Republicans Confront Growing Midterm Peril as Iran War Drags On

25:02They're trying to prove he's not credible. Coming up next, the trial for the man accused of orchestrating the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur. And the new evidence, never seen until now.

25:27twist where you realize you've been overpaying the entire time. Fortunately, though, Mint's story is better. Every plan,$15 a month, even unlimited. That's it. Happy ending. Zero tears. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or $180 for 12-month plan required,$15 per month equivalent, taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Breaking news in our law and justice lead right now. The former head of security for Death Row records is testifying in the Tupac Shakur murder trial.

25:58Meantime, never before seen images were shown on this day two of the trial. Today, a juror saw graphic autopsy photos, the body bag that held Shakur, and a bullet fragment removed from his body. Dwayne Davis is the man accused of orchestrating the fatal 1996 shooting of Shakur. He had no visible reaction to the photos being shown. CNN's Gene Casares is following the trial for us. And Gene, the evidence shown in court today was so graphic, Tupac's sister and stepbrother left the courtroom. What did the autopsy findings show? Well, objectively, it showed the trajectory of the bullets. But Jake, we have never heard this before.

26:37I mean, these autopsy reports and all the investigative files, they've never been made public before. And that is what is coming out. Now it's evidence. But the medical examiner that actually performed the autopsy passed away. And so a medical examiner currently with Clark County in Las Vegas is the one that testified. And there are multiple gunshot wounds, but the first one entered under the right armpit and cut through the chest. Let's listen to her testimony. It entered here in the right lateral aspect of the chest, just below the axilla, the armpit, and then went across the right chest space, went across the right lung.

27:16The injury to the lung would have collapsed the lung and also caused the lung to bleed. He had about two liters of blood in his chest cavity when they put in the chest tube to try to save him. They ended up removing that lung. He wasn't able to breathe. He was bleeding out in that area from that injury. I'm gonna move on to his next wound. That bullet entered in the lateral aspect of the right thigh and then went upwards into the abdomen and and damaged his intestines. They ended up operating there and removed a portion of his intestines. Just amazing the way those bullets traveled in his body.

27:54There was another bullet that went into a finger, threw another finger, and then ended up sort of in the web of the finger. You know what's something that is amazing is that when this all happened, the first officer on the scene, he was on a bicycle, but he stayed with Tupac until the ambulance came, and he actually went into the ambulance with him. So as they're driving to the hospital, he says to Tupac, who did this to you? And he said, no. He said, we'll take care of it. So he was aware, he comprehended, and that was the code of the street. You do not talk about who did what to police. You take care of it with retaliation.

28:30So prosecutors also showed never-before-seen video after the MGM Grand Casino brawl where Tupac and his entourage confronted Orlando Anderson. Orlando Anderson is the nephew of the murder defendant. Right. And so this is sort of, you know, Tupac wasn't affiliated with a gang, but this is sort of the Bloods versus the Crips. And you see there Tupac, he is with Suge Knight and they are walking very quickly. Suge is having a difficult time keeping up with him, but they just hit and kicked Orlando Anderson, Keefy D, the defendant's nephew, and they're getting out of there. And about two and a half hours later, that's when prosecutors say Keefe D, partly because of this brawl, partly because the Crips were embarrassed and humiliated, put gunshots into Tupac Shakur.

29:16And, Jean, one thing, this is just, I love this so much, that because this trial's in Nevada, jurors are allowed to submit questions for witnesses after cross-examination. We saw that yesterday. We saw it again today. Tell us about that. It's very common. You know, I'm licensed in Nevada, and that is something they do a lot in West Coast states. But it's fascinating because jurors can write questions based on the testimony, but they don't automatically get asked of the witness. The question goes to the judge. If the judge thinks there's a possibility, she calls up the attorneys. They all decide whether it's relevant.

29:49And if it is, then the judge asks the witness the question, and then the attorneys can actually have some more direct and cross-examination. Fascinating. Gene Casares, thank you so much. Up next, the new line of attack from Democratic Senator John Ossoff of Georgia today after capturing the attention of the president and the White House, to say the least.

30:14Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for$15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made$15 bills. But it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. The draft-dodging crook president who has plunged our nation recklessly into a war he knows not how to end or to win.

30:58Just a little smidgen there in our politics lead, Georgia Senator John Ossoff, a Democrat, ramping up his feud with President Trump. Ossoff is up for re-election this year, campaigning today with Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, in Columbus, Georgia. This time, Ossoff did not mention the name of President Trump's executive assistant, Natalie Harp, after he drew fierce backlash from the White House for saying this over the weekend. he wants to build his ballroom and travel with natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace let's jump right in with the the panel jonah the white house is very offended by the fact that john ossoff uh went after or i shouldn't say went after mentioned natalie harp because that's what he did uh first of all what do you think of that what do you think of the fact that he mentioned here?

31:50What do you think of the whole kerfuffle? Yeah. So look, I don't like the politics that this all represents and all of that. At the same time, the idea that this White House has much standing to be offended at insinuation. I mean, the things that Donald Trump has insinuated about, I don't know, Ted Cruz alone are worse than anything that was allegedly insinuated here. That said, this is smart for Ossoff. In an era of negative polarization, it was one of the key things for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's success was being attacked by the right people draws your own side to you. This is giving a lot of momentum and energy to Ossoff in the democratic world.

32:36I'm sure it's great for fundraising. Probably doesn't cost them a single vote. And at the same time, it's just it's a sign of how ugly the next couple of years in our politics I get. And Tia, to that point about how offended the White House is, I don't have the time. I only have a two hour show. I understand. I don't have the time to go through everything he said, even in one month. But here is just a sample of some of the things President Trump has said. He called Senator Mitch McConnell a, quote, broken old crow. He called Nikki Haley a, quote, bird brain. He called Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio lying Ted Cruz and lightweight choker Marco Rubio.

