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The Lead with Jake Tapper

U.S. Senator Forcibly Removed From DHS Press Conference, Handcuffed; Court Hearing Over Trump's Use Of Military In L.A.; Air India Flight To U.K. Crashes, Killing More Than 290 People. L.A. Mayor Speaks After Sen. Padilla Forcibly Handcuffed Today And Recent Days Of Protests. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired June 12, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: As I said during his first term, Trump governs as a wartime president with blue America rather than any foreign adversary as the enemy. I think most Americans on both sides of the ideological divide do not want to live this way at this level of conflict with their fellow, you know, countrymen.

And I think it is, as Chuck says, ultimately on the president above all to take us back from this ledge.

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Right. I do think there's quite a few, you know, a lot of Americans are telling us this is not how they want to live to Ron's point. All right. Thanks very much for being with us this hour. Don't go anywhere. The Lead with Jake Tapper starts right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking news.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. And we are staying on top of two major breaking stories at this hour. The crash earlier today of an Air India jetliner that killed at least 290 people on their way to London. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner went down 30 seconds after takeoff from India.

Miraculously, one passenger did survive. We will go live to both India and to London in a second for details on the disaster and what we know about why this may have happened.

Also, breaking news out of California. Dramatic video from just a few hours ago. California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla forcibly removed from a news conference where Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was addressing recent ICE raids and protests. Law enforcement threw Padilla to the ground and handcuffed him after he interrupted Kristi Noem's event. He says he was just trying to ask her a question when things got ugly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into this city.

So I want to say thank you to every single person that has been able to do this. Also, I want to talk specifically to the rioters and to the politicians in Los Angeles.

SEN. ALEX PADILLA (D) CALIFORNIA: Half a dozen violent criminals that you're rotating on your --

NOEM: I also want to talk about specifically.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The senator was then taken out to the hall where he was forced down and handcuffed, his hands behind his back. He was later released. I want to break down the aftermath of this shocking scene at Secretary Noem's news conference in California, which Senator Padilla represents in the U.S. Senate.

She went on Fox News Secretary Noem to explain her take of what happened from her point of view.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOEM: This man burst into the room, started lunging towards the podium, interrupting me and elevating his voice and was stopped, did not identify himself and was removed from the room. I had a conversation with the senator after this. We sat down for 10 to 15 minutes and talked about the fact that nobody knew who he was. He didn't say who he was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So just a couple points there. She claims nobody knew who he was. He is a sitting United States senator in the state that she was visiting. Senator Padilla has held that seat since January 2021. So more than four years. That aside, the video of the exact moment that Senator Padilla interrupted her news conference shows he did, in fact, very clearly identify himself. Listen for yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PADILLA: I'm Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary because the fact of the matter is half a dozen violent criminals that you're rotating on your -- hands off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So she said did not identify himself and was removed from the room. But you could very clearly hear him say there was. I'm Senator Alex Padilla. We have this statement from DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin criticizing him. And we're going to bring that to you in a second.

But let's go now to CNN's Stephanie Elam, who was in the room at the time this happened. Stephanie, walk us through what you saw.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think, Jake, it's really important to make two key notes here on this. First of all, when the senator came in the room, he did not burst into the room. He walked into the room. And the other thing is he was still about 12 to 15 feet away from the secretary.

Now, her press conference had started. She was in the middle of talking when he did just start talking. And that's the other key point. He started talking first. And when he started talking, he took a couple of steps. It was not a lunge as it's been characterized.

And then there were immediately hands on him from her detail, people pushing him away and back and moving him away from the during that time is when he identified himself. So he did not identify himself first when he was asking the question and interrupting her.

And those are two things I think are very important to note how this went down. But I'd also point out that were inside of a federal building which you have to go through security to get there. And there was a lot of law enforcement on that floor when we made our way up there as media to be there for that press conference.

[17:05:10]

But afterward we did hear. You heard from the secretary. We also heard from the senator, and he had a statement talking about the treatment that he received. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PADILLA: If this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: And you can hear he was a bit emotional a couple of times there, where I felt like he did get a little. He welled up a little bit while he was talking. Also worth noting that we've heard this. It's already become political game of hot potato here on who was doing what and how it was going down.

