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The Brief with Jim Sciutto
Maxwell Tells DOJ There Is No Epstein Client List; FBI Agents Search Home And Office Of John Bolton; Kilmar Abrego Garcia Released From Jail; Famine Official Declared in Gaza; Venezuela Mobilized Militias As U.S. Deploys Navy To Region; Trump Responds To Ukraine Talks Delay; Russia Continues To Strike Ukrainian Cities With Drones And Missiles; Powell Leaves Door Open To Rate Cut. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired August 22, 2025 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Paula Newton in New York. Jim
Sciutto is off and you are watching "The Brief."
Now, just ahead this hour, Jeffrey Epstein's associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, says he never kept a client list, that's according to a newly released
transcript from the Justice Department. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadorian national wrongly deported, has now been released from U.S.
custody. And. U.S. markets rally after Fed Chair Jerome Powell hints at a September rate cut.
And we do begin with new developments in the Jeffrey Epstein case. The Justice Department releasing transcripts and audio of its interview with
Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. That was from earlier this summer saying it was, quote, "in the interest of transparency."
Maxwell denied Epstein had a list of clients and cast doubts that whether or not he actually died by suicide. She also heaped praise on President
Donald Trump saying she had absolutely never seen him act inappropriately. Take a listen to the audio here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GHISLAINE MAXWELL, JEFFREY EPSTEIN'S ACCOMPLICE: I think they were friendly, like people are in social settings. I don't think they were close
friends, or I certainly never witnessed the president in any of -- I don't recall ever seeing him in his house, for instance. I actually never saw the
president in any type of massage setting. I never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way. The president was never
inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, we should note that Maxwell hasn't been considered trustworthy, even under oath. In 2020 she was charged with perjury.
Prosecutors later dismiss those charges to avoid inflicting further pain on the victims.
Joining me now is David Weinstein. He is a former assistant U.S. attorney for Florida's Southern District. Good to see you as we continue to get in
so much more news about this interview, the fact that a transcript was released and we have audio, as we all just heard together. Now, in terms of
addressing the concerns of the president's supporters, Democrats, but most importantly, the victims themselves and their families, what did we learn
from this? What did we get from it?
DAVID WEINSTEIN, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA: You know, I don't think -- look. it was well over 500 pages
between the two days, and I haven't had a chance to review everything, but I don't know that we learned anything necessarily new that affects the
victims who were the subject of her conviction because there wasn't much talk about them. There was talk about other people involved, and you played
the highlights of the one person who everybody was talking about. So, I don't know that this is anything unexpected. We expected that she would
give these types of statements.
NEWTON: And we expected it, and yet when you hear it is still startling. And I do want to start here on how painful all of this is for the victims.
You know. Virginia Giuffre's family was speaking to CNN. She -- they have been speaking to CNN in the last few weeks. So, we remind the audience that
tragically she committed suicide earlier this year. But that was after years of what she described as pain, the pain of the abuse that she says
she suffered at the hands of Epstein and others. I want you to listen now to her family members.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANDA ROBERTS, SISTER-IN-LAW OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: I think that's her legacy, right? It wasn't just, you know, the exposure, but then beyond
exposure is accountability. And one of our very last conversations, she told me like, my files are sitting at the Southern District Courts right
now waiting to be unsealed. And that was her fight. And that is the fight of all survivors, right? Let's expose these monsters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: So, she's saying, let's expose these monsters. But the fact remains, right, those documents that she's talking about, they still remain
sealed at this hour.
WEINSTEIN: They do. Now, we've heard that some of these documents have been turned over to Congress. They're going to review them, they're going to go
through them, see if they can unseal any of those documents. But the pain that she talks about is the same pain that any victim goes through. They go
through it when it happened. They go through it when they have to recount it during a trial of the case or a deposition of the case. And what they
want is closure.
[18:05:00]
And so, what all these people seek is just closure and finality. If they're going to release the documents, release them so that the public can see
what's in those documents and that this chapter will be over for me. The longer it lingers, the more we talk about other people talking about them,
hearing what other people say, the longer this wound remains open for these victims. So, they just want closure in what has happened to them.
NEWTON: And so, many of the questions that people have do relate back to the original charges against Epstein in Florida. Now, you were, I believe,
an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District, right, during some of this time there. So, David, I want to ask you, when people have these
questions about, was there a coverup, what went on there, do you have more questions about the office that you were working in?
WEINSTEIN: Well, I don't. I was not involved in any way, shape, or form with the investigation. Otherwise, I'd be unwilling to come and talk with
any about this.
