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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Rep. Dave Min, (D-CA), Is Interviewed About Trump Signs Funding Package To Reopen Federal Govt., Trump Mentioned In Newly Released Epstein E-mails; Fmr. Newsom Aide Indicted On Multiple Federal Charges; Starmer Denies Attacking Rivals Amid Leadership Rumors; Epstein Survivors to Push for Files' Release; Interview with Civil Rights Attorney Lisa Bloom; Arizona's Adelita Grijalva Finally Sworn into Congress; Missing Girl's Mother Pleads Not Guilty to Unrelated Charge; Original Cast Returns for "The Devil Wears Prada"; Most Hollywood Movies Not Coming from Original Ideas; Northern Lights May Be Visible in Nearly Two Dozen Countries. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired November 13, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Of the tournament. So we're all rooting now for Taylor.

You can now take care of your sore throat in style. The Swiss brand Ricola is offering scarves infused with essential oils of the brand's signature urban alpine smell. Herbal alpine smell, not urban. Clearly they're up in the mountains. They come in two different aromas, Lenin balm, mint and peppermint.

There's even a secret pocket to stash your cough drops. Ricola is selling the scarves on its website for a limited time.

And if you're on the East Coast, it's already Starbucks annual Red cup day. That's when you get a free limited edition 16 ounce reusable red cup. If you order from a list of handcrafted holiday beverages here on the West Coast, we have to wait a few more hours for that. I don't know what you're going to do if you have to wait for that.

Thanks so much for watching this hour of The Story Is. The next hour of The Story Is starts right now.

The Story Is the federal government is back open. What does that mean for you?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So with my signature, the federal government will now resume normal operations.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: House Democrats will continue to fight to make your life more affordable.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAELSON: With U.S. Democratic Congressman Dave Min to discuss that and newly released Epstein files.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I think we could get 40 to 50 Republicans once it's on the floor of the House.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) them for and let them be decide (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: The Story Is Governor Gavin Newsom's former chief of staff indicted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any comment, Ms. Williamson.

DANA WILLIAMSON, FORMER AID TO GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM: No, you guys can contact my attorney.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: With us, the reporter who broke that story and a former Newsom staffer.

The Story Is change in leadership?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: My team and I are absolutely focused on delivering for the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: The British prime minister facing a potential existential crisis for his career.

And The Story Is "The Devil Wears Prada" is back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREA SACHS, "The Devil Wears Prada" CHARACTER: Miranda.

MIRANDA PRIESTLY, "The Devil Wears Prada" CHARACTER: Took you long enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister here for the first look at the new movie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Elex Michelson. MICHAELSON: We got a lot going on. Welcome to The Story Is. I'm Elex Michelson in Los Angeles. The story is in Washington, D.C. where the longest government shutdown in U.S. history has come to a close. There is activity inside the Capitol at 1:00 in the morning.

Just hours ago, the president of the United States signed a bill to temporarily fund the government until the end of January. Notably absent from that bill, any provisions to extend health care subsidies. The major sticking point for Democrats. The president appeared to be open to working with Democrats to find a solution on that. But first, he laid blame on the Democrats for the 40 day closure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I want to also thank the eight Senate Democrats who finally did the right thing in voting to end this craziness, this madness. But unfortunately, the vast majority of congressional Democrats were happy for millions of Americans to suffer. They really did suffer, too. And the Democrats admitted, they said, well, no, we finally have a point. Even though people have to suffer, we finally have a point.

And that didn't work out too well for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, news on the Epstein files. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released multiple e-mails in which the late sex offender mentions Trump. He appears to reference Trump being aware that his girlfriend and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, was poaching girls from Mar-a-Lago to work for Epstein. In another e-mail, Epstein refers to Trump as the dog that hasn't barked despite years of investigation. President posting on Truth Social that the Epstein case is a hoax by Democrats to deflect from the government shutdown.

Here's White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: These e-mails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong. And what President Trump has always said is that he was from Palm Beach and so was Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein was a member at Mar-a-Lago until President Trump kicked him out because Jeffrey Epstein was a pedophile and he was a creep.

