, does this lead to a deal with the devil? And remember how we started this at the very beginning. This was about helping the Iranian people, and that would be kind of opposite world.
COLLINS: Yes, and the President is saying he doesn't like the new Supreme Leader.
But Andrew McCabe. A lot of people have been also asking questions about how this could affect Americans here. I mean, not just gas prices. In terms of security. Because Governor Gavin Newsom weighed in today. He says that the FBI did alert state officials there of unverified claims by Iranian-affiliated actors wanting to conduct potential drone attacks. That memo says that they had aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles, off the coast, against unspecified targets.
Newsom says there's not an imminent threat. But should people in California be worried about this?
ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FORMER FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR: I think people all over the country should be concerned about the threats that Iran present here in the homeland.
Now, as far as that threat is concerned, I think it's -- first of all, I think it's a great sign that the FBI is communicating with states, with businesses on this level. We haven't heard much of them in a broad public way, but they seem to be doing that important work behind the scenes.
I think it's interesting the way they refer to this as an aspirational threat. To decode that a bit, that means, in all likelihood, they have good reporting from reliable sources, be they technical or human, that people associated with the regime are talking about a desire to do that. That is usually a long way from the capability to actually pull it off.
I think most people assess they don't have that capability, right now. Terror strikes are always about intent and capability. Clearly, they have the intent, but they just probably can't put it together.
COLLINS: The other update on this, as we've been following all along, is the girls school in Iran, in southern Iran that was struck on the first day of this war. There have been a lot of investigations, and we know there's preliminary findings that say it was likely because of outdated information about that base.
SANNER: Yes.
COLLINS: Because the girls school was separated by a wall, right next to an IRGC base.
My colleague Kristen Holmes asked President Trump about this today, and this is what he told her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: As Commander-in- Chief, do you take responsibility for that?
TRUMP: That is what -- what do you--
HOLMES: As Commander-in-Chief, do you take--
TRUMP: For what?
HOLMES: For the strike on the school in Iran. A new report says the military investigation has found it was the United States that struck the school.
TRUMP: I don't know about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: What do you make of the fact that it was potentially based on outdated information?
SANNER: Well--
COLLINS: Is that normal?
SANNER: Unfortunately, it has happened before. I was working on the Balkans at CIA, when there were parts of our team that provided the information that led to the erroneous strike of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. Right? People were just devastated by that, but they were using old maps.
But back then, in the 90s, we didn't have Google Earth, we didn't have AI. And so, the idea here that we're hearing is that DIA, which would have responsibility for doing this, did not update that target list. They didn't -- they had old information.
So, you can imagine, at the beginning of this war, how quickly it went, and how that information that we were going to do this came down very, very quickly to the operational level. And we've hit 5,000 targets, I think is the last I've heard. To update the target packages, some of these packages, packages like where you have the imagery, and you determine this is something worth striking? These can be very old, and they need to be refreshed.
But this school was around for 10 years. So, this is a major, major mistake. It should have been caught. It should have been refreshed. And frankly, I hope and I feel terrible for the people who provided that information. But we need to learn from this, and make sure we're using AI and all the tools to prevent this from happening again.
But I have to agree with the administration that while this is a huge, horrible tragedy, the United States military and the intelligence community does try very, very hard to prevent it. But mistakes happen, and lives are lost.
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COLLINS: Andrew, as you look at this. I mean, they've said that it's under investigation. I mean, there are questions of how long that takes to play out. Obviously, it's one thing for them to come out and acknowledge responsibility.
But CNN investigations, The New York Times, Reuters, many other outlets have done preliminary findings themselves. That can show geolocated images that prove -- point to U.S. responsibility.
MCCABE: The evidence is overwhelming.
SANNER: Yes.
MCCABE: I mean, even at this early stage in the investigation. We can only hope that the investigation will continue to a reasonable and fact-based conclusion, and that it will be shared transparently with the country and the world.
COLLINS: Yes.
Andrew McCabe. Beth Sanner. Great to have both of your expertise here on this tonight.
Up next. We're going to hear from the lone Senate Democrat who broke with his party on the Iran war. He's my source tonight. Why John Fetterman says he believes the operation underway is necessary and effective, and why he didn't sign a letter his other colleagues did sign, directed at Secretary Hegseth today.
