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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Man Mistakenly Deported To El Salvador Is Back In U.S. To Face Charges; Interview With Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Trump And Musk Feud Still Brewing; NY Times: Buyer With Ties To Chinese Communist Party Got VIP Treatment At Trump Crypto Dinner; Trump Admin. Starts Easing Sanctions Against Syria Following The Fall Of Bashar Al-Assad's Regime; Billboards Thanking Pres. Trump In Syria's Capital. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired June 06, 2025 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you someone this 20 years ago, how do you think they would have reacted?
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: They'll say you're crazy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, that's why.
O'SULLIVAN: So what's changed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This community.
O'SULLIVAN: Community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, our community, this community, that's what changed.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People waking up and going -- we don't talk about this -- yes, we do. We talk about it a lot because it's coming whether we are ready or not, so.
O'SULLIVAN: Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, Planet Earth.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Thanks, Donie, for that amazing report and thanks to all of you for being with us on a Friday, Anderson starts now.
[20:00:38]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Tonight on 360, breaking news, the man mistakenly deported to an El Salvadoran prison has been returned to the U.S. and indicted and now we all learn the prosecutor in charge has resigned over it.
Also, day two of the breakup that broke the internet. What Elon Musk and Donald Trump are saying now. And we'll look tonight at how Musk's insinuation about the President and sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, is landing with the MAGA faithful, and how some far right influencers may be trying to figure out whose side they're on.
Good evening, thanks for joining us. Today's first surprise was learning that the man the Trump administration mistakenly deported, then said would never be coming back to this country had just been returned from El Salvador to face federal charges.
The second surprise came hours later, just hours after Kilmar Abrego Garcia's federal indictment in Nashville, Tennessee, was announced. CNN's Evan Perez broke the news that the Justice Department's chief of the of the Nashville office's criminal division quit over the decision to charge him. That's what sources briefed on the matter told Evan.
Here's part of what the official, Ben Schrader, now a former official, posted on his LinkedIn page at the time: "It has been an incredible privilege to serve as a prosecutor with the Department of Justice," he wrote, "Where the only job description I've ever known is to do the right thing in the right way, for the right reasons."
Now, Abrego Garcia is charged with two counts, which Attorney General Bondi laid out earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: The grand jury found that over the past nine years, Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring. They found this was his full time job, not a contractor. He was a smuggler of humans and children and women. He made over a hundred trips, the grand jury found smuggling people throughout our country, MS-13 members, violent gang terrorist organization members throughout our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, the indictment, which again, our sources say the top criminal official in Nashville resigned over mentions half a dozen unnamed coconspirators.
We're joined by in a moment by Senator Chris Van Hollen in Maryland where Abrego Garcia lived. Earlier this year, the senator visited him in El Salvador.
But first, more on all we are learning from CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, who joins us now. So what more do we know about Schrader's decision to quit his job and the substance of the indictment itself?
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, according to sources who have talked to our colleague Evan Perez, there had been some disagreement among the prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's office. And we're now learning about this resignation, which happened the same week of the grand jury indictment last month.
And that is exactly what we have been learning more of today from Attorney General Pam Bondi. As you mentioned there, they are returning Abrego Garcia to face these federal criminal charges, which include indictments on two criminal counts in the Middle District of Tennessee that includes transporting migrants who were in the country illegally. Now, this all stems back to a brush with law enforcement that Abrego
Garcia had in Tennessee back in 2022, and we had seen footage of that, Anderson, and known about that brush with law enforcement. There was not much else, though, that had been revealed, but we are now learning that there was an ongoing investigation that clearly stemmed some disagreements over now, the charges that Abrego Garcia is facing as he's returned to the United States.
But all of this was an extraordinary development in a case that up until this point, the Trump administration had dug their heels in on and said repeatedly that they had no intention of returning Abrego Garcia, even as they cast him as a member of MS-13, something that his attorneys and his family refutes and also flagged these cases, these brushes with law enforcement, like, for example, this investigation in Tennessee, which culminated ultimately in his return. So really a remarkable about-face, Anderson, for this decision --
COOPER: And what's his attorney saying tonight?
ALVAREZ: Well, his attorney is calling it "abuse of power." Remember, this has been at the center of a fraught legal battle. And it's the reason that it has gained so much attention because it was a case in which the administration had conceded error. They said that this was an administrative error when Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador in mid-march because in 2019, an immigration judge said he could not be deported to El Salvador for fear of persecution.
So, this has been an intense standoff between the Trump administration and a federal judge in Maryland, who expressed frustration multiple times that the administration was stonewalling her and just not doing what she said, which was requiring his return again, because they had erroneously sent him to El Salvador.