And we're seeing that play out with on social media. We saw Governor Gavin Newsom putting out a tweet saying that Alex Padilla is one of the most decent people that he knows. He called this whole action outrageous.

And in response to that, Tricia McLaughlin, who is the assistant secretary for DHS, she responded to that saying Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theater and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged towards Secretary Noem. He was told to repeatedly back away and did not comply with officers repeated commands. Secret Service thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately. She goes on to say that the two did meet afterwards, the senator and

the secretary, for about 15 minutes. He was not arrested, he was not detained, even though we saw that he was handcuffed and put on the floor, according to what he said happened to him.

But the difference here is about the approach. But I do want to characterize that there was some confusion there, and I think it was on both sides. Jake?

TAPPER: Yes, I do think it's saying nobody knew who he was is not quite the own that I think the Trump administration might think it is. He is a sitting U.S. senator in the state that they were in. And it is an obligation of a secretary, a cabinet secretary, to know who the public officials are. Stephanie Elam, thanks so much.

Let's bring in CNN's Arlette Saenz. She's on Capitol Hill where things are just as heated and contentious, although not physical, at least as far as I know. Arlette, House hearing on Trump's immigration crackdown has been intense. Today it turned into a shouting match over that dramatic incident involving Kristi Noem's security and Senator Padilla.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake. Tensions have certainly been running high across the Capitol today as many Democrats are incredibly frustrated with that scene that played out in California. And I spent the whole day here in this House Oversight Committee hearing where in just a few hours, repeatedly, Democratic lawmakers have brought up this incident.

And at one point, it resulted in a very tense exchange between Congresswoman -- Congressman Maxwell Frost, a Democrat, and the House Oversight Chairman James Comer and Marjorie Taylor Greene as well. Take a listen to a bit of that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): Oh, you commit on the record subpoenaing Kristie Noem because a U.S. senator was just thrown to the ground and detained in his own.

REP: MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Democrats can't follow the rules, can't follow the law.

COMER: Shut up. Just shut up.

REP. MAXWELL FROST (D-FL): No. You don't know -- you're not going to tell me to shut up.

COMER: What -- how do you get him in order? You're running like that.

COMER: He has been out of order six times. He's trying to get on MSNBC. You probably knocked --

FROST: I get it.

COMER: -- somebody off. Ms. Greene --

GREENE: He's been arrested as a former antifa member. Right.

COMER: Back to order. Ms. Greene, go.

GREENE: He's a former antifa member, Mr. Chairman.

COMER: You got it.

GREENE: No surprise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, Congresswoman Ramirez of Illinois also played a video of Padilla as he was being put into handcuffs by officers. The acting ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, Stephen Lynch, said that they wanted an informal investigation into this incident.

Now, in other parts of the Capitol, you had House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had criticized Padilla's actions as wildly inappropriate. That drew some heckles from Democratic lawmakers who are very frustrated by the scenes that they've seen play out. And our colleague Manu Raju spoke with Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, who said she told Johnson that President Trump needs to lower the temperature when it relates to all of these incidents out in California.

TAPPER: All right, Arlette Saenz, thank you so much. I want to bring in CNN's chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju. Manu, you spoke just a second ago with House Speaker Johnson. This, obviously, this incident with Senator Padilla and the security for Secretary Kristi Noem has become a major flashpoint on Capitol Hill today.

[17:10:05]

House Democrats walked across the Capitol to the Senate Majority Leader John Thune's office, demanding he take some action. What did House Speaker Johnson have to say to you?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and those group of members, mainly from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, that's a Democratic group, also tried to go into the Speaker's office and try to meet with Speaker Johnson. Johnson there, they said wouldn't, did not meet with them during that time.

But that came in the aftermath of Johnson talking to reporters about this incident in which he sharply criticized Alex Padilla. And he offered no criticism for the way that Padilla was treated at that time. And during that very tense press conference, Democrats were actually heckling Johnson in the middle of all of it, saying that he was lying about the incident. Johnson decided not to respond to that, but he did respond to the concerns that were raised about what we saw from that video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: A sitting member of Congress should not act like that. It is beneath a member of Congress. It is beneath a U.S. senator. They're supposed to lead by example, and that is not a good example. We have to turn the temperature down in this country and not escalate it.

