Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

W.H. Biden Told Netanyahu "An Immediate Ceasefire Is Essential"; Biden To Netanyahu: Make Changes Or Face Consequences; FAA Investigates Close Call Between Plane And Control Tower; Advisory Group Calls For Added Bridge Protections Following CNN Investigation; Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Is Interviewed About Biden To Netanyahu: Make Changes Or Face Consequences; Texas National Guardsman Caught Smuggling Migrant; Eclipse To Help Unravel Mysteries Of The Solar System. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired April 04, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: I'm Jake Tapper. This hour we're going to bring you brand new audio from moments before that horrific bridge collapse in that Baltimore port. Radio transmissions revealing confusion as that massive cargo ship hit the bridge and crews scrambled to try to stop traffic across the bridge. Plus, a Texas National Guard member is under arrest, accused of trying to smuggle a migrant near the border. The police of a video of a high speed chase that led to the arrest.

And leading this hour, President Biden trying to lay down the law today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden making new demands, warning of consequences if Israeli forces do not take concrete steps to try to protect civilian lives in Gaza. The 30 minutes call was the first conversation between the leaders since Israel's strike Monday in Gaza that killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit started by celebrity chef Jose Andres. The killings touching off a new level of frustration from the president with the way Israel is waging this campaign against Hamas.

Later this hour, I'm going to talk to Senator Bernie Sanders, a critic of Netanyahu. But let's start this hour at the White House with CNN's MJ Lee.

MJ, what are we learning about today's call between President Biden and the Israeli prime minister?

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, for now, we do appear to be at a bit of a turning point in this war because for the first time since October 7, President Biden has threatened that unless Israel changes the way that it is conducting this war, the U.S.'s policies could change when it comes to the war. The White House saying that Israel must take specific concrete and measurable steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis and the civilian suffering, and if not, the U.S. would reconsider its policies. But these are steps, Jake, that we have heard the White House talking about for weeks and sometimes too little effect. And what is not clear at all right now is how the White House would actually measure the effectiveness of these changes that they are calling for. This is a little bit of my exchange with White House spokesman John Kirby a little earlier this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: You're not specifying what concrete steps Israel must take.

JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: I gave you some -- a broad sense of it. We want to see more crossings opened up. We want to see more trucks getting in, particularly from Jordan. We want to see tangible steps at the mitigation of civilian harm.

LEE: That's language we've heard for weeks now. You're not talking about sort of telling us how exactly you will measure those measurable steps. Right?

KIRBY: What I said was we're going to -- we're going to examine our policy approaches based on our assessment of the way the Israeli side modifies their behavior, modifies their policy and decision making processes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And just as importantly, Jake, the White House has not elaborated at all on what kinds of U.S. policy changes are potentially on the table. Of course, up until today, the White House has been clear and has repeated that they are not considering the possibility of conditioning U.S. aid to Israel.

Now, one thing that the White House also says that they didn't get into the two leaders in this phone call are details of these Israeli strikes that resulted in the deaths of those seven aid workers. They are saying that they are still waiting on the full results of Israel's investigation into the matter and how that aid convoy ended up being targeted in the first place, Jake.

TAPPER: There has been serious concern from some in the U.S. that the Israeli military is going to press ahead with this ground incursion into Rafah despite pleas from the Biden administration that they don't do it. Did Biden bring that up?

LEE: Yes, you know, actually, I asked that question precisely to John Kirby as well. And he actually said that in this phone call today, that was not a main topic of discussion. This is, of course, something that Israeli officials, as you said, have been saying is basically inevitable despite U.S. officials repeatedly saying that that would be completely unacceptable without a plan to protect civilians in the region. Of course, this was a big point of discussion in the virtual meeting that U.S. officials had earlier this week with an Israeli delegation. But this does stand to be sort of the next big test of the U.S. Israel relationship as this war goes on is whether Israel decides to go ahead with this ground military operation into Rafah despite those repeated warnings from U.S. officials, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, MJ Lee, thank you so much.