So, he is saying tonight, "that the government disappeared to a foreign prison in violation of a court order. Now, after months of delay and secrecy, they're bringing him back, not to correct their error, but to prosecute him." That according to his attorney.
So, this is something that they will be continuing to watch and watch very closely, but certainly something that they did not expect even earlier today.
[20:05:50]
COOPER: Yes, Priscilla Alvarez, thanks very much.
Joining us now, CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig, who is a former federal prosecutor. What does this say to you that the chief of the criminal division resigned over this decision to charge.
ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Anderson, it's obviously a protest made -- a protest resignation. This individual, this prosecutor, Mr. Schrader, is the picture of the career nonpolitical prosecutor. If you look at his resume, he's been there 15 years through administrations of both parties. He's worked his way up the chain to this big position. If you look at his bio, he talks about how he prosecuted both rioters after the George Floyd murder and January 6th rioters.
He clerked for a judge who was put on the bench by George W. Bush. And I found it really interesting, Anderson, that in the statement you showed earlier that this prosecutor posted, he closes by saying we do the right thing in the right way for the right reasons. That is a mantra.
That is something -- I remember being taught that on my very first day at the Justice Department, because the ethic and the culture that you learn is that if you are ever, God forbid, presented with a prosecution that you think is unethical or politically motivated, it's your right and even your responsibility to resign.
And by the way, we've seen this before. Remember, a half dozen career prosecutors or more resigned over the politicization of the Eric Adams' case. So, I think this prosecutor is in good company.
COOPER: Does anything stand out to you about the indictment?
HONIG: No, the indictment itself and the charges in it are entirely unremarkable. What I think is unusual here, however, is the sequence.
Let's remember, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was wrongly deported. The administration, DOJ admitted that at first, then there was this standoff that took us up to the Supreme Court, which ordered the administration to facilitate his return. DOJ then dragged its feet at best, the administration said -- oh, were not capable of it. Then there's this sort of backtrack and they find these criminal charges, that is really unusual. That is not ordinarily the way you would handle this and it wouldn't surprise me at all if that's part of the reason why this prosecutor resigned.
COOPER: Elie Honig, thanks so much.
Now, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, he sits on the Foreign Relations Committee. He met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador back in April.
Senator, what's your reaction to the breaking news? First of all, that the chief of the criminal division at the U.S. Attorneys' Office resigned over the decision to charge this guy.
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): Well, Anderson, I just learned that as well and obviously, it raises questions about the Trump administration's approach in this case. Of course, from the very beginning, the Trump administration has ignored the law. I think overall, the story today is a good news story for due process and the Constitution, after all, as you were just reporting for months, the Trump administration has thumbed its nose at the Constitution. They've ignored a nine to zero Supreme Court order, so they relented today.
They brought him back, and now Abrego Garcia will have a chance to fight his case in a court of law instead of being banished overnight into a gulag in El Salvador, he'll finally have a chance to talk to his lawyers. He hasn't had that chance since he was taken away. I'm the only person who had spoken to him. So yes, there are big questions to be raised about why this individual
in the U.S. Attorneys' Office resigned, but let's focus on the fact that for now, that the Trump administration said they'd never allow him to come back to the United States, he is now back, and he now at least has a chance in a court of law, something that the Trump administration should have pursued from the beginning.
COOPER: You said earlier in a statement, this is not about the man, it is about his constitutional rights and the rights of all, which was something you've been saying all along that this is not necessarily about this guy in particular. It's about the right to due process, which everybody has in the United States.
VAN HOLLEN: And I think that is the fundamental point, Anderson. I've said I'm not vouching for the man, Abrego Garcia. This is not about him. It is about his constitutional rights and I think we all recognize that if the Trump administration can trample over his constitutional rights, it's a very short road to tyranny when they can essentially put all of our constitutional rights in jeopardy.
So, that is why I think so many of us and I've been focused on this case, because it is a clear early example of the Trump administration's efforts to ignore the Constitution and at least until today, ignore a nine to zero decision from the Supreme Court.
[20:10:31]
COOPER: I want to read a part of a statement released by the White House, they said, in part: "The Democrat lawmakers, namely Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen and every single so-called journalist who defended this illegal criminal abuser, must immediately apologize to Garcia's victims." Your response to that?
VAN HOLLEN: You know, I will never apologize for defending the Constitution. In fact, it's the Trump administration on all his cronies who should apologize to the country for putting us through this unnecessary situation, and to Abrego Garcia for putting him through this situation and his family.