NEWTON: And I understand and I want to point that out, but you know how these things work inside of that office and so many people are going back
to that original deal.
WEINSTEIN: And it's been my experience. And during the decade plus that I spent as a federal prosecutor that nothing happened in secret. That there
are no -- whatever deals happen, those deals are part of a plea agreement. Those deals are made out and in the open. Again, I was not involved in this
case, so I can't tell you what took place in this case. But in the rest of the cases, and for all the people that worked in that office during that
time period, there was nothing that didn't happen that wasn't out and that was given to the public with regards to what took place.
NEWTON: And when you talk about that kind of a detail, what would be some of the reasons that prosecutors would say, OK. we're going to cut a deal
here?
WEINSTEIN: Well, in any case that you're evaluating, you have to look at the strength of your case, what is the evidence? What are the witnesses
going to have to say? How reliable is their memory as to what happened? Is there anybody else to corroborate what was said? Are you relying only upon
one witness? What is that particular witness' ability to tell the truth? Have they been shown to be untruthful in the past? Do they have any
convictions? Is there any extrinsic evidence that supports one side or the other? Those are the types of decisions go into any type of case.
And then you evaluate that and you determine, will a jury find beyond a reasonable doubt that this conviction is going to stand, or is there some
lesser agreement of punishment that we can reach, one that's acceptable in cases where there are victims to victims in terms of how we're going to
resolve this and is going to give closure to the matter?
NNEWTON: And, David, I want to bring up something else that must be upsetting to the victims when they see it. In this transcript, Maxwell
actually kind of alludes to the fact that someone who is not named, one of the victims who was just known as Jane, she kind of indicates that that
person wasn't telling the truth in the testimony.
So, what kind of purpose does even releasing this kind of audio or this kind of transcript, it seems to be inflicting even more, you know, pain on
the victims and their families because she is getting a chance, Maxwell, is to kind of reframe things? And then after that, let's add, she is now --
since that interview, she's been moved to a minimum-security facility.
WEINSTEIN: So, I think it's a two-edged sword. They're going to ask the questions and she's going to give answers, and whether or not you believe
her answers, that's up to the listener, that's up to the people who took her statement. If you have redacted or the people who had released it had
redacted statements because they believe that they might or might not be true, then I think we'd be having a completely another discussion about,
well, why were things blacked out? Why weren't things there? Everyone knows what she has been convicted of up to this juncture. That's up on appeal,
that's up for reconsideration. And she was asked questions and she gave answers.
And so, again, I think that if those had not been presented, there would be more questions asked as to what she was saying.
NEWTON: David, again, I thank you there you have really unique insight, especially having worked in that office in Florida and so many of these
details do relate back to what happened in Florida. Good to see you. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
WEINSTEIN: You're welcome.
NEWTON: I know nothing about it, the words of U.S. President Donald Trump after the FBI searched the home and office of his vocal critic, John
Bolton. Now, it's part of a renewed investigation into whether Bolton disclosed classified information in his 2020 book. Bolton worked under the
first Trump administration as a national security adviser, and Mr. Trump fired him in 2019.
Now, they've been at odds ever since with sources claiming that the president is using the muscle of the U.S. government to target a political
foe. The FBI also went to Bolton's office in Washington. The agents who left his home did not remove anything that appeared to be evidentiary.
President Trump was asked multiple times about the investigation today. Listen.
[18:10:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I don't know about it. I saw it on television this morning. I'm not a fan of John Bolton. He's a real sort of
a low life. I purposely don't want to really get involved in it. I'm not a fan of John Bolton. I thought it was a sleazebag actually.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Evan Perez joins me and you've been on this really for several hours now since we got the news. So, you know, where do you see all of this
going now given the fact that these two searches have come, you know, Bolton refused to make any commentary to you or to others today? Where is
this going?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we'll see in the coming weeks whether the FBI has new -- could sustain a possible
prosecution of John Bolton. We know that this investigation, Paula, began back in 2020. It was closed in 2021 with no charges. There was also a
separate civil lawsuit that was filed against John Bolton for violating the non-disclosure agreement that he signed when he became a member of the
government -- about this boOK. this 2020 boOK. which was harshly critical of President Trump.
And the allegation was that John Bolton worked on that book while he was still in the government, that he shared material that would've been
sensitive, would've been classified at the time, and that he shared it with people who were not authorized to have it. And the question is, you know,
at what point did that happen and, you know, was he right? He claims that there was nothing classified in there.
Now, inside the Trump administration -- the first administration there were career officials who reviewed the -- declined to approve publication. They
believed that it was OK to be published. There were political appointees inside the White House who came in and decided otherwise, they believed --
should not have been approved. And so, that's where a lot of this ended up being in dispute at the time, back in 2020 and early 2021.
