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The Lead with Jake Tapper

U.S. Navy Blockades Iranian Ports After Peace Talks Collapse; Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Resigning from Congress Amid Scandal; Trump Says, No, I Don't Need to Apologize for Criticizing the Pope; GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales & Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell Announce They're Leaving Congress Amid Sex Scandals; Astronauts Reunite With Their Families After History-Making Trip. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired April 13, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

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[18:00:00]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Anderson Cooper in for Jake Tapper.

This hour, we are following breaking news on Capitol Hill. Democratic Congressman Eric s Swalwell says he is resigning from Congress amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Swalwell facing mounting pressure from Republicans and members of his own party, even after abandoning his bid for California governor. We will get reaction live from Capitol Hill ahead.

Plus, it is the pope versus the president. Trump says, Pope Leo is, quote, weak on crime and, quote, catering to the radical left. Pope Leo says he's not afraid of the White House, neither shows any sign of backing down. I'll get reaction from the cardinal of Washington, D.C.

Also, the election results sending political shockwaves around the world as one of Trump's top European allies is toppled. What U.S. political parties, especially the Democrats, could learn from this.

And Artemis II astronauts, who captured the world's attention, are now back with their families and sharing what it was like to travel farther into space than any human in history. Hear directly from them ahead.

All those stories coming up in moments, but The Lead tonight, the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz is in effect after a weekend of peace talks with Iran collapsed. President Trump is threatening to eliminate any Iranian ships that get close to the blockade. This as the vital shipping lane, which holds the key to 20 percent of the world's oil supply remains closed to most tankers. Whether there'll be another round of in-person meetings between Iran and the U.S. before the ceasefire expires next Wednesday, that is unclear.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in Pakistan, where negotiations between the U.S. and Iran failed over the weekend. First, I want to go to CNN's Kaitlan Collins at the White House. How long, Kaitlan, is the Trump administration willing to continue this blockade on Iranian ports?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's an open question still right now, Anderson. Essentially, what we've been hearing from the White House is that this plan that the president announced yesterday, that there is going to be this blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that -- and their ports when it goes to what's coming and leaving Iran, that they are hoping that plan, their plan A is going to work here, and that it's going to get Iran to capitulate and to come back to the negotiating table to meet those demands that the vice president was laying out over the weekend in Islamabad.

But right now, that is still an open question of whether or not this plan is going to work and what the White House plans to do, therefore, Anderson, if it doesn't, because obviously this has been the crucial point of Iran's leverage over the United States in this war, and the pain point that they've been able to inflict not just on Americans here but also on U.S. allies around the world. And so that's an open question of what that's going to look like should Iran continue using that leverage, and if they do not capitulate, if they do not come back to the negotiating table and what that looks like. Because there are questions about the tankers that do try to go through there and what the United States is going to do if it's a Chinese one or an Indian one. Are they going to try to seize it? What is that going to do subsequently?

And so there's a lot of open questions here. Right now, the president is still making clear he's hoping that a deal can happen. He said just today that they were hearing from Iranian negotiators and that he believes ultimately there will be an agreement here, but it's not clear exactly why Anderson, he feels that way given obviously those talks this weekend did not go as the White House had hoped.

COOPER: And, Nic, what are your sources telling you about where talks between the U.S. and Iran go from here?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, the Pakistanis, even yesterday, as the dust was settling, were being optimistic and positive that both sides wanted not to go back to war. So, I think there's hope here that the two sides can come together, whether or not it happens to be in Pakistan is unclear.

But you have I think in the 21 hours of talks, both sides better understood where their limits were and what was achieved. So, you kind built a sort of a bigger plank of understanding. But I think from an Iranian perspective, you had the narrative from, you know, their two principle interlocutors that the talks, both the speaker of parliament saying, look, we've put forward a lot of proposals and a lot of alternative ideas, and really it's down to the Americans to trust us, and you have the narrative coming from Iran's foreign minister that actually the United States, every time we made an agreement, moved the goalposts, and that has some sort of resonance here in this capital. I think there's some sense that the Iranians on that issue may have a kernel of fact in that.

However, what we heard from the vice president was very clear that Iran wasn't making the substantive commitments on ruling out any potential nuclear weapons, ambitions, or aspirations at all in that direction in the future.

So, I think the hopes here remain. I think perhaps it's a little early yet for realistically to bring the sizer around the table. And I think the Iranians are hoping that President Trump's blockade on the blockade, in a way, backfires.

[18:05:00]

Part of their narrative is, yes, we're ready, yes, we're ready to escalate. Yes, we can make the war bigger, you know, on the Red Sea, et cetera, but they're also sort of saying, well, the United States is cutting off its nose despite itself. They're playing on this internationally perceived notion that how does a blockade on a blockade actually improve the situation?

So, they're kind of, you know, often as we see Iran do, intellectualize and try to play the United States narrative against itself on the international stage. Anderson?

COOPER: And, Kaitlan, what is the president saying about how all this could affect gas prices?

COLLINS: I mean, you know, we had been hearing him say that as soon as the shooting stopped that those gas prices would start coming down. He seems to have changed his tune on that though, Anderson, a bit. And maybe that's just reality and what he's been hearing from his own aides in terms of how long it could take things to normalize, even if the war ended tomorrow, for example, was completely done and the strait was completely reopened, which is what experts have been saying, that it is going to take some time to get back to where it was.

And you heard the president yesterday saying that the gas prices could remain high for a bit longer. They might be higher than they were before the war started several months from now. And that is precisely what Republicans here in Washington who are on the ballot this November for the midterm elections are worried about, that that is still going to be a pain point that Americans are feeling when they're going and voting.