Ms. Giuffre maintained, and God rest her soul, that she maintained that there was nothing inappropriate she ever witnessed, that President Trump was always extremely professional and friendly to her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Donald Trump has always denied any wrongdoing and has never been charged with a crime in relation to Epstein. The next step for the House is a vote next week on a bill to release the Epstein files, which seems to be having growing bipartisan support.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (KY): I think there's going to be a deluge of Republicans. The longer this goes on, the more support we gain. And I think the speaker recognized that. And that's why after months of trying to stop us, he's decided to accelerate the vote because he knows we're going to get votes and that's going to carry momentum into the Senate.

I think there are people who are criminally implicated that aren't Donald Trump, but they may be his friends. And I think that's who he's trying to protect.

[01:05:05]

KHANNA: We're talking about rich and powerful men who abused young girls and told people in junior high to go recruit others to be raped or abused. That's what we're talking about. And we're saying that these victims want to expose the men who did this to them. Some of these men still have buildings named after them. Some of them still have scholarships named after them.

Enough. And so I think when it's actually a vote on the House floor, do you want these files released? Republicans and Democrats are going to vote yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Joining us now from Capitol Hill is Democratic Congressman Dave Min of Orange County, California. He's also a member of the House Oversight Committee.

Congressman Min, welcome to The Story Is for the first time.

REP. DAVE MIN (D-CA): Hey, Elex, congratulations on the move to CNN and thanks for having me.

MICHAELSON: Thank you very much. Great to have you on the new show. So let's start by talking about the shutdown. We'll get to the Epstein stuff in a minute.

MIN: Yes.

MICHAELSON: What was -- what did we get out of after all this, after all the pain, after all the waiting, what we actually get out of this?

MIN: Look, at the end of the day, I think House Democrats are going to continue to hold the line. And we saw a vote today. We saw a shameful vote by people who represent communities that are going to be devastated because of these health insurance cost increases, folks like David Valadao, Kevin Kiley, folks that represent districts where like 30,000, 40,000, 70,000 families in their districts are going to see massive cost increase -- increases. We're talking about like $500, $1,000, thousands of dollars. And that's all because Republicans are pushing through on a partisan party line basis this particular continuing resolution which has the effect of increasing health insurance costs for anyone who purchases their health care in an exchange.

And that's on top of the health insurance cost increases that are accumulating because of the $900 billion cuts to Medicaid earlier this year. So, you know, Donald Trump ran on an agenda of lowering costs for folks, but what we've seen instead is a series of policies, whether it's tariffs, whether it's a tax on immigrants, and these health insurance cost increases that are driving up costs. And the only people that seem to benefiting from Donald Trump's economy right now are billionaires.

I'm new to Washington and Congress, but one thing I've learned over the last 10 months is that House Republicans right now are all single issue voters. And that single issue is, are you going to do what Donald Trump tells you to do? They don't care about their constituents. They don't care about what's best for this country. If Donald Trump tells them to jump, they say where to, how high?

And that's what this is about. At the end of the day, Donald Trump told them to vote a certain way. It's why we, by the way, have not released the Epstein files as of yet, because Mike Johnson was doing the bidding of Donald Trump and it's why we haven't had any movement on these health insurance issues. So if Donald Trump tells them to vote the right way, then maybe we'll have a deal. Otherwise, I suspect what we'll see is just more of the same.

MICHAELSON: There are, though, a few Republican Congress members in favor of releasing the Epstein files. Now it appears that's going to happen. What -- we're starting to see some e-mails come out. Have you learned anything new? Are you surprised by anything? Have you seen any smoking guns when it comes to what's come out in terms of the Epstein files and President Trump?

MIN: Yes. So my staff and I are still reviewing a lot of the e-mails and evidence, as is the Oversight staff. What's happening right now., if you recall, back a few months ago, House Democrats on the Oversight Committee, which I serve on, were able to kind of blindside Republicans and force a vote on releasing the Epstein files in oversight. But because of the nature of that body, because of the nature of what were able to negotiate, that production of documents is coming very, very piecemeal. We're getting a few thousand pages at a time. We're like just a few percentage of what we want.

