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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Plane Plunges Nearly 20,000 feet in 35 Seconds After Cockpit Stabbing; CNN Obtains Jane Doe's 2024 Statement to Cornell Police; Cornell Agrees to Independent Investigation Into Handling of 2024 Alleged Gang Rape; Hegseth Cutting 20 Percent of Top Military Officers as Iran War Continues; Becerra, Hilton Face Off in First California Governor Debate. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired September 30, 2026 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, 16TH CHAIR OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE: You just added in a third building is what that is. That's a third building --
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Now, it's a building that's being built.
POWELL: No, it's been, it was built five years ago. We finished Martin five years ago.
TRUMP: It's part of the overall work.
POWELL: But it's not new.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Trump has repeatedly threatened to kick Powell off of the Fed Board, but Powell has insisted on staying in that role until this investigation was complete. And now it's clear, that made sense.
Thanks for joining us. AC360 starts now.
[20:00:34]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Good evening, we are now an hour away from the one and only debate in the California Governor's race. Democrat and former Biden Cabinet Secretary Xavier Becerra squaring off against conservative commentator and former British political strategist, Steve Hilton.
Now, Hilton is hoping to be the first Republican to win the job since Arnold Schwarzenegger took office in 2003.
We begin, though, with the sheer horror that 174 people, including four Americans aboard a Boeing 737 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, experienced even before they found out what was happening in the cockpit. And we should warn you, some of the video you'll see in the next few minutes is graphic. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO INSIDE BOEING 737 WHICH PLUNGED NEARLY 20,000 FEET AFTER COCKPIT STABBING.)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The plane was in a dive, plunging nearly 20,000 feet in about 35 seconds. Now, a descent rate on approach is roughly 600 or 700 feet per minute. The 737 reached speeds approaching the sound barrier, something that airliners today are simply not designed to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKA BAUMAN, FLYDUBAI PASSENGER: We just felt the plane drop completely and started spinning a little and everyone was screaming. There were children crying and, it was just like a death in front of our eye's moment. Like I was just sure I was going to die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Of the forces, the passengers and plane experienced, you can see it in the video were enough to rip a large chunk of the rudder off. Now, the fact that the rest of the airliner withstood those forces and made it safely to an airport, that was far from a certainty and closer to miraculous.
What those terrified passengers soon discovered is that behind the reinforced cockpit door. Authorities say, the copilot had fought with and stabbed the captain. A number of passengers rushed the cockpit and stopped the copilot and were struggling to regain control of the plane.
Today, Israel's Prime Minister greeted the passenger, who recounted the remarkable story for him and the cameras. He's speaking in Hebrew, but the audio you'll hear is the English translation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(YANIV HAYOUN, PASSENGER, SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE.)
TRANSLATION: When I got inside, I saw the attacker on the instrument panel between the two seats. There were no pilots in the seats. One was on the floor, one was on the instruments, and someone else had come in with me. I grabbed the attacker, put him in a choke hold, and dragged him out first. It all happened in seconds and the plane's nose was pitched like this. I called out to a bunch of Israelis on board, and two other guys came over.
We pinned him down. I jumped back, grabbed the controls, and started pulling back the handles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Meaning he grabbed the yoke and he stopped the dive. Using knowledge, he says he got from a T.V. series on air disasters. The President also weighed in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Never flew a plane, was rarely in planes, and having never flown a plane, he took the stick, lifted it up and leveled out the plane before it crashed. But he said he watches it a lot. And, he learned from watching that show, sort of how to fly. I mean, you tell me, this is the craziest thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: No less remarkable was the presence of two other flydubai pilots who were passengers on the flight, who stepped in to land the plane safely in Northeastern Saudi Arabia. Now, the question is, what exactly was this? An attempted terrorist attack against Israelis? As the Israeli government is saying, a suicidal pilot, which has certainly happened before or something else?
We'll be talking about what investigators are looking for tonight. But we begin with CNN's Jeremy Diamond.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PASSENGER: How much time, how much time we need?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The wounded man being treated aboard this bloodstained aircraft isn't a passenger, he's the pilot. And lying just a few feet away from him, also wounded, is the man who allegedly stabbed him and tried to hijack the plane, his copilot.
Flydubai flight 1073, was bound for Tel Aviv from Dubai. About two hours and 15 minutes later, the plane plummets, dropping more than 17,000 feet in under two minutes. Passengers aboard this Israel-bound flight say the plane began spinning out of control before diving toward the ground. Until a few brave passengers and crew rushed to the cockpit.
ASSAF RAJUAN, PASSENGER OF FLYDUBAI FLIGHT 1073 (through translator): We are here on the plane right now. We have taken control of the terrorists. We are about to land.
DIAMOND (voice over): Assaf Rajuan is one of those passengers. Together, he says they took down the would-be hijacker and restrained him for nearly an hour.
RAJUAN (through translator): It wasn't a prolonged battle. We neutralized him very quickly. There was no real fight. We aren't heroes. I'm no Van Damme. I was terrified for my life and my family's lives, and I didn't have total confidence until things started to clear up. And I saw that the pilot had truly regained control of the plane.
[20:05:41]
DIAMOND (voice over): His shirt still bloodied. Yaniv Hayoun tells the Israeli Prime Minister how he put the attacker in a chokehold.