33:13Trump also insulted the physical appearance of Senator Cruz's wife and linked Ted Cruz's dad to the JFK assassination. He called Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, quote, wacky Marjorie traitor Brown. On Chris Christie, Trump posted this image and said, quote, Chris Christie had a Roy Rogers at 11 p.m. in the evening trying to console himself. On Congressman Thomas Massey, he said, quote, the worst Republican congressman in the long and fabled history of the United States Congress, even worse than crazy, Litz Cheney crying Adam Kinzinger. He called Senator Tom Tillis, quote, weak and ineffective and a, quote, nitpicker.

33:42And those are just the Republicans, he insulted. So, Tia, do you think most Georgia voters, I mean, Jonah says this isn't going to cost him a vote. I suspect it's because that's the history here. It's, I mean, I don't, I don't think it costs Ossoff a vote for two reasons. Number one, as you guys have laid out, Donald Trump really doesn't have much standing to like talk about someone hitting below the belt. It just it's part of his brand. I think there are Democrats who want to see fighters. Now, does this bode well for like bipartisanship? Not necessarily. But we know Democratic voters have said they want their candidates to fight more against Donald Trump, match his energy, go low.

34:23But the other thing is particularly for Georgia voters. When Ossoff attacks Trump or his rival Mike Collins, he always associates it back to the affordability issue. He says, you know, because these guys are crooks and doing bad things and hanging out with bad people, they're not focusing on what you, the voter, is focused on, which is the price of gas, the price of your groceries, the cost of your health care. So the fact that he bakes it into his central message is one of the reasons why these attacks are so effective. I mean, I think the White House really took the bait here. I mean, I was trying to explain to a White House person that all, by going nuclear against reporters for bringing this up or whatever, like, all they were doing was guaranteeing the story.

35:06And now we're sending cameras to Georgia to see what John Ossoff has to say. I want to play for you, Jonah, what Ossoff said to MSNOW, speaking of trying to get Democratic votes, when he was asked why he mentioned Natalie Hart by name. well i've heard this particular aide referred to as his security blanket and i think we could say that about any number of the senior aides in the white house they're not telling him what he needs to hear they're telling him what he wants to hear and the nation is at war and we cannot afford that so he seems to be suggesting that he could have claimed he could have mentioned suzy wiles Do you buy it?

35:47No. I mean, at the same time, look, on the merits, I mean, the Washington Post write-up about all this had, you know, quoted Maggie Haberman pointing out that, you know, Ray Nauda and a couple of other people, men, played the same role as this woman does in terms of being sort of like a security blanket kind of thing. And so I think there's a defense there. I think what Ossoff has to be careful of is that people have priced in for Trump the fact that he is, he hurls insults, he plays low, he plays dirty in a way that they hold other politicians accountable to. Trump imitators tend to do badly.

36:29Right. So it's probably smart for him to try and not try to triple down on this. He got the White House to take the bait and then to try and like not if you're going to get into an insult war with Trump, you're going to end up. You know, it's like fighting with pigs. You get dirty, too, kind of thing. Right. And the pig likes it. Yes. You were at the rally where Ossoff said this over the weekend. How did the crowd respond? Did they know who Natalie Harp was? I think there were enough people who did that there was like a notable like, oh, like people were like, oh, he went there. But I think he also Ossoff is very measured.

37:04So I think it's not a mistake that he mentioned Natalie didn't use her last name. So it was kind of like, if you know, you know. And then he didn't go further into details like, you know, he's being accused of insinuating things. And I don't think people are wrong necessarily. But it's not like he went there and flat out expounded more beyond saying this is an aide who travels a lot with the president. And those things are factual, you know. So I think Ossoff said it in a way that he can defend it and say, you know, I didn't go so low as to get into the rumors. So when you get people to look at like, what the hell is all this about?

37:43And then you have it explained to them, well, he left the secretary of state and, you know, the secretary of the treasury on a plane and took this woman in a catering cart. Normal people go, well, that's weird. Yeah. I'm not saying I'm not I'm not trying to send you at anything. It's weird if it was a mail aide when he left the two most important cabinet secretaries on the decoy plane. Yeah. And meanwhile, Asif picked up the endorsement of two Republican mayors in Georgia. He talked about that today. Listen. There will be more new bipartisan friends joining us in the weeks ahead because this is a campaign for everybody who longs for decency and sanity and competence and quality public service.

38:26I guess that's what you have to do if you're a Democrat running in Georgia. Yeah, I mean, but I don't think it's necessarily common. You know, in the two mayors who endorsed him, they are nice-sized cities. These are not small-town mayors. These are mayors of mid-sized cities, cities that if you live in Georgia, you've heard of. If you've driven through Georgia, you've heard of Tifton. You've heard of Valdosta in cities of that size. So I think what Ossoff is trying to say is he's building a coalition that goes beyond just the normal Republican and Democratic boundaries. Eric Erickson, conservative radio host, has praised Ossoff for his constituent service and says he doesn't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican.

39:07Anyway, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. Coming up next, unraveling an alleged cocaine ring on the campus of Penn State. What authorities say now about a suspected ringleader in a drug pipeline to fraternities.

39:24Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for$15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made$15 bills. But it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Internationally, the ringleader of the alleged cocaine trafficking ring involving two fraternities at Penn State University was denied bail after surrendering to authorities this morning.

40:07More than a dozen former and current students, and even a student's father, now face criminal charges. CNN's Danny Freeman has the details. Disturbing allegations out of Happy Valley this week. as state prosecutors announce a sweeping cocaine trafficking bust at Penn State University. This is very serious criminal conduct. There was nothing junior or childlike about this type of conduct. A grand jury charging 14 people. 13 were students when the alleged drug trafficking occurred in 2023 and 2024. The 14th was a father of one defendant accused of tampering with evidence and hindering the investigation.