So, the question is, does the FBI have new information? Do they have any new evidence or are we still going over the same evidence that we have from
back in 2020? And that really then raises the subsequent question, which is, is this really just another part of the retribution agenda that the
president himself has vowed that he would pursue? Is this the first one of this that we are now seeing? That's certainly what critics of the president
are saying, and that what you might expect John Bolton also believes.
Again, this is a search that happened about seven and a half hours. I was out there in Bethesda, Maryland where this where this occurred. It was a
very unusual scene, as you can see from there because it was so visible for several hours. It's not normal for you to see FBI searches conducted in
this manner.
NEWTON: Yes, no. And the -- I mean, Kash Patel, right, the head of the FBI himself, pretty much alerted everyone that the FBI was --
PEREZ: The vice president. I mean, everybody was talking -- yes, right. Exactly. Everybody was commenting about it, which is, which, again, adds to
the unusual nature of all of this.
NEWTON: Yes. Story that I know. You'll continue to follow. Evan Perez for us, thanks so much.
PEREZ: Thanks.
NEWTON: Now, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran national at the center of a month's long deportation fight, was released today from U.S. custody. The
Trump administration wrongfully deported Abrego Garcia in March to a notorious Salvadoran prison. After a public outcry, he was returned to the
United States to face human smuggling charges. Federal judges ruled that he can be released from jail as he awaits trial. And his future though in the
United States remains unclear. Rafael Romo picks up the story from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kilmar Abrego Garcia is no longer in federal custody. He was released from the Putnam County Jail here in
Tennessee shortly after 2:00 p.m. local time Friday. He came out through that set of double doors behind me, in the back of the jail complex.
Abrego Garcia was surrounded by a sheriff deputy and four other men, including one in a suit, presumably one of his attorneys. He walked briskly
to awaiting white GMC SUV that sped away. Everything took only a matter of seconds. Abrego Garcia had been at the Putnam County Jail since early June
when U.S. officials returned him from his native El Salvador after he was sent to the notorious CECOT Prison for gang members in the Central American
country due to a clerical error.
He still faces human smuggling charges announced by the Justice Department. The very same day in early June, he was returned to the United States. In a
statement, one of his attorneys said the following about his release, "Today, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is free. He's presently en route to his family
in Maryland after being unlawfully arrested and deported and then imprisoned, all because of the government's vindictive attack on a man who
had the courage to fight back against the administration's continuing assault on the rule of law. He's grateful that his access to American
courts has provided meaningful due process," end quote.
[18:15:00]
Two federal judges in Nashville had turned down a request from federal prosecutors for Abrego Garcia to remain locked up while he awaited trial on
those human smuggling charges. But one of those judges put a pause to her release order last month for 30 days, and that pause expired Friday. On
Tuesday, his attorneys asked the federal judge overseeing his criminal case to throw those charges, alleging the Justice Department singled him out for
prosecution after he challenged his wrongful deportation.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Cookeville, Tennessee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: OK. Straight ahead for us, say famine has been officially declared in parts of Gaza, how Palestinians are trying to survive, what a U.N.-
backed report calls a manmade disaster.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: For the first time, famine has been officially declared in Gaza by U.N.-backed group. And we have to warn you over the next several minutes,
you are going to see children who are in absolute agony. The images are so disturbing. The U.N.-backed report says parts of the enclave are now
suffering the worst form of hunger, describing it as, quote, "entirely manmade."
Now, since the war began, Israel has routinely restricted or cut off aid into Gaza. Palestinian health officials say 271 people have starved to
death, more than a hundred of them children. Israel meanwhile continues to maintain that there is no famine. The U.N. though says the evidence is
irrefutable. It's urging everyone to read the report, quote, "not as words and numbers, but as names and lives." Our Paula Hancocks shows us some of
the lives affected by starvation in Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Confirmation of what residents of Gaza already knew, this is famine.
TOM FLETCHER, U.N. EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR: It is a famine. The Gaza famine. It is a famine that we could have prevented if we had been allowed.
Yet, food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, says famine is confirmed in parts of Gaza, including Gaza City, the
site of a major new Israeli offensive. The report says, quote, malnutrition threatens the lives of 132,000 children under five through June 2026.
[18:20:00]
The Israeli agency tasked with distributing aid into Gaza rejects the report as, quote, false and biased, accusing it of relying on data from
Hamas.
This family in Gaza City currently lives on the outskirts of a tent city. Confirmation of famine will come as no surprise to them. Ali Salameh Majid
(ph) is injured and cannot move easily. He fears the expected evacuation orders from Israel.