HAYOUN (through translator): The plane's nose was pitched like this. I called out to a bunch of Israelis on board, and two other guys came over. We pinned him down. I jumped back, grabbed the controls and started pulling back the handles.
DIAMOND (voice over): Celebrations in Israel, greeting the plane's 174 passengers who are still reeling from their brush with death.
PELEG ITALIE, PASSENGER: I was flying and I see the ground. Then I see the wing of the plane and the brakes, the brakes on the wing of the plane they come up and all of the plane tilts, it tilts to the other side and we start falling. We drag down 15,000 feet a kilometer. You feel of the G-force, you feel it on you and you squeeze into the chair.
BAUMAN, PASSENGER: Children crying and it was just like a death in front of our eye's moment. We didn't actually know what was happening until we landed, which was like a few hours later.
DIAMOND (voice over): The plane's captain, who managed to open the cockpit door as he was being attacked, was identified as Smit Machchhar from India. Dr. Shota Musaev, a dentist who worked to stabilize him on board, said Machchhar barely survived the ordeal.
DR. SHOTA MUSAEV, PASSENGER (through translator): If we had waited even a few more moments, we would have lost him. His blood pressure had plummeted. He suddenly lost consciousness and there was blood everywhere.
DIAMOND (voice over): The plane was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. On the ground you can see clear damage to the plane's rudder. Both pilots were rushed to a hospital. Israeli officials say they are investigating the suspected hijacking as an attempted terrorist attack. But so far, no clear motive has emerged and authorities have yet to publicly identify the attacker or the weapon used.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Jeremy, what more are Israeli officials at this hour now saying about the attacker's motive?
DIAMOND: Well, Israeli officials are now publicly describing this incident as an attempted terrorist attack. The Israeli Prime Minister tonight telling CNN's Jim Sciutto that this could have been a 9/11 style disaster, had those heroic Israeli passengers not acted to prevent this. But privately, I can tell you that my sources are far more circumspect about the ultimate motivations of this would-be hijacker.
There are a lot of questions that are still unanswered, and publicly, Israeli officials haven't said anything yet about a specific motive, even as they are calling this terrorism at this point. So, there is still a lot to learn as we understand it. This attacker was placed under arrest in Saudi Arabia. The Israeli Prime Minister, suggesting he will be extradited to the United Arab Emirates, a country that, unlike Saudi Arabia, does have diplomatic relations with Israel, which means the Israelis will likely be able to have more involvement in the investigation going forward.
COOPER: All right, Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much.
I want to bring in retired Army Lieutenant General Karen Gibson, former director of intelligence for U.S. Central Command, former FAA safety inspector David Soucie and CNN global affairs analyst Brett McGurk, author of the upcoming book "Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages".
David, is there any sort of playbook for what to do if the copilot attacks the captain in mid-air? I mean, do does airlines train for that sort of thing?
DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Well, they do train for what can happen in the cockpit, but it's not necessarily about. we work a lot on crew resource management for how to get the pilot and copilot to work together, communicate well, but we don't really go to that extent to say, how do you how do you get out of an attacker? But I'm really, really impressed with the fact that the pilot was still able and had the presence of mind to get that door open so that people could get in.
If he hadn't done that, it would have been an entirely different situation without anybody being able to interfere.
COOPER: Yes, General Gibson, I mean, the Israeli government says it was an attempted terror attack. That's what they're going with right now. Obviously, there's still a lot to learn. With the involvement of an airline employee in the cockpit, no less, track with any M.O. you've come across in your intelligence career. Obviously, you know, we've heard reports about, you know, Iran looking to kind of try to mobilize anybody in a variety of places to kind of strike at Western targets. But, what do you make of this?
[20:10:16]
LT. GEN. KAREN GIBSON (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Well, so certainly I think it's probably one of two options. It could be, you know, a man who has some significant personal issues. We've had episodes in the past of a psychotic break, you know, suicidal, various reasons. If you look back over the last several decades, probably 10 to 12 incidents in which someone in the cockpit does something nefarious, they are typically not terrorist attacks. It's usually someone who is really having a significant mental issue.
And then the other would be a possibility of a terror attack, whether that's an individual who has self-radicalized and decided on his own, this is something he is going to do, or someone who is more state sponsored.
When we look at the kinds of state sponsored attacks that Iran foments, it's typically, it's never been something like this. It is typically something where it's removed. Theres a cutout, whether it's a proxy like Hamas or Iranian aligned militia groups or Hezbollah, or whether it's criminal elements. That's more common in western nations, where they work through local criminal networks who may not even know who is behind the attack they've been asked to do because of various cutouts.
So, this is, it falls in the far less likely, I think, in terms of Iranian fomented terror attacks doesn't rule out the fact that it could be an individual who is self-radicalized and chooses to do it himself for terror reasons. I think that's much of what we'll learn as this investigation proceeds.
COOPER: Brett, are there details now that we know that kind of raise particular, you know, red flags for you in terms of what may actually this be?
BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I mean, we will learn as this a lone-wolf actor or is he connected to a larger extremist infrastructure, whether that's ISIS, whether it's Iran? I think, we'll know soon. I'm just struck, Anderson. You know, there's a deeply ingrained ethos in Israel. Just do not mess with Israelis.
We will act. We will not wait and you saw that on that airplane. Thank goodness, because had this succeeded. And we were talking tonight, about 174 people massacred and dead in Saudi Arabia, this would be, right on a week out from the third anniversary of October 7th, you heard Jeremy say, Israelis are saying this could have been a 9/11. Certainly, would have been like a 2nd October 7th attack. What this could have done to the region that is already on edge?
I just, I don't even want to contemplate it how close we were and just thank goodness for those extraordinary ordinary citizens on that plane. I think we'll learn more, Anderson.
I say one more thing, regional implications. You know, under the currents of the regional crisis we've been covering here on your program, relations between UAE and Saudi Arabia have just really strengthened.
In fact, Flydubai have increased their flights to Israel almost ten round-trip flights a day that started this summer. And I think you'll see that cooperation grow even closer as this investigation proceeds. And then in Saudi Arabia, of course, there's no diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, but there's close security cooperation. And you saw these images today of Saudi nurses treating these Israeli passengers on the ground in Saudi Arabia.
It's an extraordinary moment for the region. A hopeful moment for a moment allows people to take a breath. But man, this was way too close and just, I think heightens the concern of the diversity of threats of terrorism that just remain out there.
COOPER: Yes, I mean, it's extraordinary response by those Israeli passengers who, you know, rushed the cockpit, we're able to get in. And as David Soucie mentioned, you know, getting that door open. How extraordinary is, David, that the passenger who put the copilot in a chokehold was able to grab the, you know, the control column and stabilize the aircraft. He said the extent of his flying experience was watching a show called "Air Crash Investigation"?
SOUCIE: Well, that's fascinating to me because trying to get an aircraft out of a dive of that type, and you can tell by the rudder that this aircraft was close to supersonic at that point, because what the rudder does at that speed is it starts to flutter.
You can see the pieces of the tail of that rudder have come off. So, you know how hard it was coming down out of the sky. So, to be able to pull that back, even experienced pilots would have a very difficult time getting that aircraft out of that nosedive position and into a flat position for controlled flight. it's not easy to do.
Some pilots would actually have to put their foot on the front of the panel to pull back, to get that thing out of that dive. It's very, very difficult to do. And the fact that he was able to do that just from watching Air Disasters is fascinating to me.
COOPER: General Gibson, the same passenger who met with the Israeli Prime Minister, told him, "I imagine that if we had entered Israeli airspace, it wouldn't have ended well."
Do you think Israeli officials might have shot down the aircraft if they were aware, it had been hijacked and weaponized? I mean, I think it did send out distress signals.
[20:15:22]
GIBSON: Yes, certainly. What I understand is that the pilot also, or someone within the cockpit had set off an indicator, a signal that that showed that it was a hijacking event. And so, the Israelis would have been responding to that in much the same way that our military and the U.S. government would respond if a plane that was not authorized to be headed towards the U.S. Capitol continued to head in that on that azimuth without diverting.
And so, they would perhaps have been prepared to take out the aircraft, particularly if it got much closer to, say, Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, perhaps not out over the desert. But if it was not responding and they believed it was a terrorist attack that might be used as a missile, as we saw in 9/11, then yes, I would think the IDF might be prepared to take action against that aircraft.
COOPER: And Brett, in a situation like that. What are your former colleagues at the NSA, the National Security Council likely doing? I mean, would this renew concerns about U.S. Security of U.S.-bound commercial flights?
MCGURK: Well, I mean, I think every time something like this happens, you have to look at who are the pilots on the on the planes, and especially on such a sensitive route from Abu Dhabi or Dubai to Israel. Who are the pilots?
I think something seriously went wrong here in the vetting. So, it's going to add another layer of the type of vetting in terms of safety of air travel. But I think if I was on the national security council now, I would be looking at all forms, intelligence. I think the Saudis have this this guy under interrogation. What are they learning? Who is he talking to? Did he have a phone? Did he have a device? Was he self- radicalized or was he connected to a broader network?
I'd be particularly looking potentially at Iran. The Prime Minister of the U.K. today said that that incident over the weekend in the U.K. may well have been linked to Iran.
We have to see we are in this state of conflict with Iran, but we can't speculate now. You have to wait for all the facts to come. But that would be the key question. Is this a lone actor, self-radicalized or was he part of a broader network, which means there could be other plots that are being mobilized? Let's hope not.
COOPER: Brett McGurk, General Gibson, David Soucie, thanks so much.
Coming up next, a major new development in the alleged gang rape at Cornell University. New details of what the accuser says happened to her.
And later, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laying out his plans to cut 20 percent of all generals and admirals, remake the military and create what he's calling an office of religious affairs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DEFENSE SECRETARY: Our Department is, you might say, putting on the full armor of God, because while we wage physical war, we all know the real battle is spiritual.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:21:51]
COOPER: Major new developments tonight after several others in the last several days in the wake of the alleged drugging and gang rape at Cornell University fraternity house nearly two years ago.
CNN has obtained a six-page sworn statement from the accuser at the time. In it, she tells Cornell University Police she was okay with an initial encounter, but that later in the night she did not consent. She also described being hit in a separate document, a transcript of a November 2024 interview with campus police obtained by CNN affiliate WCBS.
The accuser is more explicit, saying, "I can say with 100 percent confidence I was raped."
The woman is now suing the university, the fraternity and alleged attackers. Monday, the local district attorney said he would reopen the investigation. Yesterday, New York's attorney general said she'd be overseeing it. And today Cornell agreed to an outside independent probe. Details on that still to come.
CNN's Jason Carroll joins us now from Ithaca. So, we mentioned the six-page statement obtained by CNN. And the transcript obtained by WCBS. What's been the reaction to those revelations, and what are authorities saying?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, there really seems to be somewhat of a disconnect between what the DA's office says it received versus what the campus police said they sent over to the district attorney's office. You know, as you pointed out, the DA's office says that while they have that six-page statement from Jane Doe, they said that they did not receive that transcript that WCBS seems to have been able to obtain in that transcript, of course, Jane Doe alleges that she was raped, but apparently that's something that did not reach the desk of the District Attorney's Office.
He told us, "We never received it and still don't have it. It was not part of what Cornell provided to us. We got the six-page statement and nothing more, except for the Snapchat video."
That Snapchat video, of course, he's referring to Chi Phi members during that terrible night. There was an allegation that these Chi Phi members sent out a Snapchat video saying that the young woman was there and inviting others to join.
Now, Cornell, for its part, telling us today that they did, in fact, they say, send a lengthy investigative report to the DA's office and any more questions about that needed to be referred to the District Attorney's Office. So, seemingly somewhat of a disconnect between what the DA's office received and what Cornell campus police said they sent to the D.A.
COOPER: And what else do you know about this independent investigation that Cornell has apparently agreed to?
CARROLL: Yes, well, early this evening, we got word that Cornell has agreed to allow an independent outside investigation to take place to look at how the university has handled the case. And as you know, the university has come under a great deal of criticism here on campus and off campus as well, from people asking for more transparency.
And so, perhaps by agreeing to this outside independent investigation, that will, in some ways, you know, in some ways for the university to show folks here on the ground that they are trying to be more transparent about how they handle the case.
[20:25:06]
COOPER: All right, Jason Carroll, thanks so much.
Joining us now is Saanya Agarwal, Cornell University women's issues representative for the class of 2027. Saanya, thanks so much for being here. I'm wondering what you are hearing from women on campus tonight and students on campus tonight as we learn more about Jane Doe's allegations. SAANYA AGARWAL, CORNELL UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S ISSUES REPRESENTATIVE, CLASS OF 2027: Yes, I think a lot of students on campus are definitely processing this information. Many, including myself, are understandably angered after reading and hearing more about the specifics of what allegedly happened that night. Because we don't, we didn't know about that until about two weeks ago. But I also think a lot of students are confused and they're hurting. So many of us learned about the specifics of this case, the way that the rest of the country did. And that's a really difficult way to find out something so horrific happened in your own college campus.
COOPER: Cornell now says it will open an independent investigation into the incident. I'm wondering how much confidence you have in that, and also what you if there anything else specifically you would like to see done?
AGARWAL: Yes, I think if Cornell prioritizes a lot more transparency, it would be a lot better. I think the issue right now, especially with the student body and especially with women on campus, is were feeling fearful and people are feeling angry because of the lack of transparency.
We don't know what's true and what's not. The media is saying so many different things. We're trying to read the lawsuit, the cases, but it's a lot. And what we want to hear from is Cornell University administration. We want them to kind of walk us through each of their steps, what they're doing, what they're allowed to disclose and what they're not allowed to disclose.
And also, what the sanctions looked like. Were there punishments? Did they did they go wrong and like, really tell us like verbatim what we want to be hearing?
COOPER: Does it, I'm wondering what is most concerning to you about the way or what we know about the way Cornell initially handled the case back in 2024? I think the most concerning aspect was not knowing if the members who are accused were still walking on our campus. We didn't know if they were, you know, permanently suspended. We didn't know if they were allowed to be like, sitting in class next to us. If they were still in Ithaca at Cornell, you know, interacting with all of us. We had no idea and I think that is terrifying. And I think that's exactly what the student body was terrified and angered about.
COOPER: Saanya Agarwal, I really appreciate your time tonight. Thank you so much.
AGARWAL: Thank you.
COOPER: I want to get perspective now from former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, Jessica Roth and journalist and Lift Our Voices co-founder Gretchen Carlson.
Jessica, does it make sense to you that according to this this transcript from CBS, that Jane Doe told the Cornell Police, I can say with 100 percent confidence I was raped in her initial interview, but that somehow didn't make it to the District Attorneys' Office. JESSICA ROTH, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Well, to be clear, the allegations here are very serious. They're deeply troubling, and they raise very serious questions about why the district attorney did not do an investigation in this matter.
And they raise questions about why there wasn't coordination between the Cornell Police Department, the Ithaca Police Department and the District Attorneys' Office, and therefore, why this transcript that apparently was in the possession of the Cornell Police Department wasn't provided to the District Attorney's Office.
And based even on the information that the District Attorney has said in public that he had in his possession, based on that initial six- page typed statement given by jane doe, that statement raised serious questions about lack of consent that would have, I would imagine, have prompted a prosecutor to conduct further investigation that might have led them to that transcript. But to interview jane doe and to interview others who would have had information and tried to figure out whether, in fact, this was non-consensual.
So, based on the information that the district attorney has said in this during this week that he had in his possession, I don't understand why there wasn't that further investigation, but I do want to point out we don't have all the facts. We need to know more.
We haven't even seen in the public domain yet that six-page typewritten statement. We haven't seen that questionnaire. That is the information the district attorney presumably looking at now, as well as conducting the more fulsome investigation that should have been done then. Gretchen, what stands out to you in this? Well, first of all, the governor of New York is calling for this independent investigation. And I will tell you, of all the work that I've done over the last ten years with regard to me, to a lot of these independent investigations are not real investigations.
Companies and universities can hire million-dollar law firms to come in, and the result ends up being sort of in their favor. So, I would have hesitation about that. I would hope that it's independent. But what's really at the heart of the matter here is, as that student just said, transparency. So many other women now have come forward since these revelations came to light. They are at other universities across the country.
There needs to be a reckoning for sexual violence on campuses. These women are saying that they're being forced to sign non-disclosure agreements to get their diplomas, to be able to graduate after they've been allegedly raped, because the university wants to cover it up.
[20:30:35]
And by the way, there was a Title IX investigator in that investigation, apparently. Who are they? And what -- WTF about the fact that they did not say anything more after that? What is Title IX for?
I mean, there are so many unanswered questions here, but the bottom line is that we have to get to transparency in the workplace and in institutions like Cornell and otherwise, because sexual assault is a crisis and the cover-up is even more of a crisis.
COOPER: Jessica, is there any evidence? I mean, do campus police on most campuses, I mean, you would think that would be the frontline of understanding how to respond to any kind of sexual abuse allegations on a campus, given that that is the only people they are serving is the campus. But it doesn't seem like there was a trained sexual assault, you know, expert there interviewing, you know, this woman.
I mean, what's your knowledge of what campus police forces are like?
JESSICA ROTH, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Well, they handle a whole range of matters that are happening on campus. We don't have all the facts here about who was involved in this investigation or what training they may or may not have had, but what is surprising and disturbing, among other things, is that there was no transmission of all the information that the Cornell Police Department did have to the Ithaca Police, that the district attorney did not initiate any further investigation, including speaking with Jane Doe to get further information and including a trained sex crime prosecutor in that investigation.
There were facts alleged even in that first statement that the district attorney spoke about where Jane Doe said that she had been grabbed and she had been pulled. Things that -- and just the nature of the allegations, the number of men involved, the number of sex acts involved in a few hours, the extent of her intoxication, not just alcohol but ketamine, things that should have been red flags that this called out for further investigation and not just a reliance on sort of a what was in this typed statement that I would infer was typed by somebody at the Cornell Police Department based on what they were hearing from Jane Doe.
She apparently marked it up in the margins, but that should have not been the end of the investigation and that is apparently what happened here.
COOPER: The DA's office, it's the same office that had this in the first place, I mean do you have much confidence in them?
CARLSON: I mean, I don't know, let me read you this report. 1,200 sexual assault cases were filed at Cornell between 2018 and 2024. 1,200 cases. Most of these found responsible received minor sanctions that allowed them to remain on campus.
I mean what, if there's 1,200 cases at one institution in a span of six years, how many is that across all of our institutions of colleges and universities? So I think the bigger question other than whether or not the D.A. should be the one handling this case is, we have to get rid of the cover-up going on at these institutions and to do that, we have to get rid of non-disclosure agreements, which is what I work on, on a daily basis, because we live in a culture where we penalize people who have the bravery to come forward and we automatically move to covering it up. We have to get rid of that and be more transparent, own our experiences and what happens and move past this. And I hope there will be a reckoning on college's campuses as a result of this.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Is that a public figure or, I mean that's an extraordinary figure.
CARLSON: It's an extraordinary -- yes, it's from USA Today. I mean that's an extraordinary stat, but this is something that, you know, when MeToo happened, we had a reckoning in the workplace and so many people came forward. And I've worked since then to change laws to make workplaces more transparent, to take the secrecy away. That needs to happen on college campuses.
COOPER: Do you see that? I mean do you think that is -- enough is being done?
ROTH: Well, I mean the allegations in this case are incredibly serious and the allegations in many other cases are incredibly serious, and it's a real question about whether the procedures and processes that campuses have in place are sufficient and the people who are working on these matters on campuses are sufficiently well trained to be conducting these investigations and then whether they are handled with a level of seriousness that they weren't.
That's a very serious conversation that we should definitely be having.
COOPER: Yeah. Jessica Roth, Gretchen Carlson, thanks so much, appreciate it.
Coming up, Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth delivers his State of the Force speech today.
[20:35:00]
He accused reporters covering the Iran War of treason, which is by the way punishable by death, and announced major cuts to the military's top leadership. Details on that ahead.
We're also counting down to the top of the hour and the CNN California Gubernatorial Debate, which is taking place on this network at 9 o'clock Eastern Time. We'll take you there, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: You're looking at Defense Secretary, Hegseth doing push-ups there on the foreground with troops this morning outside the Pentagon. According to the Defense Department, the military personnel flanking Hegseth were, quote, "hand-selected" by their leadership to represent their units in the nation's capital.
It was a prelude to their attendance at Hegseth's State of the Force speech this afternoon at Quantico. You'll recall previous reporting that the Pentagon only wanted service members who fit certain physical standards to attend the event, which included passing the waist-to- height ratio and had to have, quote, "impeccable grooming."
Hegseth used part of his speech to further detail his vision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, UNITED STATES DEFENSE SECRETARY: We are no longer the woke department or the weak department.
[20:40:00]
Simple translation of that, no fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals, just warriors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Secretary Hegseth also announced he is doubling the target for cuts to general and admiral positions to 20 percent and that he's establishing an office of religious affairs saying our national model is, after all, in God We Trust. Today, we reaffirm that trust.
Joining us now is Democratic Congressman Adam Smith. He's the Ranking Member on the House Armed Services Committee. Congressman, I'm wondering what impact, first of all, you think these cuts will have on U.S. military readiness. Are there too many generals and admirals? Twenty percent is -- he's talking about a 20 percent cut in the ranks.
REP. ADAM SMITH, (D-WA) RANKING MEMBER, HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Yeah, there's a lot of what Secretary Hegseth said there that I find very objectionable. But look, there's a lot of people who have felt that we've had too many flag officers for some time.
Can you cut 20 percent? That seems pretty high given the tempo that Secretary Hegseth has put them on. But sure, you can cut some generals and admirals, I think, and be a little less top-heavy and distribute the money elsewhere. It's not a huge shift.
I mean, the biggest thing that I object to in what Secretary Hegseth had to say is when he described what a warrior looks like. And let me tell you, actually, the Doonesbury cartoon had a great summary of this in their column this Sunday. They're showing a Ukrainian who is way overweight. He's got a beard. He's smoking a cigarette. I don't know. He's sitting in a basement somewhere.
And someone's saying, well, you don't look like a warrior. And he says, yeah, but I've killed like 10,000 Russians by manning this drone, so I'm getting the job done. OK?
(LAUGH)
SMITH: A fundamental misunderstanding of what warfare is, it's not hand-to-hand combat anymore. OK? You're not picking the best ultimate fighter. You need somebody who knows how to use technology, who knows how to use drones, who knows how to use counter-drone capability. And when you narrow that all the way down to just people who fit some sort of John Wayne vision of physical fitness, that is really going to harm the capability of our military.
COOPER: I want to play something else that Secretary Hegseth said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEGSETH: You see, it's your movements and bases that they reveal to the enemy. It's your operations that they jeopardize when they leak classified capabilities. And ultimately, it's your lives they put directly at risk when they lie about munition stockpiles.
A free press is, of course, important, but partisan activism that intentionally smears the troops and the historic mission that they're undertaking is fundamentally anti-American. It's sick. It's a national betrayal. It's treason, actually.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: He also compared American press unfavorably to Iranian state media. I mean, it's remarkable. I mean, plenty of secretaries of defense, you know, have railed against the media going back to the Vietnam War. But the idea that it's treason and the idea that people are defaming like service members seems absurd to me.
SMITH: Well, it is absurd. I mean, reporting that there were eight suicide attempts on one of our aircraft carriers, reporting that there are casualties that the Pentagon has refused to report, you know, reporting what's actually going on in the war, that's not treason. That's a free press. So, look, I mean, the Iranian war has been a disaster. I mean, we're fighting like hell just to get the Strait of Hormuz open, which was open before the war started.
I think that ought to be reported on. So, look, that's what we have with the free press, and it's all part of Secretary Hegseth and President Trump not respecting our Constitution.
COOPER: You said as recently as two days ago, you believe President Trump wants to, quote, "end America's representative democracy, replace it with an autocratic form of government." You also said the nation's institutions are, quote, "just barely holding up." Obviously, the White House, the president's allies would push back on that premise. But when you say institutions are barely holding up, do you include the Pentagon in that?
SMITH: Well, I don't know if it's in that context. I will say that the Iranian war has taken a lot of money away from everything else. And we're going to do some more thorough investigations of this when the Democrats get majority back. But they've been robbing accounts.
You have all kinds of military construction problems, problems meeting basic maintenance on domestic bases because they're putting all this money into the Iranian war and pumping money over there. And, yeah, I think the Pentagon is in a bit of trouble because Hegseth is picking people based on loyalty. You know, we've lost some really, really talented generals because Hegseth wanted to go for loyalty.
[20:45:00]
But I was more referring to Trump when Secretary Hegseth said that the military might be used to make sure that polling stations are secure and to stop foreign interference in the election. That's chilling along the lines of protecting our representative democracy to be sure.
COOPER: Yeah. Congressman Adam Smith, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
Up next tonight, what to expect at tonight's CNN California Gubernatorial Debate, our political panel weighs in with the two candidates, Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton, taking the stage at the top of the next hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: We're just minutes away from the CNN California Governor's Race Debate. CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are the moderators. Democrat Xavier Becerra, who served as Health and Human Services Secretary in the Biden administration and Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, will take the stage soon.
Each will be making their pitch to replace term-limited Democratic Governor, Gavin Newsom. CNN's Elex Michaelson joins us now from our studio in Burbank, where the debate will take place.
Elex, tell us about the studio and the stakes tonight.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, welcome into the studio. This is usually the home of our show, "The Story Is," but it's been transformed into the home of the California Governor's Debate. This is where Xavier Becerra, the former HHS Secretary, Democrat, is going to be standing.
Over here is where Steve Hilton, the Republican businessman, former Fox News host, will be standing. Right over there, the chairs for the moderators for tonight, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. In terms of the stakes, this is the only scheduled debate in this race.
The stakes especially high for Steve Hilton, who polls show down in this race, needs to have a chance to engage Becerra. Becerra hasn't engaged Hilton much, and it'll be interesting to see the two of them go back and forth, Anderson.
COOPER: And how did the key issues in California track with what we are seeing nationally?
MICHAELSON: Well, the biggest issue in California is the biggest issue in the country, which is affordability, the idea that it's just too expensive, and it's even more expensive in California. Gas prices, the highest in the country, some of the biggest issues when it comes to home prices, and of course, the most homeless people in the country as well. Question is, who is to blame? Is it the Democrats who have run the state for 20 years, or the Republicans who are in charge of the federal government?
[20:50:00]
And when I talk to voters, you heard different things depending on their political persuasion. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see a lot of problems with high taxes.
AMY MYCOMMANS, CALIFORNIA VOTER: I think California's in a heap of trouble. You know, I'm really concerned about my children, my grandchildren.
LISA LLOYD-VRANCH, CALIFORNIA VOTER: I don't think that Trump and his party has the best intentions for California.
SAM DHUPAR, CALIFORNIA VOTER: I think anyone who's backed by MAGA at this point just has lost -- lost -- should be losing everyone's vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So, most likely, Becerra is going to try to talk a lot about Trump and tie Hilton to Trump, who, of course, endorsed Hilton in the primary. And you're going to hear a lot from Hilton about Gavin Newsom, the Democrats, and probably very little about Donald Trump.
COOPER: Yeah. Elex Michelson, thanks so much.
Joining us are now three CNN Political Commentators, former Trump Campaign Adviser, David Urban; former Trump White House Communications Director, Alyssa Farah Griffin; and former Deputy Assistant to President Biden, Jamal Simmons.
Alyssa, how do you see this debate tonight? What are you looking for?
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Elex nailed it. This is really going to be a debate of, do you want Gavin Newsom's California or Donald Trump's America? So you're going to kind of have the two boogeymen of this debate.
And listen, this is California. I think Becerra is, by and far in all of the polls, the favored to win here. There are headwinds against Republicans, but there are some good arguments that Steve Hilton can be making. There's been an exodus of voters from California to states like Georgia and Florida with more favorable tax environments and the high costs there.
And right now, when gas prices are extremely high across the country because of the war in Iran, they're even higher in California because of the gas tax. So there are some interesting policy debates, but I really think that Hilton is going to really want to keep this focused on the failings of California. Becerra is going to make it, this is Donald Trump's problem.
COOPER: And David, I mean, Hilton has said you can be anti-Trump and still vote for me.
(LAUGH)
DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The president obviously has endorsed him. But can he have it both ways?
SMITH: It's tough. Anderson, the numbers out in California, I think 50 -- I think we had 53 percent of Californians feel wrong track, right? State is going down the tubes, going in a bad direction. And so Steve Hilton's best argument is, if you want more of that, just vote for Xavier Becerra, because we're going down the wrong track. I admit we're going.
Listen, you could disagree with Donald Trump, but I -- you know, I stand alone and I can make my own decisions and be my own person here. He's got to make that case. He's got to say what you guys did on "The View" to Kamala Harris --
(LAUGH)
URBAN: -- say, tell me the one thing you do differently than Gavin Newsom. Right? To Becerra, what would you do differently? What are you going to do differently than Governor Newsom? And let's see if he throws Gavin Newsom under the bus. Right? Because there's a lot of things that Gavin Newsom did that are unpopular.
You know, a lot of things that are going on in L.A. that, you know, you saw Spencer Pratt get a little traction with and people are very, you know, they feel that in their core. And to Alyssa's point, businesses are fleeing. People are fleeing. If you have the ability to leave, you're leaving.
There's a big battle now to keep Hollywood in Hollywood because that's going away. So Steve Hilton's best argument is Democrats have been running the state. It's not going so great. What do you got to lose by electing me?
COOPER: I mean, there has been pretty risk averse. He hasn't really been very specific on policy things. He hasn't been looking to kind of go head to head against this guy.
JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He hasn't really been doing big events. I mean, when you talk to people in California, they don't see that much of him out there. But at this point, this is really Gavin Newsom's kind of first election primary of the Gavin Newsom campaign. This is important.
COOPER: That's what do you think this is about?
SIMMONS: Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, when it's a 20-point difference, I mean, the question now is going to be what happens when Becerra gets in office. Will he protect Gavin Newsom, as David was just saying? But Newsom was also like a guy, you know, well, Trump in this way, which is like you can't really embarrass him.
I don't think there's anything you can say about him or his record that's going to make him back off of his positions at all.
But what you don't want, if you're Gavin Newsom, you don't want a Republican sitting in the governor's office running an opposition research operation out of the governor's office in California for you while you're trying to run for president. If nothing else, Becerra can keep the governor's mansion safe for Gavin Newsom while he pursues the national office.
COOPER: Alyssa, what do you think the national implications are for this?
FARAH GRIFFIN: I mean, listen, I think it's in many ways a test of Gavin Newsom's staying power and his power in this race. It was a very odd primary. We'll remember there was a crowded field. A lot of candidates stayed in far too long. Eric Swalwell was the front runner until those horrible allegations came out and he stepped aside. So I think there was this.
It took a while for Democrats to coalesce and kind of figure out who is going to lead the ticket. And this is now Gavin Newsom's candidate. Newsom's got national goals, likely going to run for president. So I think it matters basically how much of a win this is for Becerra. I mean, he's been ahead by nearly 20 points in most of the polls.
But listen, Steve Hilton is a professional communicator. This is a T.V. guy. This is somebody who is actually really well positioned for a T.V. debate like this. He could have some big moments. This is a moment for him to litigate the failings of California, whether it's the homeless issues, whether it's --
COOPER: He's going to be trying to, I mean, turn to Becerra and get Becerra to engage (inaudible).
(CROSSTALK)
[20:55:00]
FARAH GRIFFIN: Exactly. Exactly. Which he's really not done, to your point, Becerra has done very little media. He's been very risk averse. Steve Hilton could actually really thrive in this environment because it is his background.
URBAN: Yeah. Look, Hilton -- Steve Hilton is a very engaging gentleman, right? And to Alyssa's point --
COOPER: Are you saying that just because you kind of look like him?
(LAUGH)
(CROSSTALK)
FARAH GRIFFIN: Governor Urban?
COOPER: I just looked up some of his photos (inaudible).
(CROSSTALK)
URBAN: I'm Michael Chiklis, not Steve Hilton.
(LAUGH)
URBAN: Listen, but you know, to your point about Gavin Newsom, this -- you know, he is a larger-than-life figure in California politics, very charismatic, charming. You know, Xavier Becerra has been kind of quiet, non-existent, really. I mean, he's almost the accidental governor at this point because of, you know, how the race was kind of run. I don't think he was anybody's first choice in California, he was kind of the last man standing and do no harm kind of candidate.
And so Steve Hilton is going to go at him -- he's going to go at him hard. And I think the line that you'll continue to hear is, if you think things are going great in this state, right, if you like how your life is going, vote for Xavier Becerra. If you'd like a change, if you'd like more money in your pocket like lower taxes, lower gas prices, give me a chance. I think that's what you're going to hear from Steve Hilton over and over.
COOPER: Do you think Hilton goes after Becerra for his role in the Biden administration? He was the HHS secretary.
SIMMONS: Oh, if I were him -- advising him, of course, I would advise him to do that. But I think that that's not really going to be a deciding factor in this particular campaign. This also matters for the people in the state of California, right, and for the people nationally because California is such a large state and if it starts to do something like start regulating A.I., right, if we see that happen in California, that means all the companies will have to figure out how they manage the California market and that can change how they manage the rest of their entire country -- their entire company.
At the same time, will the governor of California be standing up to Donald Trump every day or will Becerra sort of just stay focused on the issues of California? California governorship is such a big platform, I think people in the country want to know that the governor of California will be a roadblock to the federal government.
COOPER: Well, I mean, I guess Becerra -- I mean he had sued the Trump administration as the Attorney General from California. I assume that's what he would say is, this is how I'll be (inaudible).
FARAH GRIFFIN: Yeah, I think that's his pitch to Democratic voters and to anybody who might not be motivated to turn out. But I think that, you know, the headwinds are so strong against Republicans right now, I don't think you have to worry about turning out Democrats. I think his pitch should be much more to Independents who aren't necessarily happy with the direction of the state of California, but to explain to them why he might be in some ways a change from Newsom and somehow forward looking. And I actually think it's much smarter if he focuses on things like A.I. regulation and things that impact the state rather than making it purely I'm going to take on Donald Trump. URBAN: But I think that's where you'll find agreement. I think Steve Hilton will be agreeing with him on A.I., you know, kind of reining some of this stuff in and Hilton, I think, is going to go after those same Independents. Look, there are a lot of Republicans in the state of California. Northern California down in the agricultural valley, Kevin McCarthy is from. There's a great, great number of Republicans.
If they got motivated, if they did show up and Democrats were apathetic, it could be a lot closer. Unfortunately, it's, you know, it's a 60/40 race right now. 20 points, it looks like the spread. Short of a miracle, you know, Hilton won't win this, but he can sure get a lot of good punches in tonight.
COOPER: Yeah, thanks to the panel. The California Gubernatorial Debate starts now.
ANNOUNCER: Tonight, candidates for governor with very different visions battling to lead one of the nation's biggest states. Democrat Xavier Becerra running on his experience, trying to keep California blue.
XAVIER BECERRA, (D) CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Democrats are the ones that aspire to include everyone.
ANNOUNCER: Facing off against the political newcomer, Republican Steve Hilton, says he'll shake things up.
STEVE HILTON, (R) CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Who thinks California is going in the wrong direction?
(CROWD CHEERING)
ANNOUNCER: As Californians confront skyrocketing prices, do the candidates have an answer?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILTON: It's not Donald Trump who's given us gas prices $2 higher than the rest of the country, it's Democrat policies.
BECERRA: If we fight to make California affordable, people will stay and they will come to this great state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: As an A.I. boom in Silicon Valley fuels fears about what's next who will California voters pick to lead the state?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILTON: If we're the fourth biggest economy in the world can we please act like it?
BECERRA: Unless you can deliver people are going to crucify you.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ANNOUNCER: Two candidates, two paths, one critical choice. A CNN Special Event, the California Governor Debate starts right now.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good evening from Burbank California and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is the CNN California Governor Debate. I'm Jake Tapper.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: And I'm Dana Bash. Over the next hour, you'll hear from the two candidates seeking to lead the nation's most populous state as they go head-to-head in their first and only scheduled debate.
TAPPER: Joining us, former California Attorney --