40:45This was an upper-level trafficking organization for this region in Pennsylvania. According to Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, the drug crimes centered at two off-campus fraternities at Penn State, Delta Upsilon and Sigma Chi. Accused ringleaders Agostino Abatiello and Thomas Robinson would make regular trips to Philadelphia and New York to get large quantities of cocaine back to State College. Other fraternity brothers and pledges then would assist them in preparing and packaging the cocaine for resale. In fact, we found a pattern of events that showed cutting and bagging cocaine was, for some pledges, an indoctrination into the Delta Epsilon and Sigma Chi fraternities.

41:29The cocaine was largely sold on campus to other students, according to prosecutors. In a statement, Penn State's Vice President for Student Affairs said, We are horrified by these serious allegations against current and former students. Criminal activity, including hazing such as this, has no place at our institution, and we will cooperate with law enforcement any way we can. The university said it put Delta Upsilon on interim suspension, and noted Sigma Chi is not a recognized organization and operates outside of the university's support and oversight. CNN reached out to the local chapters and international headquarters for both fraternities.

42:05Delta Upsilon International told the Associated Press it was aware of the allegations and those involved in the drug ring were expelled or suspended if they did not resign. Sigma Chi International told CNN this conduct is an egregious violation of its values and involved members have been suspended. Agostino was denied bail after surrendering Tuesday. An attorney for Agostino had no comment when reached by CNN. Attorney information for Robinson was not immediately available. His bail was set at$1.5 million, according to court documents. It's extremely serious. Law enforcement takes it extremely seriously, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute individuals that decide to deal drugs on college campuses.

42:48Danny Freeman, CNN, Philadelphia. Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, just minutes away from the first polls closing as voters in six states pick their candidates for the midterm. Some of the biggest races tonight down in Florida, where the contest to replace Governor Ron DeSantis has set off a nasty Republican fight. And Democratic socialists hoping to make gains. We're live on the campaign trail in just moments. Also, the head of Customs and Border Protection is down in Texas right now meeting with officials about the controversial border projects inside Big Bend National Park. That construction was paused last night amid major backlash.

43:28A Republican sheriff who's part of today's meeting and opposes the construction project joins us live ahead. And defense attorneys for Lindsay Clancy calling their first witnesses today after prosecutors rested their case against the mother accused of killing her three young children. The witnesses describing Clancy as a caring nurse and a loving mother who was turned away multiple times when she tried to get help for postpartum psychosis. The latest from the courtroom tonight.

44:00The lead tonight, it's primary Tuesday in America with races in California, Wyoming and Alaska. But the first polls are set to close next hour in the most watched races across the state of Florida. Tonight's slew of crowded House races features some controversial names on the ballot. In moments, we're going to check in on the Democratic primary where former Congresswoman Sheila Shephelis McCormick, who resigned in April amid a slew of ethics violations, is facing off against Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who's trying to pull off a win in a brand new district because tonight is the first set of contests under Governor Ron DeSantis' redistricted congressional map in Florida.

44:38It's been designed to hand the Republican Party four additional seats this November. Statewide, Congressman Byron Donalds is the heavy favorite in the governor's race in the Republican side, locking up the coveted Trump endorsement. But what story will the margins tell if Donald's does, in fact, win? CNN's Steve Contorno is at Donald's headquarters in Orlando. CNN's Randy Kay is at Wasserman Schultz headquarters in Tamarack. Steve Contorno, to you first. Tell us what the energy is like among Byron Donald's supporters right now. Well, Jake, just to set the scene for you here in Orlando, we are in a convention center room, a rather large one, in a resort next door to the Universal theme park.

45:23It couldn't have been cheap, and that is a sign of just how confident this campaign is going into election night, a confidence that they have projected all throughout this race, ever since Donald's was endorsed back in February of 2025 by President Donald Trump. He has not debated any of his opponents in this race. He has really been looking ahead to a potential one-on-one matchup in the general election against David Jolly, a former Republican congressman turned Democrat who is expected to proceed from the Democratic Party tonight as well. Now, talking to voters, though, today throughout the Orlando area, I would say I was somewhat surprised how little Trump's endorsement, they said, was a factor in their decision today.

46:09Take a listen. It's false, and I'm innocent. And I think everybody's seen it because so many people in the community say, What happened to you in ethics was unjust and we see it and we're not How much did President Trump's endorsement factor for you? It didn't this time. I listened to a guy on the radio several times, sound like a smart guy and so I didn't follow my Trumpster today. The president, I won't even say he strongly influences me. I might consider, look at that first, but I look at all the candidates and try to research the whole group of them. what they're offering. Now, Donald's is set to face two close allies of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Lieutenant Governor of the state Jay Collins, as well as a former House Speaker Paul Renner.

47:00But notably, DeSantis did not endorse either of those candidates. In fact, he hasn't endorsed a successor at all. He's just been kind of undermining all the candidates from the sidelines. And also in this race, and something that Republicans will be closely watching, is how well James Fishback performs. He is that insurgent provocateur who has ran a race-baiting campaign against Donald's. He's been a problem for Republicans, and they'll be closely watching how big of a problem he will be after election night with his support today. And Randy, you've been talking to voters and candidates today in the 20th Congressional District.

47:33What are they saying about the race? Well, Jake, it's interesting because they've been watching it closely because this may be Debbie Wasserman Schultz's 12th race, but this is the first time she's running in the 20th district here in Florida. And this is a historically black district. For more than 30 years, they've had a lawmaker hold the seat who is a black lawmaker. So she is the only white candidate in this primary facing off against four black candidates. So we spoke with some voters, and they said that race doesn't really matter to them, those that we spoke with. They said they want someone who's reliable and who can win in November.