The Democrat Party is on the wrong side. They are defending lawbreakers, and now they are acting like lawbreakers themselves.

RAJU: They said they were conducting oversight, Mr. Speaker.

JOHNSON: That's oversight. Charging a Cabinet secretary in a press conference. I beg to differ. I think that people do as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And Democrats say that was not what happened during that press conference where Padilla stood up and asked questions and was tried to speak up. Of course, as we've seen there, ask those questions. They also Democrats, though, downplayed the idea that he, whether he should have been there or not. This was, of course, a press conference where reporters ask questions.

Senators don't usually come to press conference like that to ask questions to the Cabinet secretary. But most Democrats are have run to have come to the Senate floor to demand either an investigation or call for Kristi Noem to resign as the Homeland Security Secretary.

We're not hearing much criticism in the way from Republicans. A couple of GOP senators, including moderate Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, offered some level of concern. Lisa Murkowski called the episode shocking at every level. Susan Collins called it very disturbing.

The Democratic -- Republican leader in the Senate, John Thune, said he had not yet fully reviewed the video when he was asked about this. And Majority Whip John Barrasso, the number two Senate Republican, told reporters that Padilla has a, quote, responsibility to his constituents to show up to work, not make a spectacle of himself. Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Manu Raju, thanks so much. We have much more reaction to this dramatic incident with Senator Padilla and the security for Secretary of DHS, Kristi Noem. We are standing by for the Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass to speak publicly, who very well will address this moment as well as the protests in her city and the ICE raids. We're going to squeeze in a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:16:58]

TAPPER: And we're back with breaking news in our nationally Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California being forcibly removed by security from a news conference held in his home state of California by security for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Joining us now to discuss Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who was deployed to Iraq as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot for the Illinois National Guard and is a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committees, among others.

Senator, so what is your reaction to the scene that we just saw playing out in Los Angeles Senator Padilla being forcibly removed, taken out to the hall, forced onto the ground, handcuffed from the DHS press conference. He's being criticized by Republicans and the White House for staging a stunt and lunging at Secretary Noem. How do you view it?

SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): Well, just watch the video. I mean, within the first two seconds of him standing up, he identified himself as, I'm Senator Alex Padilla. He identifies exactly who he is. He tries to ask a question. He tries to do what every American has the right to do, which is, you know, your First Amendment rights. And what we see the response is really, you know, pure un-American authoritarianism. And it should scare us off, because if they can do this to a U.S. senator, they can do this to the average American.

TAPPER: In your view, was there anything about Senator Padilla's actions that security could have in good faith interpreted as a security risk?

DUCKWORTH: No, he was a long way from the stage. Look, he stood up and the first thing he said was, I am Alex -- I am U.S. senator -- I'm U.S. Senator Alex Padilla. That is clear who he is. They should have let him speak. And frankly, he was doing his job as a U.S. senator.

Donald Trump is forcing the American military on American citizens. He's trying to intimidate American citizens. And he's doing. And what they're doing now with DHS at this press conference is, number one, forcing a U.S. senator to the ground after he identified himself, after he was just trying to ask a question. And now they're trying to gaslight the American people and blatantly lying about what happened when there's video of it.

TAPPER: Yes. One of the things that Secretary Noem said before this incident, I want to read you this quote. She says we are staying here to liberate the city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country. And what they have tried to insert into this, what exactly does that mean do you think? We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and burdensome leadership of the governor and the mayor?

DUCKWORTH: Well, this is counter to what Donald Trump said just a couple days ago, where he described the situation in LA as simmering. He actually downplayed it. And frankly, what they're trying to do is to push authoritarianism on the American people. He's trying to intimidate people from speaking up and protesting and exercising their First Amendment rights. And this is absolutely not acceptable.

[17:20:05]

TAPPER: Do you think there should be any sort of accountability for this incident? Because obviously that's not what we're hearing. We're not hearing contrition from the Department of Homeland Security or from the White House. They are attacking Senator Padilla and saying his behavior was inappropriate.