Where am I supposed to go, he says, I don't even have a tent. I'm in the street. My son has to beg for a piece of bread to feed his siblings.
There's nothing to eat, his daughter says, when we go to the charity kitchen, they tell us the food is only for camp presidents. My sisters cry
from hunger.
Salameh Majid (ph) says her husband cannot walk without the help of her eldest daughter. They do not want to be forced to move yet again. She says,
it is impossible for things to get worse than this.
The Israeli military is intensifying strikes on Gaza City ahead of its plan takeover. This strike on a school filled with displaced Friday. The head of
the emergency services in northern Gaza says at least a dozen were killed, many of them children.
We have asked the IDF for comment. Israel's Prime Minister says Gaza City is one of the last strongholds of Hamas and occupying the city is the
fastest way to end this war. But this is one of the areas hundreds of thousands from Gaza City will be forced to move to. An Israeli airstrike
hits a displacement camp in Central Gaza just 30 minutes after the military issued an evacuation order.
As emergency crews rush in, people are still packing up, trying to escape. Mohammed Al-Kahlout (ph) pulls a bag of flour from the debris of where his
tent once stood. I have to start all over again, he says. In more than two months, the same will happen. You live somewhere, you think you are safe
and you get struck again.
A rare protest in Gaza City called for Israel to abandon its plan takeover. This man called on the U.S. president to intervene. We say to Donald Trump,
he says, if you care about the Nobel Peace Prize, you must stop all the wars, starting with the war on Gaza, which has claimed thousands of our
lives.
SAMI ABU SALEM, JOURNALIST: We are as ordinary people, we are facing civil wars, war of rockets, war of bombs, war of hunger, war of thirst, and war
of displacement.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): A desperate appeal to the world to wake up and break their silence.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, to Venezuela where President Nicolas Maduro claims to be mobilizing millions of militia members. And it comes after the U.S. doubled
the reward for information leading to his arrest. It started a dramatic show of force in the waters around Latin America and the Caribbean. The
Trump administration has accused Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug cartel. Patrick Oppmann has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A major show of force in South America. At least three U.S. Navy destroyers, attack
aircraft, amphibious landing vehicles, and more than 4,000 Marines.
The Trump administration says it's meant to crack down on drug smuggling from the region to the U.S. and intimidate Venezuela's embattled leader,
Nicolas Maduro, who has responded by calling up more than 4 million militiamen to defend against any possible U.S. aggression.
The White House alleges Maduro is the head of a shadowy cocaine trafficking empire known as El Cartel de los Soles, a criminal organization secretly
operated by Venezuela's military. This month, the administration doubled the reward for Maduro's capture to $50 million.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela. It is a narco-terror cartel.
And Maduro it is the view of this administration, is not a legitimate president. He is a fugitive head of this cartel who has been indicted in
the United States for trafficking drugs into the country.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Now, U.S. Navy ships approaching Venezuela are putting Maduro on notice. The deployment may just be a show of force. But
one that Venezuela's leader vows to resist. Maduro denies the drug smuggling accusations and says his government will fight until the last
bullet.
NICOLAR MADURO, VENEZULEN PRESIDENT (through translator): We must defend Venezuela, because they want to turn us into slaves of supremacists due to
the racist contempt they have for us.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Maduro, who counts Russia and Iran as allies, say he's mobilizing his military and militia across the country to ensure any
U.S. action would be drawn-out and bloody.
MADURO (through translator): No empire is going to set foot on the sacred soil of Venezuela.
[18:25:00]
OPPMANN (voice-over): Despite the saber rattling on both sides, it's clear the U.S. forces deployed would not be sufficient for regime change, says a
former U.S. official who has studied what an invasion of Venezuela would look like.
FRANK MORA, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES: We're talking about 200, 250,000 troops, because it's not just a question
of bringing the regime down. That would not be that difficult. The invasion becomes an occupation, and that gets very complicated, because how do you
maintain social order in a country where the government has collapsed?
OPPMANN (voice-over): This is not the first time the U.S. has vowed to oust Maduro. In 2019, during the first Trump administration, a U.S.- backed
uprising of dissident Venezuelan soldiers led to fighting in the streets of the capital, Caracas, between pro- and anti-government forces.
But that would-be coup failed. Maduro emerged with a tighter grip on power and even more defiant of U.S. attempts to end his rule.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: So, a week on and seemingly no progress made toward peace in Ukraine. What President Trump has to say about the delay after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: And welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Paula Newton. Here are the international headlines we are watching today.
