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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Top Senate Official Rules Against Several Key Provisions In GOP Policy Bill; Pentagon Details Iran Bombing Amid Questions About Scope Of Damage; Prosecution Accuses Combs For Leading A "Criminal Enterprise"; Oprah, Kardashians, Ivanka Trump Among VIP Arrivals As Festivities Begin For Bezos-Sanchez Wedding; Mamdani's Rise Divides New York's Jewish Community. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired June 26, 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]

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: -- panel on what we're seeing from the president and why.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, he seemed very bullion today to me in that meeting. And I think that means that he believes that the reconciliation bill is coming in closer for a landing. You know, the Senate parliamentarian ruled some of the changes some senators wanted out of order today. That may mean the Senate has to come pretty close to the House position.

HUNT: Might be feeling like he's going to get that over the finish line. All right. Jake Tapper is standing by for us for The Lead. Hi, Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Hey, Kasie, thanks so much. We'll see you back in the Arena tomorrow.

HUNT: Thanks. Thank you. See you soon.

TAPPER: The White House is limiting the intel they share with Congress. But how much? The Lead starts right now.

A classified briefing just moments ago for every U.S. Senator, Democrats and Republicans and Independents, a briefing on the U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. The sources reveal what the U.S. might offer Iran to help restart any diplomatic talks.

Plus, closing arguments begin in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial as prosecutors try to portray the music mogul as the leader of a criminal enterprise. And from Oprah and Gail to Kim and Chloe, the star studded arrivals for the big Jeff Bezos-Lauren Sanchez wedding. We're going to take you to Venice where celebrations are already underway.

Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper and we are following two major stories at this hour. Both challenges facing President Trump's agenda at home and abroad. Here in D.C. some roadblocks for his signature policy legislation. The so called one big beautiful bill caught up in the Senate after a key ruling by the chamber's rule referee, the Senate parliamentarian.

She ruled that in order to qualify for the simple majority vote, which Republicans want just 50 plus one vote, they'll need to cut a major revenue producing part of the one big beautiful bill. Moments ago, Trump touted parts of the bill including no tax on tips tax, deductible car payments and changes to the estate or so called death tax. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Today I signed this bill into law. Almost every major promise made in the 2024 campaign already will have become a promise kept.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Meanwhile, we await new details about the extent of the success of the U.S. bombing campaign against Iran's nuclear weapons program. The administration stands by the president's assertion that the U.S. strike Saturday night obliterated the entire program.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It was a total obliteration, as the president said. And not only does our own intelligence say that, but also the Iranian foreign minister has said that. We saw Israel conclude the same thing based on their own intelligence. We also had the United Nations say that as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Leavitt there referring to the new U.N. assessment that shows that the centrifuges at Fordow, one of Iran's most important nuclear enrichment facilities, one of the three bombed, are, quote, no longer operational. Earlier today, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth addressed journalists at the Pentagon. He railed on news media outlets for reporting on the early preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment that showed that the strikes might have not completely destroyed Iran's nuclear facilities, setting back the program months, not years.

That initial assessment was issued with low confidence by the Defense Intelligence Agency in the Pentagon. Hegseth angrily suggested that the news media is somehow nefarious for reporting on the existence of this preliminary DIA analysis. He did not blame the Defense Intelligence Agency at the very Pentagon that he oversees that produced the analysis.

Still, there are outstanding questions from that briefing, including whether or not nuclear material was removed from those sites before the U.S. bombing. We're going to take you deeper into the Pentagon's assessments. But first, CNN's Jeff Zeleny is with me.

And Jeff, back to that massive Trump agenda bill. The president touted some of his key agenda items. I was listening to him before the show talking about the provisions that would help with border security even further. What stood out to you? JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, it

really is a laundry list of the president's promises that he's talked about on the campaign, as well as some extensions of what he did during his first administration, largely extending his tax cuts. And that is where you have to start because that is why this bill is so expensive, if you will. That is why they have to find cost savings throughout other programs, like on Medicaid, like on food assistance programs.

But the Senate parliamentarian, because of how this bill is being funded, how it's being pushed through the Senate on a Republican, on a simple majority vote, there are rules that apply in the Senate.

[17:05:03]

So some of these provisions have been ruled out of order. But the President said he is standing by his promise not to cut Medicaid, a promise that even some Republicans do not believe is true.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And you're not going to feel any of it. And your Medicaid is left alone. It's left the same. Your Medicare and your Social Security are strengthened. We're not cutting. The Democrats are going to destroy all three of them because it's not sustainable. They'll end up cutting your Medicare Medicaid in half.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So talking about Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. But Jake, it is Medicaid that is the issue. That is the health insurance program for low income Americans. More than 70 million Americans get their health coverage through Medicaid and it is affecting some red states as well. That's one of the reasons Missouri Senator Josh Hawley is effectively one of the Republican senators leading the charge, saying that there must be changes made in this bill because of the deep effect it would have on rural hospitals across the country. So that is what the sticking point is.

So even though the President was talking about Democrats there, it's actually Republicans and the questions from some Republican senators that are likely holding up this bill. So any idea that this can be signed into law by next Friday on the 4th of July?

There are not many Republicans on Capitol Hill or even White House officials who are aware of how this works, who believe that is possible, not saying it's not going to be signed into law. At some point the arm twisting will begin, but policy changes need to be made specifically on Medicaid and the President did not go into detail, of course, on that, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Jeff Zeleny, thanks so much. Meanwhile, at the Pentagon, as we mentioned, where Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was railing against the news media for deigning to report on the existence of an early preliminary U.S. assessment on the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. We also heard a far more serious and sober presentation by the

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Raisin Caine. Though General Caine conceded it was not his job to do damage assessments, it was the job of the intelligence community. He did present with visuals some detailed information about the strike.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. DAN CAINE, CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHEIFS OF STAFF: The cap was forcibly removed by the first weapon and the main shaft was uncovered. All six weapons at each vent at Fordow went exactly where they were intended to go. We know that the trailing jets saw the first weapons function and the pilots stated, quote, this was the brightest explosion that I've ever seen. It literally looked like daylight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let's get more in depth analysis on this from retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Steven Anderson, who served in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. General Anderson, thanks for joining us. So we heard General Caine there. He showed a test video of what a bunker buster does. How does that test video compare to what you think actually happened?

BRIG. GEN. STEVEN ANDERSON (RET.) U.S. ARMY: Well, let's look at the test video. And you'll see down here you can see that the penetrator enters the ground about here and then it has impact in this area down here. OK, that's great. That's beautiful. A big explosion. Everything we wanted to see.

However, what doesn't, what you fail to see is that it's only about 10 or 12 feet here, you know, and we're talking about a target set that's 300ft deep. So you're showing a video --

TAPPER: So all the way down here theoretically.

ANDERSON: Absolutely. Way down. And so my question is, why don't they have a test video that shows more accurately what the mission set really was? And to me it's very misleading to show a video like this with a big explosion. We already knew it was going to be a big explosion. But this, the point of the MOP is to penetrate. This only penetrates a few feet. We need to get a penetrator that can go 300 feet. And he didn't show that.

TAPPER: Yes. And we should note that at no point is anybody questioning how well the pilots performed here. They hit their targets excellently. And also, this is the first time this has been used. Right, A bunker buster. It's relatively new technology.

ANDERSON: This is new technology. This has been in development for about 15 years. I mean, but one would think that they would do a better job of getting a video that could demonstrate what the capabilities of the mop are.

TAPPER: Let's take a look at the other graphic shown in today's press conference which shows the ventilation shafts at the Fordow site. What does this show? What does this not show?

ANDERSON: Well, this is a very simplified diagram and it bothers me because there's no legend. It doesn't show. Again, we're trying to go 300ft. It doesn't show anything like that. It's also showing the ventilation shafts to be very straight, very linear.

My experience in working in Korea and been to Cheyenne Mountain and Raven Rock up in Maryland. These shafts are not perfect perpendicular to the earth.

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They move, they turn, they twist, and it's very difficult so to assume that we could bring some kind of a mop that goes straight down the ventilation shaft all the way to the bottom is pretty ludicrous in my mind.

TAPPER: So you think that it's questionable whether or not.

ANDERSON: Absolutely.

TAPPER: I mean, we heard that the pilots dropped the bombs and they went right down the shaft. And you don't doubt that they went into the shaft, but you just don't -- we don't know if it was a completely vertical line.

ANDERSON: Absolutely, Jake, that's the point. And the other point is that General Caine talked about hitting these with caps, with concrete caps. OK. The point of a concrete cap is not only just to seal the structure and seal the cave, but also to provide pre detonation so that the bombs detonate too early so they can't penetrate because they.

Well, we already know. General Caine admitted that there were multiple GBUs that were used on the caps. And that's very important. Now I want to bring up the example of when we had in Iraq, we used to use these pre-detonation facilities right here. We used to put covers on all of our defects, all of our critical infrastructure like this. The intent was to pre detonate, to make the bomb go off earlier than it needs to go. And that's what they were trying to do.

The other thing that would tell me about those caps is they knew that were going to hit them. That's why they put the caps there. What other things did they do to mitigate the effect of the GBU's?

TAPPER: What other fortifications that we don't know about?

ANDERSON: Absolutely.

TAPPER: And Secretary Hegseth said he was not aware of any intelligence suggesting that any enriched uranium was taken from these three sites before the strike.

ANDERSON: He was -- he's not watching the same media that the rest of us are. I mean, there is open source reporting that on Wednesday, perhaps 15 trucks left. Isfahan loaded -- TAPPER: One of the three sites.

ANDERSON: Absolutely, one of the three sites. That's where the highly enriched uranium was. And we already know it's easy to transport. It was only 400 kilograms. So he could fit in the back of a van. And by the way, Jake, I mean, Iran is a huge country, two and a half times the size of Texas. There are a million places where we could have hidden that highly enriched uranium. And that's really a problem. We got to find that stuff.

TAPPER: All right. Fascinating stuff. Brigadier General Steve Anderson, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Let's talk now with Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of The great state of Missouri, which is home to Whiteman Air base, where the B2 bombers that participated in last weekend strikes on Iran are headquartered.

And Senator Schmitt is in additionally is on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Senator, what can you tell us about the Iran briefing on Capitol Hill this afternoon?

SEN. ERIC SCHMITT (R-MO): Yes, I think it's corroborated at this point. A lot of the open sourcing out there that the nuclear facilities were totally destroyed. You can use the word obliterated. They have no capabilities. They have no capabilities and we're talking about years. So that is very -- was a good takeaway from the meeting. I think everybody was relieved to hear that.

Of course the general and others went through the plans in great detail and there were a lot of questions that were asked, good questions that should be asked. But I think it's clear that this was a very successful mission.

The pilots from that left Whiteman really an unprecedented move, Jake, with the subterfuge of a couple going to Guam and the others headed east were able to drop about 420,000 pounds of bunker busting bombs on something the size of a desk to complete their mission. So they should be congratulated.

I also think it's important too that President Trump immediately after this pivoted to peace. And I think that's the next stage of all this is further diplomacy. And I know for me that was very important with this sort of new era of American realism foreign policy as opposed to us getting pulled into, you know, a long standing forever war in the Middle East.

TAPPER: Yes, let's hope it stays that way. It sounds like an incredibly successful mission by the service members, including the pilots at Whiteman. We still don't know and we won't for a while the complete and final intelligence review of what was destroyed, how set back the program is. Being set back years is great. Being set back forever, even better. What information are you still waiting to hear?

SCHMITT: Well, I think you're right. I mean we're going to continue to monitor. The good thing here is, Jake, is that the conventional weapons of the Iranians have been completely wiped out. The Israelis control all of that airspace. So any concerns about anything that might happen in the short term, you know, that's just not probably realistic because the Iranians have been totally wiped out from the air. They were surprised by this, but the Israelis sort of pressed their dominance and they still have it.

So the Iranians, I think it's one of the reasons why they were so willing to enter into the ceasefire and hopefully into some fruitful discussions here to have a long standing peace. And I also think it's worth mentioning, Jake, you know, in President Trump's first term, you had the Abraham Accords.

This, of course, sets the stage maybe for the march of a second round of those Abraham Accords. So, look, yes, we got to hold on to all of this, but the ingredients are all there, hopefully for something very positive long term.

TAPPER: Let's turn to the big Trump agenda bill, the domestic policy bill and legislation. You acknowledged earlier today that Republicans are going to take another swing at writing the language into the bill that the Senate parliamentarian would accept.

[17:15:06]

Obviously, we talked about earlier how some of the language involving Medicaid right now, she said, cannot be used under the Senate rules that Republicans want to use to require just a simple majority vote. That will push back the timeline, of course. Do you think July 4th, having this on the president's desk by July 4th is still realistic?

SCHMITT: I do. I don't think that whatever happens in the next day or so with a redrafting of language will push us beyond the sort of the weekend window. We're all committed to being here over the weekend, whether that's Saturday or Sunday, which still gives the House time to be able to act. And we're committed.

I mean, we're still working through, you know, individual items, but we're getting very close because everybody's committed to delivering on President Trump's, you know, campaign promises. No tax on tips, no tax on overtime. Making sure those tax cuts are extended. That would be a $4 trillion tax increase that be thousands of dollars for every family. You have money to secure the border, you have money for deportations, you have money for a national defense.

So I think we're all still very well committed to that and we're still on track timing wise.

TAPPER: The senator from across the border there in Kansas, Roger Marshall, said he wants to fire the Senate parliamentarian for what she did her assessment. Do you agree?

SCHMITT: I understand the frustration, but I actually think we're going to be able to work through this. One example that is originally the not allowing SNAP benefits to illegal immigrants was bounced and now that's back in. So I'm pretty confident we're going to work through these and get the savings that we want, make sure illegal immigrants aren't getting their taxpayer benefits and ultimately still delivering on all the things for American families. I'm still hopeful.

TAPPER: Last month you told local outlet Missouri Net that you did not think cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid are on the table. Your Republican colleagues, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, they're worried that the new Medicaid limits in the bill would devastate rural hospitals in their states. Your state, Missouri, more than 1 million people in Missouri are on Medicaid. What's your message to them?

SCHMITT: The benefits aren't going to get cut here. I think we've been very clear about the only people that would lose benefits here is or if you're an illegal immigrant or you're not eligible. But nobody who's eligible is going to lose. And if you, by the way, if you're an able bodied adult, there'll be some work requirements. That's it.

And I actually think we're doing a lot of work to strengthen the system for those who need it most. Pregnant moms, poor kids, individuals with disabilities. I have a provision to cut through the waiting list so more individuals with disabilities can actually access services that they need. So we want to strengthen it for the people who need it most. But as far as anybody that wouldn't be receiving benefits, that's going to be limited to illegal immigrants.

TAPPER: Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri. Thank you, sir. Good to see you, sir.

SCHMITT: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: A Democrat who also received today's classified briefing is going to join us next. Senator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst also on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Why she argues that America's greatest security threat is not coming from abroad.

Plus, the prosecution wrapping closing arguments just moments ago in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial. We're going to get their key points from CNN journalists who are in the court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:21:55]

TAPPER: Back now with our world lead. The Trump administration just briefed U.S. senators about its strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities over the weekend. Let's bring in Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. She's on the Senate Armed Services Committee and is a former CIA analyst.

And I think this is her first interview with us as a senator. She used to come by all the time when she was in the House, but now, of course, she's in the Senate. Very, very fancy. Very, very, very busy. All right, I'm just joking. Senator, you were in today's all Senate intelligence briefing. What did you hear? What struck you? Were you satisfied?

SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): Well, look, we should have had this briefing. Typically, it would be immediately after a strike, you know, a day after military action. So I'm glad it finally got Done. It was noticeable certainly that the DNI, the Director of National Intelligence wasn't there. Normally, if you're talking about intelligence, you're going to have Tulsi Gabbard there.

But you know, I think my takeaway from it was it's still too early to know exactly what the battle damage was and that's normal. I just want to say that as a former CIA officer, the U.S. Military conducts a strike. The intelligence community assesses the damage of a strike. And that's by design. Right. So that you're not cooking the books from the military.

And so it's going to take a minute. That said, I think the damage was significant. I don't know the President has words that he's using. I don't think the President is tied deeply to his intelligence community and the careful wording that they're putting out.

But what I heard in the briefing I think was significant both in terms of setting back the program, but then also in the mentality of the regime. Right. The government leaders there. I mean, there are no air defenses above Iran right now. That's a very different place than we've been even two years ago, five years ago. So, you know, beyond that, it's classified. But that's my takeaway from the briefing.

TAPPER: Now, before the briefing, the White House said that they were going to limit how much classified information they would share with Congress. They declined to give specifics. We should note this is a long standing traditional of White House is not trusting Congress with classified information. But are you worried at all that you and your fellow senators are not being given the complete picture?

SLOTKIN: You know, I think others asked that question and reassurances were given that there's no plans to cut off, you know, access, that would obviously be very different. And again, I think that the, you know, people need to remember that the intelligence community, the military, it should be nonpartisan, apolitical.

We really don't want to take these institutions that keep us safe at night and turn them into political football. So that question was asked and answered and I hope they stand by their word.

TAPPER: You spoke earlier today at the left leaning Center for American Progress. You laid out what you call an economic war plan. You're arguing that the shrinking middle class in the United States is an existential threat to the United States national security. What makes it a threat?

SLOTKIN: Makes it a threat because in a multiracial, multiethnic democracy like ours.

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When people feel like they can't get ahead, when they feel like the system is rigged, when they feel like the deal they were promised as Americans, which is like, you work hard, you do well, you play by the rules and you're going to succeed and so are your kids, they feel like that's not, you know, necessarily a reality for them. And what do they do when they don't feel like they can succeed? They

turn against people who don't look like them, don't sound like them, don't pray like them. And that's a danger for our country. Middle class has shrunk over the past 50 years. Used to be the most powerful kind of class of people in the country.

Now all that wealth has moved to the most wealthy. And that's something that unites like young people, middle class families, blue collar workers. They all feel like that American dream isn't working. And that is a real problem. It turns us against each other.

TAPPER: Well, I have to say, I kind of amazed that it was Trump that came up with the idea, or at least is about to sign into law. And no tax on tips. I mean, that seems like something that the Democratic Party should have come up with.

SLOTKIN: Yes.

TAPPER: Go ahead. I was just going to say what do Democrats need to do to address this?

SLOTKIN: Yes, I mean, this is, to me the whole point of my speech, right. We need a war plan to make clear what we stand for on the economy. We need to get back to basics, right? If you're a athletic team, a sports team, like no one cares about your trick plays, if you can't do the basic fundamentals for us, that's job creation, health care, housing, energy and the environment and education. And we got to do those things well. And those systems, those government systems, I mean, is there a single American who thinks that health care is working? Right. We know it's not.

So the Democratic Party needs to get on the same page, figure out where we have commonality, right? Stop focusing on the things where we differ and focus on the things where we agree.

And we need to be the defenders of the middle class. We need to be the party that's doing that instead of Trump, who will figure out what's popular. You know, this bill that he's trying to sign, get signed into law, his big, beautiful bill, he's thrown in some, you know, little pieces here and there that will be, I think, really important.

But man, he is preferencing the very wealthy in this bill and he's trying to hide it by becoming the like middle class hero. We need to call him out on that and we need to have our own positive affirmative agenda. We can't just play defense against him.

TAPPER: Senator Elissa Slotkin, the great state of Michigan. Good to see you. Thanks so much.

SLOTKIN: You too. Thanks.

TAPPER: We're going to New York where prosecutors in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial just finished their closing arguments. What does the defense need to do when they pick it up tomorrow? We're going to talk about that. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:31:43]

TAPPER: Our Law and Justice Lead now, closing arguments today in the Sean "Diddy" Combs federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial, after -- after six weeks of testimony. Prosecutors said that Diddy Combs led a criminal enterprise. He did not take no for an answer.

He used power, violence, and fear to get whatever he wanted. Combs' defense will make their closing arguments tomorrow. We should note Combs, of course, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

CNN chief legal analyst and anchor, Laura Coates, and CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister were both inside the courthouse today. Elizabeth, walk us through how the prosecution summed up its case to the jury.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know, Jake, the prosecution really simplified this case for the jury, and it was the first time where they really spoon-fed what their argument is to the jury.

They started off by talking about racketeering, which is the most complicated charge here. But they said to them, we know that you've heard about racketeering, you're thinking of the mob, you're thinking of the mafia. They said that's not what you have to think about here.

You just have to think that this was Combs' enterprise. He had a group of people who were all working for him to protect him. And even if they testified that they didn't commit crimes, the prosecutor said, use your common sense.

They were texting drug dealers. They were procuring drugs for Sean Combs. They were overseeing Cassie Ventura's whereabouts when she was locked up in a hotel room after Sean Combs had brutally beaten her.

They said that Cassie Ventura did not have the ability to say no, that Sean Combs created this culture of fear where she had to do what he asked her to do. So again, they really simplified it. They had a PowerPoint presentation.

And they compared all of this testimony and the evidence to the law to, again, spoon feed to the jury. Here's what you'll be deliberating on, and it's not as complicated as you think. That's what they said, Jake.

TAPPER: And Laura, the prosecution laid out its evidence. It was often detailed, graphic claims of violence and drug use and forced sex acts, often very upsetting. How effective was the summary of their case to the jury today, do you think?

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: It was very effective at trying to make sure that this juror saw the puzzle pieces throughout the trial coming together to paint a picture, a picture of somebody who they said was power hungry and controlling, a ring of enablers, and somebody who was autonomy and agency. But what was really striking to me in this is that this entire multi- week trial, the presumption was that every single instance of a freak- off that was described in that graphic detail would have to be considered by this juror in order to convict almost a series of mini- trials. Did those happen? Was there consent? Therefore, the culmination would be a conviction or otherwise.

Well, here they said, no, no, forget the all-or-nothing philosophy. If you find that one per charge, that one of those freak-offs was indeed non-consensual, then you could convict if it was by force or the other elements. That was a bit of a shock to, I think, these jurors who thought to themselves, I've had all of this sort of information from a fire hose, and now I have to just have 12 jurors decide that one instance was an issue? That's a very important day. But the defense tomorrow, they're going to have their chance in that bite at the apple, and they're going to take it.

[17:35:10]

TAPPER: And, Laura, the defense, as you note, will give its closing tomorrow. Given that they did not call any witnesses during the trial, I've got to believe tomorrow is the most important day for the defense.

COATES: It is. Either their choice to do so was either because it was calculated or it was confident. Either way, they have decided not to call any witnesses, and including the testimony of Sean "Diddy" Combs, never happened. They have to really undermine and chip away at every instance of credibility that the prosecution thinks they actually have. It's not an easy road.

The idea of reasonable doubt in a movie sounds like, oh, as long as you're deceived, that's enough. Theoretically, that's true. But they also have to tell a story, paint a picture as to what they believe happens here.

And here are the terms. Free will is going to come up. Money grabs are going to come up. Jealousy is going to come up. How they weave it all together to try to address what the jurors are thinking is going to be for all the marbles.

TAPPER: All right, Laura Coates and Elizabeth Wagmeister, thanks so much. And don't forget, Laura will have much more on her show Laura Coates live tonight at 11:00 Eastern. She's also going to dive deeper into the closing arguments on her podcast, Trial by Jury. Look for that wherever you get your podcasts.

We're going to stay in New York for another big story. And the even brighter spotlight on progressive Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner and likely nominee for New York City mayor. We're going to talk about his criticism of Israel, how that is sitting with Jews in New York City, which is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.

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[17:40:57]

TAPPER: Spotted in our Pop Culture Lead today, the happy couple, Amazon's founder and tycoon, Jeff Bezos, and his fiancee, Lauren Sanchez, all decked out in Venice, Italy, ahead of their extravagant wedding on Saturday. And the celebrity guests have been popping in nonstop. CNN's Melissa Bell is also in Venice, where the price tag for the weekend celebrations is expected to reach upwards of $55 million.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ivanka.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Italy's floating city of love flooded with A-list celebrities. From Ivanka Trump to Oprah Winfrey and Kim Kardashian, they're all descending on a sweltering Venice for the multi-million dollar wedding of Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, and former news anchor, Lauren Sanchez. Other big names include Tom Brady, Orlando Bloom and Mick Jagger.

Details of the nuptials are shrouded in secrecy. But we believe that 30 of the city's elite water taxis have been booked for the occasion, which is unfolding from Friday through Saturday, as well as every yacht port. Several accommodation venues have also been reserved for the 200 or so guests, including five Venetian luxury hotels and the Madonna dell'Orto church, where Reuters reports the first night's open-air festivities are taking place on Thursday.

Bezos' $500 million superyacht, Koru, was expected to be one of the main wedding locations, but it's just too big to be allowed anywhere near the city's most scenic waterways and will be anchored in the Venice Lagoon instead. Some local officials in Venice are taking it all in their stride.

MAYOR LUIGI BRUGNARO, VENICE ITALY: We're used to having weddings and celebrations. We had the G7 last year, the Holy Father came. This is a city that was born to do diplomacy and trade. This is the history of Venice, the meeting of people and cultures.

BELL (voice-over): But not everyone is celebrating. Activists from Greenpeace rolled out a massive banner in San Marco's square on Monday criticizing the lavish extravaganza. Tommaso Cacciari leads the No Space for Bezos protest group.

TOMMASO CACCIARI, "NO SPACE FOR BEZOS" ORGANIZER: When you see Venice not as a city anymore, but as a big theme park, a big kind of private dance hall, you know, where you can just hire parts of it, or, like in this case, all of it, is exactly the problem. The message of this wedding party is that I am super rich and I can buy all Venice.

BELL (voice-over): Altogether, the festivities are expected to cost somewhere between 46 and $55 million. That's according to the president of Venice's local government.

BELL: In the last few days, the couple have reportedly donated to several charitable foundations here in Venice devoted to architectural and cultural preservation. And according to a portion of the wedding invitation that was broadcast by ABC's "Good Morning America," they've suggested that guests not bring gifts, saying rather that donations will be made to these causes on their behalf.

BELL (voice-over): For now, all eyes are on the tech billionaire and his bride and whether or not they'll be able to tie the knot in relative peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: Already more protests are planned for tonight, Jake, and protesters intend to continue using this platform, the world's media gathered here, to make their voices heard and their causes known. Already they're claiming victory for having managed to move some of the main events of Saturday to a different location, slightly outside of the city, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Melissa Bell in Venice, she gets all the good assignments. Thanks so much.

[17:44:34]

One day after a Democratic primary upset in New York City, the current mayor, Independent Eric Adams, is relaunching his campaign. His message, next.

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ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK MAYOR: I'm so proud to be here to say to the people of the city of New York, I am seeking re-election to be your mayor. And I told all of you in the beat this was going to be the most interesting political campaign in the history of the city. It didn't stop on June 24th. It started on June 24th. And it would keep going until November 4th.

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TAPPER: The New York mayor's race is officially underway after the incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, kicked off his re-election bid as an Independent. He is going to face off in November against among others, Zohran Mamdani, who declared victory after Tuesday's Democratic Primary there's also Curtis Sliwa who won the uncontested Republican primary. Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo who lost in the Democratic primary is also considering an Independent bid.

[17:50:01]

Let's bring in New York City Comptroller, Brad Lander, who also ran in the Democratic primary. Lander cross-endorsed Mamdani in the primary, they have ranked choice voting there, and he's now supporting him in the general election. Comptroller Lander, thanks for joining us. So Mamdani is already facing a slew of attacks from Republicans, some of them quite bigoted and offensive. Today Republican Congressman Andy Ogles of Tennessee posted a letter that he sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi which -- in which he writes in part quote, Zohran little Muhammad Mamdani is an anti-Semitic socialist communist who will destroy the great city of New York. He needs to be deported which is why I'm calling for him to be subject to a denaturalization proceeding. He is obviously a naturalized citizen but he is an immigrant. What your reaction to that attack?

BRAD LANDER, NEW YORK CITY COMPTROLLER: I mean, it's appalling. He has faced death threats during the campaign, a city council member called for his deportation. It's just gross racist bigotry. But meanwhile he's running an optimistic upbeat campaign for a New York where everybody belongs. And I feel proud as a the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in New York City to be supporting somebody who would be the first Muslim mayor, like what could be more New York City than that.

TAPPER: Well, let me ask you about that because as you -- as you know better than I, New York City is home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel and as the highest-ranking Jew in New York, I'm sure you've been hearing quite a bit from your fellow Jews about concerns that they have about Mamdani, such as he seems to not believe that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state. What do you tell your -- your Jewish friends and -- and constituents?

LANDER: Yes, and I take it real seriously I'm a proud Jewish, New Yorker. I'm, you know, raising two Jewish kids in New York City. I'm very anxious about the rise of anti-Semitism and I want a mayor who will keep Jews and all New Yorkers safe. And I would not be supportings around Mamdani if I wasn't confident that he would. I don't agree with him 100 percent on Israel and Palestine. We're not running though for foreign policy, we're running for the city of New York, and he is deeply committed to not just increasing protection against hate crimes, but against anti-Semitism increasing by 800 percent what is spent on making sure that all Jews and all New Yorkers are safe to pray to worship to travel to work to walk around their neighborhoods free from fear. And I'm confident people will see that as they focus on the race.

Meanwhile you have these other folks who are trying to weaponize anti- Semitism like Donald Trump did in his Tweet attackings are on in which again he called Chuck Schumer a Palestinian. These are offensive. There -- it's like treating Jews as pawns for political purposes and it's gross bigotry. And New Yorkers are going to show just like they did in the primary that -- that we're better than that.

TAPPER: It would be nice if what happens in the Middle East stays in the Middle East. But obviously there have been a lot of protests against what the Israeli government is doing. And there has been some anti-Semitic violence by pro-Palestinian activists in the United States. This year, we've seen it at Governor Shapiro's house in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in Boulder, Colorado, here in Washington, D.C.

When Mamdani was asked by the bulwarks Tim Miller if he had any issue with the phrase globalize the Intifada which a lot of Jews do because they think it means bring anti-Semitic violence from Israel in the Middle East to all over the world. He was asked if it made him uncomfortable, Mamdani. Here was his response. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLYMAN: What I hear in so many is a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in -- in standing up for Palestinian human rights. And I think what's difficult also is that the very word is -- has been used by the Holocaust Museum when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic because it's a word that means struggle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.

MAMDANI: And as a Muslim man who grew up post 9/11, I'm -- I'm all too familiar in the way in which Arabic words can be twisted, can be distorted, can be used to justify any kind of meaning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So I've never seen this happen before the U.S. Holocaust Museum responded to what he said they're posting the statement saying, quote, exploiting the museum and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising to sanitize the phrase globalize the Intifada is outrageous and especially offensive to survivors. Since 1987 Jews have been attacked and murdered under its banner, meaning globalize Intifada. All leaders must condemn its use and the abuse of history. Does it make you uncomfortable with New York the epicenter for so much of this pro- Palestinian anti-Israel protest some of which has been anti-Semitic, some of which has been violent not -- not most of it but some of it. Doesn't make you uncomfortable that he won't condemn that phrase?

[17:55:11]

LANDER: Well, first the phrase globalized the intifada absolutely makes me uncomfortable. And I mean I named my son after a leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. And I've made real clear, you know people might mean something different. But all I can hear when you say that is open season on Jews after what happened in Boulder and what happened in D.C.? I go to a lot of Jewish communal events, and I -- I don't want to keep looking over my shoulder. And I made that real clear.

He clarified. It's not language that he uses or I think has ever used, you know, and that he doesn't believe in policing other people's speech. That said, the question for me is will he be a mayor who works hard to keep all Jews including Jews like me who do believe in the vision of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, safe. And I am confident that he will. And what I hope we can do as he and I have tried to demonstrate over the last couple of weeks is show how we could listen better to each other.

He pledged on election night to work harder to understand and listen to people and make clear he will have everyone's back. We're not going to resolve how people feel about the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. But I really do believe that we can show that we'll have a mayor who's going to keep everyone safe who will listen to Jews. But we also want to make sure we're listening to Muslim New Yorkers, Iranian New Yorkers like it is an incredibly diverse city. And what's happening right now I think is that people are trying to weaponize the conflict even weaponize anti-Semitism in a pretty dangerous way. So what I hope we can do is like turn the temperature down, make clear there's no room for violence or for hate and give him room to build some unity around a vision of the city in which everyone, again, mostly wants an affordable home in a neighborhood they feel safe in with a great school for their kids. That's why people voted for him in big numbers and why I'm confident they will again in November.

TAPPER: New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, thank you so much. Appreciate your time today, sir.

LANDER: Thank you.

TAPPER: Hear from Zohran Mamdani himself on Erin Burnett OutFront tonight 7 o'clock Eastern right after The Lead.

Coming up next, new CNN exclusive reporting the secret -- secret diplomatic efforts to restart U.S. talks with Iran. What the Trump administration might be willing to offer, that's next.

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