DUCKWORTH: Well, they're trying to gaslight the American people and that is not appropriate. And I am absolutely disappointed in my Republican colleagues who are not speaking up about this, who are actually condoning this violence against a United States senator who was just trying to do his job representing the people of California.

But after all, this is also the regime in the White House that pardoned rioters, who attacked the Capitol police officers, who beat Capitol police officers, who tear gassed Capitol police officers, bear sprayed Capitol police officers on January 6th. I'm not surprised that they would continue to gaslight the American people to really justify their very authoritarian efforts here in California. And if it happens in California, it's going to happen in your neighborhood.

TAPPER: There are 47 Democratic U.S. senators or senators who caucus with the Democrats. Do you plan on doing anything as a caucus to protest this treatment of one of your colleagues?

DUCKWORTH: Well, you're seeing it on the Senate floor right now. I'm here with you. We're making sure that we raise our voices to tell the truth about what happened. Because as you can tell, as you've already said, the White House is blatantly lying about this situation. Watch the video. We're going to spread the word so that American people know that this is exactly what they're doing.

And we need to make sure that American people know that we as Democrats are not going to allow them to gaslight the American people. We're not going to allow Donald Trump to become a dictator in this country.

TAPPER: Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Also breaking this hour, a hearing happening right now over California's efforts to stop Trump's use of the National Guard and the Marines in the recent Los Angeles protests. Let's go to CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid. Paula, what's going on in that courtroom right now?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Jake, this hearing has been underway for a little over 45 minutes. Usually there are no cameras in federal court. Of course, we are able to watch these proceedings via Zoom, which is a helpful bit of transparency given how high the stakes are.

Now, before I explain what has happened so far, you need to understand who this judge is. This judge is Charles Breyer. He is the younger brother of retired Justice Stephen Breyer, he is a former Watergate prosecutor. He was appointed by former President Bill Clinton. So he has been on the bench for three decades.

And I think it's notable that so far during this hearing, he has done most of the talking. Now, he rejected the request from the state to block President Trump's effort to federalize these National Guardsmen. But he said he wanted to hear arguments from both sides.

He wanted to hear that before making a decision. So it is notable that he has been the one doing most of the talking here. His first questions went to the Justice Department. He wanted assurances that President Trump followed the law that gives him this power.

Now he's just now hearing from California on that same issue. Look, Jake, most legal experts believe that the state of California has an uphill battle here to win on this argument. But right now, as we're talking, the judge is comparing Trump potentially to a monarch and talking about how we live in a country in response to a monarchy. This country was founded in response to having a king. So it's really unclear where the judge's head is at right now.

TAPPER: All right, Paula Reid, thanks so much. We are also following breaking news, tragic news out of India. A passenger plane crashed, killing all but one person on board. Dozens more also who were on the ground at the time the crash were killed. The latest in this investigation of a Boeing plane crash. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:28:00]

TAPPER: Now to our world lead and today's other major breaking news. Investigators on the ground India are trying to determine what exactly caused an airliner to crash just after taking off a passenger flight, killing all but one of the 242 people aboard. Dozens more on the ground were also killed when the plane crashed into a medical college and hospital india's western city of Ahmedabad. CNN's Richard Quest has a deeper look now at what we know so far about this horrific tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Air India787 was in the air for less than a minute. It crashed and burst into flames just after the Runway in the Indian city of Ahmedabad with all 242 passengers and crew on board.

This is the first major incident involving the Boeing 787 Dreamliner since it was introduced in 2011. Emergency crews were met with colossal plumes of smoke fuel fed fires indicative of the amount of fuel the London bound jet had taken on board needed to make the 10 hour journey.

BHAWNA PATEL, SISTER OF PASSENGER (through translator): My sister was going to London. The plane crashed before she could get there.

VISHNAL MENANYA, RELATIVE OF PASSENGER (through translator): My uncle was on the plane as soon as I got here. We began trying to call his phone but were unable to connect.

QUEST (voice-over): India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the incident as heartbreaking beyond words. Amongst those on board were passengers from at least four different countries, India, the U.K., Portugal and Canada, according to the airline.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the crew of Air India 171 did make a mayday call to air traffic control, but it's not known under what circumstances.