The U.S. Justice Department has released the transcript and audio from its interview with Ghislaine Maxwell. Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice is serving a
20-year prison sentence for conspiring to sexually abuse minors. According to the transcript, Maxwell said she never saw President Trump do anything
inappropriate nor did she see him in any inappropriate settings. The Justice Department says it did not promise Maxwell anything in exchange for
the interview.
[18:30:00]
New York State Police say four people have been killed and dozens injured after a tour bus crashed east of Buffalo. Police say the bus was carrying
about 50 passengers from Niagara Falls to New York City when it overturned, for unknown reasons. Some passengers were ejected from the bus. Police
believed most passengers weren't wearing a seatbelt.
A federal judge has essentially shut down a controversial Florida migrant detention center, at least for now. The judge ruled that no new detainees
can be brought to the detention camp, known as Alligator Alcatraz. And she said the Trump administration must halt any new construction. This comes
after environmental groups and a Native American tribe filed a lawsuit. They say they're concerned about the environmental impact of the site.
Florida is planning to appeal that ruling.
So, Russian President Vladimir Putin says he expects a full restoration of ties with the United States. The comments reported in Russian state media
came a week after Mr. Putin traveled to Alaska to meet with Donald Trump. Earlier, the U.S. president expressed frustration at the lack of progress
made since that meeting as he's pushing Russia and Ukraine to end the war between them.
Earlier, Russia poured cold water on that prospect, the foreign minister claiming that no talks between presidents Putin and Zelenskyy had been
lined up because, quote, "certain conditions" had not been met.
I want to bring in former U.S. ambassador to NATO, Kurt Volker. I want to thank you for joining us. You know, I really do try not to inject any
cynicism in this, but this is truly sound and fury signifying absolutely nothing. What it has signified though is that president Putin has carved
out another few weeks for himself in this offensive inflicting more pain, not just on the frontlines, right, but on civilians.
So, if you are Ukraine right now, if you were in your position and you are. You know, with NATO, how do you advise President Zelenskyy to go forward
now?
KURT VOLKER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO: Right. Well, there are several things that he has to do at the same time. It's a complicated situation.
He's doing it very well. Number one, stay aligned with the United States. I know that President Trump seems to zigzag a little bit. He puts pressure on
Ukraine. He offers carrots to Putin. Then he says, OK, maybe you need to strike inside Russia, but just stick close to the United States. That's
number one. They need the U.S. arms, ammunition, political support, and the ability to rally the world which we can do.
The second thing is don't hold back when it comes to fighting back against Russia. They are being incredibly innovative. They're using their own
homemade drones to attack deep inside Russia. Focus on military targets and take out the military logistics. The fuel, the ammunition, the roads, the
rails, the bridges, take out as much of that as you can because Russia needs that to continue the war on the frontline.
And then, thirdly, keep working with the European allies, Mark Rutte, secretary general of NATO, all the other leaders of NATO. There's a lot
more that we can and should be doing, such as helping Ukraine to develop an integrated and layered air defense system, helping them get the long-range
precision guided systems they need to take out Russian logistics. There's a lot we can be doing, and Ukraine just needs to keep going, keep going, keep
going.
NEWTON: And on your second point, and to the point that Ukraine has to keep going, I mean, are you worried at this point in time? We have all heard
about the adversity Ukraine is facing not least, and likely most importantly, is the ability to actually recruit more people to serve in
this war.
VOLKER: Yes. So, on the one hand, yes. It is very difficult for Ukrainians and of course our hearts go out to them. So, many have been killed, so many
have been injured, and it is difficult to keep this going. On the other hand, they have no choice. This is their home. It is their lives, it is
their families, it is their neighbors, their territory, and Russia is just intent on attacking and seizing it. They have no choice but to fight, and
they have done a masterful job, incredible innovation from the Ukrainian side compensating for the advantage Russia has in size. So, that's another
thing where it's not easy, I sympathize, but just keep going.
NEWTON: I want to get back to the president's thoughts on all of this right now. And the president again repeated today, you know, some things that
might actually really concern President Zelenskyy, not to mention Ukrainians. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, we'll see. We're going to see if Putin and Zelenskyy will be working together. You know, that's like oil and vinegar a little bit. They
don't get along too well, for obvious reasons. But we'll see. And then, we'll see whether or not I would have to be there and I'd rather not. I'd
rather have them have a meeting and see how they can do. But in the meantime, they continue to fight and they continue to kill people, which is
very stupid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[18:35:00]
NEWTON: You know, the president, and you can hear them, there still seems to mis misunderstand the very nature of this war. This is not a clash of
personalities. Putin does not believe that Ukraine has the right to exist as a country. Is it not imperative that the president finally understand
this if he's to help with a durable peace?