Also, there's a growing divide between the President and some major voices in the MAGA movement on where this war stands. We'll let you hear from them yourself.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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COLLINS: President Trump, this week, began referring to the war with Iran as an excursion.
As today, which is it, excursion or war, the President offered this explanation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER DOOCY, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, FOX NEWS CHANNEL: You just said it is a little excursion, and you said it is a war. So which one is it?
TRUMP: Well, it's both. It's both. It's an excursion that will keep us out of a war, and the war is going to be -- I mean, for them, it's a war. For us, it's turned out to be easier than we thought.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And joining me tonight is Democratic senator of Pennsylvania, John Fetterman.
And thank you, Senator, for being here.
Do you agree with President Trump when he says that he believes the United States has won the war at this point?
SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): I think what I would agree with is that, I think the outcome thus far has been outstanding. I mean, if you just look at the metrics that, the missile and the drone attacks are down in the 90s per percent, and Iran really has been inability to just strike back and hit our assets, or Israel much right now. So, after eliminating all the leadership, after seven or eight days, and achieving air supremacy after a couple days, I think, overall, I think it's been outstanding, where we're at.
COLLINS: When do you think it would get to a point, where you would call it a victory?
FETTERMAN: Well, I mean, who exactly -- who exactly knows? But I know Israel is going to continue to pound Lebanon and well, as Iran now too, as now we have to -- we can't forget exactly what's accomplished. They were able to eliminate most of the leadership, and actually effectively destroyed their military apparatus. And the only thing that they've ever been to do is fire off a couple random drones and do the thing. They've been unable to impact about either the Israeli society or their military, or ours here.
COLLINS: Well, I ask because some of your Democratic colleagues say that they don't think the administration has a clear endgame in Iran. Do you have concerns about how they know when to be done with Iran?
FETTERMAN: Yes, I mean, I'm very much aware that I'm the only Democrat in the Senate that supports this operation, and I'm going to continue to do that.
And I would remind all of your viewers, whether it was Hillary Clinton when she was running for president. Or Kamala Harris when she was running just in 2024, in fact, she actually identified Iran as her top concern. You know she had -- she called Iran, a grave danger. And now, everyone -- every single Democrat, agrees that they can never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb.
And now, Donald Trump has done that, made that virtually impossible to achieve their nuclear weapons, and they've effectively broke the entire Iranian military apparatus. I don't know why we, as Democrats, if we had all those kinds of goals and those kinds of concerns, and now that he's achieved that, why now we only can criticize that, or they could always make it seem like it's been a failure or things are out of control? That's just categorically not true.
And now I think my hard red line, you know? Boots on the ground. That's when I would get concerned, if they start to talk about boots on the ground. And now I think even Secretary Hegseth has even said, No -- no nation-building, no nation-building. No one wants to be a part of that. That was never a part of this missions thus far.
When every single Democrat is -- you know, have to sit back and witness Trump developing this kinds of situation, or every single Democrat, one, one of those things, now, I'm not sure why they can't just acknowledge that that's been a positive outcome. Whether that's just politics. For me, it's just been nothing more than a choice of country over what parts of the base would demand to condemn or pretend that it's a terrible situation.
COLLINS: OK. So, your red line is putting U.S. forces on the ground in Iran.
The President said today that he views this both as a war and an excursion. When you talk to people in Pennsylvania, do they view this as an excursion?
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FETTERMAN: I would see this as us achieving a critical goal, a critical goal that I would remind people that whether it's Hillary Clinton or Kamala Harris, all agree, we should never allow anyone to acquire a nuclear bomb.
I would challenge any single member of the Democratic -- you know, Democratic in the House, you know, are you OK with Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb? I don't think anyone is OK with that. And now Trump made that now virtually impossible. I can say -- I would describe that an incredibly positive development, something that we all Democrats support, or we all wanted to have those things.
COLLINS: Yes. But I think some people may take issue with the term, excursion, that the President has used, given U.S. forces have died as a result of this. How do you see that term?
FETTERMAN: I'm not getting into semantics. Call it what it is. I would call it as thus far incredibly successful, and that's very compatible with every of the wishes and the concerns of the Democratic presidential candidates, and now anyone that's serving in Congress, here in Pennsylvania, or in any state in our country. And if you're aware of a House Representative or a Senator that's OK with that? I would love to just talk to them why it's OK that if Iran would acquire a nuclear bomb.
