U.S. Navy Blockades Iranian Ports After Peace Talks Collapse

26:13Ultimately, he did announce last night that he would no longer run for governor. But it was still a question about whether he tried to hang on to this seat, Anderson. But there was expected to be a vote this week to expel him. And a lot of Democrats were indicating that they would vote indeed to expel him from Congress. But a dramatic downfall from someone who rose to prominence as an anti-Trump Democrat, a leader to become the next governor of California, now plans to give up his seat among these very serious allegations of sexual misconduct. Anderson. Manu Rajivana, thanks for the breaking news.

26:48I want to go straight to CNN's Alex Michelson and Politicos California Bureau Chief Melanie Mason. They join me now. Melanie, let me start with you. First of all, what's your reaction to this breaking news? I mean, I just keep thinking about what an incredible week this has been in this campaign. I mean, this time last week, I would say that Congressman, or I guess I should say former Congressman Swalwell, was poised to be the Democratic frontrunner. I think we were about to see that breakout for him. And look at what we have seen just in the course of the week. So the fact that this news is just breaking right now, that he is resigning, to me, it's just kind of underscores the whirlwind that we've been through out here in California over the last seven days.

27:29Alex? Yeah, I mean, I cannot think of a faster fall from grace in modern political history. I mean, over the course of Friday afternoon, in a span of about 15 minutes, he lost not only the support of, you know, pretty much everybody in the party, but all of his best friends. Ruben Gallego, who had put out statements in the past calling Eric Swalwell his best friend in Congress, put out a statement late this afternoon calling for Eric Swalwell to be expelled. He lost his support over the weekend of his staff, all saying you should drop out, even staffers who potentially could lose their own jobs in the process.

28:12So Eric Swalwell left with essentially no support from anyone in any direction, no support to run a campaign, no money, no organization, no message, and no support to even run a congressional office. And so right now, he's left with nothing and no job and potentially, Anderson, criminal charges. And Melody, what does happen now? I mean, there's a variety of allegations, some of them, you know, criminal, others just, you know, go to a question of character. I think that when stories like this break, I think that the next question is, will more people come forward? I, in fact, saw a news release coming out that we should expect a press conference tomorrow with somebody alleging that they were a victim of Congressman Swalwell.

29:08And so I do wonder if the dam breaks, if there are more women that come out and share their stories. But also I think that what happens now is that California still has to figure out who its next governor is going to be. And ballots drop here in just about a month. And so I think that as people here in California were trying to process this news about Swalwell over the weekend, they were also trying to understand the state of the race and trying to figure out, OK, who do we go to now? You know, most of the Democratic establishment, I would say, somewhat reluctantly coalesced around Swalwell over the last couple of months.

29:40And now I think that they're looking around and trying to figure out which iceberg to jump to. Well, let's talk about the governor's race, because, you know, there's obviously this major gap now that, as you said, it's on June 2nd. The field is crowded. Swalwell, as you said, was the frontrunner. But among them right now, billionaire Tom Steyer. You've got former Congresswoman Katie Porter, the former HHS secretary, who was the former HHS secretary. You've got the mayor of San Jose. What are some of the other, what are you hearing from some of the other candidates right now? What struck me was that immediately...

30:16Sorry, go ahead, Alex. Go ahead, Melanie. I just have to say that what struck me is that immediately we started seeing the dueling polls. Alex, I'm sure you saw them, too, from the two campaigns that were trying to say that they were best positioned to pick up those Swalwell supporters. And so I think we'll start seeing that spin kind of ramp up over the next couple of days. Yeah, Alex, I mean, are there any, you know, early indications of who may gain momentum here? Well, all the campaigns are trying to spin that. So Melanie this morning had reporting that Matt Mahan, the mayor of San Jose, reported that he raised$10 million over the weekend just after the Swalwell News broke, trying to show that he's got momentum.

30:53Javier Becerra's campaign trying to show that he's got momentum. Now, let's be clear, Anderson. This thing has been an open secret and whispered about amongst the campaigns for months that this Swalwell thing could break. And we have both talked to campaigns who have said off the record part of the reason that they stayed in the race, even though their poll numbers were low, was that they were expecting that there could be this big story that breaks about Eric Swalwell that knocks him out of the race and that gives them all a fresh start. So all these campaigns sort of think that this is a new opportunity for people to look at them, but they don't have much time.

31:30I mean, we've got a debate on May 5th here on CNN. There's a few other debates that are scheduled. But remember, in California, you've got a month to vote. Everybody who's registered has mailed a ballot. So people will start voting within a few weeks. Melanie, was it that big of an open secret? Well, I will say that Alex is exactly right. This is precisely why all of these Democrats, even the ones who are polling at 1%, 2%, were refusing to get out of the race. because I think that there was an anticipation that something would be happening. We just dropped a behind-the-scenes story here at Politico about how the last few months unfolded that included the fact that there were political operatives that were putting on social media as early as December that there were rumors out there.

32:14Now, this tweet was promptly erased, but I can tell you that it circulated a lot among the campaigns. It circulated a lot among lobbyists and other people who would be sort of endorsers in this race. And so I think that there was not necessarily clarity about what would come out or even if something would come out. And I will say that I don't think any of the rumors touched on the severity of some of the reporting that your colleagues at CNN did. But I think that there was some sort of anticipation that something would emerge. I mean, Alex, if that if the allegations are true, the fact that he would stake a race, I mean, that he would run, it's kind of breathtaking.