VOLKER: Well, first off, you're absolutely right in your characterization. This is a war created by Vladimir Putin, not created by Ukraine. Ukraine
doesn't want this war, and it's created by Vladimir Putin because he wants to rebuild the Russian empire. He wants to take all the territories that he
thinks should rightfully belong to Russia, and so he can rule over all these other people that live there, including Ukrainians, Georgians,
Moldovans, Balts, whomever. Vladimir Putin is on that imperial quest.
Now, for the president, I do understand what he's trying to do. He's constantly trying to give room for Putin to come to an agreement, to end
the war without it being a complete defeat for Russia. He's trying to give him that space. And so, it is jarring, as you say, to hear language that
seems to put them as equals when Russia is really the aggressor here. But I think that's President Trump's deliberate tactic.
The problem with that tactic, as I see it, is that it encourages Putin to keep going. He feels weakness when he sees that. And so, he is inclined to
then keep pushing harder.
NEWTON: You know, I know that the president has very good advisers around him, Ambassador, and I know he has people telling him this, people who know
Putin. And so, I certainly hope for those of us who've been in a room with Putin, have interviewed Putin to tell the president yet again, I hate to
editorialize here, that strength is what the president of Russia understands here. Kurt Volker, we have to leave it there. Thanks so much.
VOLKER: Thanks very much.
NEWTON: Now, to North Korea and a rare public display of emotion from its leader, Kim Jong Un has been paying tribute to North Korean soldiers killed
while fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine. State media showed him pinning badges on the photo frames of deceased soldiers. Mr. Kim said
his heart aches for the fallen members of the, quote, "heroic army." Will Ripley has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russia unleashing one of its heaviest bombardments in weeks, hundreds of drones
and dozens of missiles slamming into Ukrainian cities.
And more than 4,000 miles away, North Korea for the first time admitting its own soldiers have died in Vladimir Putin's war. Once a national secret,
now a national spectacle, Kim Jong Un's troops hailed as heroes.
Stories glorifying soldiers who shot themselves in the head or pulled grenade pins to avoid capture. The message, dying for their leader given by
suicide is the ultimate sacrifice.
For nearly a year, Pyongyang rarely acknowledged that its troops were even fighting for Russia. Despite estimates of more than 11,000 sent into
battle. Western officials say as many as 4,000 killed or wounded.
Now, they're remembered in public ceremonies. Kim pinning medals on portraits, consoling grieving families. More than 100 faces on this
memorial wall, each one tied to a war North Korea barely acknowledged until now.
RIPLEY: Why do you think it's taken so much time for North Korea to publicly acknowledge what the rest of the world has known?
COLIN ZWIRKO, SENIOR ANALYTIC CORRESPONDENT, NK NEWS: Kim Jong Un has to completely control the narrative inside the country because he's very
afraid of backlash against himself.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine shows no sign of slowing, even as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for a face-to-face
peace deal that so far is going nowhere. Instead, Moscow is tightening its wartime alliance with Pyongyang. Kim sending troops and artillery, Putin
sending money and missile technology.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies uncovered this, a secret North Korean missile base under construction for two decades, potentially
capable of hitting any city in the U.S. Seth Jones with CSIS says Russia may be helping bankroll it.
SETH JONES, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Russia's providing missile technology to the North Koreans and North Korea is now
gaining battlefield experience.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Kim's meeting with returning general suggests this may be just the beginning propaganda preparing his country for more war in
Ukraine and perhaps beyond.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[18:40:00]
NEWTON: Our thanks to Will Ripley for that report. Coming up, profiting from Powell. The Fed chair sparks a big rally on Wall Street by signaling a
possible change in Fed policy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: And welcome back to "The Brief," a big rally on Wall Street after Fed Chair Jerome Powell left the door open for a September interest rate
cut. Now, all the major U.S. averages, you can see there, rose by more than 1.5 percent. The Dow finishing the week at a record high as well. Powell
saying at a closely watched speech to central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that jobs -- that the jobs market uncertainty might require the
Fed to change course soon and ease that interest rate policy. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, CHAIR, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE: With policy and restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may
warrant adjusting our policy stance. Monetary policy is not on a preset course. FOMC members will make these decisions based solely on their
assessment of the data and its implications for the economic outlook.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, Powell did say he is still concerned about the threat of that tariffs pose to inflation, but he says the jury is still up on whether
higher prices will be short-lived or persistent. Now, a rate cut could ease some of the political pressure on him. Powell has been under attack from
President Trump for not cutting rates sooner.
