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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Trump DOJ Probe Of Fed Chair Faces Backlash, Treasury Department Unhappy; Johnson: The Justice Department Is Not Being Weaponized; MN And Twin Cities Sue Trump Admin Over "Federal Invasion"; Iran's Security Forces Violently Crack Down On Protesters; Rights Group: 600-Plus Protesters Killed In Iran, 10K-Plus Arrested; Trump Weighs Military Action On Iran Amid Deadly Protests; FBI: Arson Suspect Attacked MS Synagogue For Its "Jewish Ties". Aired 8-9p ET

Aired January 12, 2026 - 20:00   ET

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

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: It's all a stunning turnaround from last summer when he and Trump sparred publicly and Musk threatened Trump over Epstein. Musk called signature spending bill on top of that a disgusting abomination.

At one point going so far as to say Trump is in the Epstein files, that is the real reason they have not been made public. Trump later deleted the tweet, and he got even -- went even further than that actually at one point.

But it now all appears to be water under the bridge. Thanks so much for joining us, "AC360" starts right now.

[20:00:27]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Tonight on 360, the Fed Chair who won't do the President's bidding makes a stunning announcement.

The President's Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation of him, and now one of the President's top Cabinet officials is reportedly unhappy about the move against Jerome Powell.

Also tonight, with a thousand more federal officers ordered into Minneapolis, the city and state sued the administration, calling its response a federal invasion.

And later protests in Iran turn deadly. Hundreds now reportedly killed as the regime cracks down on demonstrators and the protests in the streets continue.

Good evening, thanks for joining us.

We begin tonight, keeping them honest, with the Chairman of the Federal Reserve under criminal investigation and openly at odds with the President who chose him for the job, but now wants him gone.

Jerome Powell broke the news himself in a remarkable video statement last evening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEROME POWELL, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: On Friday, the

Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June.

The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.

Public service sometimes requires standing firm in the face of threats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, today, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN that Chairman Powell has retained a high-powered Washington law firm to represent him. He also got moral support today from all three living former Fed Chairs Janet Yellen, Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan, who along with others, issued a joint statement calling the probe an attempt to undermine the banks independence.

And I'm quoting now, "It has no place in the United States whose greatest strength is the rule of law, which is at the foundation of our economic success.

Keeping them honest, though, that strength is being tested by a President who's already made no secret of his willingness, if not eagerness, to use the law for payback.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: In 2016, I declared, I am your voice. Today, I add, I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, since saying that in 2023, and especially since taking office again, he's repeatedly signaled that he's the one whom he believes has been wronged or betrayed, in Jerome Powell's case by not cutting interest rates quickly enough or deeply enough for the President's liking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Do you expect the Fed to listen to you?

TRUMP: Yes.

If we had a Fed Chairman that understood what he was doing, interest rates would be coming down, too.

He should resign immediately.

I think he's terrible. I think he's a total stiff. This guy is a numskull, he keeps the rates too high and probably doing

it for political reasons.

Jerome, Too Late, you know, he's too late. His nickname is Too Late.

Sir, please don't fire him. He's got three months to go. Don't fire him. I want to get him out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, Chairman Powell's term is actually over in May, though he can stay on if he wishes as a voting Fed Governor through 2028. The federal inquiry centers on public statements he made about renovations at the Fed's D.C. headquarters in Washington, which are running over budget, specifically, whether he misled Congress during testimony on the matter back in June.

Now, the President was asked about the probe yesterday during a brief off camera interview with NBC News. He answered, "I don't know anything about it," which is something, of course, of a common refrain for the President.

But whatever his detailed knowledge of this latest move might be, he has certainly been laying the groundwork for it for months. Here he is in mid-July when asked about firing Chairman Powell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think it's highly unlikely, unless he has to leave for fraud. I mean, it's possible there's fraud involved with the $2.5 or $2.7 billion renovation. This is a renovation, how do you spend $2.7 billion and he didn't have proper clearance et cetera, et cetera

So, you know, that's going on. So, you know, there could be something to that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: So that was the 16th of July. He says there could be something to that. Then eight days later, here he is with Chairman Powell at the Fed, publicly sparring with the Chairman, who pushed right back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It looks like it's about 3.1 billion. It went up a little bit or a lot. So, the 2.7 is now 3.1.

POWELL: And I'm not aware of that.

TRUMP: Yes, it just came out.

POWELL: Yes, I haven't heard that from anybody at the Fed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just said you just added in a third building is what that is. That's a third building.