48:07They described her, her supporters at least, said that she's consistent, reliable, and she gets things done. Now, we also spoke with Sheila Trifurlis-McCormick, who is one of her opponents. She has been very critical of Debbie Wasserman Schultz. She's accused her of district shopping, trying to find a safe district, a more democratic new district that she can win in. And I asked her how she feels about running against Debbie Wasserman Schultz. And she said to me, I'm not running against her. This is my district. She's running against us. I also asked her about running for her seat against, and she had resigned because of that ethics investigation.

48:40I asked her how she feels about that. Here's what she told me. It's false and I'm innocent. And I think everybody's seen it because so many people in the community say what happened to you in ethics was unjust and we see it and we're not going to stand for it because they know exactly what this is. This is removing their voice. Now someone else from a different district is coming in, which feels more pressure and more attack on our voice and our vote. So this election is much more to us than just a regular election. now to frillis mccormick jake also told me that debbie wasterman schultz is not a part of this community in florida's 20th district she said what they need here what these voters need is reinvestment and they need to elect one of their own jake cnn's randy kay and steve contorno in florida thanks to both you here with me now is mark caputo senior political reporter with axios also from florida the original florida man if i'm if i'm not mistaken florida florida florida so So, Mark, I want to start with these House races you're seeing.

49:34We're seeing you write today, quote, these campaigns featured carpetbaggers, racial conflict, homophobia, struggling socialists, anti-Semitism and even a scandal plagued member of Congress slapped with a restraining order. It's like Florida man is having his own election right now, said a Republican political consultant. Is this a great like is this an unusual slate of crazy for Florida? Because we're used to crazy from Florida. Yeah, I think Florida decided, you know what, like, it's time to boil some rabbits like Len Close and Fatal Attraction and get really wild. I mean, the anti-Semitism there, admittedly, to criticize myself, I sort of undersold it.

50:09I'm talking about this Manosphere influencer turned candidate. Oh, Balzerian? Dan Balzerian. Literally pro-Hitler in his ads. Released an AI ad saying maybe the Austrian painter was right, essentially. I mean, as someone who's accustomed to all types of oddity and sort of the modern art weirdness of Florida, that was just on another level. Yeah, pretty disgusting. He's running in the primary against Randy Fine. No stranger himself to pretty hideous statements. Certainly not pro-Hitler, though. Florida's 19th district, we covered this briefly yesterday, it's packed with carpetbaggers. It's packed with people who ran for office in different states, ranging from Illinois to New York.

50:55And, you know, they're attempting comebacks. Trump threw his weight behind somebody named Catalina Lauf. Do you think that that's going to win the day? I'm told, and it's consistent with Trump's pattern, that he made this endorsement late because the case was made to him that she was surging and likely to win. Right. And arguably, though, polling is very difficult in primaries, especially in a multi-candidate race like this. Not a lot of known people. The endorsement of Trump could certainly help her. So he can, with a straight face, take a measure of credit for it. But he wasn't going to throw away his endorsement of someone he thought was a loser.

51:30When you look toward November at these statewide races, the governor's race, the Senate race, where Republicans are heavily favored, even if it is a blue wave election, which I think a lot of people think it will be, will that impact Florida at all? I mean, it'll impact Florida. Probably you'll see it in state legislative races, state house, state Senate, where Republican margins might come down a bit. But the legislature redrew a lot of the districts. One of the reasons you're seeing some of the craziness, like Jared Moskowitz having to run in a new district, Debbie Wasserman Schultz moving District is because they were redrawn.

52:04On the map right now, it's a 20 Republican to eight Democrat spread in the 28 seats in the U.S. House. Under this map, if you had sort of a more typical year, you could see that 20-member Republican conference in Florida grow to 24, and the Democrats shrink from eight to four. So that could make a real difference. But Moskowitz of them is in one of those Republican performing seats. If a Democrat is going to win in November in that seat, it's going to be a guy. I mean, Moskowitz, one house incumbent in Florida was notably snubbed for a Trump endorsement. Congressman Corey Mills, Governor DeSantis also says he doesn't support him.

52:48Mills, as we've covered on the show before, he's under investigation by the Ethics Committee over allegations of assaulting a woman, threatening to revenge porn, basically to disseminate sexually explicit images of a different woman. He denies any wrongdoing. Is he going to make it to November? Ten days ago, a top Republican involved in President Trump's political operation was like, yeah, Mills is probably going to win. Before I wrote this story in Axios that ran today, So yesterday, that same one told me, yeah, I think Mills is going to lose. And they think the winner there, again, they think, I'm not saying it's a case, Ryan Elijah used to be a TV host, a local TV host.

53:32So he has a certain amount of name ID in the district. And they seem to think that he's got a much better shot of beating Mills. You and I are old enough to remember when Florida was a battleground state. Oh, yeah. When Florida had Democratic governors, Florida had Democratic senators. Is that gone? Is that? It's gone for now. For now. Yeah. The 2018 blue wave notably broke in Florida, right? They didn't win. You had Andrew Gillum, a sensation at the time. And he lost by half a point to DeSantis. DeSantis only won by half a point. And then Rick Scott beat Bill Nelson by less than a quarter of a point.

54:12Like, that was a close election, but nevertheless, the blue wave broke. And that also sort of broke the spirit of Democrats and their faith in winning Florida. They've never had a powerful, they've never had a strong Democratic Party in Florida, as long as I can remember. But also, I think you have to give credit to DeSantis for the kind of governance he was doing and also the party building he did. The party building that he did. But remember, DeSantis is in the house that Trump built. and in Florida, they're all in the house that Jeb Bush built. Jeb Bush's changes to the Republican Party and to the tax structure of Florida, which incentivized essentially Republican super voters.