32:55if they're true. And then the question is, did he think that this was all consensual? Now, his attorney, when I pushed his attorney on Friday night on CNN on that point of, was this him cheating on his wife, but he thought that it was consensual, he wouldn't get into the details of that. And Swallow hasn't said that. Earlier in the week, he said that he had never behaved inappropriate with staffers. That changed over the days. But you do, you wonder sort of what was going on in his mind. Possibly he thought it was consensual and possibly he thought that many of these women had come back and supported him.

33:33And so he didn't think maybe there was going to be a problem. And Melanie, the margins are thin in the House. How will his seat be filled? I think we're still waiting to see. Governor Newsom has the ability to call a special election. We're also so close to to the June primary that there might be consolidation. But I do think that one of the conversations that had been going on prior to Swalwell's resignation was, would there be kind of a one for one? You know, there's a lot of chatter on the Republican side about Congressman Tony Gonzalez and if she if he should step down for some of the stories that have since come out about him.

34:07So I do wonder, as you said, the margins being so tight, do Democrats push on that further now that they're down one more vote? I still think that people are trying to make a sense of what truly is this breaking news. And Anderson, just on that point, there is no mechanism in California for the governor to appoint a member of the House. The governor can appoint a member of the Senate here, but not a member of the House. So that seat is going to remain open for some time, even if the governor called a special election. The soonest that somebody could be in there is around September. So those constituents in that district are not going to have a member of Congress.

34:42And with the margins that tight, the Democrats are going to be down one vote. And Alex, have you heard anything? I mean, has Governor Newsom said anything? Has former Vice President Kamala Harris said anything about the allegations or the primer? Governor Newsom put out a quote saying that these are serious allegations. He did not call for Swalwell to drop out, one of the few people who didn't. We know when Governor Newsom wants to say something publicly, he is very good at getting attention for his message. He was about as low key on this as it gets. We've not heard from Kamala Harris on this either.

35:17So it's interesting at a time when almost everybody in California politics weighed in, the two most famous members of the California political world were not very loud. It is a stunning development. Alex Michelson, Melanie Mason, thanks so much. Appreciate it. President dispatching Vice President J.D. Vance to lead talks with Iran this weekend. Those 21-hour talks amounted to no deal. It was also Vice President Vance sent to Hungary to campaign for Viktor Orban, who lost his re-election bid. Is there anything to read into the missed opportunities both involving the president's number two? We'll get into that next.

36:01Let's have I got news for your ears, the podcast. I am your host, Michael Ian Black. She would get us into a third world war. Yeah, see? And he's right. If it had been Kamala, we'd have millions and millions of people whose lives are at risk, as opposed to the billions of people whose lives are at risk right now. So it's actually an inflationary issue. That's right. If you put that clip right next to a clip of discussing his Easter, what would you call it, greeting? It's an Easter greeting, right? What do you call it when you... When you threaten genocide in front of the Easter bunny? Yeah, yeah, what is it on Easter?

36:32What do you call that? A meltdown. Easter meltdown. Have I got news for your ears? Check us out on Apple, Amazon Music, wherever you get your podcasts. Even better, you can watch the podcast on Spotify. The relationship between the FBI director and the president has always been complicated. Unravel the complex dynamic in the CNN original series, Standoff, the FBI, Power and Paranoia. Now streaming on the CNN app.

37:02In our world lead, two high-profile flops on the global stage for Vice President J.D. Vance. The Vance-led U.S. delegation failed to reach a deal with Iran on their nuclear program and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. And Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a Trump ally, obviously, lost his race for re-election despite a campaign appearance with the vice president. I want to talk about it with former Trump White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci. Before we get to that, I just got to ask you first about Eric Swalwell announcing he's leaving Congress. You know, listen, I'm going to I'm going to play to the human side of that story with his wife, Brittany, and his three children.

37:38I I would just say to Eric, you know, get this thing fixed up at home the best he possibly can. I think it was very smart for him to leave the Congress and the race behind him. But work on your personal life, you know. And by the way, my heart goes out to me. I remember this when I got fired from the White House, Deirdre and I were fighting with each other. We were able to repair our marriage, thank God. So I would just say to Eric family first and, you know, get it together. You know, that would be my message. He's also facing very serious allegations. Well, listen, you know, it's hard for sometimes these politicians, Anderson, but, you know, get get more honest more quickly.

38:17I listened to your last interview. he was denying, denying, and now he seems to be widening the level of truth, if you will. And I would just tell him, get the truth out there and get this cleared up and behind you. And if those allegations are true, then you've got to face the music. Let's talk about globally. The in-person negotiations in Pakistan with Iran took place for the course of 21 hours. U.S. official tells CNN the U.S. and Iran are still engaged in talks. I know you had a lot to say about Vance leading these negotiations. What do you make of him essentially coming away with nothing?

38:52Well, I would say Vance has got the trifecta now with Pope Francis, Victor Orban and these negotiations. So if he shows up in flowing robes, Anderson, and he says that he's your doctor, I would run, Anderson. That would just be my advice to you and your CNN staff. But I think the Trump stuff is related to Vance. And just give me a second on that. Vance has got a book coming out in June talking about his conversion to Catholicism. I am a practicing Catholic. And I think the attack on the pope weirdly is designed to hurt Vance because that's what Trump likes to do to the people that are close to him.

39:30Vance should be denouncing this attack the way Georgia Maloney did in Italy. And other world leaders have denounced this attack on the pope. And, of course, Vance won't do that because he's a supplicant of Donald Trump. And that's Trump's message to Vance. You know, you're you're forget about your religion. You know, I'm basically the person that you're kowtowing to. So people won't see it exactly that way. But let me just make one more point. This is also to protect Hexeth because Hexeth was in the crosshairs with a lot of Catholics, a lot of Catholic donors very upset with what they were doing with the diplomats at the Pentagon, the Vatican diplomats at the Pentagon.

40:07And so there's a double whammy going here in addition to, you know, I don't know, something going definitely wrong cognitively with the president. Do you think this is it has anything to do with I mean, Pete Hegseth has been very vocal from an evangelical standpoint of bringing God into the war in Iran. on, you know, we had an evangelical pastor at the White House, you know, essentially laying hands on President Trump, comparing him to Jesus over and over and over again with the president standing there kind of beaming and certainly not saying no to those comparisons. Does that have anything to do with the president going after the pope?

40:53Yeah, it's all related. So you have to, you know, Everyone thinks it's just flipping and Trump's lost his mind. He probably has lost a little bit of his mind, but it's very strategic on the president's part. His whole thing is that you cow town to me. The decision making is a body of one. And he doesn't like the Pope's rhetoric. And so Hegseth and his guys went to talk to the diplomats there. Catholic community that supports the president is very upset with that. So this is sort of a rebuke and a shove of everybody. So that would include Hegseth and Rubio, who are Catholics, his Catholic donors, etc.

41:30And I think it's all connected. And it's also to show his support for Hegseth, because I would say the number one yes man in the administration is Pete Hegseth. You know, Rubio will push back on the president. Obviously, Vice President Vance diverged from him on the war, but not Pete Hegseth. So, again, you know, everyone's looking at it superficially and say, OK, wow, it's Orthodox Easter and the president's comparing himself to Jesus and he's attacking the pope. And, you know, that's very odd behavior. And it's probably indicative of his cognitive decline. But I see something more strategic there, knowing him and knowing what he likes to do to his staff.

42:11The other, I mean, I looked at the timeline of the social media posts. I mean, this one, the, you know, the AI Trump Jesus slash doctor tending to patients with white glowing light coming out of both his hands and celestial godlike light beaming down on his very youthful continents. That was like at 9 p.m. or so. And then all night long throughout, I mean, up until, you know, every like midnight, 2 a.m., 4 a.m. Is he, I mean, I know he's often not slept, but it seems like he was, I don't know if somebody else was doing it, but there were posts all night long. No, I think he was doom scrolling.

42:54I also, listen, I think the AI, because the AI sometimes hallucinates, I think the AI is also dunking him a little bit there. You got like a young Jeff Epstein in the picture. So to me, he's up all night, He's doom scrolling. We can pretend he doesn't have anxiety that he's not human. But of course, he does have anxiety. You can even hear it in the hoarseness in his voice. He's very fatigued. And they don't have a strategy. They don't have a clear strategy. And listen, I want this to work for the American people and for our troops. And maybe the blockade will be something that works. And maybe we'll get to a peace deal.

43:32I certainly want that to happen. But we went into this thing without an exit strategy and we went into this thing off of intuition as opposed to what would really happen. And anybody that read through the Mosaic defense strategy that was formulated over 20 years of the Iranians observing the United States and Iraq and Afghanistan that didn't think that they were going to do exactly what they did. I find that hard to believe. And if we had people in the Congress that had a backbone, they would be calling these guys in. And even if it was in a skiff, they'd be calling these guys in privately and say, so what's up?

44:08Stop leaking to the New York Times. And why don't you tell us why you didn't think the last 40 plus days were going to unfold exactly the way they did, given all the intelligence that we have on the Iranians and its government and the survival of that government. And it's Garamuchi. Thank you. Appreciate it. Despite the tension that U.S. officials tell CNN, the U.S. and Iran are still talking. The question is, can it lead to any kind of new round of formal negotiations? Also, how long can the president keep up this new blockade that started today on Iran? CNN's Caitlin Collins is hearing over at the White House next.

44:51Welcome to The Lead. I'm Anderson Cooper. In for Jake Tapper. This hour, we are following breaking news on Capitol Hill. Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell says he is resigning from Congress addressing the allegations of sexual misconduct. Swalwell facing mounting pressure from Republicans and members of his own party, even after abandoning his bid for California governor. We'll get reaction live from Capitol Hill ahead. Plus, it is the Pope versus the president. Trump says Pope Leo is quote, weak on crime and quote, catering to the radical left. Pope Leo says he's not afraid of the White House.

45:23Neither shows any sign of backing down. I'll get reaction from the Cardinal of Washington, D.C. Also, the election results sending political shockwaves around the world as one of Trump's top European allies is toppled. What U.S. political parties, especially the Democrats, could learn from this. And Artemis II astronauts who captured the world's attention are now back with their families and sharing what it was like to travel farther into space than any human in history. Hear directly from them ahead.

45:55All those stories coming up in moments. But the lead tonight, the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, is in effect after weekend peace talks with Iran collapsed. President Trump is threatening to eliminate any Iranian ships that get close to the blockade. This as the vital shipping lane, which holds the key to 20 percent of the world's oil supply, remains closed to most tankers. Whether there'll be another round of in-person meetings between Iran and the U.S. before the ceasefire expires next Wednesday, that is unclear. CNN's Nick Robertson is in Pakistan where negotiations between the U.S.

46:26and Iran failed over the weekend. First, I want to go to CNN's Caitlin Collins at the White House. How long, Caitlin, is the Trump administration willing to continue this blockade on Iranian ports? That's an open question still right now, Anderson. Essentially, what we've been hearing from the White House is that this plan that the president announced yesterday, that there is going to be this blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and their ports when it goes to what's coming and leaving Iran, that they are hoping that that plan, their plan A, is going to work here and that it's going to get Iran to capitulate and to come to the back to the negotiating table to meet those demands that the vice president was laying out over the weekend in Islamabad.

47:02But right now, that is still an open question of whether or not this plan is going to work and what the White House plans to do, therefore, Anderson, if it doesn't, because obviously this has been the crucial point of Iran's leverage over the United States in this war and the pain point that they've been able to inflict not just on Americans here, but also on U.S. allies around the world. And so that's an open question of what that's going to look like. Should Iran continue using that leverage? And if they do not capitulate, if they do not come back to the negotiating table and what that looks like, because there are questions about the tankers that do try to go through there and what the United States is going to do if it's a Chinese one or an Indian one.

47:39Are they going to try to seize it? What is that going to do subsequently? And so there's a lot of open questions here. Right now, the president is still making clear he's hoping that a deal can happen. He said just today that they were hearing from Iranian negotiators and that he believes ultimately there will be an agreement here. But it's not clear exactly why, Anderson, he feels that way, given obviously those talks this weekend did not go as the White House had hoped. And Nick, what are your sources telling you about where talks between the U.S. and Iran go from here?

48:10Yeah, the Pakistanis, even yesterday as the dust was settling, were being optimistic and positive that both sides wanted not to go back to war. So I think there's hope here that the two sides can come together. Whether or not it happens to be in Pakistan is unclear. But you have, I think, in the 21 hours of talks, both sides better understood where their limits were and what was achieved. So you kind of built a sort of a bigger plank of understanding. But I think from an Iranian perspective, you had the narrative from, you know, their two principal interlocutors at the talks, both the Speaker of Parliament saying, look, we put forward a lot of proposals and a lot of alternative ideas, and really it's down to the Americans to trust us.

48:55And you have the narrative coming from Iran's foreign minister that actually the United States, every time they made an agreement, moved the goalposts. And that has some sort of resonance here in this capital. I think there's some sense that the Iranians on that issue may have a kernel of fact in that. However, what we heard from the vice president was very clear that Iran wasn't making the substantive commitments on ruling out any potential nuclear weapons ambitions or aspirations at all in that direction in the future. So I think the hopes here remain. I think perhaps it's a little early yet for realistically to bring the sides around the table.

49:38And I think the Iranians are hoping that President Trump's blockade on the blockade in a way backfires. Part of their narrative is, yes, we're ready. Yes, we're ready to escalate. Yes, we can make the war bigger, you know, on the Red Sea, etc. But they're also sort of saying, well, the United States is cutting off its nose to spite itself. They're playing on this internationally perceived notion that how does a blockade on a blockade actually improve the situation? So they're kind of, you know, often as we see Iran do, intellectualize and try to play the United States narrative against itself on the international stage, Anderson.

50:14Caitlin, what is the president saying about how all this could affect gas prices? I mean, you know, we had been hearing him say that as soon as the shooting stopped, that those gas prices would start coming down. He seems to have changed his tune on that, though, Anderson, a bit. And maybe that's just reality and what he's been hearing from his own aides in terms of how long it could take things to normalize, even if the war ended tomorrow, for example, and was completely done and the strait was completely reopened, which is what experts have been saying, that it is going to take some time to get back to where it was.

50:42And you heard the president yesterday saying that the gas prices could remain high for a bit longer. They might be higher than they were before the war started several months from now. That is precisely what Republicans here in Washington, who are on the ballot this November for the midterm elections, are worried about, that that is still going to be a pain point that Americans are feeling when they're going and voting. Caitlin Collins at the White House, thanks very much. Nick Robertson in Pakistan, appreciate it. Don't miss Caitlin on The Source with Caitlin Collins. Her guests tonight include Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna and former Republican Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene.

51:12That's at 9 p.m. Eastern on CNN. Joining us now, retired U.S. Army General and former head of U.S. Central Command, David Petraeus. General, this blockade on Iranian ports not only puts more pressure on the global economy, but on the U.S. Navy itself. Iran still has the ability to fight back with missiles and surface drones and mines, which may be planted throughout the Straits. How long do you think the U.S. Navy can carry out the difficult tasks it's faced with, especially this blockade of the ports? I think it can carry it on as long as is necessary. I think the limiting factor will not be the Navy's endurance.

51:50They have that. Reportedly, another aircraft carrier task force is headed out there, perhaps to relieve one that is on station. You do need to keep two aircraft carrier task forces out there. You do need about 10 to 12 destroyers and frigates and so forth, and a variety of other support assets, including surveillance drones and so on. But that's all sustainable. Central Command has had far greater numbers than are out there right now. In fact, when I commanded the CENTCOM, we had over 250 ,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and Coast Guardsmen at the time. So that is doable. The bigger question is, can we at a certain point in time begin to not only clear the straight of the mines Iran has reportedly thrown into it, can we then begin to convoy ships through it?

52:39Because the real pressure, of course, is the price of Brent crude. That did go up again today, needless to say, and that puts a price on the gallon of gas at the gas pump and many other second and third order effects that that has. So I think that's the bigger issue. And will we be able to establish the confidence that is necessary for the ship's owners and the owners of the cargo to send those ships through, even though Iran may still want to try to blockade that. Does blocking Iranian ports open up the Strait of Hormuz? No. Opening up the Strait of Hormuz will be required by clearing any mines that are reportedly there, and then probably by also escorting the ships through with an awful lot of defensive apparatus around that.

53:29But keep in mind that the Iranians are not actually allowing ships to go through the normal passageway, the normal routes. They're pushing them further north up into Iranian waters and then charging them a toll for that. And they've said the reason is that there's a danger zone around where the normal corridors go, a mile on either side of each other. And now if we could clear that, that's an if, but if we can clear it and then if we have the confidence to take on whatever Iran might want to throw our way. And it could be maritime drones, aerial drones, it could be anti-ship missiles, it could be fast boats with explosives.

54:09There's a number of potential threats out there. And the problem is, of course, that we have to be perfect, and they only have to get through every day or two or three, if they indeed choose to do that. But of course, that will then resume hostilities, and they don't know what the U.S. will do in response to that. And we have quite a good bit of arsenal out there to go after the assets that are being used for this. Assuming, I mean, if the Strait of Hormuz is opened, that still doesn't deal at all with obviously Iran's nuclear capabilities or their desire to continue their nuclear program. In the end, I assume there have to be some negotiations?

54:55There would, of course, but there are two really big issues here, I think. One is that the Strait of Hormuz has to be open as an international waterway without Iran able to tax or toll the ships that go through there or determine which ships are allowed through. And then number two, the issue of the nuclear program and whether or not we are willing to compromise in some fashion. There are reports that apparently that the negotiators may have said, well, you can't enrich uranium for 10 years or something. Now, I don't know that those are confirmed. That would indicate, though, that there is a bit of openness on the U.S.

55:32side to discussing that particular issue. General David Petraeus, thanks very much. I appreciate it. Coming up next, we are headed up to Capitol Hill with the breaking news, Senator Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell resigning from Congress amid serious allegations of sexual misconduct, seeing as Mono Raju is getting reaction from lawmakers as he joins us live next. We'll be right back.

55:59We are back with breaking news. Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell this afternoon has announced he will resign from Congress. This is he faces explosive allegations of sexual misconduct. Scandal also forced Swalwell to suspend his campaign for California governor in which he was a leading candidate. I want to bring in CNN's Manu Raju who's up on Capitol Hill getting a reaction to the news. Manu, what are you hearing from folks up there from Democrats in particular? Well, Democrats are breathing a sigh of relief because almost certainly they would have faced a vote to expel Eric Swalwell by the middle of this week.

56:33And it would have put a lot of Democrats in a difficult position because of the fact that this ethics investigation into Eric Swalwell has just started. A lot of members are concerned about expelling a member of Congress before that ethics probe has fully played out yet. But given the seriousness of the allegations, facing Eric Swalwell. Many of them said that they believed that it was time for him to go and they could avoid that vote to expel him altogether. And now that he has resigned from Congress, many Democrats are saying that he made the right decision. Senator Alex Padilla, a senator from California, told me that he did make a right decision.

57:09He said that Swalwell should no longer be a member of Congress. And I just caught up with Senator Elizabeth Warren as well, And she indicated her belief that it was time for Swalwell to go. People who are in positions of power and authority over others need to be held accountable when they take advantage of that position. And frankly, I'm glad that he'll be gone. You are? Yeah. Were you surprised when you saw this? You ran against him in 2020. You know, what surprises me is how these guys keep doing this over and over. He's not the first. He probably won't be the last. That they get into positions of authority and they think they can have whatever they want.

57:57And ultimately, it's good to see a little accountability. And there are still other members of the House facing pressure from their own members and facing the possibility of being expelled from their seats, namely Congressman Tony Gonzalez, a Republican of Texas, someone who has admitted to having an extramarital affair with a staffer, a staffer who later died by suicide. And it is, of course, a blatant violation of House rules to carry on in any sort of romantic relationship with a subordinate. And there's pressure, there's an expectation that there could be a vote as soon as this week in the House to expel Congressman Gonzalez.

58:39But the decision by Eric Swalwell means that that issue is now put aside. There won't be a vote on Eric Swalwell. Now he's no longer going to be a member of the House. But watch for other members like Congressman Tony Gonzalez to face that pressure from his own colleagues as soon as the middle of this week, Anderson. Yeah, watching that. Manu Raju, thanks very much on Capitol Hill. Up next, what we are learning about the Trump administration's efforts to deport foreign nationals living in the U.S. who have ties to the former Iranian regime.

59:13In our faith lead, Pope Leo told CNN today he has no fear of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospels. His response comes after President Trump told reporters he's, quote, not a fan of the Pope. Neither one is apologizing. No, I don't, because Pope Leo said things that are wrong. so I can't. I think he's very weak on crime and other things. So I'm not, I mean, he went public. I'm just responding to Pope Leo. To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the gospel is.

59:57And I'm sorry to hear that, but I will continue on what I believe is official in the church. We're joined now by Cardinal Thomas McElroy, the Catholic Archbishop of Washington, D.C. Appreciate you being with us. I'm wondering what you make of the president's attacks on the Pope and of Pope Leo's response. I find the president's attack very distressing in that particularly because we're in an age of polarization where there's been a general degradation in our public dialogue and discourse. And on an issue this important, that of the war, it's important that the substance of the issues involved be discussed with respect and politeness and care.

1:00:45and the Pope was proclaiming the gospel and Catholic teaching, which concludes that this war is immoral, morally illegitimate. And the public discourse should try to deal with how do we understand those questions? How do we ascertain what is the moral course forward in the right pathway for our country? It's really degrading comments is particularly distressing. It's interesting because the president seems to be going after Pope Leo almost as though he is a politician and sort of attacking him as he does a political figure. Yes, I think the president fundamentally misunderstands the Pope's role, which is not to be a politician, precisely not to be a politician, but simply to speak to the moral dimensions of public policy issues, particularly the war at this time.

1:01:48What is the moral reality behind what we are doing? And how can we focus on that and really understand how we should move forward at this moment? The president posted on social media an AI manipulated image showing him curing a sick patient, wearing robes that certainly look like robes Jesus may have worn. He has light emanating from both of his hands. I want to just play the president's explanation of that today. I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross as a Red Cross worker there, which we support. And only the fake news could come up with that one. I mean, I've been to doctors and I've never had one dressed in Jesus's robes with celestial light pouring down on his countenance and a woman to his right praying as she stares into the orb glowing from his left hand.

1:02:58I'm wondering what your reaction to that is. I haven't talked to a single person who interprets that the same way the president does. And it's particularly disturbing because for us, the person of Jesus Christ is sacred. and for the president to take on this aura and identity in this piece is really crossing a line which for most Christians is going to be very aiming. You've also had your own differences with the Trump administration about the immigration crackdown, certainly the tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. I'm wondering what kind of a reaction you've been getting to that.

1:03:48Well, the church's position on immigration, undocumented immigration, is that the nation has the right to control its borders and has the right to deport those who have been convicted of serious criminal offenses. But what we're witnessing now is not that. What we're witnessing is the mass indiscriminate deportation of men and women and children and families who have often been here for a long time and bringing all the values that need to contribute to our culture and society at the present moment. And for that reason, there's tremendous suffering going on in the communities of which I am Archbishop here in Washington.

1:04:26Our parishes are suffering deeply. We have one parish where 30 people have been deported. And so the church has spoken up on this question, again, saying security at the border is an important legitimate goal of the government. And the deportation of those convicted in Syria is legitimate and objective for government. But this indiscriminate siege and assault upon the undocumented immigrants of our country really is cruel and inhumane and against the best interests of our country long term and short term. Just finally, what do you say to people who come up to you who despair about where we are as a society, where we are as a country?

1:05:14I'm not talking about somebody on one side of the political aisle. I'm just talking about the actual country that we live in and the people, we as human beings, where we are. To people who feel despair, what do you say? Well, I'd say we have been through periods which are as difficult in our nation's history. The Civil War was certainly such a period. And the late 1960s were a very turbulent time in our country. in which there are radical dislocations within the society. And so I would say we will come out of this. I'm confident of that. But it's going to be a very difficult pathway there, I think.

1:06:02And what we have to do is focus on that which our country is founded for, that is freedom and justice, compassion and welcoming people into our country and establishing equality for all. Those are our aspirations as a country. If we keep focused on those, then we will be doing what our obligation is. And I believe that we will come out of this and have a new resurgence in our understanding of who we are called to be as Americans. I'm Cardinal Robert McElroy. Thank you for your time and for your decency. Sure. Thank you, Anderson. Thanks very much. A viral video captured immigration agents detaining a U.S.

1:06:44citizen in Minnesota earlier this year, and now local officials are investigating the case as a possible kidnapping. What we're learning about that case tonight.

1:06:59In our world lead, the State Department announced this weekend it is moving to deport the family of a prominent Iranian politician. Masumai Ebtekar served as the spokeswoman for the group of Iranians who stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 took 66 American hostages, 52 of whom were held for 444 days. In a statement early Saturday, the Trump administration announced Ebtikhar's son and his family had their green cards terminated and were in the custody of ICE. Joining me now is Iranian activist and journalist, Masih Al-Najad. Thanks so much for being here. You've been a, obviously, a critic of this regime, but also of Ebtikhar and her family living here.

1:07:36I think a lot of people would be surprised to know that a lot of these people's families live here. Yeah, I mean, to be honest, I cannot even hide my smile. I heard you exclaim when I said it. I'm telling you why. Because Mahasuma Ibtekar is the one who actually spoke person of a group of students who took American diplomats hostage. She was the spokesperson. She was the one actually ruined our lives. And I have a personal story about her as well. When I launched my campaign against compulsory hijab, where women were sending me videos of themselves walking unveiled, basic thing. She was the one she attacked me and my women in Iran saying that hijab is part of our culture.

1:08:19It's only Massey wants to impose Western values on Iranian women, but Iranian women refused to listen to her. And guess what? That was the time that her own daughter-in-law was here in America, enjoying freedom of dress code, showing their hair, walking freely in America. And I'm like, how come you are the woman who said death to America from the age of seven? You forced us to chant death to America. Why did it take so long for people to realize this? I think you know better than me because Biden and President Obama, let's be very clear and loud, in their policy, it was all about appeasement. I reached out to them myself.

1:09:02I mean, the reason that I am here, because I wanted to interview President Obama during 2009 uprising in Iran. I was invited for that. But he refused to do it because he said, if I do this, I mean, his administration, the U.S. will send a signal to the people in Iran, to the government in Iran that the U.S. government supported the green movement. And I still don't get what's wrong with democracy supporting pro-democracy movement in Iran. So President Obama was all about getting the deal, nuclear deal. And I heard that, and I'm very sure that part of the deal was giving green card and visa to the relative of these hostage takers.

1:09:43You think that was part of the deal? Of course it was part of the deal, because in that time, more than 100 relatives of the ayatollahs living here. Let me tell you, Mohsen Mir Damadi, another hostage taker, he was a member of parliament. He was the one actually took American diplomats hostage. And now his son lives here. He lives here in America, enjoying, you know, having access to university researchers, having access to technology. This is a national, this is a threat against American national security. Another daughter of Habib, I forgot his surname. So Hamideh is living here now, living here and another hostage taker.

1:10:24Do people in Iran feel there's hypocrisy from their leaders? I mean, they're aware of this. It is hypocrisy. It is total hypocrisy that those who are spreading death to America from the age of seven forced us to burn the flag of America, sending their children to enjoy freedom. That's like stabbing Iranians from their back. That's like actually an insult to Americans as well. Are there more people living outside Iran you think need accountability? Of course. Give you one day, I can count more than 100. Because it just breaks my heart. I got the killers in front of my house from this government.

1:11:05Women who now live in miserable life. You have lived in safe houses. More than 21 times because the Iranian regime sent killers here. But forget about me. Right now, there are students here in America, engineers here. They are the, you know, they escape from the parents of these people to have freedom here. And for them, life is like a hell. Because I want to actually ask Secretary Rubio, protect the victims of the Islamic Republic. Because I don't want these students, the victims, to suffer. But the people, those same hostage takers who actually go back to Iran multiple times. So the relative of the Ayatollahs, they ask for asylum, but they go back to Iran.

1:11:55When you support terrorists, then you don't get to ask for protection here in America. That's very clear. So I'm very thankful to Secretary Rubio, and I'm very thankful to the U.S. administration to take decisive and concrete decision about the children and relative of the hostage takers. Masi El-Nujad, I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you so much. Pleasure. This is haram in my country. Women get lashes, get bitten off. Thank you so much for having me. All right, you take care. Be careful. We've got some breaking news in our politics. Leader Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez of Texas has just confirmed he plans to retire from Congress.

1:12:33I want to go straight back to CNN's Manu Raju on Capitol Hill. Manu? Yeah, this has been a scandal that has engulfed this congressman for several weeks in the aftermath of revelations that he had an extramarital affair with his aide. That aide later died by suicide. Initially, Tony Gonzalez had denied having any sort of extramarital affair, but as the allegations were mounting, he admitted to that. Then he decided not to run for re-election, and he indicated repeatedly that he would not resign his seat from the House. But moments after the decision by Eric Swalwell caught up in a separate sexual misconduct scandal, Gonzalez himself making the decision to resign.

1:13:14Following Eric Swalwell's decision to resign, Gonzalez himself saying he will step down from Congress, saying on X, saying this, there's a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas. Now, the decision by both Gonzalez and Swalwell has a couple of key ramifications, one of which is that they both can avoid a House ethics probe. Both men were facing an investigation, but now that members are no longer serving in the House, that committee, the ethics committee, no longer has jurisdiction over those members and expect that in those investigations essentially to go away.

1:13:58Also, both men were facing expulsion votes in the United States House. That potentially could have succeeded. It would have required two-thirds majority in the United States House to go ahead. And both of those members clearly looking to avoid that possibility here. But Gonzalez had decided to stay on as a result of perhaps the Republican leadership not calling on him to step aside. Because Anderson, as you know, this is the narrowest of majorities in the United States House. Had Eric Swalwell still been a member of Congress and Gonzalez had resigned, Johnson would have zero margin for error. He could not afford a single defection in the United States House.

1:14:37But now that Eric Swallow has resigned and Gonzalez plans to do the same, that means that Johnson can still afford to lose one Republican vote on a party line vote, which shows you how every seat is so critical in the narrowly divided Republican House. Manaraju, thanks very much. We'll have more on this throughout the night. That's now two members of Congress leaving their jobs amid scandal within the last two hours. Let's see what happens next hour. Much more on the breaking news from Capitol Hill.

1:15:12We're back with breaking news. Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez announcing he will retire from Congress tomorrow amid allegations of having an improper relationship with a staffer. That coming about an hour after Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell said he would resign over allegations of sexual assault. Joining us is my panel. Michael Singleton is with me. And here in New York is Chris Gallant. Chris, are you surprised by this? Honestly, with great power comes great responsibility, right? And so if you are in a position of power and you utilize that power in a way that sexual assault becomes a thing, it's just not appropriate.

1:15:51And, you know, a serious investigation needs to take place in something like this. It needs to be thoroughly investigated, and I think that's what's going to exactly happen. Sure, Michael. You know, Tony Gonzalez, this has been going on for a while. It seems like Swalwell announcing is what made it, I don't know if it's made it possible for him, sort of from a political standpoint, because it wouldn't necessarily change the balance of power. He seemed to invoke God in his statement. But why now? Yeah, the irony of invoking God after the woman that he was alleged to have had an inappropriate relationship with killed herself, a lady who was married, family, friends who cared deeply about her.

1:16:35I mean, this is pretty despicable. What's unfortunate about all of this to me, though, Anderson, let's just put the politics to the side. There's been over$17 million, roughly$17 million in payouts from members of Congress on both sides to keep quiet sexual assault. I believe Nancy Mace out of South Carolina had a bill, I think, a month ago that she attempted to get passed in Congress to reveal who are these members who have paid out after being alleged to have had inappropriate relations with their staff members. and Congress voted against disclosing who those members are and were if some of them are now out of Congress.

1:17:11Just imagine that taxpayer dollars paying to cover up this type of atrocious behavior by the representatives that we elect to serve our interests. It just doesn't make any sense to me. It falls below despicable. And I'm saying this as a conservative. I don't look at this as a right or a left thing. I have a one-year-old daughter now. And to me, when I think about powerful men doing things against women who are subordinate to them, who can't really defend themselves, who may be afraid to speak up because they don't want to lose their jobs. And then our elected officials on both sides had an opportunity to say, you know what, we're not going to stand for this anymore.

1:17:49We're going to disclose the names. We're no longer going to pay out to protect powerful people. And they decided to bury it. Just imagine that, Anderson. In what universe would a moral society say that that is acceptable, that that is okay? It's bizarre to me, Chris, I mean, the behavior, obviously, if the allegations are true against Representative Swalwell, you know, there are legal ramifications. For the, for congressmen, for the Republican congressmen, And the arrogance that he thought, if, you know, the text messages that he was sending, the pressure he was allegedly putting on the woman who ended up dying by suicide and perhaps others, or at least another, it's shocking that he thought that was acceptable.

1:18:41I mean, in this day and age, you know, asking somebody you are working with repeatedly for naked photographs and pressuring them to have sexual relations with you, it's what planet is that person living on? In any place, in any work environment, I mean, I am actually an equal opportunity representative in the military, in the army with my unit, and we discuss situations like this all the time, and doing something like this to people that are subordinate to you or just even that work with you in a work environment just makes it so uncomfortable, and it's totally not accepted. It's definitely not accepted in the military.

1:19:16We fight it through and through. It's not accepted in any workplace at all. And especially a member of Congress who has such power and ruling over things that occur in this country. To have this happen in Congress is just completely unacceptable. Sure, Michael. Do you think GOP leaders should have asked Gonzalez to take the step earlier? I mean, obviously, there would have been, you know, balance of power implications, I assume. But he's been hanging on. Sure, but Anderson, who cares respectfully about balance of power? I'm not saying this to you, but I'm just saying broadly speaking. Who cares when you have a member amongst your ranks who have clearly violated what I presume should be an ethical or moral principle of conservatives, but hell, any decent person?

1:20:00Who cares if you lose a vote? You shouldn't want people like that amongst your ranks. And to me as a Christian, do I put my political values above my moral and spiritual ones? Of course not. And my expectation is that our leaders on both sides should not do the same. And what I'm worried about, Anderson, is a month from now, two months from now, we will have moved on. We'll be on to the next story. But what about the young staff women who have to carry this shame, this predatory behavior with them for the rest of their lives that they will never get over? they'll never get their justice. They'll never get their due day in court because we've buried it.

1:20:42We've moved on. And that's something that Congress continues to perpetuate. And to me, I think we have to keep focused on this to make sure that it doesn't continue because these guys going away doesn't stop this. It merely says, well, we'll just, we'll pay attention to them. We won't make sure, we'll make sure this never happens again, but you're still going to keep paying out. You won't disclose all of the other members who've done similar things, why not? Why not let us know who all of them were and currently are? Maybe some of them may still even be there. And we have no clue because we have two individuals that both parties are somewhat sacrificing.

1:21:18That to me, again, is unacceptable. Chris, you're running for Congress as a Democrat. I mean, when you look at Congress, you sure you want to be there? I mean, there's a lot of, I mean, how old are you? I'm 36. You're a pilot. You're doing a lot of stuff. What is it that makes you want to? I want to make a change. And this is one of those changes that we definitely need to make. We need to hold people accountable. We need to make sure that Congress is transparent. We need to make sure that we have open investigations of things like this. If this is going on, this is something that I will fight for every single day.

1:21:55I appreciate both of you being with us. Chris Gallant, thanks very much for Michael Singleton as well. Coming up, they inspire the world with their journey around the moon. I'm still excited having watched Friday's splashdown. You're going to hear the Artemis II astronauts reflect on their remarkable historic journey next.

1:22:20In our Out of This World lead, the history-making astronauts of Artemis II reflecting on their journey. Here's CNN's Tom Ford. 3, 2, 1, booster ignition and liftoff. From their spectacular launch to their historic lunar loop. To all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you from the moon. Right through their triumphant return, the Artemis crew had plenty to say. Tagerty, splashdown, sending post landing command now. Splashdown confirmed. Your Artemis 2 crew. But their welcome home at times left them speechless. I have absolutely no idea what to say. This is 24 hours ago. The Earth was that big out the window and we were doing Mach 39.

1:23:09And here we are back at Ellington at home. Commander Reed Wiseman's space family joined him in an emotional moment in orbit, naming a crater on the lunar surface after his late wife. It's a bright spot on the moon. And we would like to call her Carol. Reunited with his daughters on Earth, Wiseman posted a simple message on X. Mission complete. Another post on social media found pilot Victor Glover met with a makeshift parade by his neighbors. And he made a point of the gathering. Some of us have never met before. And you know whose fault that is? Ours. So let's choose to do this. Let's be this more.

1:23:49Let's be neighbors. I don't know if you heard me say it, but God told us to love him with all that we are and love our neighbors as ourselves.

1:24:02Christina Cook's dog, of course, had no idea where she went. But she warmly greeted the mission specialist back from cold space, just as Cook says so many others have too. Planet Earth, you are a crew. Thank you. And Canadian mission specialist Jeremy Hansen's wife suggested the whole world indeed seemed to be watching. I can't keep up with the messages anymore, so I am just so grateful for the outpouring of support. While her astronaut husband felt it every mile along the way. When you look up here, you're not looking at us. We are a mirror reflecting you. And if you like what you see, then just look a little deeper.

1:24:49This is you. Time and again, the message from all of them was very simple. They saw the moon in a way that no other humans ever have. But what it changed was how they see the earth that we all share. Anderson? Remarkable. Tom Foreman, thanks so much. I'll see you tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern for AC 360. Aaron Burnett, Outfront, starts now.

1:25:17I'm Eva Longoria, and I'm setting out to really experience France to savor its world-celebrated cuisine and explore the country's rich history. Eva Longoria, searching for France. Now streaming on the CNN app. Influential journalist Cara Swisher is taking a hard look at the longevity industry. There's so much bad information that the really good information gets drowned. The new CNN original series, Cara Swisher Wants to Live Forever. Now streaming on the CNN app.