All I have said from the beginning is that the Trump administration should respect the rule of law and the Constitution of the United States. So really, it's President Trump who should apologize to the country for violating his oath to the Constitution. I'm glad in this moment, there are finally doing what the Supreme Court said. But they continue, Anderson, to violate the Constitution in many, many other cases.
COOPER: Senator Van Hollen, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
Coming up next, just a day after their breakup, both the President and Elon Musk are at it again, posting on social media and speaking out what they said, when we come back.
Also, George Clooney on the lesson on legacy of legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow on the eve of CNN's live broadcast of "Good Night and Good Luck." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR AND FILMMAKER: We have to remember who we are. We are not descended from fearful men, as Murrow says.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:16:21]
COOPER: New developments in just the last couple of hours or so in the wake of the blowup and breakup of Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Tonight, Musk returned to one of the themes that triggered the President yesterday and their argument over the President's tax and spending bill, his call for a new political party in a poll he launched the subject.
Tonight, Musk said the people have spoken and dubbed the party, he says 80 percent want the America Party. For his part, this is how the President responded when asked about the veiled threat he made yesterday to cut off federal spending with Musk-related companies, most notably SpaceX, Starlink, and Tesla. Here's what he told reporters aboard Air Force One this evening on the way to his golf club in New Jersey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We'll take a look at everything. Everything -- it's a lot of money. There's a lot of subsidy. So, we'll take a look at that -- only if it's fair. Only if it's fair for him, only if it's fair for him and for the country, but it has to be fair.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: When asked whether he had any plans to smooth things over with Musk, the President said no, adding, I'm not even thinking about him. The President tonight said he would not comment on recent reporting in "The New York Times" on Musk's alleged drug use. However, just before airtime, CNN learned that he has asked aides if they believe Musk's behavior over the past 48 hours could be related to it. That's according to a source familiar with the conversations.
Now, some of that behavior you'll remember included this post, "Time to drop the really big bomb @real Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT."
And just to give you some idea of how stunning that was at the very -- at the time, here's the very moment FBI Director Kash Patel and Joe Rogan saw it during Rogan's podcast recorded yesterday afternoon, but released today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE ROGAN, PODCAST HOST, "THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE": Jesus Christ.
KASH PATEL, U.S. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION DIRECTOR: I'm not participating in any of that conversation.
ROGAN: Jesus Christ, that's a crazy thing to say. How does he know? Does he know that Donald Trump is in the Epstein files? Or does he have access to the files?
PATEL: I don't know how he would, but I'm just staying out of the Trump-Elon thing that's way outside my line.
ROGAN: What the (bleep) are they doing?
PATEL: I know my lane and that ain't it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Joining us now, CNN political director David Chalian and CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. David, first of all, Kash Patel on Joe Rogan for, I guess, how many hours, kind of amazing. What's your reaction to the new CNN reporting that President Trump has asked his aides about Elon Musk's alleged drug use?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF AND POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I wonder if it's the first time he asked about it, or it's just the first time were learning about it? It seems not likely to me that when the article first came out last week, just prior to that Oval Office goodbye with the exchange of the key, you see there that that Trump wasn't thinking of asking around about that then as well.
Clearly, he has chosen to stay away from it, and he doesn't want to talk about it publicly. And I think that's part of also trying to find some sort of off-ramp from yesterday's theatrics, Anderson, Trump or Elon Musk, quite frankly, clearly chose not to try to inflame this further today, but actually tried to tamp this down.
COOPER: Ron, I mean, Elon Musk was talking about Steve Bannon a bunch today because Bannon was, you know, calling for his deportation, among other things. Does it seem like President Trump and Musk are trying to deescalate things to you as well? I mean, they're responding, you know, Trump is responding to questions from reporters. But it's certainly on a much smaller and quieter scale.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I mean, they both have a lot to lose here. Musk more, but you know, I suspect that they will not maintain their vehemence that we saw. You know, I was my racking my brain yesterday trying to think of the last time we had a political breakup that was this acrimonious. The only thing I could think of was JFK exiling Frank Sinatra in 1962, and Sinatra smashing the helipad at his house in Palm Springs in protest, supposedly.
[20:20:05]
But look, I mean, you know, when Trump is talking immediately like his immediate reaction when this when this burst forward was to threaten Musk's contracts. I mean, I think that is really revealing of the extent to which the President views the entire Executive Branch, the entire federal government, as a mechanism to reward his friends and punish his allies. And we are being numbed to that behavior, which would have been extraordinary in any earlier President.