54:50Hey, move to Florida. You don't have to pay taxes on your stocks and bonds, retirement tax or any of that. That's really, if you go back that 1998 race where Jeb Bush first becomes governor, that really changes the trajectory. A Jeb Bush reference, if you're out there playing Florida drinking games, Drink. Mark Caputo, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Always good to have you. Much more on tonight's crucial primary elections ahead, including a race we're watching closely in Alaska, of all places. Republican Senator Dan Sullivan is fighting off a challenge from Dan Sullivan. Could this confusion put the GOP-held seat in jeopardy?

55:23Plus, my next guest is demanding answers from the Pentagon about how they are supporting or not supporting the service members on board. The USS Abraham Lincoln amid its record-setting deployment. Has he gotten any response, the senator? We'll talk to him next.

55:42We have some breaking news in our worldly new CNN reporting says that President Trump told top administration envoys today to stop conversations with Iran. This according to a U.S. official. A source says White House officials have recently communicated to political allies that they are shifting their strategy going from hammer Iran ASAP to strangle them over time. Meanwhile, lawmakers are still raising concerns about reports of dwindling supplies and low morale on the USS Abraham Lincoln, reports that Trump calls fake. Joining us to discuss is Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut.

56:17He's on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Senator, we're going to talk about Abraham Lincoln in a moment, but first, I want to get your reaction to Trump's new approach to stop all conversations with Iran and strangle them over time? We've heard for some time these reports that he might try to disengage from diplomacy. I think it's another indication that he has reached a strategic dead end. He has involved this nation in a seemingly endless, costly war, just as Abraham Lincoln is on an endless, seemingly indefinite deployment with no plan for exit. And the idea that he will strangle Iran seems pretty magical thinking, because right now the costs of this war in everything from gas to groceries are affecting the world and the United States, maybe more than Iran.

57:14So he's playing a dangerous game of chicken. Back to the USS Abraham Lincoln, you sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and the acting Secretary of the Navy, Hong Kao, demanding answers about the Lincoln's deployment and how the Pentagon is supporting the service members on board. Have you gotten any response? No response, unless you count the president saying they should have been deployed longer. They've already been at sea a record nine months without setting foot on land, or unless you credit Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, saying, in effect, they don't have any hardships denying and dismissing the problems.

57:55The fact of the matter is I talked literally just today to a mom telling me how her daughter on the Abraham Lincoln is without toothpaste and soap, clean water, enough food, all kinds of basic necessities. And her job on that aircraft carrier is to load those planes with the heavy ordnance that they deliver on their missions, bombing targets relating to Iran. Tough, stressful, dangerous work. And she's under just tremendous mental stress. Just one example of the 5 ,000 sailors on that ship who are not getting the kind of responsible leadership they deserve. They expect hardship when they serve and sacrifice for our country, but not hardship that's magnified by incompetent leadership.

58:47The Japan-based USS George Washington is supposed to be heading to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln. When is that aircraft carrier group expected to arrive? Nobody knows. We've been given no definite date. And when I say nobody knows, probably someone has estimates about when that aircraft carrier will arrive from Japan. It's underway right now. It's been at sea already for 90 days, which means it's well on its way to another potential record deployment. But we've left the Far East without any aircraft carrier group, which sends a message to China. That aircraft carrier group is based in Japan, right under China's nose.

59:32China's watching, and it just shows again how this war has made America less safe. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, thanks for your time, sir. Thank you. The head of Customs and Border Protection is down in Texas right now, confronting growing outrage over border construction in Big Bend National Park. Joining us next, a Republican sheriff who just met with that border official.

1:00:02Breaking news in our national lead, a meeting between the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and local officials in Texas has just ended. At issue are plans to build border security infrastructure in Big Bend National Park. Now, you might know this. Tensions escalated last week when federal contractors broke ground in Big Bend National Park to build these access roads. But yesterday, all construction work in Big Bend was put on hold. Critics say that construction is unnecessary. They point to the park's remote, rugged terrain, which they argue already makes cross-border access quite difficult.

1:00:40Joining us now to discuss is Thaddeus Cleveland, sheriff of Terrell County, Texas. Sheriff, thank you so much for joining us. Before you were sheriff, you spent 26 years with Border Patrol. From your experience, is this construction in Big Bend National Park necessary for border security? Howdy, Jake. Great to be on with you. And I can tell you after spending 26 years as a Border Patrol agent, four years as a border sheriff now, and being a native of this area, I believe in border security and I believe in building barriers where barriers work. and Big Bend National Park is not a place or Big Bend State Park where we need barriers.

1:01:18We do have those God-made barriers you spoke of. And look, we have advanced technology we're using on the border that I use every day. And my duties as sheriff working with Border Patrol that detect people, that track people, and doesn't even require a person behind a computer screen monitoring that technology. That's what we need more of out here in Big Bend and infrastructure as roads that can be reworked. I don't think we need any new roads. We have roads that are established that we can surely use. Do undocumented immigrants make their way through Big Ben? Does that ever happen? You know, Jake, and I'm sure you've seen the stat that the Big Ben sector is the least trafficked piece of border along the entire 2 ,000 mile stretch of a border with Mexico.

1:02:02And the Big Ben sector is 517 miles, which is a quarter of the entire U.S.-Mexico border. The main reason we don't have a lot of activity up here is because there's not any, there's no infrastructure in Mexico to facilitate those organizations bringing people across and then get them out of these areas out here in West Texas. Likelihood of them getting caught by law enforcement is pretty high. But I have to add that my county in Terrell, which is right next to Brewster County and Big Bend National Park, we are historically and currently the busiest station within the Big Bend sector. And the reason is, is we're flanked by either side by immigration checkpoints coming out of Big Bend, coming out of Del Rio, Texas area.