[17:30:02]

And data from Flightradar24 shows that the aircraft's signal was lost less than a minute after takeoff.

QUEST (voice-over): But it's not known under what circumstances. And data from Flightradar24 shows that the aircraft's signal was lost less than a minute after takeoff. The maximum altitude reached was 625 feet.

[17:30:15]

This incident comes at a time of major restructuring and growth for Air India after it was privatized and bought by the country's multinational conglomerate, the Tata Group, in 2022. Growth was something the airline's CEO spoke enthusiastically about when I met him last week in New Delhi.

CAMPBELL WILSON, CEO, AIR INDIA: So in addition to transforming the airline, we had to build training academies, we had to build flight simulator academies, we've had to set up a flying training school, we're setting up a maintenance base and merge four airlines.

QUEST (voice-over): The enormous loss of life from Thursday's tragedy puts the airline once again under scrutiny. And the investigators will be keen to know exactly how this aircraft performed at its crucial moments.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST (on camera): And then you have the miracle in 11A, seat 11A. One passenger who survived the crash was sitting in the middle of the aircraft, actually changed seats at the last moment, and survived. It's not entirely certain how he exited the plane. He said apparently he opened the door and jumped out the emergency exit.

But how, what, where and why is not clear. It's believed he'll be able to leave hospital in a matter of days. Extraordinary how this man survived.

TAPPER: All right, Richard Quest, thanks so much, appreciate it. Let's discuss all of this with John Goglia. He's a former member of the NTSB, or National Transportation Safety Board, who has specialized in flight accident investigations. Also is known for his recent involvement in the hit T.V. series, "The Rehearsal," which is on HBO, part of CNN's parent company.

John, I know it's early in the investigation, but when you look at the videos of this crash, so soon after takeoff, what are the possibilities of what might have gone wrong?

JOHN GOGLIA, FORMER NTSB MEMBER: Well, right off the bat, the investigators are going to look at the fuel supply. You know, this aeroplane took on a bunch of fuel and could have been contaminated.

So they certainly should have already been over there taking samples of the fuel from the fuel farms. And secondly, they're going to be looking at any work that may have been done on this aeroplane while it was on the ground in India prior to the departure from London. So they're going to be looking at that.

TAPPER: What does that mean, contaminated fuel?

GOGLIA: And they're going to get some clues from the video.

TAPPER: What does that mean, contaminated fuel?

GOGLIA: Well, you know, well, it could -- it could have other chemicals in it by mistake. It could have water in it, which is very common. Sometimes jet fuel attracts water. And sometimes you can get a good slug of water in jet fuel, especially if -- if the inspection process isn't done robustly as it's supposed to be done.

So, you know, the investigators have to leave no stone unturned. So this is a set of procedures that we all followed. And they were based upon history. And, you know, when something new happened, that ended up on our recipe, if you will, for ingredients to go look for.

So there's a whole bunch of things that we will look for at the airport that somebody should have already been looking at the maintenance records on the aeroplane. Previous work that was done, previous problems with the aeroplane. It was reported that there was electrical problems with this aeroplane a day ago was accurate.

Again, I'm -- I'm relying upon information that may not be accurate. So they -- they will want to know about that. And they're going to look at physical pieces of the wreckage right now. You know, so there's a thing that's called a RAT, Ram Air Turbine, that will extend if you have two engines that fail. And I was looking at some of the pictures, and it's very difficult to see.

But it does. It does look like the RAT probe possibly could be extended. So that's an area that the investigators are going to zero in on. Also, one of the videos show a lot of dust and debris being kicked up right at the rotation point of this aeroplane. Now, it looks like he used the entire runway before he rotated. Did he go off the end? Did he suck up a bunch of debris at the end of the runway, rocks and dirt and grass and who knows what else? They're going to have to look at that.

The engines could have been contaminated by -- by foreign objects. So there's a lot left on the table to look at before we even get the recorders. And fortunately, the 787 has a very robust set of recorders on it. So assuming that they weren't burned and the tail looks like it's maybe intact, let's hope that the recorders are in good shape.

TAPPER: All right. John Goglia, thank you so much for your expertise. We appreciate it. We are standing by right now to hear from the mayor of Los Angeles about days of unrest in her city and the protests.