COLLINS: You mentioned how you differ from your colleagues, your other fellow Democrats. Every Senate Democrat, except you, signed a letter today, to Secretary Hegseth asking for an investigation into that strike on a girls school in Iran. Why did you not sign that letter, Senator?
FETTERMAN: Well, because we all agree that it's a tragedy, having the school hit. Absolutely. And we all agree now, for an investigation. What I -- what I don't agree with the rest of my colleagues in the House is that it's a war of choice, or it's dumb, or all the things that my colleagues have described this operation. I think it's a good thing, and I support that.
So we agree that we -- you know, and actually, the Pentagon is already investigating that. They just acknowledged then that, It seems increasingly likely that we were -- we were now on that. And now, I think it's entirely appropriate, just like my colleague from Louisiana said, it's like, you know, we should apologize that. That's a tragedy.
And I would remind everybody listening right now, the United States never, ever targets civilians. Iran does, you know? And including their own citizens, and they massacred that--
COLLINS: Yes.
FETTERMAN: --35,000 of them, just a couple weeks ago.
And the left -- please, please. The left media is much more angry about or talking about this hospital, and it is a tragedy, but they didn't seem to be as concerned about the Iranians massacring tens of thousands of their young people, just a couple weeks ago, too.
So it's, that's -- we agree on many parts of it. But we both disagree. I mean, we all disagree that it's -- I think it's a good thing, and every single other Democrat in the caucus caused it all kinds of in negative terms.
COLLINS: We did cover the protests in Iran extensively here at CNN. Obviously, they said a lot about how internally people felt about the regime.
FETTERMAN: Well, I don't watch so late, I don't know. But I'm talking about other left media.
COLLINS: But just to be clear. You do believe if the United--
FETTERMAN: And I didn't refer to you as--
COLLINS: I understand.
FETTERMAN: Yes?
COLLINS: I just wanted to make that clear to our viewers that we did cover that.
But just to be clear, you do believe, if the United States was responsible, that the Pentagon should acknowledge that they accidentally hit a girls school?
FETTERMAN: Yes, I've said that. I said. It seems that they've already acknowledging all those things. I think, largely, that letter, it was rendered moot at this point, after what that's already come out. Now, the Pentagon has agreed that they were behind that.
And I don't know what -- what your network has talked about. But what I'm saying that -- that whether, like, it's The New York Times, they're making it more and more, trying to convince America that this has been a disaster, or things are out of control. And that's just categorically not true on that.
COLLINS: I just think it deserves coverage. Obviously, given the number of children who were killed as a result of it, it obviously matters what happened there. We'll see what the Pentagon investigation says.
Senator John Fetterman, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you for joining us as always here.
FETTERMAN: Yes -- oh, no, you don't have to cut me off here.
COLLINS: Go ahead, Senator. We're not cutting you off.
FETTERMAN: Well, you've said something that it's like, it's -- it's appropriate to cover it. It is appropriate to cover it. Yes, it's a tragedy, absolutely, you know? And now, if we were on that, it's entirely appropriate for to apologize.
If you're implying that I don't think it's wrong to cover it, that's just not true. You know? Yes, it's being covered. I just want to clarify that. It just seemed like a -- like a short shutoff there, to imply that I didn't want to carry that, or -- I think it's entirely appropriate to talk about it.
[21:30:00]
COLLINS: Yes. I'm not implying that. I just wanted to clarify why we're covering it, for everyone who is watching.
Senator, thank you. I do always appreciate hearing your thoughts.
FETTERMAN: Yes. Thank you.
COLLINS: As President Trump today discussed what he believes is victory in the war with Iran, he also discussed how he landed on the name Operation Epic Fury for this war. My political sources will join me with what we're hearing from inside the White House, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:35:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Operation Epic Fury.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: Is that a great name? Well, it's only good if you win, you know you can only -- and we've won. Let me tell you, we've won.
But they gave me a list of names that you know, Sir, you can pick the name you'd like, sir.
I said, The name of what?
The name of the attack on Iran, sir.
And they gave me, like, 20 names. And I'm, like, falling asleep, I didn't like any of them. Then I see Epic Fury. I said, I like that name.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: I like that name. (CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That was President Trump, earlier today, explaining his decision to name the war with Iran, Epic Fury, as he was on the ground in Kentucky, in Thomas Massie's district.