And so it's been painstakingly slow. But obviously the e-mails that came out this morning that were released to the public very clearly indicate that contrary to what Karoline Leavitt's saying, what Donald Trump saying, what Pam Bondi has been saying, and I will just say this right now, the Department of Justice is launching a bunch of baseless, politically motivated prosecutions around the country. People like James Comey and the attorneys bringing these cases are being excoriated by the judges. What you have here in the e-mails that were produced today is very clear probable cause. There should be a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice into Donald Trump.

Was he connected to the Epstein files? Like what did he do with the Epstein child sex trafficking ring? And I think the American people deserve answers. The survivors of the Epstein child sex trafficking ring deserve answers and justice, which is why it's so important that we force this vote. And I can't guarantee this, but I strongly suspect Mike Johnson is going to continue to try to find procedural loopholes to avoid having this come up to vote.

They tried something today on the floor with unanimous consent. I think they'll continue trying shenanigans next week to avoid actually bringing this to vote.

MICHAELSON: Congressman Dave Min, really appreciate you sharing your perspective. Thanks so much for taking the time.

[01:10:03]

MIN: Release the Epstein files. Stop protecting pedophiles. Let's focus on what the American people want, which is justice for the Epstein survivors, lowering costs. Stop protecting pedophiles, Mike Johnson, and start helping American kids get food. Help lower the cost of health insurance.

MICHAELSON: All right.

MIN: Thanks, Elex.

MICHAELSON: Thank you. Thank you very much.

MIN: Take care.

MICHAELSON: I thought that -- I thought that I said a long goodbye.

All right. Well, a former aide to California Governor Gavin Newsom has been indicted on multiple federal fraud charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ms. Williamson, do you have anything to say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any comments?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Should other California officials and people involved in the government --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: That's Dana Williamson tonight who was arrested Wednesday and charged in a 23 count indictment that includes bank fraud and falsifying business contracts related to pandemic era loans. She was allegedly involved in a scheme to steal campaign money from former federal secretary of state and health -- Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison.

Lia Russell is a Sacramento Bee reporter who broke this story. She joins us live from Sacramento.

Lia, great work on this. Explain in a nutshell, what is she accused of?

LIA RUSSELL, REPORTER, SACRAMENTO BEE: Thank you for having me, Elex. Yes, today we got that indictment. And according to the 23 counts, she is accused of working with two other indicted lobbyists to funnel money from a couple of dormant -- from some dormant campaign finance funds that belong to former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and funneling them through a variety of ways to one of her conspirators, Sean McCluskie, who -- for his benefit. She also is accused of falsifying tax records and claiming up to $1 million in business deductions that were actually for her personal use that she spent on things allegedly like luxury resort stays, designer handbags and home furniture and I believe also private jet travel.

MICHAELSON: And McCluskie was the chief of staff for Xavier Becerra. Xavier Becerra not implicated in this himself, he says that this was a gut punch to him. And it seems like the Newsom administration is walking away from Dana Williamson as well.

RUSSELL: Yes. We know we were, obviously, McCluskie's name is on the indictment and we know from our own reporting that he has been a longtime Becerra aide dating back to 2007. You know, he followed him from his time as a, you know, as attorney general all the way up to Joe Biden's cabinet. At one point, Dana Williamson was also in charge of Becerra's 2018 campaign for attorney general.

And yes, Newsom's, you know, Newsom's office said in a statement that Williamson no longer works for them, that as soon as she was told by FBI agents that she was under investigation, they placed her on leave and she left -- they said that she left the office in November 2024, which is actually a month prior than was previously reported. She previously said that she stepped down in December 2024. They also said that none of what she's accused of happens during her time as chief of staff, which is contradicted by the indictment, which has her communication -- which alleges that she was communicating with her fellow conspirators, you know, as recently as, I believe spring or summer 2024.

MICHAELSON: Which is a key point. And another interesting point, our colleague Melanie Mason reporting that Governor Newsom basically got rid of her as chief of staff after he found out that she was under investigation. But in doing so, they put out a real nice statement about her and made it seem like she was going to spend more time with her family. And it wasn't exactly like she's under a criminal investigation, which is another interesting wrinkle to all of this.