The U.S. President, however, not letting up on his attacks against Fed Governor Lisa Cook. He's now threatening to fire her if she doesn't resign
because of mortgage fraud allegations that she in fact denies.
There was positive news though for the U.S. on the tariff front today, Canada announced that it will eliminate retaliatory tariffs on many U.S.
goods as a goodwill designed to restart stall trade talks. Prime Minister Mark Carney saying that the state of U.S. Canadian trade is now in
relatively good shape.
Also, on the trade front, the Congressional Budget Office estimating today that higher U.S. tariffs will decrease U.S. deficits by some $4 trillion
overall if they remain in place for 10 years.
Claudia Sahm joins us. She's the chief economist for New Century Advisors and a former Federal Reserve economist. She joins us from Wyoming, where
Fed Chair Powell gave his address. And I want to welcome you. So, let us know how it went down. How were his words received? I mean, we've heard
certainly from the markets, but I'm wondering if economists like you believe that the U.S. economy is still vulnerable here in the coming weeks
and months?
[18:45:00]
CLAUDIA SAHM, CHIEF ECONOMIST, NEW CENTURY ADVISORS: So, it was very important that Powell discussed the fact that we are in a very challenging
moment. So, for the Federal Reserve, it's dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability, it's intention. There are risks of
inflation going higher, and there are risks of employment going lower. And so, they're trying to balance, you know, what's happening in the economy,
what the outlook is, the risks are.
Today's speech, the Fed was recognizing that, hey, we've seen some changes in the economic data that are highlighting the employment risks, and that
is what, you know, the market is reacting to the opening the door to a September rate cut. But he was very clear that this is a complicated
environment and they're going to proceed carefully, right. So, they're going to have to keep reassessing what the risks look like.
NEWTON: Yes. The markets a apparently threw caution to the wind, and we should expect that from them. But the rate cut isn't even yet a done deal.
Do you believe that the data -- and remember the Fed chair is always data dependent here, that it is still a bit muddy? I mean, because the Fed chair
himself seemed to indicate that the data on unemployment specifically was a bit confusing.
SAHM: Absolutely. And we really need to pay attention to this. We got, you know, information recently that job growth had really slowed down in the
last three months with the employment report at the beginning of this month. And the reaction was, oh, well, we must be headed towards a
recession and the Fed needs a cut and maybe 50 basis points between meetings.
I mean, there's a lot of concern when we saw that and what Powell was saying is, you know, we got to back up here. Some of this is likely because
our labor force is growing more slowly. We have a lot of restrictions on immigration. We have an aging labor force. There's less participation among
the workers who are here. So, some of that growth is just -- it's a trend. It's a structure. It's a reflection of policies that go way beyond the Fed.
The Fed doesn't fight that kind of slowing of growth.
What they're looking for are increases in unemployment. People who are out there looking for work and can't find it. Unemployment's still very low.
There are some signs and cracks and there are definitely pockets of the labor market that have been some trouble. But in general, the labor market
still looks like it's in a pretty good place. But what the -- what Powell was highlighting is there's a risk that it's pointed in the wrong
direction. And once those layoffs pick up, because we're in such a low hiring environment, the unemployment rate could move up really fast and the
Fed wants to get ahead of that. They do not want to see that happen. So, that could be the reason as kind of insurance to go ahead and start
reducing the federal funds rate.
NEWTON: Yes. And the president will certainly be happy about that. And that makes me -- takes me to my next point about politicization of the Fed. I
mean, do you believe, given all we've heard in the last few weeks and now just in the last few days, I mean, do you still worry about that or do you
believe the Fed as an institution will survive a completely independent?
SAHM: So, I'm deeply concerned about the Fed's independence. The Fed as an institution was built to be attacked, right. There are political influence.
This is nothing new to central banks in the U.S. or around the world. I mean, attempts at that, right? Trying to lower interest rates, get the
economy going. The problem is we know, both in the U.S. and around the world, that if politicians get control of the central bank it often leads
to very bad outcomes of high inflation, financial instability.
And I am concerned watching the administration seek more and more ways to try and influence and potentially control monetary policy. And that is not
going to work out well for them, and it's not going to work out well for any of us. And so, I do think it's a real risk that we need to keep an eye
on because it's -- it will harm the U.S. economy.
NEWTON: Yes. And as a former economist at the U.S. Federal Reserve, we are listening. Claudia, we appreciate your candor and your insights. Thanks so
much.