I'm joined tonight here in the newsroom by my political sources.
And Scott Jennings. Obviously, the President there was talking about why he -- how he picked this name. He also made these comments today about he thinks the United States has won. It's a question of how we get out. Do you think he's looking for an offramp to end this war?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO MITCH MCCONNELL, HOST, "THE SCOTT JENNINGS RADIO SHOW" ON SRN: Well, sure. I mean, you're looking for the moment where you can tell the American people, We met our objectives. No nukes. No missiles. No aggressive Navy. No exporting of terrorism.
And if you can tell the American people that, that we've achieved those objectives, we've taken out all the targets, we've degraded these people and their ability to continue to wage war on Western civilization? You want that moment to come as soon as possible.
But my advice would be, Do not stop short. Do not stop short. Because you don't want, in three months, these people popping up again, continuing to do the things that we didn't like that caused us to go in there in the first place.
COLLINS: Paul, what do you think?
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: This is coming out of nowhere. I actually went back and looked at President Trump's National Security Strategy, right, which came out in November. And he -- the word, Iran, is mentioned three times in the entire statement, in entire 29 page.
And the three times are, once he says that he resolved -- he stopped a war between Israel and Iran. Page eight. News to me. He then says that he -- Operation Midnight Hammer -- this is his report -- significantly degraded Iran's nuclear program, and they are greatly weakened. This is what he said. This is what the President said in this now.
So, why are you now going to war in Iran? He hasn't given us a reason. He hasn't--
JENNINGS: Well--
BEGALA: You don't lead an army into war. You lead a nation into war. And this man has not done his job as our Commander-in-Chief, and that's why you have all these shifting rationales, because he doesn't know what the hell he's doing.
JENNINGS: May I disagree respectfully? Look -- look-- COLLINS: Only if it's respectful.
JENNINGS: Of course. Here in the 9 o'clock hour, it will be perfectly respectable.
Look, they told our negotiators they had enough material to build a 11 nuclear missile nuclear missiles. The President has long set a red line, they're never going to have a nuclear weapon, and he's enforcing that. They've been--
BEGALA: But Trump said they were obliterated. And the Iranians said that they have weapons.
JENNINGS: He said -- he said that--
BEGALA: So who do I believe?
JENNINGS: He said the facilities were obliterated. But these people are religious fanatics. They're never going to give up their ambitions. And obviously, they haven't. They've been firing that--
BEGALA: So, we have a regime change?
JENNINGS: I'm ambivalent about that. I don't care what comes next. Here's what I want. I want them to not have nukes, missiles, Navy, and terrorism. And whatever comes next, they're going to have to live with that.
And I assume the Israelis are going to be flying around Iranian airspace for the rest of our natural lives to monitor all this, because they don't want it either. And you know, who else doesn't want it? Their partners in the Arab -- the Arab Gulf state partners here, who have also been terrorized by Iran. Iran has put themselves in a terrible position. But it took guts, to start this ball rolling down the hill to defang them, and that's what he's done.
COLLINS: Kevin, can I -- there's something that Steve Bannon said today. Obviously, someone who's a big supporter of the President's. And he seemed a bit skeptical in terms of how this develops from here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BANNON, TRUMP'S FORMER CHIEF STRATEGIST: We're at war, and we have young men and women in harm's way, so. And like I said, we're in it. I'm not happy that we're in it, but you're in it. So, you got to figure out how you have victory, because victory is what matters here.
It would be catastrophic for us to not have victory in this. And I realize that may rub some people the wrong way, but that -- I think that's just a hard reality, what we have to deal with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I mean, he seems to be agreeing with Scott Jennings there.
KEVIN MADDEN, ADVISER, MITT ROMNEY'S 2008 & 2012 CAMPAIGNS, SENIOR PARTNER, PENTA GROUP: Well, Scott had a couple of conflicting points there. I'll break it down.
I think, first, the most important thing in politics, and I think particularly managing support amongst the American people, is about managing expectations. And I think the American people do wonder what comes next.
And when -- you said that they don't care what comes next. That is a really big, important role here, is getting people squared with the idea that this is not going to be very easy, that it could draw out over a longer period. The conditions for a longer conflict in that region are there. And so, I think dealing squarely with the American people on that, versus trying to manage this in two-week news increments is a really big part of that.
[21:40:00]
I think Steve Bannon probably recognizes that this is going to be a longer-term challenge from here through the end of the year, politically, as well as from a national security posture standpoint, and he's speaking to that.
JENNINGS: Well, I didn't say that the American people don't care what comes next. I think what they want to know, Kevin is, did we go in here and achieve the objective of defanging the people that we say have been at war with Western civilization for 47 years? Which is objectively true. They've killed Americans. They've maimed Americans. They threaten our bases. They threaten our friends.
They want to bring about the end of the world with nuclear weapons. Did we take that away from them? And are we willing to continue to monitor the situation, so they don't try to rebuild it? I think they will try. But obviously, the Israelis and now the other countries in the Gulf know that the Iranians are not to be trusted.
So, I think what has happened here is we got the ball rolling, and now you have a whole bunch of other countries that know Iran can never be allowed to rebuild.
How the regime reconstitutes itself? I don't know.
MADDEN: Yes.
JENNINGS: I just know that we and our partners cannot permit them to go back to where we were the day before we started this war.
BEGALA: OK. So if they're this threat to Western civilization? Which I tend to agree with. Why is Putin helping them target Americans, helping them kill Americans? And you know what Donald Trump did? He lifted the sanctions on Putin. So, we're paying more at the pump. Putin is making more for his (inaudible) down the sanctions that Democrats and Republicans, together, put in place. And so, if they're a threat? They're a threat.
Putin has killed Americans, maimed Americans, threatened our allies, invaded his neighbor. He is a threat to Western civilization. And for some reason, Donald Trump is advantaging Putin. Putin is the winner of this war, and I don't know why. Because he's the enemy of America.
JENNINGS: You're not going to find any disagreement with me. They are the enemy. So is China. And what we've done in Venezuela, and other actions we've taken around the world, I think, have sent a strong message that we're not going to permit this, you know, countries that are aligned against America to coagulate, particularly in our hemisphere.
COLLINS: So, do you think we shouldn't have lifted sanctions that help Russia here?
JENNINGS: I mean, it's hard for me to say, because the President is managing a number of different relationships. He's also simultaneously trying to get them to stop the war in Ukraine, which is also another thing on the President's foreign affairs to-do list.
COLLINS: Can I -- I have to get your take on this. Because, given the gravity of everything that's happening, I was kind of shocked by this story I read in The Washington Post today, that they said that the Defense Department has barred press photographers from briefings on the ongoing war that is happening with Iran, because they published photos of Secretary Pete Hegseth that his staff deemed unflattering.
The White House's response to it wasn't really to deny it, but they said that The Washington Post had fired all their photographers, in response to this.
But I mean, is that -- do you think that's appropriate for them to be banning photographers during a war because they don't like pictures?
JENNINGS: I don't know how any of the four of us are qualified to comment on this. None of us has ever taken an unflattering photo. And so, that's number one.
(LAUGHTER)
JENNINGS: Number two, I don't know, look -- I look at this as what--
COLLINS: But you would have criticized Lloyd Austin if he--
JENNINGS: Yes.
COLLINS: --threw out Reuters' photographers because he didn't like their pictures?
JENNINGS: I would have criticized him if he went AWOL. Oh, which he did, and I certainly did.
COLLINS: Right, but that's my--
JENNINGS: Look, look, this is a small ball.
COLLINS: --but that's my point. Right, Scott?
JENNINGS: This is because--
MADDEN: This is small--
JENNINGS: Because, are they getting the American people information? They're having regular briefings. We hardly have a dearth of videos and images of Pete Hegseth. But he's having regular briefings. The military is having regular briefings. They're telling the American people what we're doing on a very, very regular basis. There's a lot of transparency of what we're doing.
MADDEN: Scott's right. They are very good at engaging on this.
I think, first of all, they're not unflattering photos. I don't think those are bad at all. And if you want to guarantee that everybody is going to be watching the one thing that you think is unflattering? Try to make sure that you ban it or have nobody look at it.
BEGALA: Do you know--
MADDEN: It's the best way to guarantee those are--
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Paul, final thought?
BEGALA: Guarantee is going to be an issue in the campaign. Not this -- not that -- he's a beautiful little snowflake.
MADDEN: What -- what -- this little--
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: No. He's gorgeous, and we all just love him, and I'm so proud that he's so pretty. That's not important. You know what's important? He has spent $15 million--
MADDEN: Yes.
BEGALA: --in one month for rib-eye steaks, $6.9 million for lobster tail.
JENNINGS: Oh, you're not going to do--
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: $225 million for furniture.
JENNINGS: Come on.
BEGALA: He spent more in the month of September than most countries on earth spend in their defense.
JENNINGS: Paul, do you believe it?
BEGALA: All for himself.
JENNINGS: Do you believe--
BEGALA: Lobster tails, while our troops are eating MREs?
JENNINGS: Do you believe -- no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Do you believe--
BEGALA: Lobster tails?
JENNINGS: Do you believe the Secretary of Defense is personally eating all the lobster?
BEGALA: Well he can't eat 60--
JENNINGS: It's for the troops.
BEGALA: Oh lob -- oh, really? The troops are getting lobsters?
JENNINGS: And frequently in theater--
BEGALA: Oh my god.
JENNINGS: --troops who are going to war get great meals--
BEGALA: Oh my god.
JENNINGS: You know that.
BEGALA: They're not getting lobster.
JENNINGS: You know that.
BEGALA: You're so full of it.
JENNINGS: You're going to get killed over this.
COLLINS: I will say--
BEGALA: You are so full of it.
JENNINGS: You're going to get killed over this.
BEGALA: No. No--
JENNINGS: Internet, do something.
BEGALA: He gets--
COLLINS: I'll end this by saying--
BEGALA: He gets -- they get the gold mine, we get the shaft.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: --Republicans.
COLLINS: I'll end this by saying, obviously, the briefings are good and important and helpful, and I think it's great that they've been doing them regularly. Photographers are part of the press corps. They should be included with the rest of the reporters who are in the room.
Paul. Scott. Kevin. That was quite a conversation. I can't be sure (ph) even sure what to say next.
MADDEN: Thanks a lot.
COLLINS: But up next. We are going to talk about another development here in Washington. Jeffrey Epstein's accountant, for a long time, was on Capitol Hill today. Someone who was in the room and questioned him will join me right after this.
[21:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Jeffrey Epstein's longtime accountant testified before the House Oversight Committee today, as Congress is seeking answers on how the late sex trafficker accumulated his wealth and how it was used for illegal activities.
Richard Kahn managed Jeffrey Epstein's vast finances and investments. He's the co-executor of Epstein's estate. And he told lawmakers today that he didn't know the extent of Epstein's crimes until after his death. It's pretty notable testimony, given the various cases against Jeffrey Epstein, and all the public detailed reporting about his crimes, while he was very much still alive.
[21:50:00]
Kahn also testified, quote that, We tracked the expenditures as meticulously as possible, including gifts by Epstein to women and men. The gifts represent a very small fraction of his spending. I did not see them as red flags for abuse or trafficking.
My source tonight is a member of the House Oversight Committee. Congressman Ro Khanna, Democrat of California.
And thank you, sir, for being here.
First off, do you believe him, when he says he didn't know about this, when Jeffrey Epstein was alive?
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I don't know. But what I will say is he wasn't very forthcoming about other men that who may have been involved in the abuse. At one point, he said, Look, there were hundreds of survivors who were paid settlements, and there were people other than Epstein and Maxwell involved, because these survivors said that. But beyond that, he really was not that forthcoming.
COLLINS: So, there's been some confusion tonight, or a back and forth with the House Oversight Committee and the Republicans on your committee that I'm hoping you can clear up. They say, you were trying to have a gotcha moment about President Trump, in regards to a question that you asked, that the accountant was not referring to a Trump accuser when he was talking about a settlement the Epstein estate had paid. Can you explain what happened?
KHANNA: So, I asked about the woman who has alleged that Donald Trump raped her when she was 13. Now, as we know, the FBI released one of those witness interviews first. They didn't release three of the witness interviews. I pushed for that, as did Thomas Massie. Then they released the other three, to comply with Thomas Massie and my law. I have no idea whether those are true or not.
One of the things her attorney has said is that she was paid a settlement from the Epstein estate. So, I said, this Jane Doe 4, and I made the actual case number, and I said, Did the Epstein estate pay this survivor?
And the lawyer took a brief pause, and he said, Can I just confirm to make sure we're talking about the right person?
I said, This is the person who has accused President Trump of rape.
And then the -- Kahn said, Yes, that person was paid.
Hours later, five hours later, he said, Oh no, no, I was talking about a different woman.
So, he backtracked on that. And people will be able to see the testimony.
So, I don't know which time he's telling the truth. Maybe he genuinely forgot. But the transcript is pretty clear, when people see it, that I was talking about the woman who accused President Trump of abuse and rape.
COLLINS: OK, because Comer later says that he testified he never saw any transaction paid to the President or his family.
In terms of what we'll see in this. What were your other takeaways from his testimony? Did you learn anything that you believe helped this investigation?
KHANNA: The biggest takeaway is that how many people were financially involved with Epstein at a significant level. Two people who we allegedly already know, Les Wexner and Leon Black.
And I just have to say this, because I was up at Dartmouth at the invitation of the University President. Dartmouth still has Leon Black up on their buildings. That is appalling, given all that has come out. And they need to remove that. And there needs to be accountability for some of these men who have very serious allegations of having abused or raped young girls.
And so, he also talked about the Rothschilds being involved, and a lot of information about other people who had deep ties, allegedly, to Epstein.
COLLINS: Yes. I mean, just so many questions about where this investigation goes. Obviously, we'll see. You're also obviously from California, member of the House Armed Services Committee. People are concerned about this confirmation from Gavin Newsom earlier that -- about potential Iranian drone threats to California and to your home state. Local law enforcement says they're unverified claims that they want to conduct these attacks. And we know it's not vetted, it's not verified.
Have you heard anything about this? Are you concerned about it?
KHANNA: I'm concerned, like other Californians. I appreciate the Governor's leadership.
But why are we in this position? President Trump promised us not to have foreign wars. He's gotten us into the Middle East. Eight service members have died. Our gas prices are through the roof. Iran is bombing places in the Strait of Hormuz and not letting gas come through. And now, there are retaliation of possible threats against people in our homeland? The American people are saying, Why? Why are we in this war when you promised the exact opposite?
COLLINS: Are you -- what are you hearing from any Republicans in the House? Are they worried about gas prices and what this looks like right now?
KHANNA: Well, as you know, Thomas Massie and I led the Iran War Powers Act. We led the Epstein Transparency Act.
COLLINS: Yes.
KHANNA: We didn't get many Republicans over. There were about 15 Republicans who were concerned. And their biggest concern is that we don't put ground troops there, we don't get involved in a regime change war, and now, of course, gas prices.
So, what have we achieved? I mean, we've taken Khamenei, who's 86. And so far we've replaced him with his son, Khamenei Jr., who is even a bigger hardliner. The regime is still in power. Gas prices are up. Our service members are dying.
I just hope the President stops this war. I don't care about the politics. I just want the war to end. It will bring gas prices down. Our troops won't be as at as much risk, and our country won't be as at as much risk.
COLLINS: Yes.
[21:55:00]
Congressman, thank you for joining us tonight. We'll be looking to that testimony of Epstein's accountant. Of course, as you know, Trump has denied any wrongdoing. But we'll see the testimony itself. Thank you so much.
KHANNA: Thank you.
COLLINS: And up next here for us on THE SOURCE. Joe Rogan, who obviously was a big backer of President Trump's in the election, is now weighing in on his thoughts about the Iran war. We'll play them for you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Joe Rogan, who endorsed, hosted and, some people argue, helped President Trump in his reelection campaign, said he thinks the President and his supporters feel betrayed, because the President has reversed from the policies that he campaigned on, by waging this war in Iran.
And tonight, he continued to break with the President when it comes to this war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE ROGAN, HOST, "THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE" PODCAST: This idea that you're going to take over a country's oil supply, you know, like that, you know, We'll just take it.
[22:00:00]
The problem is from the outside, like, the rest of the world, you look at this unnecessary aggression by the United States government, and then you tack on whatever propaganda they have already been spitting out about America, for the last 20 or 30 years, and then this war with Iran gets really ugly, because that's how you start a World War III.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That comes, of course, after Rogan has also talked about the President when it comes to releasing the Epstein files, and also on immigration.
Thanks so much for joining us here tonight on THE SOURCE.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" starts now.