[17:35:07]

And then earlier today, sitting senator from California, Democrat Alex Padilla, forcibly removed from a news conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

He interrupted her and was taken outside and forced onto the ground and handcuffed. We'll have much more reaction ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, is speaking right now about the unrest in her city and the confrontation with Senator Padilla and Kristi Noem's security. Let's listen.

MAYOR KAREN BASS (D), LOS ANGELES: So let's just remember why we are here today. Last Thursday, ICE entered our city and provoked the city by chasing people through home depots and car washes and showing up at schools and today showing up at emergency rooms and homeless shelters.

[17:40:11]

ICE intervened as a pretext to federalize the National Guard and then in the White House the National Guard was complimented for the work that they do -- did to keep peace in the city Saturday night. But I will tell you the Guard didn't even arrive here until Sunday.

They used this as a pretext to send the U.S. Marines into an American city which will target our own citizens. They've been threatening elected officials with arrests and they just shoved and cuffed a sitting U.S. Senator.

How could you say that you did not know who he was? We see the videotape, we see him saying who he was. But how do you not recognize one of two senators in our state? And he is not just any senator he is the first Latino citizen senator to ever represent our state.

The images we have seen of our city over the past week the rage, the vandalism, the looting none of that is L.A. Los Angeles is who you see behind me, representatives of the faith community, the business community, community organizations.

Yesterday I stood at this podium with over 30 mayors from Los Angeles County who are all concerned about what is going on. Los Angeles is a Jewish community, a Muslim community, a Christian community and many other faiths. Los Angeles is Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Filipino Town, Korea Town, Thai Town, the South L.A. African American community, the Chamber of Congress, the Central City Association, this is L.A. and we are united.

And I just want to say that I was listening to the words of the secretary at the press conference describing L.A. as a war zone. It is my understanding that she arrived here late last night was here for a few hours today and came to that conclusion. There is no one up here that sees Los Angeles like that and I know as the press you know this is not all of Los Angeles. This is isolated to a few blocks in a city that is over 500 square miles. And out of those 500 square miles the -- the protests and especially the protests that devolved into vandalism represents about half a square mile. So the notion that this is happening all over our city, the notion that this city is not governable the notion that we need the military to intervene we have the capacity to address these problems.

And I know there's not a person up here that supports vandalism, that supports violence and that understands if you support the immigrant community you know how to do it in a peaceful manner. We are proud to say that we have a well-established, a well-respected immigrant rights organizations that have been holding protests for years and years that have never devolved into violence.

And so to characterize what is going on as our city, as a city of mayhem is just an outright lie. I'm not going to call it an untruth, I'm not going to sugar coat it, I'm going to call it for what it is, which is a lie. And I just have to say, I served with the Secretary.

I served with the Secretary for probably about 10 years in Congress and Madam Secretary, I do not recognize you anymore. I do not know Kristi Noem that I served with for 10 years. So, no matter what happens out of White House -- the White House, we will always uphold and reflect what Los Angeles and the United States of America are truly about, freedom, tolerance, and for God's sake, our Constitution.

With that, I would like to introduce Angelica Salas, the Executive Director of CHIRLA, one of the most respected and established immigrant rights organizations.

TAPPER: All right. You've been listening to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass talking about the days of protests in Los Angeles, saying that the city had no real problems until the Trump administration began those deportation raids last week. She also talked about the incident just a couple hours ago at the Department of Homeland Security press conference where Democratic Senator Alex Padilla interrupted the press conference, wanted to ask a question, was forcibly removed in handcuffs.

[17:45:14]

Here to discuss, the former U.S. Ambassador to the Chicago Mayor, White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, who is a CNN Senior Political and Global Affairs commentator. Rahm, what -- what did you make of what happened with Senator Padilla earlier today?

RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, Jake, the way I look at this is you have -- you have to put this in context. You not only have what happened to the Senator, you go all the way to New Jersey, you have a member of Congress arrested, you have a mayor, you have the court case -- you have the judge, I think it's in Wisconsin if I'm not mistaken.