1:02:38There's no checkpoint around Terrell County. So it's a weak spot and it's a place that the drug or alien smuggling organizations take advantage of. What concerns did you raise or your colleagues raise in the meeting earlier with Commissioner Rodney Scott and what was his response? So first and foremost, you know, Judge Hemmington of Brewster County and Sheriff Dotson of Brewster County, the Big Bend National Park, the Big Bend Ranch State Parks in their county. And we were able, as other flanking counties to attend this meeting. So I'm grateful for that. And we were able to speak up as well. But I'll tell you that the number one thing was of course these vehicle barriers in some of these locations, as well as some of the new roads that we've already seen the pictures being cut into Big Bend National Park.

1:03:25Rodney Scott, who's a 28 year long friend of mine, we worked in Nogales, Arizona together. And he actually took me to Washington DC to work for him when he first promoted there. He assured us and he committed to keeping all work stopped. It won't start up again until he's had time or local stakeholders can meet with CBP and tell him what they think the better advantage is for this area. And I'll tell you, it's the boots on the ground, whether it's Border Patrol agents, it's Sheriff Deputies, Texas Highway Patrol. We all work together to make this area more safe and secure. There may still be some barriers.

1:03:57There may still be some roads, but I think those business owners that we've seen talk about this, we'll be much happier and pleased with the outcome. What specifically do you think they're getting wrong here that's causing them to take these steps that you disagree with? Well, Jake, I'll tell you what, it all started with Kristi Noem. She initially rolled this plan out without even talking with Rodney Scott, the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. She had him and tie him out, if you will, because of what happened in Minneapolis, what happened down in New Orleans, Charlotte, Chicago.

1:04:29He's a career CBP employee. Again, he was a career Border Patrol agent. He was actually chief of the Border Patrol. But he let Christine Noem know that it wasn't going to end good because we never carried out interior immigration enforcement in that manner. And so she wanted to put that in her rearview mirror. She wanted to focus back on the border and build defense in a location that's never had fence. They did not work with the local sector, the boots on the ground, to come up with this plan. And there was no messaging to our communities or our stakeholders. That was the number one issue. Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland, thanks so much for your time today, sir.

1:05:02We really appreciate it. Thank you, Jake. God bless you. Adios. To you as well, sir. Will the real Dan Sullivan please stand up? Please stand up. Please stand up. Another race we're watching tonight, the Senate primary in Alaska, where Democrats are hoping ballot confusion could give them a fighting chance to flip a seat. That's next.

1:05:31How can you not love the election jam? It's just so good. Most polls in Florida are just about half an hour away from closing in today's primary. In addition to the Sunshine State, voters are also going to the polls in Wyoming and Alaska. It is in the last frontier where names on the ballot are a concern to incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican running for re-election. He's facing a challenge from a guy named, well, Dan Sullivan. Senator Sullivan's campaign fought in the courts to keep the other Dan Sullivan off the ballot, arguing he was being used as a Democratic plant to confuse voters.

1:06:02Alaska's Supreme Court ruled that the other Dan Sullivan has a right to be on the ballot. The Dan Sullivans, or is it Dan Sullivan, are just two of six. I know you'd like that one, Joan. Are just two of 16 Senate candidates, which also includes former Representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat who used to be a member of Congress. the top four vote-getters, will advance to November's general election. Despite national attention on the race, the Dan Sullivan, who is not the Senator Dan Sullivan, has kept a pretty low profile until now. Joining me from Alaska is the New York Times' Kellen Browning. His article is out today, searching for answers from the man accused of sabotaging Alaska's Senate race.

1:06:44Kellen, this is like the J.D. Salinger of politics. You caught up with the other Dan Sullivan. In fact, he picked you up at the airport when you got to Alaska. So what does he say to those who accuse him of being a Democratic plant? Yeah, he maintains that he is running as a legitimate candidate, that he's a moderate Republican who has long joked about running for Senate against the guy who shares his name. And that people in his local town of Petersburg, where I went, have encouraged him to run. and he decided he would throw his hat in the ring and that he says nobody pushed him into this race, that he's not some sort of Democratic plant, which, of course, Republicans disagree with.

1:07:26He also revealed to you his voting record, which may give fodder to the Republican argument that he does want to be a spoiler. Yeah, he did tell me that he's never voted for President Trump. He voted for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton. He's voted for Mary Peltola in her two runs for the House. He's never he did say that he has backed some Republicans in Alaska, like Lisa Murkowski, the other senator. But some of his voting records, some of his track record and what some of the people on the island told me does support the idea that he might be a little bit more liberal than he is purporting to be.

1:08:04You talked with a lot of people in Petersburg, Alaska, the tiny fishing village where non-Senator Dan Sullivan lives. What did they make of this? Well, they're excited about the attention. They say it's going to bring some tourism to the island. Everybody has an opinion. It is a small place, about 3 ,000 people. So everybody has some degree of connection with him. And it sort of breaks down into the camps you might expect. Liberal people on the island view this as a noble bid against the establishment. And they don't believe he's in the race to sabotage anyone or throw the race to marry Peltola.

1:08:40And conservatives on the island feel very differently. They think that he is exactly there to sabotage, to be a plant. They say that he has been known to have liberal beliefs, that he's participated in protests, like a No Kings protest on the island against President Trump, and that they think he's there as some sort of plant or trick. So it's really up to your own interpretation. Alaska has unusual primaries, right? It's nonpartisan. The top four vote getters go on to face each other in November. Do I have that right? Yeah, that's right. So the expectation is Senator Sullivan, Mary Peltola will easily prevail tonight.

1:09:19They will be two of the four people on the ballot. And then we're waiting to see which of these many other candidates make it onto the ballot in November. However, if Dan J. Sullivan, Petersburg Sullivan makes it, that could potentially detract from Senator Sullivan. That's what Republicans are afraid of. But there's also possibility there's some of these other candidates on the ballot that have been getting money from some outside groups advertising for them. Some of them are Democrats. Others are Republicans. And so if there's a fourth candidate on the ballot, maybe a Democrat, that could potentially take away some votes from Peltola as well.

1:09:53All right. Fascinating stuff. Kellen Browning with The New York Times in Alaska. Thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it. Thanks for having me. So let's turn to the panel. Jonah, President Trump is warning Alaskans to, quote, vote for the real Dan Sullivan today. The Democrats know how good he is and have put up an imposter of the same name. Vote for the incumbent senator. Don't let those fraudsters get away with this hoax. Do you really think that Alaskans might get confused between Senator Dan Sullivan and Dan Sullivan? I got to do some full disclosure here. My wife's from Alaska. Oh. And I think she actually knew the real Dan Sullivan's wife in high school.

1:10:32Senator Dan Sullivan. Senator Dan Sullivan, yes. They're both real Dan Sullivan. They're both real. Well, yes, but I think this is dirty politics. And the judges didn't quite, the courts didn't quite rule that he has a right to be on the ballot. They ruled that politicians don't, the elected officials, don't have a right to simply take someone off the ballot, even if they're running in bad faith. But the courts were kind of like, he's running in bad faith. And so I think history pool, I think, obviously, Senator Dan Sullivan is going to make the final four. So will Peltola. I think by the time a general election comes around, the educational campaign will be sufficient that people will know what to look for.

1:11:14I think one of them is a Daniel J. Sullivan and one of them is a Daniel S. Sullivan, I believe. Right. But if you just look at the data on how people vote based upon the ranking on ballots, it does not imbue you with a love and respect for Jeffersonian democracy. So, I mean, I think there is an issue here. Daniel S. Sullivan is the senator, and Daniel J. Sullivan is the spoiler, as it were. Lulu, so former Democrat... Alleged spoiler. Alleged spoiler. But they're going to put on the ballot incumbent, which I think will help a good deal. Former Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola is also on the ballot.

1:11:47her campaign's pushing back on an endorsement she got from former Vice President Kamala Harris. Her campaign said in a statement, quote, Mary Peltola isn't seeking endorsements from anyone from the lower 48. Her focus is and always will be Alaska. That's fighting words calling us the lower 48. Harris lost Alaska by 13 points in 2024. Do you think this says more about Harris than Peltola or what do you make of it all? I think it says about both of them. I think, first of all, we know that in a place like Alaska, and I've interviewed Lisa Murkowski, you know, that is a real thing. The lower 48, they don't want to be misconstrued.

1:12:27Alaskan politics is Alaskan politics and it's for Alaska and they don't want any misunderstanding about that. So I do think it is about that to show that she's independent. And that's what you do when you run in a state, right? When you're running for the other party in a state that's gone the other way, you want to show that you're independent. But I do think, by the way, that Harris isn't necessarily helpful. She lost the election there. And if she's trying to pull in votes from people who didn't like Harris, then why would she want that endorsement? So a little Alaska trivia. You guys probably already know this already.

1:12:57But when they brought in the two states to make them the 50 states instead of 48, they had to do both of them because one was Republican and one was Democrat. And it was Hawaii that was Republican and Alaska that was Democrat. Okay, you're both nodding because you both knew that. Election denier Tina Peters, who served time in Colorado for seven felony counts of election interference, is being considered for a top job by a top election official in Shasta County, California. Here's what he said during a radio interview about hiring her to replace his top deputy, who's out on medical leave. I have decided who I'm going to pull in for the assistant role, and that will be Tina Peters.

1:13:35She's now available. She has experience and she's able to take the rocks and arrows. Shasta County cleric Clint Curtis told CNN that Tina Peters has not accepted his job offer. The clerk said, quote, apparently she's still thinking about it. I'm not sure if she's going to take it or not. She's really busy. Your thoughts, Jonah? So this guy is on his way out. He's he's a lame duck. He's a crackpot. And I think what he's trying to do is add, get another crackpot to help run interference and get Donald Trump's attention because this Peters woman has some relationship with Trump. I think it's embarrassing.

1:14:09I also think, I looked it up beforehand, I was telling Lulu, Shasta County is the 38th largest county in California. I don't think the future of democracy hinges on this story. But I will say the other thing is, it also is probably not a real thing because as we know, she was sprung out of prison and she's on parole and apparently cannot leave Colorado. So even if she wanted to take the job in Shasta County, I think her parole officer might have something to say about it. Someday we will fix this injustice. Clint Curtis says that Peter's felony conviction should not be a problem because she would be brought in as a consultant in a supervisory role.

1:14:48And here's what Tina Peters' attorney tells CNN. Quote, Tina Peters is giving consideration to helping in the efforts in Shasta County as there most definitely has been monkey business in the way the election was handled. So, I mean, at least your attorney thinks. She could do it by Zoom, maybe. I think it's not a real thing. But let me just give this its due, which is this is not good, obviously. Even if it's a tiny place in California, it is not good when a convicted, you know, sort of felon who has interfered in our elections, there was no disputing that, is now being posited for another role in California.

1:15:27This is not good. So President Trump, as we know, has been badmouthing mail-in ballots for years and years. I think it started during COVID, but maybe it precedes that. I don't know. It turns out President Trump voted by mail in Florida's Republican primary for the election that is today. He also voted earlier in the year by mail. Thoughts? I mean, if we're going to rank the kinds of sort of hypocrisy and one set of rules for me, but not for the of Donald Trump, do we think this makes it in the top 500? Well, it makes it in the top 500 in terms of recency. And we have and we in the news media have a recency bias.

1:16:13There's a news bias for news. I get it. But like, yeah, look, look, it's bad, it's silly. I don't like mail-in voting. I think we overdo it. I think we way overdo early voting. But I think Trump's claims about the fraud and all the rest are sort of ridiculous. And if you were going to have the statesmanship to say you actually believe this is a problem, maybe you would actually practice what you preach a little bit. So the White House says, obviously, there are exceptions for his opposition to mail-in ballots for sickness and for people who are traveling for work, etc. Yeah. So which one does he fall under?

1:16:45sickness. Traveling for work. Oh, sorry, because he's been falling asleep a lot. So, you know, I don't know. I don't know his health. Yes. But yeah, I think this is terrible again, because there has been a concerted effort to undermine our elections by this administration and by President Trump in particular in every possible way that he can. And this is just another way that he's doing it. But it just shows that hypocrisy lies at the at the at the feet of this. All right, Jonah Goldberg and Lulu Garcia-Nabarra, thanks to both of you. Appreciate a new escalation in a First Amendment fight today, as Disney is suing the Trump administration over what they call a retaliatory campaign.

1:17:23Those details next.

1:17:32And Armani Lee, Disney, the parent company of ABC, is suing the Trump administration. They're accusing the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, of using its power to punish ABC over what it airs. The lawsuit filed today comes as the FCC is investigating ABC's The View and challenges the licenses of eight Disney-owned ABC stations. Disney says the government's actions violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and are already having a chilling effect on ABC's broadcasts. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr says the review is about alleged DEI discrimination, not about ABC's programming. and Carr says no decision has been made on whether to revoke the licenses.

1:18:11Carr told Reuters, Disney, quote, seems to be a little nervous about what the record's showing, unquote. Joining me now is chief counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, Bob Cornrevere. Bob, thanks so much for being with us again. Disney accusing the FCC of retaliation for ABC's speech. What does Disney have to prove to win a First Amendment case like this? Well, it has to show that the government was motivated by concern over its programming. And the complaint that ABC filed is very compelling in this regard. I mean, what this administration under Brendan Carr has been doing has been really quite transparent.

1:18:50And so this is really just an effort to apply the rule of law to what has become a lawless federal agency. So Brendan Carr, the FCC chairman, was on the lead in June. I asked him about going after the ABC station's licenses. He said then it was about alleged DEI discrimination. Take a listen. But if they were, in fact, discriminating based on race and gender, that could be a real problem when it comes to holding an FCC broadcast license. What do you make of that explanation? It's pure pretext. I mean, the FCC is not the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and there have been decisions over the years that have made that clear.

1:19:27We, FIRE, filed an opposition at the FCC on its efforts to go after the ABC licenses and did a thorough analysis of the FCC's authority under this. And it really is simply being used by the FCC as a convenient explanation. So I know that Trump has publicly gone after Jimmy Kimmel, publicly gone after The View, publicly criticized ABC, saying that they shouldn't have their license because he doesn't like their news broadcasts. I assume that's all evidence in Disney's case. That's all laid out in the complaint. As a matter of fact, they have a timeline that goes back years of various times in which the president has called for revocation of their licenses and so on.

1:20:10And I think it was explained best by former FCC chairman Mark Fowler, who said that never in its history has the agency so corruptly and unlawfully intruded on the First Amendment rights of broadcasters. Disney says the FCC's actions have already changed what they, specifically The View, puts on the air. I don't think they've had a political candidate on since all this began. Doesn't that itself raise a constitutional question? That's right. It shows that there is ongoing injury just from the process that the FCC is subjecting the broadcaster to. That is, the process is the punishment. And so through repeated requests for information, repeated proceedings aimed at the agency, and not just random calls on social media to go after ABC, the actual activities of the agency are affecting the programming.

1:21:05And that is a per se First Amendment violation. But that's interesting because Disney controls ABC, right? Disney owns ABC. So this is Disney saying, I mean, explain this to me because I don't understand it fully. Disney's saying, look what our companies, our show isn't even booking political people. But can't Disney just say, hey, start booking political people again? Well, they can, but they're taking the risk of further action by the FCC. I mean, when the FCC announced it was going after The View, it was because of the fact that they were booking political candidates for news interviews, something that...

1:21:37Without doing this equal time for the opposition candidates. Right, except programs like The View historically have been treated as exempt from the equal opportunities rules. Congress in 1959 amended the Communications Act to provide an exemption for bona fide news interviews. And the FCC has been trying to use that to take away the exemption because of, as you point out, the president and Chairman Carr have criticized ABC's programming and specifically The View. Bob Korn-Ravere, thank you so much. Always good to have you. Tell our friends at FIRE we say hi. Lindsay Clancy's mother-in-law took the stand today and revealed Clancy was turned away not once, but at least twice when she tried to seek help for her mental health.

1:22:16That's next.

1:22:23In our Law and Justice lead, testimony continued on day 15 of the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. Clancy's accused of killing her three children in 2023. Her defense argues that she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis at the time. Today, her former mother-in-law testified that Lindsay Clancy had been, quote, begging for help. She also testified about a time Lindsay Clancy sought help but was turned away. The Women and Infants program in Rhode Island that specializes in perinatal and postpartum, right? Yes. You know that she went there, right? Correct. You know she was turned away because she was overmedicated, right?

1:23:02Yes. You also know that they gave her numbers to call suicide hotlines, right? Yes. She called twice, not once, but twice, and again was turned away. Isn't that right? Yes. The trial is set to resume tomorrow morning, where the psychologist who met with Clancy in the days after the killings is expected to take the stand. We will cover the story tomorrow as well. Before we go, one more time, cue the election music, please. Florida, Alaska, Wyoming, all holding primaries right now. Polls across most So the Sunshine State are going to close in just seconds. Stay with CNN all night for the latest results.

1:23:37Meantime, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, threads, X, Blue Sky, and on the TikTok at Jake Tapper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram at The Lead CNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can watch the show on the CNN app. Please go download the CNN app. Aaron Burnett out front starts now.

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