SAHM: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now, still ahead for us, gaming enthusiasts are getting ready to rumble in Las Vegas. The Global Gaming League is kicking off its first
season of year-round competitions in Sin City. The head of the GGL will join me to discuss gaming's explosive growth. In fact, he's going to have
to explain this to me. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:50:00]
GOLODRYGA: So, a new Esports league is hoping to take video game competition to the masses. The Global Gaming League is an online platform
that will stream video game competitions in front of live audiences. Now, it's launching its first season of year-round competitions. This weekend in
Las Vegas teams will be made up of professional players, casual players, as well as, and this is key, influencers and yes, celebrities. The league has
reached agreements with major publishers to allow their games to be used in competition.
The founder and CEO of the GGL, Clinton Sparks, joins me now. And you have a job ahead of you, sir. This venture is supposed to bring together the
best of gaming and entertainment. I am completely ignorant, some would say of both. So, please explain this to me.
CLINTON SPARKS, FOUNDER AND CEO, GLOBAL GAMING LEAGUE: Yes. So, gaming is the biggest entertainment platform in the world. It makes hundreds of
billions of dollars. There's over 3.5 billion gamers around the world. It makes more money than television, music, and movies, industries combined.
And there isn't anything that brings different cultures together. You know, races, religions, genders, you know, it doesn't matter, gaming is a
platform where everybody can participate.
So, we've built a league. Global Gaming League is a league of celebrity- owned teams who compete in live events here in Las Vegas, playing everything from new games like Rocket League and Call of Duty to classic
games like Pacman and Donkey Kong.
NEWTON: And when we say in front of live audiences, that is the departure, right? You're hoping to really seize on some of the, you know, excitement
of this live and in person.
SPARKS: Yes. So, we converge gaming, music, fashion, sports, celebrity, rivalry, competition, and culture here at the Global Gaming League, and it
-- what makes it different than things that have happened in the past is we're following the same traditional sports leagues, like the NFL or WWE or
UFC, where we have the professionalism, the structure of traditional sports leagues, like the NFL or the NBA, the pageantry, theatric, storylines, the
smack talking like the WWE.
And much like the UFC, we would see two people compete that you otherwise wouldn't see compete elsewhere. Here is where you would see someone like
Mark Wahlberg's team go against T-Pain's team. The celebrities are the owners of these, so just like a football league, we have Jerry Jones and
Robert Kraft. The celebrities are the owners, and then the players are made up of rappers, actors, athletes, influencers, gamers and casual gamers from
around the world who can sign up and play in our league.
NEWTON: And I get it. That's how you got the celebrities to sign on to this. Now, Clinton, I read your bio. I certainly wouldn't bet against you,
but how are you so sure that this will take off?
SPARKS: Well, because there are, like I said, over 3.5 billion gamers around the world. Everybody games, which is our tagline, because everybody
does game, whether it's Tetris to Candy Crush, to Monopoly, everybody games in some way of form, and even us that are a little bit older, we gamed when
we were kids, but then we grow up and we think, oh, that's a waste of time or it's for kids. It's not for us anymore.
But it really is something that defies generations and ages and really everybody can game together. So, with this league, when we're playing games
from different generations, from different genres, you're now bringing different people from all over the world together, and it doesn't matter
your age.
So, I really feel that this is the time, and I've already built two other gaming brands that were really -- I was building those, I realized by
building teams that there's no league that really allows the casual players from around the world to compete because you have Esports and you have
gaming. They're two separate things and they're not one and the same.
[18:55:00]
And Esports is reserved for the hardcore endemic gamers that grind eight to 15 hours a day hoping to be on an Esports organization that then get
selected to be in a closed league like League of Legends or Call of Duty. Gaming is everything else. Everybody games. But as big as gaming is, it's
disconnected from mainstream pop culture and definitely the streets.
So, that's where the global gaming comes in and makes it accessible for all of the rest of the world to understand, by bringing people from different
worlds and different industries it now is relating to other people that otherwise might not have an interest in gaming, because now maybe they're
coming for the halftime performance. They're coming for the celebrity. They're coming for the fashion and all the other things that now gravitate
from to come watch and then realize how fascinating and valuable and entertaining gaming actually is. And gaming is. And we are going to help
make it the new sport, and gamers are athletes.
NEWTON: Incredible explanation there. It is mission accomplished. You've explained it to me and I'll wait to see the fortunes of this Global Gaming
League, because I really am intrigued and I'm happy about the fact that it actually includes now real people in a room getting together, not just at
home. Clinton Sparks, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
SPARKS: Thank you. At Global Gaming League.
NEWTON: I want to thank you for your company. I'm Paul Newton in New York. You have been watching "The Brief." Have a great weekend and stay with CNN
for more news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
END