So there's a series of actions here where individual elected officials are arrested or in some way charged all around the issue of immigration. Second I, you know, it hasn't been brought up, not just this show, but on CNN today, over the weekend when the border czar said something about the Governor Newsom, the President said I would arrest him too. That gives a permission slip.

The President's words, which matter, having worked for two Presidents, the idea that he would have said that and everybody kind of fluffed it off, but then a day later here we are with the Senator. Second, I would say anytime the President of the United States is a political piece of this, is associated with disorder, nobody likes what they saw here of a U.S. Senator, that does not accrue to the benefit of the White House.

And then second, I'm drawing on one experience when I was Chief of Staff, President Obama was giving a joint session speech, Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina yelled you're a liar. The next day, because of the actions of Leader Boehner, Blunt, Cantor, he apologized, Senator McCain said it was totally wrong for him to do that. We accepted that.

That was the first time kind of some decorum was violated and the leadership knew that it was wrong. Here, you have the Speaker of the House, a constitutional position, attacking the U.S. Senator. And what I would just say then privately, and I'll make this last closing comment, the Secretary and the Senator met privately.

I just think for the public's confidence in our elected officials, our appointed officials, and in the government, it would have been better if they had done a press conference afterwards together, given they had met, obviously, for 15 minutes civilly. They may not have agreed, but that's OK too.

This is a context, when you look at all the events, of a piece, each piece of the puzzle points all to the same direction.

TAPPER: So we all saw the video. Republicans are saying that this was Senator Padilla's fault, that he went there to create a stunt, and that he lunged at the Secretary, charged at the Secretary. Obviously, we see it got violent back and forth with the security people trying to push him out. He is saying, I'm Senator Padilla. Kristi Noem, Secretary Noem, said that he didn't identify himself, which obviously is -- is not accurate.

Do you have -- do you -- do you think Senator Padilla did anything wrong in this?

EMANUEL: Look, as I said a little earlier, one is the Senator went to the press conference. I do really wish they had met, discussed, and they did that together, but that's, you know, after the fact. Nobody saw this. The Senator is a sitting U.S. Senator. You do not give it permission slip, no matter what the security concerns. He didn't lunge at her.

He obviously, she was speaking. He -- he started to speak too. The idea that after he introduces himself as a Senator, that they not only forcefully remove him, but then push him to the ground. I think this is a case where the President of the United States shouldn't be encouraging arresting elected officials, but should be actually the leader of the country to acknowledge that everybody needs to take a step back.

And he's turned government and elected officials, both on the issue of immigration, but more importantly as a general, into kind of a Jerry Springer Show.

TAPPER: Yes.

EMANUEL: I think this is, you know, the President of the United States has a moral component. As Teddy Roosevelt said, there's a bully pulpit here with a moral component to it. And that's not -- and -- and for this President, it's more bully than it is pulpit.

TAPPER: Well, let me ask you because --

EMANUEL: And that's a problem.

TAPPER: -- before this incident happened, Secretary Noem said the following, and I'm just quoting here. We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that the Governor and that this Mayor have placed.

What do you make of that? I've never heard a federal official say that they are liberating an American city from the Mayor and Governor.

EMANUEL: Yes. Look, the rhetoric is way over the top. It's not -- not only is it not accurate or reflective, it's -- it's purposely said to induce a reaction. You have this across, as I gave you, the incidents in New Jersey. The White House is not trying to handle immigration. They're trying to actually provoke a confrontation.

[17:50:12]

You have a right to protest. You don't have a right to provoke violence. You have a responsibility as a -- as a Governor officials to actually enforce the law not to create disorder.

My -- my instincts tell me, and also beyond, the words here are inaccurate. They're inflammatory. But I think, and this is now, nothing's far from politics, which is, Jake, in this situation, if the President is seen as on the side of order, that's one thing.

If he's seen on the side as a permission slip for disorder, he will get the downside of that politics, as will the Republicans. And I -- it's not hard for the Speaker of the House to say, if the shoe was on the other foot, we would object to this. Everybody needs to step back and start to try to act like the adults in the room.