POWELL: No, it was built five years ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:05:20]

COOPER: Well, since then, the President has interviewed, potential replacements for Chairman Powell in just two weeks ago mused out loud about suing him over the Fed renovations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're thinking about bringing a suit against Powell for incompetence. He's at four billion more. It's going to end up costing more than $4 billion. $4 billion. It's the highest price of construction. There is nothing you can do about it. He's just a very incompetent man. But were going to probably bring a lawsuit against him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, two weeks later, and now it's a criminal matter as far as the from the first, the President has also tried to fire Lisa Cook, a Biden appointed fed governor alleging mortgage fraud. His Justice Department also indicted, of course, former FBI director James Comey and New York's Attorney General, Letitia James. The judge dismissed those charges.

The Justice Department is also investigating Jack Smith, a former special counsel, and now it is Jerome Powell's turn.

But not without pushback from the Presidents top economic official. A source with knowledge of the matter telling CNN that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has told people he's unhappy with the decision. Secretary Bessent's frustration was first reported by "AXIOS," which said he had told the President late yesterday that the federal investigation into Powell, "made a mess".

Lots to talk about with global economic analyst Rana Foroohar and former U.S. attorney for the middle district of Georgia, Michael Moore. Michael, what do you make, first of all, the merits of the DOJ investigation into Powell?

MICHAEL MOORE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, well, I'm glad to be with you all. This investigation is a sham. There's just no other way to describe it. There's nothing you can say about it. There's no legitimate purpose other than probably to be a distraction from other things going on. I think Trump's team has put these together these distractions for him so he doesn't have to answer questions about the economy. He doesn't have to answer questions about the Epstein files. We've quit talking about that. But while this is going on, there's just nothing here.

And this idea that somehow giving false statements to Congress about whether or not you're building certain things within the building is going to go nowhere. It's not material to the inquiry and it just, frankly, is not -- there's no other purpose than to be a smokescreen and a red herring to get the attention away from Trump's failures with the economy and the people's feelings about affordability. And then, of course, the problems he's got with whatever's in the Epstein files and why those files are being delayed and their release.

COOPER: Rana, I mean, President Trump was the one who appointed Powell. How unprecedented is a criminal investigation into a sitting fed chair?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, in this country, it's quite unprecedented. This kind of politicization is really something that you typically see in emerging markets. You know, and it doesn't end well.

Back in 2021, in Turkey, for example, you saw the President come in and, you know, throw out the Central Bank head then. They ended up getting double digit inflation. I mean, this is really something that we don't expect in the U.S. and I think that that's why you're seeing Scott Bessent, who is known by the financial markets for being the safe pair of hands within the administration be quite worried about it. I think that this is about the President wanting lower interest rates at a time when there are a lot of reasons why inflation will probably keep going up.

It is higher than when he took office. We are in a cyclical period where inflation is likely to go up, and there are a lot of reasons for that. You know, things like reindustrialization, bringing manufacturing jobs back, that's great, mid-term, longer term. It's not great short term for inflation. Same with tariffs you know. And you saw Jerome Powell calling out tariffs as a chief reason for inflation.

So, it's natural that the President wants to take control of the fed. Unfortunately, I think what's going to happen is this is going to become a chicken and egg cycle because the markets will inevitably charge higher borrowing costs. They will make it more expensive for the U.S. to borrow. If they think the Fed is being politicized, which it is, and that's going to make Trump more and more likely to want to lower rates. So, I think this is going to go on for some time and be very worrisome.

COOPER: Yes, Michael, I mean, to Rana's point, if you know, as that statement said, the rule of law is at the heart of the U.S. economic success, at the stability of economic markets, both for American investors and also global investors.

I want to play some of what the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said today about all this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Did the President ever direct DOJ officials to open an investigation into Powell?

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: No.

REPORTER: And can you reassure the American public that his longstanding criticisms and public comments about Powell had nothing to do with the investigation?

LEAVITT: Look, the President has every right to criticize the Fed Chair. He has a First Amendment right, just like all of you do. And one thing for sure, the President has made it quite clear is Jerome Powell is bad at his job. As for whether or not Jerome Powell is a criminal, that's an answer the Department of Justice is going to have to find out, and it looks like they intend to find that out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:10:22]

COOPER: Michael, I mean, do you buy this notion that the President did not direct this or that, you know, the President is saying things publicly, isn't that enough to get his officials scurrying around to look into investigations?

MOORE: If you told me that the sun was going to rise in the West tomorrow, I would believe that more than I believe, anything that has come out of her mouth.

That's just nonsense. I mean, we know what his pattern is. We know that he basically puts things out there that he gets his minions to carry out. This is nothing new with the department, they both --

You know, he says he doesn't like Comey. He says he doesn't like James. He says he, you know, and what happens, they get charged. They get investigated, they get charged and that's the same here.

I mean, there's no question, I think that he put it out there. But remember, this is just Trump's playbook. He likes to keep a villain. He likes to keep an enemy. And why does he do that? Because it's a distraction, but also because I think he knows the economy is not moving in the way that he wants.

And so, he doesn't really want Powell seat as the chair. What he wants is to try to keep him around for a little while to blame him, and then he would like to get him out for the remaining two years so he can put another yes person in there.

And that's, I mean, I think at the end of the day, that's what it is. But there's no truth to what's being said from the White House right now.

COOPER: Rana, in like a minute, can you just explain why it is so important, not just the U.S. economy, the global economy for the Fed Chair of all people to be walled off from political attacks by the President's pressure?

FOROOHAR: Absolutely, Anderson. We are living in a dollar-based economy, not just in this country, but globally. The dollar is the currency that the world uses for about between 80 and 90 percent of its transactions. It is a little under 60 percent of global reserves. So, what happens to the dollar matters. The fed is largely responsible for determining, you know, from a policy standpoint, monetary policy, what happens to the dollar. So, if markets think, my gosh, Trump is in control of the fed and not

Jerome Powell, I don't think that that's going to mean good things for the dollar. And by the way, since this all started happening, you see gold at record levels. That means the markets are worried. You see the dollar falling. That also means that the markets are worried about what's happening in the U.S. and that is a trend we have seen since the beginning of Trump two and even Trump one.

COOPER: Yes. Rana Foroohar, Michael Moore, thanks so much.

Coming up next, breaking news is Republican lawmakers weigh in on what this administration just did and whether it adds up to weaponizing the DOJ.

And later surveillance video of a crime in progress. This man authorities say an arsonist inside a historic synagogue, the oldest in the state of Mississippi, which is about to go up in flames after this attack for the second time in living memory, this synagogue has been attacked the last time by the KKK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:17:27]

COOPER: Welcome back. We want to continue the focus on the Department of Justice's investigation of the fed in particular, secretary Jerome Powell. Joining me now is Xochi Hinojosa, former DOJ Director of Public Affairs for DNC communications director. And also, Brad Todd, a Republican strategist.

Xochi, what do you make of this move now by the Trump administration?

XOCHITL HINOJOSA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think it's very clear that the Trump administration is acting based on politics. And you heard in your earlier segment and you played the audio of Donald Trump saying that he was potentially going to file a lawsuit against the Fed Chair when it came to the building of the building of the Fed and the remodel of the Fed.

And then in addition, now you have clear politicization coming from the Justice Department to go after Trump's enemies and to go after Tish James and James Comey. And there is now a prosecutor, an ADA that has been fired. So, time and time again, it is clear that the President and his allies in The White House who are dictating exactly what happens at the Department of Justice and this is unprecedented. And the only reason we're finding out about a lot of this is because you definitely have career prosecutors who won't prosecute these cases, which is also unprecedented.

COOPER: Brad, I mean, Speaker Mike Johnson has said that the DOJ isn't being weaponized. I mean, is there -- he says that with a straight face. I mean, do you argue? In fact, let's just play what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): We're going to let the investigation play out. If chairman Powell is innocent, then he can prove that and it'll all come out.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Is the Justice Department not being weaponized by this President?

JOHNSON: No, the Justice Department is not being weaponized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Brad, do you believe the Justice Department is not being weaponized?

BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I don't love that term and all, but I also don't love the fact that this has anything to do with interest rates, I don't love that at all either. And I also think the proper place to check on the overspending on the Fed's building is in the House and Senate, House and Senate Oversight Committees and if President Trump wants to investigate that, which I think he should because this building's spending is way out of control. I think the House and Senate are the place to do it.

But let's go back to one thing, Jerome Powell says that he thinks that Donald Trump is doing this because he won't cut interest rates. Jerome Powell should cut interest rates. He's been too slow all along. He also, back in the spring when he said he would not do it because of tariff uncertainty. Well, it worked out, tariffs have not been as inflationary as he predicted. And he has yet to have a mea culpa for that. He wants to set tariff policy from the federal Reserve Chair. That is not his lane.

His lane is to work on unemployment and economic growth and inflation, to keep those things in balance. We need a rate cut, we're Australia, we're behind the Europeans, we're behind all our competitors economically and cutting rates coming out of COVID. And that's on Jerome Powell.

He needs to get back in his lane. He needs to cut rates. And that's what I think is the lesson here.

[20:20:32]

COOPER: Xochi, if President Obama, let's use the President Obama you know, example. If President Obama had repeatedly criticized Ben Bernanke's handling of interest rates, and then one day Bernanke found himself under criminal investigation by the Obama Justice Department, would Republican leaders, you think, be okay with that?

HINOJOSA: There would be oversight. This is Congress' responsibility and the clip that you played there of Speaker Johnson is just laughable for the reason that Congress hasn't done one thing to conduct oversight of this administration and the politicization of the Justice Department.

And, Anderson, I will give you an even better example. Last administration, Joe Biden was frustrated and furious at Merrick Garland for investigating his son, Hunter Biden, and furious that he appointed a Special Counsel to investigate the president, President Biden, for the mishandling of classified information and that was all over the news and his allies would tell reporters left and right, what did Merrick Garland do? He continued those investigations.

He did not do anything else, he continued. And that is the way the Justice Department should work. That is the way he did not drop that investigation whatsoever. But that is how the Justice Department is supposed to be independent and this White House and this Justice Department have showed us that they are incapable of being independent.

COOPER: Brad, "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting now that President Trump has complained to aides that Attorney General Pam Bondi, of all people, has not gone far enough after his perceived enemies quickly or aggressively enough, Comey, Letitia James, Lisa Cook, John Bolton, Jerome Powell they might disagree. What would a more aggressive approach by the DOJ even look like?

TODD: Well, hang on a second. We can't have it both ways. DOJ should not come under scrutiny for being too independent and not independent enough. That seems to be that they -- Pam Bondi -- getting both directions.

COOPER: Who's saying they're too independent. What human being has made that argument?

TODD: Well, if you're saying that, if Trump's saying they're not prosecuting it fast enough, I would argue that they they're being more independent than he wants.

COOPER: Well, I don't know the exact reasons he may be mad at Pam Bondi, but it seems like I'm not sure it's that they're two -- I mean, we don't know, but do you believe that the Department of Justice is as independent as it has been in prior administrations? Republican and Democrat?

TODD: I don't think the Department of Justice is ever independent of the President. Remember, if you go back to Eric Holder, when he was Barack Obama's Attorney General, he said he would be his wingman. Bobby Kennedy was literally JFK's brother. And I respect Xochi more than almost anybody who I square off with on this network.

But let's not forget that the Merrick Garland administration cooperated with Alvin Braggs ridiculous kangaroo court prosecution. They appointed special prosecutors for President Trump. The Biden administration went after President Trump in every way possible. He was their political opponent, and that's what they did.

COOPER: Xochi, what about that argument? Well, look, every administration does this and, you know, Brad is certainly right that Robert F. Kennedy was the brother of the President.

HINOJOSA: If were comparing ourselves to Robert F. Kennedy, we have some major problems at this point.

The Justice Department has come a long way, and there is a reason why there is independence. I will say even Barack Obama was frustrated with Eric Holder on a number of different issues and a number of prosecutions. And when it comes to -- and I just want to address the allegations of the last administration and the prosecutions of Donald Trump. There were more than 40 counts. There's video of obstruction.

If Republicans really want to see all of the evidence, they should have Jack Smith testify publicly, which my understanding is supposed to be happening in the next few weeks, and they should release the classified docs report. There is so much evidence that the Justice Department had on Donald Trump that Jack Smith is ready to talk about because he believes, and he said this in his testimony, he believes that he would have been able to get a prosecution of Donald Trump if that is the case.

But again, it was career lawyers that made that decision, not political appointees.

COOPER: Xochi Hinojosa, Brad Todd, we are going to leave it there, thank you guys, appreciate it.

Coming up next, with a thousand more federal officers being ordered into Minneapolis and tension high, how state and local officials are trying to push back in court. And the administration issues new warnings to protesters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We're going to continue to if they conduct violent activities against law enforcement, if they impede our operations, that's a crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: We'll talk to Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar ahead.

And later, a report from Iran, where government brutality is being met by incredible bravery from ordinary citizens putting their lives on the line.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:29:50]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JACOB FREY (D), MINNEAPOLIS: One thing that I can tell you for certain is that we aren't backing down. We don't retreat in Minneapolis, we don't back down in Minnesota.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:30:00]

COOPER: That was Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey at a news conference late today. ICE agents still very active in Minneapolis, pushing back on protesters, in some cases literally, pepper-spraying them as well. Mayor Frey and state officials have now filed a lawsuit against the federal government, arguing that the surge of ICE and other federal officers in the state amounts to what they call a federal invasion.

Attorney General Keith Ellison says it's got to stop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEITH ELLISON, MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL: These poorly trained, aggressive, and armed agents of the federal state have terrorized Minnesota with widespread unlawful conduct. They're acting -- they're making unconstitutional arrests and using excessive force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Minnesota officials are seeking a court order to stop the Department of Homeland Security efforts in the state, but as we mentioned, DHS is deploying 1,000 additional officers to Minneapolis, on top of the 2,000 already there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We're sending more officers today and tomorrow. They'll arrive. There'll be hundreds more in order to allow our ICE and our Border Patrol individuals that are working in Minneapolis to do so safely. We're going to continue to -- if they conduct violent activities against law enforcement, if they impede our operations, that's a crime. And we will hold them accountable to those consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: A lot to discuss tonight with Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. Senator, so the lawsuit claims the immigration enforcement operation in your state is a federal invasion of the Twin Cities. That's a quote from it. Do you agree with that? And do you really think a federal court is going to restrict the president's ability to deploy officers wherever he wants?

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): We don't know here because this is so extreme, Anderson, and that's why this suit was brought. This is so extreme because they literally are sending over 3,000 ICE agents into one state. A state that has always coordinated through the horrific tragedy of Melissa Hortman and her husband's murder, to the Annunciation Church shooting where we had these little kids killed in the pews.

We coordinated between state and federal. That's what we always do. But what's happened here is these -- they sent these ICE agents onto our streets against the wishes of the Minneapolis police chief. So here's the numbers. There are like 600 sworn in officers in Minneapolis and 550 or so in St. Paul.

So you, the ICE agents, are literally overwhelming our own police force. This is not L.A., this is not Chicago. And Minnesota is right now the center of America's heartbreak. This has been going on everywhere and they have chosen to use this $75 billion budget that they got from that so-called Big Beautiful Bill and put it into our state. So the suit says basically we've had to put $2 million in overtime for Minneapolis police alone to try to deal with this. There are videos of people calling the police saying, what are we supposed to do? These people are outside of our house without a warrant.

And we ordered DoorDash and the DoorDash delivery person ran in crying with their delivery because she doesn't know what to do. So that's what's happening here and of course resulting in the killing of Renee Good, a mom of three. And that has really made people just think, what is going on when they won't even allow a doctor to come in when that horrific killing occurred. That's what we're dealing with and that's why you see this lawsuit.

COOPER: Have you drawn firm conclusions based on the videos of the shooting of Renee Good or do you still have outstanding questions?

KLOBUCHAR: I think the video speaks for itself and there are a number of them. But what I want to see as a former prosecutor, I want to see the kind of investigation that we've had in the two cases I mentioned. Melissa Hortman and the Annunciation Church, it was state-federal coordination.

They basically, for the first time, shut out the seasoned investigators at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. And they, after originally saying that they were going to work with them, the FBI, they said, nope, we're going it alone. You're not going to be able to have access to any of this.

And so, Senator Smith and I have called on the Justice Department to revisit that decision because you are going to have a breakdown of trust in law enforcement if this happens. The mayor, the chief, people are on the same page here and saying we have built up our trust in law enforcement to the point where after the Annunciation shooting, all of those people who were shot, mainly children, were on those ambulances in less than 20 minutes because of our law enforcement and lives were saved.

Those cops were heroes that day and they're heroes every single day. And to shut them out of this and just send in all these ICE agents when they're arresting, we have -- people who are illegal. They say, I have my passport. Please let me show you your passport.

And they wrestle to the ground because there are so many ICE agents there trying to find people and it's not even clear. They just suddenly show up at a Target or a Menards or a Walmart and start looking for people. And many of them, of course, these refugees are legal, the vast majority of them.

[20:35:08]

COOPER: Are you concerned about the training of some of these ICE agents, particularly newly hired ones, that --

KLOBUCHAR: Yes.

COOPER: -- you know, there are reports that the number of weeks of training have been reduced dramatically?

KLOBUCHAR: Reduced. I mean, they used to have extensive training for good reason because of the unique nature of this law enforcement job. They're down to 47 days. That's what was in the Big Beautiful Bill. 47 days because that is President Trump is the 47th president. They literally picked that number.

And so that's all they have. A lot of them are new and they've come in and this is just not how we should be doing law enforcement. You know, the focus should be on violent offenders. The focus should be on not terrorizing an entire community, which is going on right now.

Investigate fraud. Yes. Focus on violent offenders. But with the numbers they've sent in, there's no way because our police force is taking calls from citizens, from people who are just afraid for their lives for good reason, because someone has already been killed.

COOPER: Well, let me ask you, I know you've said you're seriously considering a run for Minnesota governor. Now that Governor Walz has dropped his reelection bid. Has last week's shooting made you more or less likely to get into the race?

KLOBUCHAR: Look, I'm seriously considering it. I love my job in the Senate. And but I also love my state. And I think how our state has handled all of these, with doctors running to the scene and a police chief standing up and taking the grief from this administration, saying he wants to keep people safe, not less safe, the community helping each other

I think it goes to show why Minnesota, despite every tragedy that we've had in the last year, continues to be the most resilient place with the most incredible people. So obviously that weighs on me as well as I look at this.

COOPER: Senator Amy Klobuchar, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

KLOBUCHAR: Thank you.

COOPER: Former Federal Prosecutor and CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig is here. I mean, does this lawsuit have any chance of doing anything?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: No, I don't think so. What they're asking, the state of Minnesota is asking a federal judge to throw ICE out of the state and to prohibit ICE from enforcing federal law in the state. There's simply no precedent for that. These lawsuits -- Illinois and Minnesota, both filed similar lawsuits, have no precedent cited in there.

To do that would violate the supremacy clause, which says the states cannot block the feds from doing their federal duties. The one thing that Minnesota might get out of this, depending on the judge, the judge could want a hearing and could ask ICE some of the questions you just asked, Senator Klobuchar, about training and protocols. But they're not going to win, but they might get some information. COOPER: And in terms of the investigation by state officials, I mean, unless there's cooperation from the federal authorities that -- what kind of investigation can you actually do?

HONIG: Yes, the senator's right. The worst case scenario is if you have two separate parallel investigations, states here and feds here. I mean, there's only one piece of the forensics, right? There's only one car here. That's crucial. There's only one set of ballistics and shell casings.

Different witnesses are going to talk to different sides. It's a disaster. The way this needs to be done is collaboratively, together.

COOPER: Is this unprecedented to have the state trying to investigate, you know, an action that's been taken by federal officials and no cooperation?

HONIG: So it's definitely suboptimal. It's a terrible way to do it. The question here -- and I think Senator Klobuchar was alluding to this, if the state decides to bring state level criminal charge against this ICE agency, there's been misinformation, right? Kristi Noem has said there's no jurisdiction.

COOPER: Right.

HONIG: JD Vance --

COOPER: Does the state -- do they have jurisdiction?

HONIG: So they can charge. There's nothing preventing the state from charging. However, if they did charge the federal agent with state level crimes, there would be a serious argument that the federal agent would make.

First, he would ask to remove the case over to federal court. We've seen that done before. And then he would claim immunity. But he does not have absolute immunity, as JD Vance has said. He would have qualified immunity. He'd have to show that he was acting within the scope of his job.

And I think the counterargument would be what he did there exceeded the bounds of what he was supposed to do as an ICE agent. So the bottom line is, yes, the state can theoretically bring charges, but they would have legal hurdles once they did that.

COOPER: When you have a president, a vice president, you know, other administration officials putting out their, immediately, their version of their opinion of what happened, how can you look at this FBI investigation?

HONIG: It guts the FBI investigation. Who is supposed to believe this now? You have Donald Trump, JD Vance, Kristi Noem all said, within hours of this happening, while the crime scene was being processed, have said unequivocally, it's over, the ICE agent did nothing wrong, justified, no criminal charges.

Who's going to find the FBI's investigation credible and independent, given that it's already been preordained?

COOPER: Yes. Elie Honig, thanks very much.

HONIG: Thanks.

COOPER: Appreciate it.

Up next, Iranians refusing to back down, even as the human cost of their resistance to the regime is growing.

[20:40:12]

For weeks, Iranians have been staging anti-government protests in the streets, despite a violent crackdown by security forces loyal to the regime. We'll have the latest.

And the FBI says the suspect in the torching of a Mississippi synagogue cited the building's, quote, "Jewish ties." Full report just ahead.

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[20:45:08]

COOPER: Tonight, a makeshift morgue near Tehran, Iran's capital, is said to be crowded with the dead. Iranian security forces are cracking down against anti-government protesters. A U.S.-based human rights group reports that more than 600 people have been killed in Iran since the massive uprising against the theocratic regime there, since it broke out in late December.

Thousands have been arrested so far. The internet has been shut down, preventing Iranians from having access to the outside world, or to at least to try to prevent them, and to block outsiders from seeing what's fully going on inside the country.

More tonight from CNN's Nada Bashir.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): For yet another night, the streets of Iran are filled with protesters, risking their lives in the face of a brutal and deadly crackdown by the Islamic regime. What began as organized demonstrations over the country's economic crisis has now grown into a nationwide protest movement against the country's theocratic regime.

This is our last fight, these protesters chant. Pahlavi will return, a reference to the U.S.-based son of the last Shah of Iran. A total Internet and communications blackout has made it near impossible to access real-time updates on what is unfolding inside the country.

What little video has emerged paints a grim picture. Body bags lining the streets outside this medical complex. Distraught families desperately trying to identify their loved ones. So far, more than 500 protesters have been killed since demonstrations began in late December, according to the U.S.-based human rights activist news agency.

Some 10,000 others are said to have been detained, though CNN cannot independently verify these figures. U.S. President Donald Trump has reiterated his warning to take direct action if protesters are killed.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The leaders of Iran called, they want to negotiate. A meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what's happening.

BASHIR (voice-over): In response, Iran's foreign minister had this to say.

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translation): We do not seek war, but we are fully prepared for it. At the same time, as I have repeatedly said, we are also ready for negotiations.

BASHIR (voice-over): Within Iran, the regime has attempted to shift the narrative, calling on people to rally in support of the Islamic Republic on Monday, a show of force broadcast across state media. President Trump, meanwhile, is said to be considering a series of potential military options focused on targeting Tehran's security services, two U.S. officials have told CNN.

But in the face of growing international uncertainty and an increasingly deadly regime crackdown, protesters in Iran remain defiant.

Nada Bashir, CNN, in London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, who sits on the Armed Services Committee. He's also a Maine Corps vet who served four tours in Iraq.

Congressman, the White House is saying that what the Iranian regime is saying publicly is, quote, "quite different" from the messages the administration is receiving privately. What do you think the administration should do? What do you think is possible for the U.S. to do here?

REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA): Well, I mean, first of all, we of course stand with the Iranian people, and we all hope that this regime gets toppled. But what we're really hoping for is a better regime. So we've got to be very careful to ensure that whatever we do, ostensibly to help the protesters, doesn't actually empower hardliners in Iran and therefore lead to an even worse regime than we have.

There's a real risk there, and that's why we have to have a serious plan. We can't just go in guns-a-blazing like the Trump administration likes to do and think that it will solve the problem.

COOPER: President Trump has said he's looking at what he calls very strong options that the U.S. could take against Iran. He's also said previously the U.S. getting involved doesn't mean boots on the ground. What kind of options do you think the U.S. has? MOULTON: Well, we have a very wide range of options. And if the president is talking about going in and bombing Iranian sites, I would ask him to very seriously consider other options that might do more to help the protesters and not actually turn some people against America.

You know, anecdotally, we've heard that after the B-2 raid on not just the Iranian nuclear facilities, but on officials living in downtown Tehran, where there is historically a lot of pro-U.S. sentiment, that the Iranian people really were angry at the U.S., that sentiment turned against the U.S. in the wake of those attacks.

On the other hand, we have cyber capabilities, for example, that could really serve to open up the internet, to empower the protesters, to encourage sentiment against the regime. Those are the kinds of options that should really be on the table here. And I'm a bit concerned that knowing the track record of the Trump administration, they're just thinking of military options alone.

[20:50:11]

COOPER: There have been, obviously, widespread protests in Iran before, most recently in 2022. Given the way that those were, you know, ended, crackdown, what happened to many protesters, public executions, first of all, the courage of these protesters is extraordinary given what happened just a few years ago.

MOULTON: It's extraordinarily courageous. And, I mean, these are real modern-day freedom fighters, much like the freedom fighters who are in Ukraine today, fighting for their freedom, their chance at democracy. So we want to do what we can to stand with them. And there's been plenty of criticism that the U.S. in the past has not done enough to topple the regime, to push, you know, to get past the tipping point here.

But we just have to be very carefully calibrated with our actions. And what we've seen in the most recent military adventure of this administration with Venezuela, they couldn't even decide what the justification was for going in. First it was fentanyl, then it was cocaine, then it was not regime change, then it was regime change, and then it was oil, even though the oil executives now say they don't even want to invest in Venezuelan oil.

So clearly, the administration did not have a clear plan for Venezuela, and they don't have a plan for the day after. So let's make sure that if we do anything in Iran, we have a plan, we know exactly what it's set out to achieve, and there's some sort of plan for the day after that makes sure that moderate elements in Iran are empowered to have a pro-Western regime in the wake of this conservative regime being toppled.

COOPER: Talking about Venezuela, you have co-sponsored the bipartisan War Powers Resolution that would prohibit further U.S. military action in Venezuela. There's new reporting from The New York Times that -- report that suggests the Pentagon used a secret plane painted to look like a civilian aircraft in its first attack on a boat that the Trump administration claimed was smuggling drugs. The newspaper is pointing to laws of armed conflict that prohibit feigning civilian status to fool adversaries. I'm wondering what your reaction to that is.

MOULTON: I mean, whether it's ICE agents in Minneapolis or shooting boats in the Caribbean, this administration clearly believes that they are completely above the law. They don't have to follow the law. And what they've apparently reduced the U.S. military to doing, according to this reporting from The New York Times, is essentially acting like pirates.

You know, pirates used to come up on ships 200 years ago, sneak up on them, act totally innocent, start firing on those ships, and then raise the pirate flag to declare who they were. That sounds like what's going on here. It's against international law. It's against our law of armed conflict. And it's why, you know, Democrats are here in Congress and elsewhere saying it's important that our military follows the law.

COOPER: Yes. Congressman Seth Moulton, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.

Coming up next --

MOULTON: Thank you, Anderson.

COOPER: -- what the FBI is saying about the arson suspect and custody accused of carrying out a weekend attack that heavily damaged Mississippi's largest synagogue.

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[20:57:47]

COOPER: The FBI says the man facing arson charges for an attack on Mississippi's oldest and largest synagogue admitted targeting the site due to its Jewish ties, in his words, and called it, quote, "the synagogue of Satan." Investigators say he can be seen in the surveillance video carrying a canister and pouring liquid in the building early Saturday morning. The fire caused extensive damage to library offices of the temple.

More now from CNN's Rafael Romo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Surveillance video shows a man wearing a hoodie and a mask pouring liquid from a can inside the synagogue. The can filled with what appears to be gasoline, according to the criminal complaint. Also in the complaint filed Monday, Stephen Spencer Pittman confessed to his father to setting the building on fire after confronting his son about burns on his ankles, hand, and face.

The complaint also says Pittman laughed as he told his father what he did, later referring to the Jewish Temple as the synagogue of Satan when interviewed by investigators. Photos released by Beth Israel Congregation show devastating damage to charred remains of the temple's library and offices. There was also smoke and ash damage throughout the building, according to the synagogue's president.

ZACH SHEMPER, PRESIDENT, BETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION: They had broken in through one of the windows from the outside with an ax, apparently, and then proceeded to pour gasoline or some kind of accelerant from a gas can.

ROMO (voice-over): Two Torahs and other sacred scriptures were also destroyed.

SHEMPER: It's all gone. All of it.

ROMO (voice-over): Beth Israel is Mississippi's first and largest synagogue, built just after the Civil War, and the only synagogue in Jackson. According to the synagogue's website in 1967, the Ku Klux Klan bombed Beth Israel in part because of the congregation's work in the civil rights movement.

Several local officials have publicly expressed support for the congregation.

DEPUTY CHIEF CLEOTHA SANDERS, JACKSON FIRE DEPARTMENT: We just want to let the Beth Israel community know that the city of Jackson is standing with this community. So attack against the synagogue is an attack against all of us.

ROMO (voice-over): The fire comes amid a wave of antisemitic events across the country. The Anti-Defamation League documented more than 9,300 antisemitic incidents across the United States in 2024, a 5 percent increase from the year before.

SHEMPER: The outreach of the community has been overwhelming. All of -- you know, a lot of the churches in the area have offered their worship space as our worship space as we need it.

Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: That's it for us. The news continues. I'll see you tomorrow. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now.