I mean, every President is warmer to his political allies than his adversaries. But the idea that, like the Defense Department or NASA would not need SpaceX on Friday when they did on Wednesday, simply because Musk's relationship deteriorated with Trump, that's a change in the way our government operates, and we are kind of being inured to it.
COOPER: And, Ron, if memory serves me, that was one of the earliest responses by the President that was like the gut -- quick response.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, it was it was almost reflexive. You know, and look, it's of a piece with everything else. I mean, you were talking before about Eric Adams, you know, dropping the case against an ally, pardoning allies, meanwhile, launching criminal prosecutions against critics from the first term or Biden officials dropping cases against crypto as his family becomes more involved in that industry.
Basically, you are seeing what Nixon mused about in his darkest moments, the idea of an enemies list really just coming out in the open and Trump very openly, I think, sending the signal, which is why I think that that was so important that he said that publicly yesterday, sending a signal to everyone that if you are on the team, you're going to get rewarded. If you step off the boat in any way, you know, we are going to come down on you. And again, that is a very different way for our government to operate.
COOPER: Yes, David, it's an interesting idea. I mean, what Ron was talking about, that this is sort of a microcosm of the way Trump views his power and how he wants to use it and, and everything as his fiefdom.
CHALIAN: Yes and it also, I think on the flip side, the other unusual thing throughout all of this yes, Donald Trump is using the levers of power in ways that we don't usually see. But also you don't usually have the richest man in the world serve as a top adviser to the President of the United States.
And I think there's something else going on here, which is we have seen over -- you've watched this, Anderson, over decades corporate you know, chiefs of industry, titans of industry really try to keep an arms' length from being like fully involved in politics or they donate to both sides of the aisle so as not to offend.
We see that and now you saw a totally different approach here. Not just from Musk, but from tech industry broadly of just all in and appearing at the inauguration and appearing side by side. And I think they're probably observing and seeing lessons here about why past heads of companies try to avoid politics, because you could get singed pretty badly. And I think Musk learned that here.
COOPER: Yes, Ron Brownstein, David Chalian, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Coming up, we have more breaking news, a new piece in "The New York
Times" on the President's high dollar meme coin dinner last month, and the ties that one guests reportedly has, according to the paper to the Chinese Communist Party. "The Times'" Eric Lipton joins us on that.
And later, why Donald Trump is now on billboards in Syria that once showered praise on its former authoritarian ruler, Bashar al-Assad.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:28:08]
COOPER: New reporting tonight from "The New York Times" that a crypto buyer with ties to the Chinese Communist Party was given a warm welcome at President Trump's meme coin dinner last month. According to Chinese government documents examined by "The Times," he's a member of an advisory body working to broaden the Communist Party's influence.
Now, "The Times" says, "it could find no indication that the man is himself a member of the Communist Party" and, "The government body he serves on is fairly low level."
But the report is nonetheless getting attention, as are these photos the man posted from the dinner and a White House tour showing off his standing as one of the top owners of the meme coin. According to public transaction records reviewed by "The Times," he owned $3.7 million worth of the coin by the time the contest ended.
Joining me now is "New York Times" investigative reporter Eric Lipton, who's on the byline of the story. Eric, what more do you know about this man and his alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party?
ERIC LIPTON, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER AT THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, he is a member of an organization that meets regularly to give advice to the Chinese government and he's on the Science Committee of this organization and we have documents that show that he attended the January 2025 gathering.
And, you know, it's not like he has a high level role in the government. And the reason that we did this story is not because, you know, there are many crypto traders in China, and there's nothing wrong with him being active in the government.
But this, you know, that Trump was welcoming these folks to his dinner at the same time as he's moving to try to limit visas for Chinese students in the United States and he's suggesting that somehow China is trying to send people here with links to the Communist Party to do bad things in the United States.
So it's just the -- it is the disconnect there between his welcoming these individuals to his golf course club in Virginia and then having them at the at the White House for a tour when at the same time, he's taking actions to punish Harvard because it has Chinese students there and that was a disconnect and we examined it.
COOPER: Well and the person you're focusing on, from my understanding, from your reporting, is he went -- actually went to MIT, got a degree and then went back to China. So he is, I mean, he's literally exactly what the Trump administration is trying to ban.
LIPTON: That's right. He graduated, we confirmed with MIT in 2014 with the Master's Degree and in finance from the Sloan School there and then he went back and he runs a tech company, and he's starting up a crypto venture there.
And you know, but he is active in this advisory committee, which is trying to spread the influence of communism. And, you know, again, that's fine, if he chooses to do. But if Trump is fearful about having students come here, then why should these people be invited to his, you know, his club in Virginia and be given a tour of the White House?
[20:30:49]
COOPER: What has the White House commented on? What have they said to you?
LIPTON: The White House said that this was not an official event, that they were not involved in who came and who didn't come, that they did not -- they didn't participate in the tour, that this was something Bill Zanker, who's a business partner of Trump's and has been spending many years with him trying to figure out, you know, a bunch of, you know, crazy ways to raise money, that it was Zanker that really came up with this kind of auction to pay the president money effectively in order to get access to him and to visit the White House.
So they're basically pointing the finger at Bill Zanker. But, you know, the same individual was there, it was then, you know, greeted and welcomed into the White House for a tour.
COOPER: Yes, Eric Lipton, thanks very much. Fascinating reporting in the Times.
More now on the public falling out between President Trump and Elon Musk and how it's being received among the president's most devoted supporters. Here with CNN's Donie O'Sullivan.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think a lot of people expected the Elon thing to blow up at some point or another, but hopefully it doesn't get worse.
CHARLIE KIRK, MAGA ACTIVIST: But it didn't have to happen like this. I mean, accusing of the Epstein files, I mean --
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The MAGAverse reels as it comes to grips with a big breakup. Musk, alleging Trump, is in the so-called Epstein files.
ALEX JONES, CONSPIRACY THEORIST: This is the equivalent in the information sphere of a full-out nuclear war.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): The right has long been obsessed with the idea that there are so-called Epstein files, and for years they've fantasized about them incriminating Democrats.
DONALD TRUMP JR., SON OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: How is it that my father can be convicted of 34 crimes, but no one on Epstein's list has even been brought to light?
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Now they're expecting Trump to deliver and prove their conspiracy theories correct.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you declassify the Epstein files?
TRUMP: Yes, yes, I would.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.
TRUMP: I guess I would. I think that less so, because, you know, you don't know. You don't want to affect people's lives if it's phony stuff in there.
PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Tomorrow, Jesse (ph), breaking news right now, you're going to see some Epstein information being released by my office.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi invited right-wing influencers to the White House where she claimed some of the Epstein files would be released. But there were no big bombshells, and the stunt backfired.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think big picture, DOJ is making a huge mistake, huge mistake, in promising to reveal things and then not revealing them.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Many in MAGA World believe without evidence that Epstein didn't kill himself and that instead he was murdered so he would not be able to incriminate some of his powerful former friends.
DAN BONGINO, FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR: He killed himself. Again, you want me to -- I've seen the whole file.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Dan Bongino, who once peddled conspiracy theories about how Epstein died --
BONGINO: This Epstein thing, there's more than meets the eye there.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): -- is now Deputy Director of the FBI, and he's trying to tell MAGA World that Epstein really did kill himself.
GLENN BECK, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: I want to hear from Dan Bongino and say to him, Dan, specifically, what did you see? Because I know you. You didn't believe this either.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Musk has tapped into the growing suspicion and discontent, and it's left conspiracy theorists who are loyal to both Trump and Musk scratching their heads.
JONES: I believe Musk has integrity. I'm sure he was told that by some sources. He thinks they're accurate. How much saying Musk is wrong? We have to coolly investigate this and look at this.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Steve Bannon, a longtime Musk critic, didn't mince his words.
STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP ADVISER: I happen to believe, given the facts that I've been shown, that he's an illegal alien. An illegal alien's got to be deported.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Musk denies he ever worked in the U.S. without authorization.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Steve, what can I say? It's a hot day on X, but I'm staying frosty.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): MAGA influencer Jack Posobiec struggled to put a positive spin on it.
JACK POSOBIEC, RIGHT WING INFLUENCER: No, this is a throwdown. This is how men communicate. This is how men talk.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Asked a question about Musk, Posobiec deflected.
BANNON: Jack, if somebody in your unit had that type of drug -- had that type of drugs and they had a security clearance, what would happen to them, sir?
[20:35:04]
POSOBIEC: Well, Steve, remember that Hunter Biden popped positive, I believe, for cocaine on his very first weekend in the Navy Reserve.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): But in MAGA World --
KIRK: I actually -- I think this is going to be reconcilable.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): All hope is not lost.
KIRK: I mean, look, J.D. Vance called Trump, you know, compared him to Hitler back in, like, 2017, 2018, and now he's the vice president of the United States.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COOPER: And Donie O'Sullivan joins me now. So, I mean, Steve Bannon is being very clear. He's been very clear on his position on Musk all along.
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): Yes.
COOPER: Are others in the MAGA universe sort of conflicted or are they being candid?
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): Yes, they're --
COOPER: I mean, I'm certainly that guy wasn't about the drug use stuff.
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): Everybody's hedging, yes. I mean, it's -- again, as we mentioned yesterday, normally in this space, there's so clearly a villain who is normally a Democrat. So this is really confusing. It's discombobulating for these folks. So folks are not trying to -- are trying to just hopefully kind of wait it out, I guess.
But, I mean --
COOPER: He was trying to throw in Hunter Biden.
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): Yes, it's the typical, like, Jack Posobiec, by the way, who was a Pizzagate conspiracy theorist. So just so many layers of this. I mean, even watching our deputy director of the FBI was formerly a Fox News guy and then went on to be in the MAGAverse himself, who had been -- he'd been talking for years, Dan Bongino, about raising suspicions and questions about Epstein.
Now that he's on the inside, he's trying to convince people that, look, there isn't a conspiracy theory here. So it's fascinating to watch this play out because, you know, a lot of these folks are folks who have sowed these seeds, right, of doubt in the public consciousness.
And you also saw there that Don Jr., you know, bringing up this whole idea of, well, my dad's been -- they persecuted my dad, but they won't come after people on the, quote unquote, "Epstein list", that just sort of gives you a sense of how much they always want to play into this.
And we'll always say, you know, if there's a picture of a Democrat or any celebrity anywhere near Epstein, it's always, well, this person must be guilty. Whereas today, now they're trying to parse this out and say, well, Trump did hang out with Epstein, but no wrongdoing, which is totally correct.
COOPER: Right.
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): But that's just normally not something in this world that is afforded to people on the other side.
COOPER: That's certainly true. It's amazing to me to see Alex Jones still broadcasting, given all the lawsuits, the fines he's been -- that have been levied against him for the --
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): Absolutely. I mean, that lawsuit --
COOPER: He's still out there.
O'SULLIVAN (on-camera): Tens of millions, billions of dollars still manages to keep going. I mean, the grift manages to continue.
COOPER: Donie O'Sullivan, thanks very much. Appreciate it.
Coming up next, in one Middle Eastern capital, we'll take you there. It used to have billboards praising its authoritarian ruler. Now the billboards praise President Trump. Where you'll find these and why, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:42:26]
COOPER: Just days ago, the Trump administration started easing sanctions against Syria with a new government in place following the overthrow of the dictator Bashar al-Assad, who's now hiding in Russia. And in Syria's capital, there's a lot of appreciation for President Trump's decision to end those sanctions, and the signs of it are easy to find.
Here's Clarissa Ward.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dotted around the streets of Damascus, billboard after billboard of U.S. President Donald Trump.
WARD: Oh, there's another one. There's another one. Look, look, look, look. That is now the sixth poster billboard that we have seen since arriving here thanking President Trump.
WARD (voice-over): They're thanking him for lifting punishing sanctions and normalizing relations between the U.S. and Syria.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you, Trump. I love you, Trump.
WARD (voice-over): In small letters in the right-hand corner, a Syrian-American lobby group, Global Justice, co-founded by Maissa Kabbani.
MAISSA KABBANI, CO-FOUNDER, GLOBAL JUSTICE: I want to show you this one.
WARD: Wow.
KABBANI: Which is after the liberation, it was our new slogan, Make Syria Great Again.
WARD (voice-over): When the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad fell, Kabbani began shuttling back and forth from her home in Philadelphia to Damascus. She met with President Trump and Syria's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, pushing for that historic meeting between the two presidents. For President Trump, she had her sales pitch ready.
KABBANI: I told him our new slogan is Make Syria Great Again, and hopefully we're going to see Trump Tower in Damascus soon. So he was laughing. So, I don't know, I felt that we can do it. And I felt that, you know, this is the way how we're going to approach President Trump.
You know, his personality actually is different than any other president. And we need to talk to the people based on what they'd like to hear. And he likes to hear that.
WARD (voice-over): And she wasn't kidding about Trump Tower.
WARD: This is an early sketch of what Trump Tower in Damascus might look like. And as you can see, it is still a very long ways away. This abandoned construction site is just one of the places that people here are speculating could be the site for this proposed Trump Tower.
And we spoke to the head of Tiger Group, that's the property development company that is behind this proposal. They told us they have put in for government permissions. They're waiting for those. And from there, the next step is to approach the Trump Organization.
WARD (voice-over): Whatever it took to get to this point was well worth it in the eyes of many Syrians.