TAPPER: Yes. Rahm Emanuel, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

EMANUEL: And it's missing. And it's missing from the Oval Office. It's missing from the Speaker's chamber and other leaders. And senators of both parties, a number of Senators and Republicans have spoken up, but the Senate Majority Leader has a role to the institution to understand and appreciate that a U.S. Senator, regardless of what their topic is, they should not be forced to the ground and handcuffed by any security when identified as a U.S. Senator.

TAPPER: Rahm Emanuel, thank you so much. Let's bring in CNN security correspondent Josh Campbell. And Josh, you're a former FBI supervisory agent. This incident involving Senator Padilla has happened in your old office in Los Angeles. I heard you talking to, I think, Brianna earlier. And you say the -- the security officials were doing what they are trained to do.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think people are looking at this as one incident. In reality, from a law enforcement perspective, there are three separate incidents that happened. First, as the Secretary is giving remarks, this wasn't a Q&A period, the Senator, you know, speaks up very loudly. He interrupts her.

And then on video, you actually see him standing in front of her security detail. And they determined, OK, we're going to take this person out of there. But there's a moment on that video, which is the second incident, in my view, where, as agents are trying to lead him out, he then turns and starts pushing his way back into those agents, which, in the minds of a security detail officer, at that point, you're taking this person out of the room even against their will, because they've already shown they're not going to comply.

And if they're going to then try to push, you know, back into the room, they're going to take that into consideration. But I think the third incident, which happened outside the room, is quite different. And you see officers there essentially start escalating. At one point, the Senator is on his face on the ground. They start to handcuff him. Again, in law enforcement, you try to de-escalate.

They knew at that point he was a Senator. They were in a federal building where people are screened for weapons before they go in, so that wouldn't be a factor. And so I see on that video multiple points outside where it didn't have to get to that. They could have arrested him while he was standing. At one point, they put him on his knees. That's another area where they could have potentially handcuffed him if that's what they were planning to do.

But shoving him onto the ground, I mean, I think that, again, was -- was incredibly escalatory. Perhaps this will be reviewed. We did hear the FBI Deputy Director come out and say that he thought that, you know, the officers did a good job here, so maybe it won't be reviewed. But I think, you know, you look at that through a law enforcement lens, I don't think that putting him on the ground in that fashion had to happen.

But the final point I'll make is that we are in this politically charged climate. Obviously, people have a lot of different views from a law enforcement perspective. I don't think this was the fault or the responsibility of DHS Secretary Noem. She's in the middle of a press conference. She's giving remarks. She's interrupted by someone. That escalates, and then it's her security officers who then, you know, do what they do along with the FBI police. So, again, I think that's the way to look at this, not just, you know, one incident through political lenses, but, you know, break it down by second by second.

TAPPER: Who provides security for the Department of Homeland Security? Is that the FBI that does that?

CAMPBELL: No, it's the U.S. Secret Service, which has their security detail, but this was happening inside an FBI building, and so the people that you actually see conducting the arrest outside in the hallway, it appears both the Secret Service agent and then two FBI police officers.

This is the security arm of the Bureau that takes care of different facilities. So, again, I think you see the security detail that's, you know, following their steps. You have someone who's not complying. We're trying to get him out of the room. But, again, that -- that -- what happened outside that room, I think, is what you're seeing is the most egregious, where, again, you have a U.S. senator who is essentially pushed down on the ground on his face and handcuffed.

We did hear -- I did hear from a law enforcement source, Jake, that it's worth pointing out that no criminal charges are expected against the senator, of course.

TAPPER: All right, Josh Campbell, thanks so much for your insight. Appreciate it. We're going to have much more reaction ahead on what happened to California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla, forcibly removed from that news conference today after interrupting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

[17:55:03]

Plus, a federal hearing has just wrapped up as the state of California went to court to try to challenge President Trump's use of the National Guard and the U.S. Marines in response to protests against ICE deportation operations in that state. We're going to get the outcome of that hearing. Much more ahead, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. And tonight we're following breaking news out of Los Angeles, California, where the mayor, Karen Bass, just addressed reporters after Democratic Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a news conference earlier today when he interrupted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem trying to ask her a question.

Law enforcement forced Padilla out of the room and onto the ground and handcuffed him. Take a look at what happened during the event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:59:57]

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed.