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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
FBI Raids Fmr. Rep. Swalwell's Home, Seizes Devices From Him At Airport; Trump Promises "Economic D-Day" Against Iran; Trump On Kim Jong-un: "I get Along With Him Very Well"; Monaco Bomb Target Speaks To CNN; Musician Travis Barker Reflects On The Pain Of Losing His Mother. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired August 20, 2026 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, if denuclearization is off the table as North Korea insists it is, then the big question becomes, Kate, what do Trump and Kim actually have to talk about? Remember, the first time, it was widely seen as this superficial photo-op.
As for the timing of a potential meeting, "The Wall Street Journal" is saying possibly November. But remember, last year President Trump floated a meeting around the same time when he was in Asia. North Korea never responded, but they are responding this time. So we will see what happens.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: We will see what happens. It's great to see you.
Will, thank you so much for that.
And thank you all so much for joining us. I'm Kate Bolduan.
AC360 starts now!
[20:00:33]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Good evening. Thanks for joining us.
Tonight, Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's onetime lawyer and fixer, whose testimony helped make his old boss a convicted felon is now doing all he can to win back the President.
This evening, he released a portion of a radio interview he did, kissing up over and over again with a guy he not too long ago called a racist and a con man.
Cohen was the only person to serve prison time in connection with the President's multiple felonies. In 2018, he pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts implicating the President in a payment scheme to silence women who claim to have had affairs with Trump ahead of the 2016 election.
Cohen did more than a year in federal prison, wrote two books about it titled "Disloyal" and "Revenge."
"Revenge's" subtitle, by the way, is "How Donald Trump Weaponized the U.S. Department of Justice Against His Critics." And the irony of that will become apparent shortly.
In 2024, Cohen became a star witness against the President, who would go on to be convicted of 34 New York State felony, of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult film star, Stormy Daniels. The President denied the affair.
The convictions under appeal. And you would imagine that the rift between former client and former fixer would be unfixable, especially given all they said about one another.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: He is a weak person, and by being weak, unlike other people that you watch, he is a weak person.
MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER ATTORNEY TO DONALD TRUMP: I know what Mr. Trump is: He is a racist. He is a con man and he is a cheat.
Mr. Trump called me a rat for choosing to tell the truth, much like a mobster would do when one of his men decides to cooperate with the government.
TRUMP: But you know, he is a sleazebag. Everybody knows that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Once a sleazebag, apparently not always a sleazebag. Our first inkling of the reconciliation came in January, when Cohen went on his Substack, claiming that he "felt pressured and coerced" by New York's Attorney General, Letitia James and Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg, to testify against the President.
Then today, Cohen, who is now a New York radio talk show host, posted this teaser for the conversation he recently recorded with his old boss. And now, it seems his former nemesis, quoting his post, "After years of betrayal, heartbreak, fury and silence, two men who once stood together against the world faced the impossible question can forgiveness resurrect what hatred destroyed?"
Well, he plugged the taped interview again on "The Lead" with CNN's Jake Tapper and followed up with this in the on air run up to his 6:00 P.M. broadcast on WABC radio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: The President and I, over the course of the past one year, have seen each other three times and during those meetings, they were emotional. They were familiar.
Again, it is really -- it is very tough to describe the feeling. We had a friendship for 15 years. HOST: Very close friendship.
COHEN: Very. That was rocked by politics, by the weaponization of the Department of Justice. And interestingly enough, that's part of the conversation that there may be no two people on this planet that have had the Justice Department weaponized against them more than Trump and I.
There has not been two people, maybe that have been put against one another. Maybe, I don't know, since Andrew Jackson and Burr. I mean, the only difference is, you know, there was no hot lead in this one. There was only incarceration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Oh, this is a point of fact. It was Alexander Hamilton, not Andrew Jackson, who traded hot lead with Aaron Burr, but potato- potato. Cohen was on a roll.
And his point seems to be that he and the President have found common ground in their perceived shared victimhood, a theme the interview began with.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: How are you doing, sir? Welcome.
TRUMP: Country is doing good.
COHEN: Well, thanks. Thanks to you, sir. So I want to go back to 2016 if we can, because you and I have obviously traveled a pretty rocky road together. You remember? Do you remember, sir, when I went on CNN with Brianna Keilar, and she told me that you were underwater in the polls, and I responded with those famous two words. Says who? Which became some worldwide meme and --
TRUMP: -- and advocate and then they weaponized you like nobody has ever been weaponized like you have been.
COHEN Well, maybe just you and I, sir, but --
TRUMP: And you! Yes, me too. But I don't consider mine, you know. Mine was at a level that nobody has ever seen before, but they weaponized you.
[20:05:10]
They weaponized a lot of people. And I respect the fact that you recanted everything you said.
And that's a big -- that's a big thing that you did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So, there it is. The man who wrote a book subtitled "How Donald Trump Weaponized the U.S. Department of Justice Against His Critics," now claims to believe that Donald Trump is actually just another victim, just like him and he is back to calling him "boss."
And if you're picking up on just a hint of lips brushing backsides, then listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The construction jobs in this country are through the roof. And that's because of all the plants and factories being built all over our country. There has never been -- it is a renaissance. There has never been anything like it.
COHEN: So maybe what we should do is then have a press conference and literally put out all of the accomplishments, because what's happening, boss, do you remember when I was by your side?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: "Boss," the conversation ended with a teaser for more to come over the weekend, and Cohen playing a clip of Peaches and Herb singing, "Reunited and it feels so good."
I am joined now by independent journalist, Tara Palmeri, she says Michael Cohen reached out to her last year to ask for the President's phone number. Also co-founder of The Lincoln Project, George Conway.
Tara, as someone who regularly covers the President. I am wondering what, if anything, stands out to you about this interview?
TARA PALMERI, INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST: Well, they seem to be back to exactly where they were before. You heard the last word he said, "Boss." He is already working for him, and he has got another platform WABC in addition to his Substack following, he has a podcast. He has a -- he has media. And that's always been important to President Trump.
But yes, like you mentioned, 14 months ago in June, Michael Cohen reached out to me because he saw that I called the President doing reporting, and he asked me for his number. And he said to me, Tara, I know him better than anyone else. I think I can get back on his good side.
And I was completely flabbergasted. I was like, what is going on here? And obviously, it was about a pardon. It has always been about a pardon for him, right? I mean, he was angry at Biden for not giving him a pardon, he said before Biden left office, "I'm somebody's son, too," because he was angry that he pardoned Hunter.
But I was just like, he can get the number from anyone else and there are a lot of journalists and other people had it, so I just gave it to him. But I didn't expect much from it. But then, you know, a few months later, I saw him on MS NOW defending President Trump on Jeffrey Epstein, like emphatically in the way he almost did as a fixer, saying, I know Trump, I know Trump. If he says he wasn't on the plane, he wasn't on the plane. I just know that.
And so I asked him on my show, and I asked him a bunch of questions about Jeffrey Epstein when he was a fixer, and some of the lawsuits that came forward that were connected to Jeffrey Epstein about it and he snapped at me and he was incredibly defensive.
And I think you see the progression over the year, as you mentioned, until January, when he said he felt compelled and coerced by Alvin Bragg. There was a progression in which he was working his way back into the President's inner circle and that, he is a very valuable voice to be defending the President on Jeffrey Epstein, and he admitted on my show that he handled a case involving an infant, and he said he sent private investigators to go handle it, which is obviously disturbing.
But, you know, President Trump has denied all allegations against him. But still, he was playing the role as fixer, and he ended that with "boss." He is back exactly where he started.
COOPER: Yes! George, I mean, is this reconciliation genuine? I mean, I guess what else is Michael Cohen going to do? I mean, I don't know that he has much going on other than this radio show. This gets him a few -- I don't know. What do you think?
GEORGE CONWAY, CONSERVATIVE LAWYER AND WASHINGTON POST CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST: I mean, genuine -- I don't know what's genuine. It is comical. I mean, it was -- listening to this show was basically comical for the first five or ten minutes. And then, it was incredibly boring because all we heard was Donald Trump perseverating and saying the same delusional things that he says from day-to-day.
Like, you know, Iran was two weeks away from a nuclear weapon. If I hadn't broken the JCPOA, Israel and -- you know, Israel wouldn't exist and Cohen pipes in, Saudi Arabia wouldn't exist. You know, it was just this incredible, narcissistic love fest. And you're right, I mean, Tara is absolutely right. We heard on Jake Tapper's show this afternoon where he basically said, Cohen that he was mad that the Biden administration, with all the great recommendations he got from Norm Eisen and other people and Jamie Raskin for a pardon, he didn't get the pardon. And now he is resubmitting the application. He absolutely wants a pardon.
He wants something from Trump and to go back to something that Tara said, yeah, Cohen knows how to play Trump. Trump is one of the most easily manipulable people in the world because of his extreme narcissism and here we have it.
[20:10:05]
I mean, Cohen knows how to do that and what was really funny, too, is the gap between reality and facts and Trump's perception of them, even as far as Cohen is concerned, in part Iran and everything else in the economy, he said, you've recanted everything.
He said that to Trump and it is like -- and he said Trump said that to Cohen. Cohen hasn't recanted anything. We heard him on Jake Tapper's show today saying, I am not going back into anything I said in the past. So it is just -- it is comical, really.
COOPER: Tara, I mean, the other thing Michael Cohen won't say is whether the President has apologized to him, which seems highly unlikely that the President would do that. Cohen did go to prison. He was, in fact, the only member of the President's orbit to serve time for the hush money scheme.
PALMERI: Yes, it doesn't sound like he is getting much out of it. He is really hanging on for this pardon. I don't think you can get a lot of -- I don't think anyone has ever heard sorry from President Trump. I mean, really think about it. That's just not a word in his language.
I mean, that's not something he says. He has never said it to anyone at any point in his life. So I doubt that. I just think Michael Cohen is an opportunist and he sees an opportunity for a pardon right now. And Donald Trump sees him as someone who is a holder of many of his secrets, and as someone who might be able to help him toss the 34 counts against him in the hush money case by claiming that he was coerced into testimony.
So they need each other right now. They are symbiotic. Perhaps they always were, because even when Cohen could have moved on from his life, he instead joined the resistance. Right? He created an entire career off of Donald Trump rather than going away.
And now, he realizes he still needs a career from Donald Trump. So now, he is pro-Trump advocate, I guess, for now. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
COOPER: Yes, yes. I mean, George, I am curious to know, just from a business standpoint, if this helps Michael Cohen, you know, I don't know what his Substack subscription is. I don't know what his what his following may be. But does he, you know, anger them? And does he get some new following of Trump supporters?
Do you think the future is clear for him?
CONWAY: I have no idea. I think he -- you know, I feel sorry for Michael, right? I mean, I don't -- I mean, they are both narcissists, he and Trump and Trump is a malignant narcissist and somebody who has absolutely no conscience, no ability to apologize as Tara said. No remorse.
Michael isn't that way. He is just more kind of -- he is more harmless than Trump is and he is just trying to play Trump right now. I mean, he is trying to play everybody. He wants to be loved. Michael needs him.
COOPER: He was pretty aggressive as Trump's attorney, as I recall.
CONWAY: Yes, but he also he also feels -- you know, we see today he feels the need.
I mean, I will give you an example. I have a lot of -- he called me a lot and I talked to him a lot in January of this year, right when we were seeing the headlines about him saying he was coerced by the D.A.'s office and I was kind of scratching my head about that. But at the same time, he is calling me up saying, I am glad you're running for Congress. I was running for Congress as a Democrat in Manhattan on the platform that Donald Trump should be immediately impeached and removed from office.
And he is like saying, I am really glad you're doing it. And I wanted to do it myself. I am glad you're going out there and doing this. And I am like, I think he is trying to reconcile with Donald Trump. This isn't really the way to do it. I couldn't make any sense of it at the time, and I still can't make any sense of it here other than he is trying to get -- you know, he is trying to get in everybody's good graces, and particularly Trump, because Trump at this point could do the most for him.
COOPER: Yes. Tara Palmeri, appreciate it.
PALMERI: And it could also harm him.
COOPER: George Conway, thanks very much.
PALMERI: Yes.
COOPER: Well, that's for sure.
Coming up next, what awaits the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan when they return to the U.K. for the press and public alike? Also, the life they tried to make here and how in some ways at least, it may have fell short of the expectations they set.
Later, more trouble for the former congressman, Eric Swalwell in addition to the sexual assault allegations he already faces, what federal agents might have been looking for when they seized the electronic devices at the San Francisco Airport.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:18:31]
COOPER: We are learning more tonight about the ramifications of Prince Harry and Meghan's decision to return home to the U.K. with their two young children. Because, as you might imagine, what is about to play out won't be anything like what happens when a typical expat family relocates.
Perspective now from CNN's Max Foster.
So Max, what more have you learned about what may have led to this decision and what their lives would look like when they get back to Britain?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: So the only actual insight I've had is from someone close to the couple saying that they enjoyed their visit to the United Kingdom last month. They all came over as a family and they met up with the King and Queen.
So that's the only information were getting and in that vacuum of information, of course, people are speculating, was it because things weren't going their way in California? Is it because they want their children to have an English education? The children are enrolled in British schools already, I am told. Or is it off the back of what Prince Harry told you, Anderson, that he wants reconciliation. The ball is in the Royal family's court. Is he coming over here to force that reconciliation? No longer out of sight, out of mind, but in the U.K., carrying out his work, they will have to deal with him, and they will probably want to invite the kids to family events.
Do they role in Meghan and Harry to that as well? So perhaps forcing a reconciliation and the ball now firmly in Prince William's court. He is the one that's really been sort of pushing back against that.
COOPER: And what about security? I mean that's been a high priority for Prince Harry.
[20:20:01]
FOSTER: It has been a high priority question and it is top of the agenda really as a talking point here in the U.K. because Prince Harry has said he didn't feel safe bringing his family over to the U.K. without armed police, you can't have armed private security here.
Is he again forcing the British government to reconsider the fact that they won't upgrade his security once he is here on engagements? Local police will have to consider a risk assessment. Maybe they will feel that he does need police protection that would cost public money. And that's actually a big talking point because it is his choice to come over here. Many people are struggling with the cost of living. Should they be spending millions of pounds protecting five members of the Royal family who don't necessarily need it, because they don't necessarily need to be here?
It is a big talking point. We will have to see what the police and the government decide on that.
COOPER: How has the press reacted there? How has the public reacted?
FOSTER: Well, I think one big sort of talking point that has developed over the day is back to your first question, what will their roles here look like? We know that they will want to carry out public engagements. They will look like Royal engagements, but they won't be part of the Royal family.
Will that cause a clash with the existing Royal diary? Will there be clashing engagements, split coverage in the newspapers around that? Will they effectively be rival Royal courts in the U.K. vying for the public attention? That could be very damaging for the credibility of the Royal family.
So again, the ball back into Prince William's court because he is the one pushing back on the reconciliation, perhaps the team should be working together more closely. Perhaps there should be some joint public appearances to at least give a sense of them working together instead of a divisiveness that could undermine the British monarchy.
COOPER: Max Foster, appreciate it. Thank you, Max. Well, for more on how Prince Harry and Meghan have spent the past few years in the United States, including the business ventures they pursued and the headlines the couple generated, here is CNN's Randi Kaye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: This all started with them briefing daily against my wife with lies to the point of where my wife and I had to run away from our -- from my country.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Prince Harry explaining to Anderson Cooper on "60 Minutes" why he and his wife, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex left the United Kingdom and moved to the United States six years ago.
In a bombshell interview with Oprah in 2021, the couple claimed Meghan was the target of racism. She told Oprah at least one member of the Royal family expressed concern about how dark skinned their baby might be.
MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: There are several conversations.
OPRAH WINFREY, MEDIA PERSONALITY: There was a conversation with you --
MARKLE: With Harry.
WINFREY: About? How dark your baby is going to be?
MARKLE: Potentially, and what that would mean or look like.
KAYE (voice over): After the interview, Buckingham Palace issued a statement on behalf of the Queen. It said that "... issues raised, particularly that of race were concerning and that some recollections may vary."
KAYE (on camera): Across the Atlantic from London to California, where the Sussexes settled, the Royal rift continued.
In his bestselling memoir, "Spare" released in 2023, Harry wrote about an alleged physical altercation with his brother, Prince William, the heir to the throne, and opened up about his strained relationship with his father, King Charles.
PRINCE HARRY: I love my father. I love my brother, I love my family. I always do. Nothing of what I've done in this book or otherwise, has ever been any intention to harm them or hurt them.
KAYE (voice over): The Sussexes launched a post-Royal enterprise under the name Sussex Royal, until the Queen said they could no longer use the word Royal. They rebranded to Archewell in 2020, which included both the Archewell Foundation for charity work and Archewell Productions, through which they inked deals with Netflix and Spotify.
PRINCE HARRY: I didn't want history to repeat itself. KAYE (voice over): In 2022, the reality series "Harry and Meghan" debuted on Netflix, and just last year, Meghan premiered her own Netflix series.
MARKLE: Let's go!
KAYE (voice over): "With Love, Meghan."
MARKLE: Ive always loved taking something pretty ordinary and elevating it, surprising people with moments that let them know I was really thinking of them.
KAYE (voice over): Meghan's 2022 podcast Archetypes was canceled after one season despite its A-list guests.
Harry co-created a docuseries with Oprah for Apple T.V. that explored mental health around the world.
PRINCE HARRY: To make that decision to receive help is not a sign of weakness. More than ever, it is a sign of strength.
KAYE (voice over): For her part, Meghan continues to promote her lifestyle brand "As Ever."
on its Instagram page, As Ever notes, it all began with fruit from Meghan's garden simmered into preserves in her home kitchen.
Here she is on Instagram, showing off her favorite ice cream sundae.
[20:25:05]
Despite the slick marketing, the reviews are mixed.
On Trustpilot, a consumer business review website, one happy customer wrote "Opening the box felt like Christmas." While others were more harsh. "Meghan's efforts to enter the market as a retail lifestyle brand are grim at best." And "Overpriced products of very low quality, with absent customer service. Don't waste your money."
Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Joining me now is CNN media analyst and senior media reporter for AXIOS, Sara Fischer. So how do you think their business ventures will translate in the U.K., given the reception they've received here in the U.S.?
SARA FISCHER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA ANALYST: I think it is going to be a challenge, Anderson, for two reasons. One, the media scene is very different in the U.K. than it is here in the United States. We are such a podcast heavy market. We are such a streaming heavy market.
Of course, the U.K. has plenty of audiences for those things, but if you couldn't make it here in one of the biggest markets, I am curious to see how they fare there. And then on the commercial side, we are such a heavy influencer market here in the United States.
Anybody with a big following and fame tries to launch a product in the United States. And so if they couldn't land it here, I am curious to see how it does in the U.K.
Now, they are not open about the metrics in terms of how much they sold and how profitable they are for As Ever, but there have been some third party reports that suggest internet traffic has fallen out since they launched it, since Meghan launched it last year.
COOPER: There are also so many questions about the rifts within the Royal family, particularly between Prince Harry and his brother, Prince William, and whether there is any chance that would thaw and whether they would go back to having some level of Royal duties.
FISCHER: Well, as it pertains to the business side, sometimes tension can be really great. And when it comes to Meghan and Harry, some of their more documentary-style media projects have done okay for Netflix. So even if the relationship falls out, they might still have a media business to build.
But what it means for the future of their relationship with the family is it changes the media conversation around them, Anderson, because the U.K. tabloids are going to apply so much more scrutiny on Meghan and Harry than the U.S. press did. Remember, Meghan had a career in California. She knew a lot of the Hollywood press already, and she was more secluded in Santa Barbara.
If they, you know, have tension in this relationship, they are battling the royal family's own press operation in their home court. That's going to be very difficult for them to manage.
COOPER: Especially, I mean, they will no doubt -- I mean, Max Foster brought this up. There are plenty of charities, organizations in the United Kingdom that would reach out to them, wanting attention, wanting them to, you know, to lend a hand and that could be in conflict with the Royal family.
FISCHER: Absolutely. And it also could be in conflict, actually, for these charities. You might think that they would want to work with Meghan and Harry because they are big names and they could bring some popularity. But if they're not popular in the U.K., Anderson, if they are not well received by the Royal family in the U.K., you have a problem.
Remember, the monarchy is facing some pushback in the United Kingdom, but it is still overwhelmingly supported. And so I think it is going to present some business and some nonprofit challenges for them. If they cannot figure out a way to sort of publicly align. The one thing I am hopeful about, though, Anderson, for all of their ventures, is the fact that they are returning as parents and you know this better than anyone, kids change the equation when it comes to family and business relationships.
Oftentimes they are the things that bring people together. I, for one, as a media analyst, am looking to see how does this change the U.K.'s sort of tabloid culture. Are they going to be as invasive in the lives of these kids as they were for William and Harry? We shall see.
COOPER: Yes. Sara Fischer, really appreciate it. Thank you, Sara.
Coming up next, what we are learning about why federal agents searched a former U.S. congressman and seized his electronic devices at an airport.
And later, CNN exclusive on the bombing that rocked Monaco. For the first time, the man who was targeted and badly hurt in the blast, along with his family, is speaking out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:33:33]
COOPER: Federal agents seized electronic devices from former Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell at the San Francisco airport and searched his Washington, D.C. home this past weekend. Sources familiar with the investigation told CNN that both the search and device seizure are part of an ongoing federal investigation into the sexual assault allegations against Swalwell.
He resigned from the House of Representatives this past April after reporting from CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle detailing allegations of sexual misconduct, allegations that he denies. In the wake of that reporting, both the Manhattan District Attorney and Los Angeles Sheriff's Department opened criminal investigations into Swalwell.
Joining me now is Retired FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko. So, as you know, sexual assault investigations aren't usually handled by the federal -- by the FBI, but it's usually handled by state and local authorities. Why do you think the FBI is involved in this?
RICHARD KOLKO, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, Anderson, actually the sexual assault cases are being handled by the locals. We know the DAs in New York and L.A. are looking at it. But from a federal standpoint, it's a color of law. It's kind of an abuse of power case. And that's what the FBI appears to be looking into at this point.
COOPER: What is the strategy for stopping Swalwell or anyone under investigation at an airport and seizing electronic devices as opposed to going to his house when he's at home? Is there significance in the location?
KOLKO: I don't think there's that much. They had the warrant signed. They had to get probable cause from a judge that said they could go seize both the electronic devices and do the search at his home. May have been two different judges, two different districts, that they would have had to do this in.
[20:35:03]
And the problem with the telephone is people might get rid of it he -- if any suspect was concerned about law enforcement coming to take it. So they -- so that's the reason you want to get it as quick as you can. So law enforcement knew he was getting off an airplane, public place, easy to do it very quietly, probably pulled him into a separate room, and he gave up his phone and his computer, I'm told.
And FBI will break that down. They're going to go ahead and look for photos, texts, any evidence of that sexual misconduct that could help further the not only the federal case, but if information could be provided to the DAs that are investigating, that would help them as well.
COOPER: In something like that, does he have to give up passwords?
KOLKO: They could fight for those. He may not choose to give them up right away, and then FBI will have to work to break into the devices, probably not in his best interests. Have to wait and see what actually happens with that.
COOPER: Do you believe there could be a national security dimension to the FBI case, given his past association with a suspected Chinese spy? And again, Swalwell has denied any criminal wrongdoing in that situation and has separately denied the sexual assault allegations.
KOLKO: Well, we know that some documents were redacted and released just this week that he had confirmed that he had a romantic, or he didn't determine it as romantic, but sexual encounters with Fang. That goes back a few years. FBI closed that case.
If they were to find any information either in his house or on his electronic devices, they would have to get an additional warrant to dig into that, and then that could be used to reopen the case. We've heard Director Patel say that he has interest in reopening that case, including sending agents to China to conduct interviews and such.
I find that very difficult to believe or see as likely. If agents -- and there are agents assigned to the embassy in Beijing. They work there every day. But they're not given free roam in the city to interview Chinese citizens.
They would have to work through the intelligence or law enforcement entities in China. So that may be a little bit more difficult than just saying, go speak to her. But we'll have to wait and see on that one.
COOPER: And what would be the bar for the federal government to file charges against Swalwell?
KOLKO: It's like any case. It's just the evidence. It appears that it is to be color law deprivation of constitutional rights, which means based on what these women said and if it can be proven that they didn't have the ability to give consent to any activities that they may have had.
So while Swalwell says it was all consensual, the women are saying it wasn't. There's some -- he said, she said at this point in the investigation, so they'll be looking for evidence to be able to put it on one side of the coin or the other. And if they find that, then the FBI working through the U.S. Attorney's Office would go ahead and file charges.
COOPER: Wow. Richard Kolko, I really appreciate your perspective on it, your expertise. Thank you so much.
Coming up next, with no end in sight to the war, what to make of the President's declaration of an Economic D-Day against Iran. That's what the administration is now saying their strategy is. The impact, if any, on the conflict and the potentially global consequences, New York Times Columnist Tom Friedman joins us.
Plus, he narrowly survived a brazen bombing in Monaco. This is an incredible story. Now he is talking exclusively to CNN about that attack that badly injured him and his family and who he thinks may be behind it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:42:37]
COOPER: President Trump appears to be changing course on the Iran conflict, moving away from the kind of fighting we've seen toward what he called Economic D-Day in a social media post last night. This morning, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared on CNBC and had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: For now, and it is at the President's discretion, if we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart. But I would emphasize that is for now. And we do have control of the street.
The economic pressure means that we are going to all of our allies, and this is going to be the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world, and we are going to them and saying, you are either with us or against us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, joining me now New York Times Foreign Affairs Opinion Columnist Thomas Friedman. He's also the author of the best-selling book, "From Beirut to Jerusalem."
So, Tom, Scott Bessent says to allies, you're either with us or against us in the Economic D-Day campaign against Iran, as they're calling it, also claiming today that between the blockade and sanctions, we are going to collapse this regime. Do you have any reason to believe they can do that?
THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, NEW YORK TIMES FOREIGN AFFAIRS COLUMNIST: Well, you know, there's no question, Anderson, that Iran is under severe economic pressure. There's also no question that it's been on and off under sanctions since 1979. There's also no question it's been very good at smuggling. But I think, you know, some things are true, even if Donald Trump believes them. And there is severe economic pressure on Iran. There's two questions I have. One is, is the pressure on them going to get them to say uncle before the pressure on Trump, the midterms, and higher gas and food prices in America forces him to say uncle? That's a sort of macro question.
But underneath that, Anderson, I think there's a more important question about Iran. That is, can Iran say uncle? That is, is the regime as it exists now, which is clearly some kind of rather mysterious balance between real hardliners and softer liners who do the first memorandum of understanding, clearly would like to do a deal with the United States, get out under sanctions, obviously under Iran's term.
Can that regime actually say uncle? Is there a word in Farsi for uncle? Because right now, the hardliners, you've got a competition there, and the hardliners, you know, they can go at the softliners day and night and say, well, you know, we're just not going to give in as a way of seizing power there.
[20:45:19]
COOPER: I do want to ask about North Korea. I want to play something President Trump said yesterday about Kim Jong-un.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons. Should have never allowed it to happen. They should have never allowed it. If I were President, I wouldn't have allowed it. But he's got them.
I get along with them very well. Can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon. And I know Kim Jong-un very well, and he's going to be fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The President's called Iran's leaders, when he's upset with them, evil, sick, scum. The President seems to believe, or want us to believe, he has some kind of special insight into and bond with Kim Jong-un. Do you see evidence of that?
FRIEDMAN: Well, you know, one of the meta-meta questions that has been present in and around Trump since he became President is, you know, is he somehow, you know, under the control of foreign dictators? I've never seen any evidence of that.
And I actually don't believe it. I think it's much worse, Anderson. It's much worse. He actually thinks leadership and diplomacy and geopolitics is about personal relationships. Really personal. Me and the other guy over there.
And he clearly has an affection and greater comfort with dictators than with Democrats. With Kim Jong-un, a guy who has now given Russia 10,000 of his own soldiers to help him destroy the Ukrainian democracy, and thousands of missiles as well to help in that project. The whole thing is nutty.
Now, I'm all for engaging in some kind of negotiation with North Korea, but to think that you can get North Korea to denuclearize without leverage, just by Trump batting his eyes and talking about his friend, but you need all this leverage on Iran to get it to denuclearize. How can those two things be true at the same time?
COOPER: Yes. Thomas Friedman, thanks for joining us. Appreciate it, Tom.
FRIEDMAN: Thank you.
COOPER: Now an update on a mysterious attempt on the life of a Ukrainian millionaire in the small European nation of Monaco. The bombing occurred in June, but as CNN's Matthew Chance discovered while reporting in Monaco, the case is full of unexpected twists and turns.
Matthew has an exclusive interview with the Ukrainian businessman who survived the blast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a glamorous playground for the super-rich. One of the world's tiniest nations, Monaco promotes itself as a haven of wealth and tranquility on the picturesque shores of the Mediterranean.
But one evening in June, as a Ukrainian-born businessman walked home with his family, that carefully manicured image of security and calm was shattered, plunging the principality into violence and chaos.
CHANCE: Well, this is the exact place where the explosion took place. You can still see the impact of the shrapnel, the stucco plaster work here around the door has all fallen off. And, you know, if I lift up the tarp here, you can see the marble steps and the brickwork is all shattered.
We've also made contact with the target of the attack, and despite his grave injuries, he's agreed to speak out.
VADYM YERMOLAIEV, BUSINESSMAN (through translation): When the explosion went off, I saw my partner Anna lying on the steps with badly injured legs. My son was waving his bloodied arms, and I had burns across my whole body and was missing pieces of flesh.
I'm not a confrontational person. I've always tried to avoid any sharp conflicts, so I don't understand the reason why this happened.
CHANCE: There's a suggestion in Ukraine, and there are reports in Ukraine that this assassination attempt was linked to your involvement, alleged involvement in organized crime. How do you answer that?
YERMOLAIEV (through translation): I personally have never in my life had anything to do with that. The Monaco police also asked me if my family could be involved, which was almost funny, as everything I own is already registered to my wife and children.
CHANCE (voice-over): But clearly, someone wanted to send a message. This is the face of the bomber, a 39-year-old single mother from Ukraine, Anastasiia Berezovska. She even recorded herself planting the device, in what investigators say was part of a complex international plot. They're still trying to unravel.
[20:50:12]
CHANCE: Well, these narrow, twisting streets snaking through tiny Monaco are some of the most heavily surveilled anywhere in the world. There are more than 1,400 surveillance cameras, basically watching everything anybody does, and a police officer for every 60 residents of the principality. The bombing appears to have been carefully planned to bypass all of that tight security.
CHANCE (voice-over): And Monaco's police department is now under intense pressure to understand what went wrong.
ERIC ARELLA, POLICE COMMISSIONER OF MONACO: (Speaking Foreign Language).
CHANCE (voice-over): Multiple theories are being explored, the police chief admitted, though he refused to elaborate or discuss the glaring connections with Ukraine and its security services.
Within a Kyiv court, those connections have become impossible to ignore. Two men, a serving officer with Ukrainian military intelligence and a former security agent, now stand accused of executing Anastasiia Berezovska and burying the Monaco bomber in a shallow grave after she fled home.
For the Ukrainian authorities fighting a bitter war with Russia, it's a potentially embarrassing link that risks straining relations with its European backers. Ukrainian military intelligence say the suspects are just criminals. But fueling speculation, Vadym Yermolaiev is sanctioned by Ukraine for doing business with its Russian enemies, though he's ruling out any link to his bombing.
YERMOLAIEV (through translation): I can't imagine it had anything to do with the Ukrainian sanctions against me, because that would mean our state is potentially engaged in extrajudicial executions, and I just can't believe that.
CHANCE: After the bombing, you accuse the Ukrainian security services of being behind it. Is that still your view?
YERMOLAIEV (through translation): That's not just my view; all the facts point to it. But I think this was a contracted hit. Someone privately hired military intelligence specialists who know how to do this, and they took it on for money.
CHANCE (voice-over): In both Monaco and Kyiv, investigations are now in full swing to uncover the facts, including the possible role of Ukrainian guns for hire or rogue agents, making one of the world's most glamorous enclaves feel a lot less secure. Matthew Chance, CNN, Monaco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, coming up, my conversation with musician Travis Barker. For a new episode of my podcast, All There Is, which just got released, Travis talks about the plane crash he was the sole survivor of, and his mom, Gloria, who died the day before Travis started high school, and how her love and death propelled him to the success he has today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Did you know she might die?
TRAVIS BARKER, MUSICIAN: No. I had no clue that that was going to happen. Luckily, I got down there the day she passed, and had a chance for her to say, like, pursue music, like, I really want you to pursue music.
COOPER: Those were her last --
BARKER: Yes.
COOPER: -- words to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:57:59]
COOPER: New episode of my podcast All There Is was just released tonight and it's available CNN.com/AllThereIs or wherever you get your podcast. My guest this week is Travis Barker, the drummer for the band Blink-182.
Travis is the sole survivor of a plane crash that killed his close friends and two pilots. He was burned over 70 percent of his body. We talk about the guilt he felt over surviving that crash and the early loss of his mom, Gloria, who bought him his first drum set and day -- and she died the day before Travis started high school.
Here's some of the podcast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARKER: It was only a few weeks or a few months after she was diagnosed with cancer that she had passed away.
COOPER: Did you know she might die?
BARKER: No. I had no clue that that was going to happen. Luckily, I got down there the day she passed and had a chance for her to say, like, pursue music. Like, I really want you to pursue music.
COOPER: Those were her last words to you. After she died, did you talk about her?
BARKER: Not really.
COOPER: Did you cry?
BARKER: Yes, but I tried not to for so long, you know?
COOPER: You went to school the day after your mom died. Do you remember that?
When my dad died, I was in 5th grade, and I had a sense of shame about it for some reason. Like, I remember a kid wanted to come over -- I remember a kid wanted to come over to my house, and I was angry about it because I didn't want him to see me, like, sad or just, I didn't want anyone to acknowledge it.
BARKER: Yes, same. I'd never experienced loss before that. I didn't really know a next step or a step to take after that happened except to pick up where I left off and keep playing drums. So that's all I focused on, like, head down, play the drums.
I had this desire in me to fulfill what she said to me, and I was like, I have to do it. I think if she was alive, I don't know if I would have tried as hard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, you can listen to the full conversation wherever you get your podcasts or watch the entire episode right now at CNN.com/AllThereIs,
That's it for us. The news continues. The Source starts now.