WARD: What was the reaction here when it was announced that the sanctions would be lifted?
[20:45:02]
KABBANI: Oh, my God. Did you see that -- you know, the same day as the Liberation Day, people went to the Amawiyin Square and they are happy, they were dancing, you know, they were chanting about Trump, chanting about President al-Sharaa. And we want to make Syria a land of opportunity, too. So you can see now everybody's coming back to Syria.
WARD (voice-over): Outside the U.S. ambassador's residence, the American flag raised last week for the first time since 2012, another sign of a warming relationship few could have imagined.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COOPER: Clarissa Ward joins me now. Clarissa, what's the next step in the relationship between the U.S. and Syria?
WARD (on-camera): Well, I guess, Anderson, the next step would be to have a U.S. ambassador take an official position here, and then there will be a number of really thorny, complex issues that the two countries will have to start working together on. But I do think it's really important to emphasize something, Anderson, which is that not everybody in Syria is absolutely thrilled about the warming relationship between the two countries.
And particularly what they're not thrilled about is this idea that President Trump raised, that also U.S. Special Envoy Tom Barrack raised when he was in Damascus last week, that essentially Syria should sign on to the Abraham Accords, potentially, or at the very least normalize its relationship with Israel.
Tensions with Israel, very high. There have been hundreds of strikes here since the country was liberated back in December. Of course, as you can probably imagine, emotions run really high here about what's happening in Gaza.
So that's probably going to continue to be an issue of some tension, although Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new president, has indicated that he is open, at least, and that he views Israel as actually sharing some enemies with Syria. And I would just say, at the end of the day, when you talk to most Syrian people, what they're really focused on, Anderson, is rebuilding their country.
They want to see investment unlocked, pouring in, they want to see reconstruction really starting again. It's been more than a decade of grinding sanctions, of terrible conflict. According to the U.N., more than 90 percent of people here living under the poverty line. So they want to get this relationship back on track, and in the words that you heard in our story tonight, Make Syria Great Again.
COOPER: Yes. Clarissa Ward, thank you.
Coming up next, more of my conversation with actor George Clooney on his starring role on Broadway in "Good Night, and Good Luck," which CNN will be broadcasting live Saturday night. Clooney portrays Edward R. Murrow when he took on Senator Joseph McCarthy.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: The part of it that I keep going back to is challenge, challenge, challenge people with more power than you. Defend people with less power than you.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:52:29]
COOPER: Tomorrow night here on CNN, for the first time, we'll be broadcasting a live performance of a Broadway play. It's never been done before. It's "Good Night, and Good Luck," starring and co-written by George Clooney, who has the lead role of legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow. And it chronicles his 1950s showdown with Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Earlier this week, I met with Clooney on the set of the play that's built to look like a CBS newsroom from that time.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: What do you hope people leaving this theater take away from?
CLOONEY: Well, I think it's always good to walk away reminding yourselves that we've been in tight spots before and we got through it. You know, this -- if you were a newsman in 1954, you would have felt some heat. You, personally, would have felt some heat. And there would have been charges of you being a communist.
COOPER: If I was in a newsroom in 1950, I would be outed as a homosexual.
CLOONEY: That's exactly right. But it would have been just the same as a communist. COOPER: Yes.
CLOONEY: These elements of fear, you know, what they're doing is not nearly as damaging as what we're doing to ourselves. You know, it's when you act on fear, when you start going, well, I'm going to keep quiet or I'm going to stay in the background or I'm going to let this thing slide.
You know, the first time you let something slide because of fear, you've lost. And so we have to -- remember that, we have to remember who we are. We are not descendant from fearful men, as Murrow says. We are not -- we are -- we've taken on some of the biggest challenges in the world.
We took on the Nazis when we were the paper tiger and no one thought we could do anything. We've seen the face of evil and we've defeated it. We're not fearful. So we need to remind ourselves of that sometimes.
COOPER: There's a line in the play when Murrow says, the terror is in this room.
CLOONEY: That's a line Murrow said. He actually said it. And the reason was because they were about to self-censor. And he said, then we have to go with the story.
Not because he thought he wanted to go with the story yet. He wanted to wait. He thought he wanted to get more evidence. But then he realized that it was now they were coming after them. And if he didn't go after them, they would come after him.
It's always better to be on your front foot than your back foot, you know. I always tell kids, we gave tickets away to 2,000 kids to come here and watch it, which is pretty funny because they have no idea who any of these people are. All of our references are pretty old and they're like -- but they got it at the end.