Let's bring in Leon Panetta. He served as the former defense secretary and former CIA director during the Obama administration. Thanks so much for being here. Appreciate it.

Both Biden and Netanyahu are facing considerable political pressure as the war continues. What's your reaction to Biden telling Netanyahu that an immediate ceasefire is needed?

[17:05:00]

LEON PANETTA, FORMER OBAMA ADMIN. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, I think it was very important to make that request, that if anything is needed right now, it is an immediate ceasefire. It is an effort to try to exchange the hostages, and it is an effort to try to improve humanitarian aid.

Look, I think this war has going on for almost six months, and I think to some extent, both President Biden and Netanyahu have been talking past each other when it comes to their concerns. I think that's changed. I hope that's changed today as a result of what happened with these aid workers and as a result of this conversation that they understand that things cannot continue the way they've been.

TAPPER: What is your response when you criticize how Israel is conducting this war and you hear from supporters of Israel, as I do? Hamas is dedicated to the destruction of Israel, it's right in their charter. Hamas started this on October 7 with their attack on civilians and their kidnapping. Hamas could end this war today if they turned over the hostages and surrendered, which is traditionally what you do when you're losing. And Hamas doesn't care about the lives of the Palestinian people.

I don't -- I'm not disputing any of those claims. But what's your response when people say that as if that means Israel can conduct the war any way it wants?

PANETTA: Well, I think that's the answer. It doesn't give them a license to not pay attention to humanitarian needs, not pay attention to not misfiring on innocent aid workers. It doesn't give them a license to basically not pay attention to the larger issue here, which is, are you going to get a ceasefire, are you going to be able to get your hostages exchanged, and are you going to be able to establish real lines of communication for humanitarian aid? No one questions Israel's right to defend themselves. No one questions their right to go after Hamas.

That's understandable. We went after al-Qaeda after 9/11. Nobody questioned the fact that we could go after them, but we also went after them in a targeted way. It took a long time, but we eventually got those that were responsible for 9/11. The same thing can happen with Israel if they use targeted efforts to go after Hamas and if they do it in a way that does realize that humanitarian aid is necessary here in order to save lives.

TAPPER: Today, Secretary of State Blinken said that if the U.S. does not see changes by the Israeli military and the Israeli government to take further steps to protect innocent civilians in Gaza, there will be changes in our own policy, that's the quote, there will be changes in our own policy. Like what? What do you think the U.S. should do if Netanyahu and the IDF continue to wage the war in a way that Biden disapproves of?

PANETTA: Well, look, I don't think there's any question that we'll have to apply conditions to the military aid that we're providing to Israel. Congress is already considering that possibility. So I think it's pretty clear that if they just continue as they are now and we see no change with regards to how they're dealing with humanitarian aid, how they're dealing with innocent victims there in Gaza, then I think there is no question in my mind but we're going to start having to apply condition, and that will make it that much more difficult on Israel to conduct this war. But it is the consequence of not working with us to try to deal with what happened in that horrific attack to make sure that we are paying attention to innocent lives.

TAPPER: Is there any way that Netanyahu will conduct this war in a way more pleasing to the president of the United States and the Biden administration as long as Netanyahu depends upon the participation in his government of these right wing zealots, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, these individuals who want Palestinians to leave Gaza, who want to take the West bank and make it part of Israel, who are anti-Arab racists. I mean, Netanyahu depends on their participation in his government for his political survival. Is there any way forward as long as he cares more about them, Netanyahu caring more about Smotrich and Ben-Gvir than he cares about Biden?

[17:10:00]

PANETTA: Look, there's one thing that Netanyahu will pay attention to, which is whether or not he will survive. You know, he is a survivor. I think the first time I met Netanyahu, it was back in the Clinton administration, and throughout that period of time, somehow he's always been able to survive.

I think his biggest concern, his biggest is his political situation in Israel. There are now 100,000 people who are demonstrating in Israel because they want to cease fire and they want to see the hostage's exchange. I think ultimately, if Netanyahu does not change the way he's dealing with the situation, that it is going to end his term as prime minister. So, that is the one thing that I think is an incentive for Netanyahu to change.

TAPPER: When I spoke with you near the start of the Israeli ground invasion in Gaza, you said that you were confident it would be, quote, "A well-planned operation, not something that they pull out of their hat," unquote. We're now almost at the six month mark of this war. Tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians have been killed. The U.N. is warming, warning of a catastrophic famine because not enough aid has been allowed into Gaza. Did you anticipate the scale of the humanitarian crisis that we're seeing?

PANETTA: No. I really thought that this war would move a lot faster than it did. And what we've seen now is what, almost 33,000 lives of innocent Palestinians that have been lost. But at the same time, look, Israel has made progress with regards to dealing with Hamas. Hamas does not have the capability, at least at this point, to conduct another October 7 attack. But what I never sensed was that there was a clear mission that had been established, that it would be clear could be achieved by Israel.

Netanyahu keeps saying, we're going to destroy Hamas. Look, you're not going to destroy Hamas. Hamas is going to be around. What you can destroy is the leadership that was involved by Hamas in the attack on October 7. And I don't think he's made that clear, that ultimately this is about killing the leadership of Hamas, not just wiping out Hamas.

If we had a better sense of mission here, I think we'd have a better sense of how this work could come to an end.

TAPPER: Leon Panetta, thank you so much, as always, for your time.

PANETTA: Good to be with you.

TAPPER: We're also going to get reaction to all of this from Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who will join me soon. Plus, we're learning of an incredible close call, a Southwest Airlines flight midair with passengers flying dangerously close to air traffic control at New York's LaGuardia Airport. How in the world that happened. That's next.

Plus, the language used in an email from Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy junior, who's running for president, that his campaign is now trying to walk back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:17:21]

TAPPER: Another close call in the air. The FAA is investigating a Southwest Airlines flight from last month that might have flown too close to the air traffic control tower when trying to land at New York's LaGuardia Airport. CNN's Pete Muntean is with me.

Pete, this wasn't a close call on a runway. It wasn't a close call between two planes. It was between a plane and an air traffic control tower, which is fairly stationary, as I recall. How did this happen?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: This could have been a lot worse. And this flight was coming in from Nashville landing at LaGuardia. The visibility in the weather was pretty poor at the time, only about three quarters of a mile of visibility. They were doing something called the ILS, which is called an instrument landing system that's essentially a radio beam that glides a plane down on the glide path gets you lined up on the runway. This flight had to go around once before because they had a bit of a tailwind, they said the approach wasn't like what they wanted, so then they came back around and tried to land again. And I just want you to listen now to the soundbite from LiveATC.net captured the audio from the air traffic control tower. Clearly, this plane was about to hit it. Here's what they said.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go around, go around. Fly runway heading. Climb and maintain 2,000. Climb and maintain 2,000. Two thousand.

Continue climbing Southwest 147, and when able state a reason why you were like not on the approach.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: So the plane clearly was not lined up with the runway, instead lined up a little bit east of the path that they were supposed to be lined up with. This is the graphic from Flightradar24, the tracking site that gets all of the open source data from these airplanes that put out the radio beam. You can see in the photo there, that yellow strip, that's the path of the plane. The tower is a little bit to the right of it. Flightradar24 says this plane's wingtip came -- the plane itself came within 250 feet of the tower.

But when you factor in the position of the antenna, this may have been closer to about 65 feet away horizontally from the wingtip. So, this was a very, very close call. And the FAA says it's now looking into this to see if this plane ultimately did come that close to the control tower. The NTSB, which typically investigates only the most serious infractions in the sky. They say they're gathering data right now to see what the deal with this was. This flight ultimately did divert because the weather was so bad there at LaGuardia went to BWI instead.