Lia Russell, great reporting all day on this. Really appreciate you spending time with us.

RUSSELL: Thank you so much for having me.

MICHAELSON: We want to bring in Lia's colleague at the Sacramento Bee. Gil Duran is a journalist with the Nerd Reich podcast who has also worked in the world of politics. He joins us live now from Oakland.

Gil, you know Dana Williamson. You used to work with her in the Brown administration. You've, you know, interacted with her in the Newsom administration. Are you surprised by this?

[01:15:03]

GIL DURAN, JOURNALIST, "THE NERD REICH": I'm not surprised. I'm shocked by what's in the indictment, which is a devastating document, especially at a time when the focus should be on the corruption in Washington. Now we have this Sacramento corruption sideshow to distract from that. But as someone who knew Dana for many years, who worked with her, did not have a particularly good relationship with her, full disclosure, this is not surprising to me at all.

MICHAELSON: What was she like to work with?

DURAN: Well, Dana has a reputation for being reckless, for being irresponsible and for being a bully. She was somebody who loved power and loved to abuse power. Often, if you look at some of the indictment, she's talking about getting people fired, you know, laughing and calling people's names. This is very much how she was. And you know, on a personal level, you know, years ago I was up for a job, I was offered a job and Dana called my prospective employer and told them that if they hired me, they would be dead to the governor's office.

I got that job anyway. But this was how she operated like a mafia boss and now she's being treated like a mafia boss.

MICHAELSON: What does it say about Governor Newsom that he put the person you're describing in charge of his office running the state?

DURAN: Well, I would say that Governor Newsom as well as Governor Brown, for whom I worked, and Xavier Becerra should be ashamed of their terrible lapse of judgment here. The only reason Dana Williamson acted the way she did for so many years and what led to this situation was that she felt she could act with impunity. And she felt she could act with impunity because of the power she was given, despite the very obvious problems with her behavior that were apparent for years. And so I think there's going to have to be a lot of soul searching in Sacramento.

You know, this isn't just any Democratic operative. Dana Williamson had so much power in the California Democratic Party that there's a statue of her daughter on top of California Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento. So I think there's going to be have to be a lot of soul searching about exactly what went wrong and how to root out this culture of corruption that always seems to form in Sacramento, and to be frank, in city halls and in state capitals across the country. The FBI is always there. The FBI is always bringing people down.

So this is not exactly a shock that you would get caught if you tried to do something as ridiculous as this Soprano like scheme they had going on.

MICHAELSON: Does it also raise questions about a one party state? Democrats have super majorities in Sacramento. There is not a tremendous amount of reporters in Sacramento, though. The ones that are there do a great job. I mean, I mean, is there not enough checks and balances on power in the state?

DURAN: Well, historically, Republicans can be just as corrupt as Democrats. So I'd say the bigger partisan issue is for the voters to decide. I would say that it's up to people who are in positions of power to think about the people that they're putting in those positions. Who are you entrusting? And if these are people who are known for being abrasive and bullying and menacing to other people, what else might they be up to?

You know, she was really entwined with some of the most powerful players in Sacramento, not just in government, but she's really mixed up with the entire team that will be forming Gavin Newsom's presidential consulting team. So people have to ask themselves, how did it get to this point? How were we all complicit in enabling it? And what can we do going forward to make sure that nothing like this happens again?

MICHAELSON: Gil Duran, California journalist, lots of experience in government and really appreciate your perspective tonight as somebody who knows this world firsthand. Thank you so much.

Britain's prime minister is battling infighting in his party. Keir Starmer confronts rumors about a challenge to his leadership at a pivotal time for the Labour government. My next guest will break it all down for us when he joins me live in studio. Plus, U.S. President Donald Trump asking for a full pardon for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his corruption trial. Detail of President Trump's letter to Israel's president, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:23:37]

MICHAELSON: President Trump has asked Israel's president to fully pardon Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his ongoing corruption trial. In a letter to Isaac Herzog, Trump wrote, "While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli justice system and its requirements, I believe that the case against Bibi, who has fought alongside me for a long time, including against the very tough adversary of Israel, Iran, is a political, unjustified prosecution." Netanyahu has pleaded not guilty and is currently testifying in court. In a statement, Herzog's office said anyone seeking a pardon must submit an official request. Netanyahu has not submitted an official request for a pardon in his ongoing trial.