[20:55:03]
And the part of it that I keep going back to is challenge, challenge, challenge people with more power than you. Defend people with less power than you. If you do only that, you succeed. And it doesn't mean you're going to get everything right. It doesn't mean you're going to succeed all the time.
But you will have been a success in life if you do that. You know, the Democrats got caught in this, as you've seen a lot of the coverage of, like, just trying to put blinders on about things that were going on in the election. And it's very -- it ends up hurting you if you're not, you know, able to challenge things.
COOPER: Do you have any regrets about the role you played in what happened during the election of speaking out?
CLOONEY: No. You know, it's funny. You know, I wasn't the source for -- you know, Jake has this book out. I wasn't the source about that story of the fundraiser where I was at. But I'm not going to deny it was true. I'm just saying I wasn't the source.
COOPER: The story was that if the president didn't recognize you.
CLOONEY: Right. So I didn't -- you know, he got that from someone else and then sort of asked me. So it's true. In fairness, he -- I was told he had just come from Italy or from Europe, and he was tired. And fair enough. And we'd just seen him at the State of the Union. He seem -- everybody thought he was on cocaine, so he seemed like he was OK or doing all right.
That was a surprise. The debate was more of a surprise, obviously. But that's not why I wrote it. I wrote it when it became after that, when suddenly the people around were saying, don't believe what you saw. We were just talking about the facts.
That's -- and I was getting calls from senators and congressmen and governors, all who said what I wrote. They just didn't say it out loud. And I thought that was a mistake. I thought it was late, but I thought we had a chance.
I didn't think we had a chance otherwise. Obviously, we know the numbers would have been pretty bad. But I also don't like there is this thing now of looking backwards in a way. I think the people around President Biden advised him poorly. I really do. I feel like that was a bad move on their part.
Having said that, he was a guy who gave 55 years of service to his country. He was a loyal and faithful American who did an admirable job in everything he did. And I don't like that the one error in judgment at the end is somehow going to define him and make us be incredibly unkind to someone who had, you know, served his country so well, you know, for so long.
COOPER: Given all the performance you've given, is there -- just to end on, is there -- are there some lines of Murrow that stand out to you as having an impact on an audience and not asking you to do Murrow, right?
CLOONEY: No.
COOPER: (INAUDIBLE) Murrow. Like, are there some lines in your head that resonate strongly, you think?
CLOONEY: I love when he says we will not walk in fear one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine. Remember, we're not descended from fearful men. I love when he says we must remember that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law.
Because right now, as we're sitting here, we are contemplating not using due process of law. We are, in fact, not using due process of law and challenging it in the courts. And we're talking about -- they always say they're joking about, but they tend to joke about things out loud, getting rid of the writ of habeas corpus, you know. The things that are the foundation, the underpinning of our government. So I'm always proud when I get to say those lines because those lines don't -- they age very well, those lines. They still hold up, you know?
So, you know, here's what we do. This is a total bluff. We put this here, but these are all made of wood.
COOPER: Wow. Oh, wow.
CLOONEY: That one's fake. There's no lenses on it, but we have a real one hidden over here.
COOPER: Oh, that's how you do it.
CLOONEY: Yeah, that's interesting.
COOPER: But it is so, I mean, there's so much video.
CLOONEY: Yes.
COOPER: It's so interesting, the staging of it, because at times, you know, depending where you're sitting, you can't necessarily see your face --
CLOONEY: Yes.
COOPER: -- but you see it on this monitor.
CLOONEY: Yes, that giant, those monitors that come down. And then we have that camera is an actual real working camera. You see it's hooked up. But it's working not as a actual old-fashioned camera. You know, these cameras, when you see them like this, these had four lenses on them, and they would have a handle right here, and you would turn it, and the thing would turn depending on how close you wanted to be.
So we didn't do that, but inside here, we just have a video camera like you're using here that we use. And then we shoot all of that stuff live. So it's pretty fun along the way.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COOPER: George Clooney, I want to correct something I said in a portion of the interview with George Clooney that we played last night. I said that Netflix had made a documentary deal with First Lady Melania Trump, and that was a mistake on my part, and I'm sorry. I hate making mistakes, as we all do, but I believe in correcting them. It's Amazon that has made the deal with the First Lady, not Netflix, and I'm sorry for the error.
If you want to watch the history making, a special live broadcast of the Tony-nominated play, "Good Night, and Good Luck", it is on tomorrow night, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, and streaming on CNN.com. This has never been done before, a live Broadway production brought to you live. I'll see you then. I hope you watch.
The news continues. That's it for us. "The Source with Kaitlan Collins" starts now.