TAPPER: All right. Pete, I also want to get into your reporting. Since last week's bridge collapse, we're learning a Maryland advisory group is calling for added protections to the bridge. You told us about yesterday that people are worried about the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. You're reporting yesterday about concerns about that. Tell us about that.

MUNTEAN: Well, this is really interesting. Because they've actually cited the reporting that I did, along with CNN's investigation team, that said that the Bay Bridge was essentially vulnerable to the same type of ship collision that took down the key bridge in Baltimore. Interestingly, both of those bridges are on the same shipping channel used by the MV Dali, 55 million tons of cargo go under the Chesapeake Bay bridge as well each and every year. And so, what this advisory group said is that we're essentially a sitting duck. And they said, for the record, somebody needs to look at that when it comes to the Bay Bridge.

[17:20:25]

This may be good timing, though, because there's been a committee that's looked at putting a new bridge in different places across the Chesapeake Bay. They are putting a third span in eventually at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. So, maybe they could intercede here and ultimately get some protections on the bridge known as dolphins to sort of defend from a ship collision.

TAPPER: Yes, and credit to them for acknowledging your reporting and acknowledging that it's real and a serious problem.

MUNTEAN: No doubt. TAPPER: Because a lot of times government officials are like, oh, nothing to see here. So good on them for that at least.

There's also new audio out today that you're bringing us, providing a clearer picture of what the workers, those poor workers on the Francis Scott key bridge might have known in the minutes before that horrific collapse. What does the audio suggest?

MUNTEAN: This essentially sort of points to maybe some of the communications issues that were taking place on the Key Bridge at the time. And some of the audio is a little bit garbled, but I want you to listen now. This is from a maintenance radio frequency where folks on the bridge were essentially hearing what the dispatch was saying about that there was a ship coming in that could be errant. Listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trying to get a message out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trying to get a message out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I still don't understand you buddy, slow down and speak.

They're just holding traffic because ship lost the steering. That's all.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: So a bit of a window into the early response there. We know that the actions of first responders and the radio call from the bridge of the ship, MV Dali, ultimately did get the bridge, the Key Bridge cleared relatively quickly when it came to vehicular traffic. No real smoking gun here. And it's not totally clear if the six construction workers who were on the Key Bridge doing pothole repairs who perished from this, not totally clear if they heard this message.

TAPPER: All right, Pete Muntean, thank you so much for that excellent reporting.

A Texas National Guard member is accused of trying to smuggle a migrant near the border. Dash cam video just in shows the high speed chase that led to his arrest. We'll show it to you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:26:59] TAPPER: And topping today's law and justice lead, Donald Trump added again, once again, inaccurately using the word hostages to describe those criminals charged and convicted for their actions during the January 6 Capitol attack. Here's Trump just last night posting on Truth Social, quote, "January 6 hostages with President Donald J. Trump." The video attached is apparently his new thing. It's the song called justice for all. It's mixed with the national anthem and Trump reciting the pledge of Allegiance.

This was Trump's walkout song at a rally last month. But let's get back to the caption there, January 6 hostages, because they're not hostages, they're almost all convicted criminals. Handful are still awaiting trial. But Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, continues to call them hostages. So we're telling you who they are because they're a cause celeb for Donald Trump.

Here's another one of these, quote unquote, "hostages," Curtis Logan Tate. Curtis Logan Tate is from Jeffersonville, Indiana, just across the Kentucky state line. He pleaded guilty just last month to three felony offenses for assaulting, resisting or impeding certain law enforcement officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Prosecutors specifically say that Tate brought a metal baton with him to the Capitol on January 6 and used that baton to hit a D.C. police officer that day. That got him pepper sprayed, but that didn't stop one Curtis Logan Tate.

Prosecutors say he then used that same metal baton to assault a different officer. Tate posted video of himself online yelling, quote, and apologies for the language, but this is what he said, quote, "we're tearing this motherfucker down," his words not mine, and he's describing the United States Capitol with that curse. Images go on to show Curtis Logan Tate in a Capitol entrance known as the tunnel, where some of the most violent acts of January 6 took place. And that's where prosecutors say Tate then picked up a black speaker box and threw it. He damaged an office window. He threw a speaker box again, hitting a D.C. police officer.

They say he also threw a broken table leg and a floor lamp at police officers. The FBI arrested Tate more than two years after the Capitol attack. He pleaded guilty on March 7 of this year. A judge is scheduled to sentence Curtis Logan Tate in July. Yet another one of Donald Trump's January 6 hostages who is again not a hostage, he is a violent criminal and he is behind bars where he belongs.

Turning to our 2024 lead, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s campaign for president is now playing another game of cleanup after it sent out multiple fundraising e-mails that called January 6 defendants not hostages, but he called them activists who have been stripped of their constitutional liberties. Again, not true. CNN's Eva McKend joins us now.

Eva, how is the Kennedy campaign trying to walk this back?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, they are saying that this is an error and oversight, that this was done by marketing contractors and that this language does not reflect the view of the candidate. But it certainly raises eyebrows because in that appeal, it says we must free Assange now. And of course, Kennedy has routinely advocated for what he characterizes as justice for Assange. But this appeal says, from Ed Snowden to Julian Assange to the J6 activists sitting in a Washington, D.C. jail, stripped of their constitutional liberties. So it tries to equate all of those struggles.

And that, of course, is going to raise concerns. But listen, Kennedy has made sort of a cornerstone of his campaign, questioning the government, stoking fears of government overreach and arguing that Assange, in this effort, is a political prisoner. But obviously, J6, the defendants, are not activists. And the campaign telling us tonight that that was an oversight, though that e-mail was sent out twice.

TAPPER: So, I mean, one can make an argument that Edward Snowden was leaking secrets that the public should know, and Julian Assange was a publisher and he should have free speech rights. That's one thing. Calling the violent thugs who attacked the Capitol, putting them in the same group, I don't see it at all. Even McKend, thanks so much. Senator Bernie Sanders is here. I'm going to get his reaction to President Biden's call today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:35:34]

TAPPER: And we're back with our World Lead, President Biden today making a previously unscheduled phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this after an Israeli strike killed seven aid workers in Gaza on Monday. The White House says Biden told Netanyahu that Israel needs to implement, quote, specific, concrete, measurable, unquote, steps to protect civilians and aid workers in Gaza.

With us now, independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. He's been voting against new aid for Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened. Senator, Secretary of State Blinken today said that if the U.S. does not see changes to protect civilians in Gaza, there, quote, will be changes in our own policy, unquote. Do you believe them? I mean, I feel like we've been hearing this for a while.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Well, I think you make a good point, Jake. Look, the bottom line is we are looking at one of the worst humanitarian disasters that we have seen in a very, very long time. We're literally at this moment looking at hundreds of thousands of children starving to death because Israel is not allowing the humanitarian trucks into Gaza and especially into the areas where people are in most desperate condition. To my mind, Israel should not be getting another nickel in military aid until these policies are fundamentally changed. So if, you know, my view is no more military aid to Israel when children in Gaza are starving.

TAPPER: So the realities for -- the political realities for Netanyahu, I'll get to the political reality for Biden in a second. But the political reality for Netanyahu is he depends, his prime ministership depends on the far right wing zealots Ben Gvir and Smotrich, who are anti-Arab racists. He depends on them. He needs them to stay in power. He needs to appease them. As Arab and Palestinian rights and lives are discarded both in Gaza and in the West bank and in Israel, is there any way towards a satisfactory end to this conflict as long as the prime minister of Israel is trying to appease the likes of Ben Gvir and Smotrich?

SANDERS: Well, that's the answer is no. And our job is not to worry about Netanyahu's political future. That's not our job. Our job is to make sure that American taxpayer dollars is not complicit in allowing Netanyahu's military machine to kill innocent people and to result in mass starvation. And I think what the people of Israel must understand, and I am pro-Israel, I support Israel.

But they cannot continue to wage this immoral war against innocent people and expect taxpayers of the United States to support them. That has got to end. We've got to move to a two-state solution. The brutality in the West Bank, as you just indicated, illegal activity on the part of the settlers must end if they want support from the people of the United States.

Hopefully, hopefully that will give support to people in Israel who understand that this right wing extremism is bad for them and bad for their place in the world.

TAPPER: What do you say to people? I asked this of General Hertling in the last hour, I get asked this and I wonder what you say, because you are a supporter of Israel. You worked on a kibbutz when you were a younger man, and you've always been pro-Israel. That doesn't mean pro Netanyahu. What do you say to people who say, this is not fair, it's a double standard. Hamas started this on October 7th. Hamas wants to destroy Israel. Hamas wants to kill Jews. Hamas hides behind their own people. Hamas doesn't care how many Palestinian civilians die. All of which, in my opinion, is true. What's your response when people say that that --

SANDERS: I would agree with you. Hamas is a terrible, terrible terrorist organization that started this war. And what I have said from the beginning, Jake, Israel has a right to defend itself and go to war against Hamas. That's what I believe. I think most people believe. But you do not have a right to damage or destroy 70 percent of the housing units in Gaza. You don't have a right to displace 80 percent of the population, throw them out of their homes, put them into this area, put them into that area, deny them food, water, medical supplies and fuel that you don't have a right to do.

[17:40:04]

So, the answer is, of course, Hamas began this war. They are a terrorist organization. But the United States is not funding Hamas. We are funding Israel. And what has got to be made clear to Israel, you can go to war against Hamas, but you cannot continue these horrific actions which are causing literally the worst humanitarian disaster that we have seen in a very long time.

TAPPER: What do you say to people who say the reason that so many innocent people are dying in Gaza is because Hamas embeds with the Palestinian people. They build tunnels under their homes. They hide under people. They want all the civilian death toll. They consider them martyrs, and it makes Israel look bad.

SANDERS: I think that is perhaps a part of the problem, but it's not the real problem. The real problem right now is we are looking, as I mentioned a moment ago, a massive starvation that is not caused by Hamas, that is simply caused by Israel not allowing the hundreds and hundreds of trucks that are lined up at the border to get in and go to the areas that it is needed, that Israel's responsibility not Hamas's.

TAPPER: I know you want to talk about your bill lowering prescription drug costs, but before I do, quick last question on Biden and the Middle East. What does Biden need to do in order to make this right politically in the United States for all the progressives and Arab Americans and Muslim Americans and others who don't approve?

SANDERS: You know, to me, Jake, this is not a progressive issue, and Arab American issue. It's a moral issue. We, our taxpayer dollars are funding a military, which is creating a situation where there is mass suffering. I don't think the American people feel good about it. In fact, the last poll that I have seen, is I believe 52 percent of the American people, as opposed to 39, want to end military aid to Israel. And that number is growing and growing. So I think from a moral position and from a political position, you know, President Biden, needless to say, wants to win this election. I want him to win this election.

But it is very hard to go out. And again, it's not just the Arab Americans. It's the young people. It's the people in general who are seeing these terrible things on the T.V. screen. They do not want voters, Biden to continue to do that. I think he's got to tell Netanyahu, sorry, no more money from American taxpayers. Have a nice a day.

TAPPER: So let's talk about domestic issues, because lowering prescription drug costs has been an initiative of yours literally for decades. Yesterday, you teamed up with the President to tout these efforts. Biden gave you a lot of credit. What do you want voters to know about the efforts being made by you and the President to take on big pharma?

SANDERS: We are beginning, beginning to make some significant progress. For the first time, we are going to be seeing a cap on what seniors can pay no more than $2,000 for prescription drugs. For seniors, you're going to be able to get insulin at $35 a month maximum. Maybe most importantly, we have taken on the very powerful pharmaceutical industry that has endless amounts of money that made over 100 billion in profits last year, pay their CEO's exorbitant salaries. We are beginning now, through Medicare, to start negotiating the prices of some of the most widely used drugs in America. We got to do more. It's a start. We've got to do more.

And what I want to see happen, and I want to work with the President on this, is nobody in America pays more than $2,000 a year out of pocket expense, no matter how many drugs you use. And we do that by expanding Medicare's ability to negotiate prescription drug prices all across the board.

TAPPER: You also led investigation into the manufacturers of inhalers for people who have asthma, that the cost of an inhaler ranges from $200 to $600, even though they only cost $5 to produce. Last month, three of the four major manufacturers of inhalers said they're going to cap the monthly cost of $35 for those who have private insurance. That's a massive price cut. Were you surprised?

SANDERS: I was very happy to see that. Look, we did an investor. My committee did an investigation on this issue. I talked to the CEO's of all of the major producers and explained to them, the American people are sick and tired of paying 10 times, 20 times more for the same product that people in other countries. I think they got the message. And on June 1st, two out of the three companies will be lowering their cost to $35 max out of pocket at the drugstore. And a few months later another company will do the same.

So we're making progress. Right now, where next week I look forward to be talking to the head of Novo Nordisk that makes Ozempic. And this is, you know, the drug widely used for diabetes and weight loss. Again, we are paying in this country about $1,000 a month. In the United Kingdom it's $59 a month. In Canada it's $155 a month. This is absurd. And this is going to be a huge cost, not only to individuals, but to taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid. So the message going out to Novo Nordisk that manufactures this product, you got to start lowering your prices very substantially.

[17:45:18]

TAPPER: Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent of Vermont, always good to have you, sir. Thank you so much.

SANDERS: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead, today, a high speed police chase ends with state charges against a Texas national guardsman. The guardsman accused of smuggling a migrant into the United States in Sunday's crime near the U.S.-Mexico border. It's not really anything new, except for the fact that it does, in fact, a U.S. soldier, which raises security concerns. And as CNN's Ed Lavandera notes, this is not the first time a U.S. service member has been caught doing this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the final moments of what Texas authorities say was a high speed chase that ended Sunday near the town of Brackettville, about 30 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. The Kinney County Sheriff says a Texas National Guard soldier was approaching a checkpoint and turned around to avoid authorities. The soldier has been identified as Savion Johnson. He was taken into custody and is now facing criminal charges, including smuggling of persons with a firearm, evading arrest, and unlawful carrying of a weapon.

[17:50:13]

The sheriff says Johnson sped off and was pursued by deputies and troopers. The car stopped briefly at one point as an unidentified migrant got out and fled on foot. Authorities were finally able to stop Johnson along Highway 90. CNN has not been able to contact Johnson or his attorney.

The Texas Military Department would not comment on the soldier's arrest. In the last three years, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has deployed thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers to the border region as part of a security program known as Operation Lone Star.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): The efforts of the National Guard, they're working. There is a reduced number of people crossing the border.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): A spokesman for the governor said if the smuggling accusations are true, that Johnson is a traitor and a criminal. For months, Texas National Guard soldiers have installed miles of razor wire and fencing along several areas of the border. That work was captured by Savion Johnson, who works as a public affairs officer in the Texas National Guard. These are some of the photos the army specialist has captured in recent months.

HOWARD CAMPBELL, ANTHROPOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, EL PASO: This is something that we have to face as a constant reality.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Howard Campbell is anthropologist at the University of Texas in El Paso. In several books, he's documented the historically gritty world that exists along the border.

LAVANDERA: A lot of your work has taken you in to meet a lot of these people in these criminal organizations along the border. How do they operate?

CAMPBELL: Inevitably, there's an opportunity for people that are parts of criminal organizations in Mexico or in the United States to have contact informally or even in a formal context with law enforcement officials. So it's just a question of figuring out who's maybe a weak link in the chain of U.S. law enforcement.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The arrest of Savion Johnson is at least the third time in the last three years that a U.S. service member has been charged with smuggling migrants.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (on camera): And, Jake, we are told that Savion Johnson remains in custody in a south Texas jail. State authorities say they are still investigating this alleged smuggling case. And the governor's office says if this soldier is convicted of smuggling, he could face at least 10 years in prison. Jake?

TAPPER: Remarkable stuff. Ed Lavandera in Dallas, thank you so much. Coming up next, a heads up if you're sharing a password for Disney Plus, you're going to want to watch. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:56:42]

TAPPER: Topping some leads around the world now, Disney is about to crack down on password sharing for its Disney Plus streaming service. CEO Bob Iger says the crackdown will start in June in some countries and then more broadly in September. Hulu, which Disney owns, began limiting password sharing last month, Netflix reported a spike in new customer signups once it cracked down on password sharing last year.

Hurricane season in the U.S. has not even begun yet, but it is already shaping up to be one for the history books. A new forecast from the University of Colorado predicts this year we will see more hurricanes and more named storms than in any other year before. While any forecast this early is hardly is far from final, researchers say they have, quote, above normal confidence in their predictions.

In our Out of This World Lead, there is no question that this year's solar eclipse will be a sensational spectacle worth seeing. But what mysteries of the solar system might we learn? Well, NASA is launching rockets right into the eclipse's path to find out. And CNN's Bill Weir joins us now to discuss. Bill, why would eclipses be important to us, understanding the universe this way?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we can study the sky much better when the sun is blotted just for those few minutes. Did you know that Albert Einstein's theory of relativity was proven three years after he floated it during the 1919 eclipse because there they could see that the fabric of the universe is bent by gravity and stars weren't where they were supposed to be.

This year, the mystery is about the corona of the sun. That's the outer atmosphere. It's millions of degrees hotter than the surface of the sun. Even as the sun goes through these 11-year swings between active and non-active, we are at maximum solar maximum. It's the most active. And so these planes that can go up to 60,000 feet, NASA's WB- 57s. Well, we'll watch the -- those lucky enough to see it on ground will see it for four minutes. They will fly through the eclipse through totality there for six hours, measuring the corona.

And then there is the ionosphere. This is the high sky, 50 to 300 miles high, full of supercharged particles by solar activity. As the sun comes up, wherever you are in the world, the ionosphere sort of lights up and then dims down as the sun sets. Well, now with this eclipse, they're going to shoot rockets up which will shoot out these sort of sounding devices to measure the ionosphere before, during and after the eclipse. And that has huge impact on communication on Earth, both with satellites, with terrestrial communications. Even ham radio operators are getting in on this, doing a test during the eclipse to see if their transmission signals time out differently as a result of the ionosphere being scrambled in this way.

It is an exciting time for scientists who study the skies. A lot of this information, Jake, was just discovered recently in the most recent solar eclipse. So this is a huge new opportunity to gather more data about the mysteries of our galaxy and communication down here on our little blue marble.

TAPPER: All right, Bill Weir in New York, thank you so much. CNN is calling this one Eclipse Across America and special coverage starts Monday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. You can watch it here on CNN or streaming on Max.

[17:59:56]

Until tomorrow, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, X, formerly known as Twitter, and on the TikTok, all of them under Jake Tapper. You can follow the show on X at TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can listen to the show once you get your podcast, all two hours just sitting there like a big, I don't know, big baked potato. Let's call it that. The news continues on CNN. I'll see you tomorrow.