Swirling political rumors are adding pressure to Britain's embattled prime minister. Keir Starmer went before Parliament on Wednesday to address reports that rivals in his own Labour Party are plotting to replace him as leader. Several British news outlets quoted his allies saying his job might be under immediate threat and singled out Health Secretary Wes Streeting as a potential challenger. Streeting rejects those claims as self-defeating nonsense by people trying to kneecap him. The prime minister telling Parliament he did not authorize his allies to share negative claims against senior members of his government.

Join me now to discuss is CNN's European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas here on set live.

Dominic, good to see you. Welcome to The Story Is for the first time.

[01:25:00]

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Thank you very much for having me on.

MICHAELSON: So what's going on behind the scenes? What's really happening here?

THOMAS: Well, there's obviously a lot going on behind the scenes and it's now come into the sort of the main fray. I think that after a year and a half of being at the helm, Keir Starmer is realizing that balancing foreign policy and domestic policy is a challenge. The big budget announcement is to be made at the end of November. There are local elections coming up in May of next year, and I think that there's concern within his ranks that his own unfavorability ratings are going to carry over into those particular questions. And there are clearly conversations going on about when to replace him and if that would happen, how that would potentially play out.

MICHAELSON: So, a reminder to folks watching us in the U.S., unlike people in the U.K., this is a Prime Minister, which means he's elected by the members of the party. He's not directly elected by the people the way that a U.S. president would. And that changes the way this whole goes down, right?

THOMAS: Right.

MICHAELSON: Because if the party's in favor of them, they keep them.

THOMAS: That's it. And they have right now such a significant, historic sort of power and hold in parliament of 405 seats that it's up to them, really, what they do with Keir Starmer and whether or not he is replaced. The big question, of course, is who might that be? And would they be able to address the very real problems that he is confronting right now. Having said that, they also witnessed from 2010 to '24, five conservative party prime ministers that were either selected or then subsequently went on to general elections, and it caused massive voter disaffection and they were clearly punished when the Labour Party won this historic move.

So they'll be careful about that, too. But the risk to Keir Starmer's future is from within. He would survive a vote of no confidence in Parliament, clearly, because the Labour Party has no intention of giving up the control that it has over the office of prime minister.

MICHAELSON: So then to ask your question, who in the Labour Party would potentially be a replacement? And are any of those people actually angling for that right now?

THOMAS: Well, I think that there are probably conversations going on, but I think realistically to pinpoint anybody beyond a sort of a cabinet member that is already there and well known to the public, the name of Ed Miliband has often been banded, the Home Secretary, and so there are many other players. The problem is that in order for a leadership race to take place 1/5 of those elected MPs would have to put and stake their future careers behind a particular candidate and Keir Starmer would oppose them. And it's probably unlikely that he would not then come out of that race as a victor as well. And so there's a lot of talk, there's clearly discontent within the party at the moment, but not much clarity as to who the obvious successor could be should anything unfold.

MICHAELSON: As they said in the wire, if you go at the king, you best miss beating.

THOMAS: Exactly.

MICHAELSON: If you're going to do that, you better have a kill shot and be able to take him out, or else you could get shot yourself in the process of doing that.

So we've seen Keir Starmer has had a very buddy, buddy relationship with President Trump. He's gone out of his way to give him gifts. He made the trade deal, the first trade deal with him. Is that helping or hurting him back at home?

THOMAS: I think that what's playing out for Keir Starmer, like many politicians, particularly his leader counterpart across the channel, Emmanuel Macron, is that the French president has been incredibly present on the international scene throughout his two terms. Keir Starmer from the tariff negotiations, that relationship with Trump is a bittersweet relationship to the extent that proximity to the presidency is an issue. But having said that, in the legacy of Brexit and the tremendous economic impact this has had on the U.K., negotiating that deal was important. But when one looks at conflict in the Middle East, conflict with Russia and Ukraine, the distraction and the energy that has gone into that has taken him away from domestic policies and domestic politics. And that's where this is playing out right now.

And I think that some of these issues are related to that is the inability to address the real genuine dissatisfaction that came out of 14 years of conservative party rule --

MICHAELSON: Yes.

THOMAS: -- and challenging those and making some changes in British society. And people are simply not seeing that playing out right now. And therefore these conversations get the oxygen that they require.

MICHAELSON: Yes. He would not be the first politician to be much happier abroad, not dealing with all the problems at home. That's certainly something that we've seen a lot here.

Dominic, thanks so much for coming in.

THOMAS: Great to be on. thank you so much.

MICHAELSON: Really appreciate that perspective. Coming up, a moment 50 days in the making, a new lawmaker finally joins her congressional colleagues on Capitol Hill. Why it took so long for Adelita Grijalva to be sworn in. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:34:43]

MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.

Let's take a look at today's top stories.

President Trump has signed a bill to temporarily fund the U.S. government and to end the longest shutdown in American history. That bill does not include anything about subsidies for Affordable Care Act, a point Democrats have been pushing to address. But House Speaker Mike Johnson says he's already been in touch with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries about possible fixes.

President Trump is asking for a full pardon for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his ongoing corruption trial. In a letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the U.S. president described the case against Netanyahu as a, quote, "political, unjustified prosecution". Herzog's office says anyone seeking a pardon must submit an official request.

The U.S. House is expected to vote next week on a bill to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. Democrats have released several emails from the late sex offender in which he mentions Donald Trump.

The president calls the case a Democrat hoax, repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and has never been charged with a crime in relation to Epstein.

Even if the House approves the bill to release the Epstein files, it's unlikely to pass the Senate or be signed by President Trump. Sources tell CNN Epstein survivors are planning a press conference on Capitol Hill next week to pressure lawmakers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZ STEIN, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: It really is just driving the point home. Of how badly we need this information released. We need the government to release everything that's in these files.

Of course, with the appropriate redactions to protect the privacy of the survivors. But we really need this information to be out there so these crimes can be investigated.

DANIELLE BENSKY, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: I just don't know what more you need to show that it is not a hoax. You've had, you know, there are a thousand victims, we know this.

I know personally 20 survivors that are out there doing media. You've heard from a lot of us today. And so it's like we've all told our stories on a variety of platforms

and we didn't know each other going into any of this. And yet our stories are consistent and very similar in a lot of regards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Survivors with Erin Burnett and Jake Tapper earlier today. In our last hour here on THE STORY IS, I was joined live by civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom, who had represented 11 Epstein accusers. And I asked her for her take on the newly-released emails.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA BLOOM, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: We want transparency. We want the files released. Donald Trump is trying everything he can think of to keep those files under wraps. Why? Because every time something is released, it makes him look terrible.

I mean, today's release just shows the walls closing in on Donald Trump, showing how close that relationship was.

MICHAELSON: So I know you spoke to some of those victims that you represent today. What are they telling you?

BLOOM: Well, first of all, it's very upsetting when these documents get released piecemeal, drips and drabs. It just opens up the wounds all over again.

We thought we were done when we got significant settlements against the Epstein estate, and then against JP Morgan, who was found to have colluded with Epstein.

But now there are these files and there are documents showing that Donald Trump himself was so close with Jeffrey Epstein and other high- profile people.

They all need to be released at once. That's the only way to respect the victims.

MICHAELSON: There were some 20,000 pages released today.

BLOOM: Yes.

MICHAELSON: A lot of us are still trying to sort of comb through all of it.

BLOOM: Yes.

MICHAELSON: Is there anything in particular that stood out to you or stood out to your clients?

BLOOM: Well, you know, as a litigator, we call that a document dump. When you have to release something embarrassing, release 20,000 pages. You know, maybe that will bury it. But of course, everybody is reading it. What stands out to me is the conversations between Jeffrey Epstein and

the writer Michael Wolff, where Epstein is saying, I could finish Trump. Basically, I could destroy him.

And that goes back to the secrets that Donald Trump allegedly talks about in that drawing. I mean, what are the secrets? What does he know that he could finish him off?

He says that Donald Trump was alone with one of the victims for a couple of hours. I mean, they're clearly talking about the girls. And Epstein is strongly suggesting he's got the goods on Trump.

MICHAELSON: Yet there has been no criminal charges against Trump for many years. As Randy Fine just mentioned, when the Democrats were in charge, when Joe Biden was running the government and had his attorney general in there, there were no charges against Trump on this front.

Do you have any evidence of actual criminal wrongdoing from President Trump?

BLOOM: Yes. I mean, he's such a choir boy, right? All we have are 28 women accusing Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, four of whom I represented.

Donald Trump admitting in a recording that he went backstage at Miss Teen USA to watch the girls changing clothes, his vulgar language about grabbing women by the genitals -- on and on and on.

MICHAELSON: But on this case --

BLOOM: A jury finding that he had sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll.

So in this case, no, because I don't have the files. They haven't all been released yet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Lisa Bloom.

After 50 days of waiting, Adelita Grijalva was finally sworn in to Congress on Wednesday. The representative from Arizona received a standing ovation from her fellow Democrats.

[01:39:44]

MICHAELSON: House Speaker Mike Johnson had said her swearing in was delayed as the House was out of session. But Grijalva says he did it to stop her from signing a petition and forcing a vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein case files.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADELITA GRIJALVA (D-AZ): Speaker Johnson purposefully obstructed my swearing in by canceling vote after vote and the Epstein files discharge petition sat one signature short. With my signing, we move one step closer to the truth. The truth that

they will try to deny, but that survivors deserve their day of justice and the American people demand it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: The mother of a California girl who has been missing for a month has pleaded not guilty to an unrelated charge. Ashlee Buzzard is charged with false imprisonment for allegedly preventing a man she knows from leaving home.

He says that he was there last week, offering to help with the search for 9-year-old Melodee. In a social media post he claimed Buzzard pulled out a box cutter and wouldn't allow him to leave, despite repeated requests.

Prosecutors argued that Buzzard is a flight risk because investigators looking into her daughter's appearance found she used wigs and swapped license plates to hide her identity and location. The judge allowed Buzzard to be released with a GPS monitor.

Well, it is 10:40 here in California and a live look right now at the San Francisco Bay Area, where it doesn't look too wet right now, but a strong storm is pounding parts of northern California with heavy rain, wind, and snow.

It's expected to move down the state in the coming days, lasting into the weekend. Several inches of rain expected in parts of southern California.

That is a good thing, where we usually have a drought if it comes slowly. But flooding and mudslides are possible if you get too much rain too fast, especially in the burn areas that we've seen in the Pacific Palisades and in the Pasadena area as well.

You are watching THE STORY IS. Thanks so much.

For our international viewers, WORLDSPORT is next. For our viewers here in North America, I'll be right back with Elizabeth Wagmeister and a look at the new "Devil Wears Prada".

[01:42:05]

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ANNE HATHAWAY, ACTRESS: Miranda.

MERYL STREEP, ACTRESS: Took you long enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: That is the first official trailer of the sequel to "The Devil Wears Prada". We had to bring on CNN's entertainment correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister to talk about it. A lot to love from that trailer.

What sticks out in your mind in that trailer?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I think I've watched it 50 times today, Elex.

And I'm not the only one. I feel like my entire feed, and not just people working in entertainment, has been people reposting this trailer.

This is a cultural moment and it's so rare these days to have a cultural moment over a movie.

But what sticks out to me is the obvious, which is you have the original cast coming back. And that's really the recipe for a successful sequel or reboot. You bring back the originals.

MICHAELSON: And of course, they're basically playing Anna Wintour, who ran "Vogue". And what a great song to have --

WAGMEISTER: Yes.

MICHAELSON: Madonna's "Vogue" as the song.

WAGMEISTER: Yes. No, of course. I mean everything about this. There's so many callbacks to the original, which, if you can believe it, almost 20 years.

2006 was the original. And look, the original film, made over $320 million. It was a big hit. That kind of came out of nowhere, you know, based on a book.

But this is one of those movies that it's been rumored for years, for decades now. Are we going to see a sequel? Even Anne Hathaway recently, you know, as two years ago, said, I don't know if it's going to happen. And here we are.

MICHAELSON: And it's not the first time that we've seen Meryl Streep as Miranda, because we've seen her on the streets of New York over and over again during this filming. It seems like we've all been a part of this filming at this point.

Was that an intentional choice? Was that a marketing choice to have her walking around and being photographed in part.

WAGMEISTER: You're absolutely right. It feels like we were all part of the filming of this. That speaks to the cultural impact of this movie. Every paparazzi photo that came out, everybody was excited.

MICHAELSON: Well, it's not unusual for there to be a sequel in Hollywood these days.

WAGMEISTER: No.

MICHAELSON: Let's put up on the screen the top five movies of the year so far. Number one, "A Minecraft Movie", "Lilo and Stitch", "Superman", "Jurassic World Rebirth", and finally in fifth is "Sinners".

And "Sinners" is the only movie on that list that is an original movie --

WAGMEISTER: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- that isn't based off of a comic book thing or a sequel or something like that.

WAGMEISTER: Right.

MICHAELSON: And if you keep that list going, almost all of them are not original movies.

WAGMEISTER: And not just for this year, but really the past few years. And this is a concerning trend for Hollywood. You know, we need original ideas. We need to make space for all sorts of voices.

And I think "Sinners" is such a great example because it made over $350 million, comes from Ryan Coogler. Obviously, Michael B. Jordan very much in the Oscars conversation.

But the fact is, that is a rarity --

MICHAELSON: Yes.

WAGMEISTER: -- because, as you said, everything is either a sequel, a reboot, or a franchise film.

You look at something like "Devil Wears Prada", it's more of an event. Yes, it is a sequel, but you know that that's going to kill it at the box office. People are going to make plans to go with their girlfriends and dress up and go to theaters.

MICHAELSON: So Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, one of the biggest movie stars in the world, recently had a movie come out and it was a total bomb.

And then we also saw Sydney Sweeney, who's talked about, about as much as anybody culturally had a movie just come out this past weekend, and it was one of the worst movies of all time.

[01:49:52[

WAGMEISTER: Of all time. And look, these are, as you said, two of the biggest stars in the world, certainly Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. And these are both critically acclaimed movies.

These came from the festival circuit, the festival circuit then filters into the awards season conversation.

When Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's movie "Smashing Machine" premiered at the Venice Film Festival, he got a huge standing ovation. It was the first time in his career that critics are writing he's going to be nominated for an Oscar. Sydney Sweeney got very good reviews for her performance. Now, both of these are boxing or fighting biopics. Maybe people aren't

into those, but it's quite concerning that you can't market a movie with two of the biggest movie stars in the world. And yet a franchise or a sequel will do well.

So what I hope and what I hear from different execs and sources in Hollywood is they absolutely need to continue making original films. And now with streaming, you certainly can do more of that.

But the theater business, as we know, is already in trouble. It has been for years. So what is the answer? And oftentimes the answer is throw in "Devil Wears Prada", throw in superhero movies. That's going to do well.

MICHAELSON: That's what work.

And maybe making Sydney Sweeney and "The Rock" look worse is not what audiences are looking for.

WAGMEISTER: But they adapted, and that's what actors do. And I do want to point out before we wrap, both of them commented on this and they said, you don't do everything for the box office. You do it for the performance. And thank you to those who have seen it.

And again, they're getting good reviews.

MICHAELSON: We'll see if you're talking to them on the Oscar red carpet.

For now, though, Elizabeth, great to have you here. Thank you so much.

More of THE STORY IS right after this.

[01:51:29]

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MICHAELSON: Dazzling waves of color are lighting up the sky across the United States right now. The northern lights filled the skies in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin on Wednesday. Take a look. This was the scene in Iowa. Just incredible there.

And we're also getting images from around the world. This is an enhanced time lapse view from Australia. So technically the Southern Lights there.

The rare aurora borealis painted the night sky red over the Matterhorn Mountains on the Swiss-Italian border on Wednesday.

The stunning light show is happening because of eruptions of energy from the sun that have been interacting with the earth's magnetic field. So if you can, step outside and take a look.

Thanks for watching. I'm Elex Michaelson. We'll see you tomorrow.

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