COOPER: All right. Kaitlan Collins at the White House, thanks very much. Nic Roberson in Pakistan, I appreciate it.

Don't miss Kaitlan on The Source with Kaitlan Collins. Her guests tonight include Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna and former Republican Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene. That's at 9:00 P.M. Eastern on CNN.

Joining us now, retired U.S. Army General and former head of U.S. Central Command David Petraeus.

General, this blockade on Iranian ports not only puts more pressure on the global economy, but on the U.S. Navy itself, Iran still has the ability to fight back with missiles and surface drones and mines, which are maybe planted throughout the straits. How long do you think the U.S. Navy can carry out the difficult tasks it's faced with, especially this blockade of the ports?

GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS (RET.), FORMER CENTCOM COMMANDER: I think it can carry it on as long as it's necessary. I think the limiting factor will not be the Navy's endurance. They have that. Reportedly, another aircraft carrier task force is headed out there perhaps to relieve one that is on station.

You do need to keep two aircraft carrier task forces out there. You do need about 10 or to 12 destroyers and frigates and so forth, and a variety of other support assets including surveillance, drones and so on, but that's all sustainable. Central Command has had far greater numbers and are out there right now. In fact, when I commanded CENTCOM, we had over 250,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen at the time. So, that is doable.

The bigger question is, can we, at a certain point in time, begin to not only clear the strait of the mines Iran is reportedly thrown into it, can we then begin to convoy ships through it? Because the real pressure, of course, is the price of Brent Crude. That did go up again today, needless to say. And that puts a price on the gallon of gas at the gas pump and many other second and third effects that has. So, I think that's the bigger issue. And will we be able to establish the confidence that is necessary for the ship's owners and the owners of the cargo to send those ships through, even though Iran may still want to try to blockade that?

COOPER: Does blocking Iranian ports open up the Strait of Hormuz?

PETRAEUS: No. Opening up the Strait of Hormuz will be required by clearing any mines that are reportedly there and then probably by also escorting the ships through with an awful lot of defensive apparatus around that. Keep in mind that the Iranians are not actually allowing ships to go through the normal passageway, the normal routes. They're pushing them further north up into Iranian waters and then charging them a toll for that. And they've said the reason is that there's a danger zone around where the normal corridors go a mile on either side of each other.

And now if we could clear, that's an if, but if we can clear it and then if we have the confidence to take on whatever Iran might want to throw our way, and it could be maritime drones, aerial drones, it could be anti-ship missiles, it could be fast boats with explosives, there's a number of potential threats out there, and the problem is, of course, that we have to be perfect and they only have to get through every day or two or three, if they indeed choose to do that. But, of course, that will then resume hostilities and they don't know what the U.S. will do in response to that. We have quite a good bit of arsenal out there to go after the assets that are being used for this.

COOPER: Assuming -- I mean, if the Strait of Hormuz is opened, that still doesn't deal at all with obviously Iran's nuclear capabilities or their desire to continue their nuclear program.

[18:10:04]

In the end, I assume there have to be some negotiations. PETRAEUS: There would, of course, but there are two really big issues here, I think. One is that the Strait of Hormuz has to be open as an international waterway without Iran able to tax or toll the ships that go through there or determine which ships are allowed through. And then, number two, the issue of the nuclear program and whether or not we are willing to compromise in some fashion.

There are reports that apparently that the negotiators may have said, well, you can't enrich uranium for ten years or something. Now, I don't know that those are confirmed. That would indicate though that there's a bit of openness on the U.S. side to discussing that particular issue.

COOPER: General David Petraeus, thanks very much. I appreciate it.

Coming up next, we are headed to Capitol Hill, where the breaking news is, Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell resigning from Congress amid serious allegations of sexual misconduct. CNN's Manu Raju is getting reaction from lawmakers as he joins us live next.

We'll be right back.

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[18:15:00]

COOPER: We are back with breaking news. Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell this afternoon has announced he will resign from Congress, this as he faces explosive allegations of sexual misconduct scandal, also for Swalwell to suspend his campaign for California governor, in which he was a leading candidate.

I want to bring in CNN's Manu Raju, who's up on Capitol Hill getting reactions to the news. Manu, what are you hearing from folks up there, from Democrats in particular?

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Democrats are breathing a sigh of relief because almost certainly they would've faced a vote to expel Eric Swalwell by the middle of this week, and it would've put a lot of Democrats in a difficult position because of the fact that this investigation into Eric Swalwell has just started. A lot of members are concerned about expelling a member of Congress before that ethics probe has fully played out yet.

But given the seriousness of the allegations facing Eric Swalwell, many of them said that they believed that it was time for him to go, and they could avoid that vote to expel him all together. And now that he has resigned from Congress, many Democrats are saying that he made the right decision. Senator Alex Padilla, a senator from California, told me that he did made the right decision. He said that Swalwell should no longer be a member of Congress.

And I just caught up with Senator Elizabeth Warren as well. And she indicated her belief that it was time for Swalwell to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): People who are in positions of power and authority over others need to be held accountable when they take advantage of that position. And, frankly, I'm glad that he'll be gone.

RAJU: You are?

WARREN: Yes.

RAJU: Were you surprised when you saw this? You ran against him in 2020?

WARREN: What surprises me is how these guys keep doing this over and over. He's not the first, he probably won't be the last, that they get into positions of authority and they think they can have whatever they want. And, ultimately, it's good to see a little accountability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And there are still other members of the House facing pressure from their own members and facing the possibility of being expelled from their seats, namely, Congressman Tony Gonzales, a Republican of Texas, someone who has admitted to having an extramarital affair with a staffer, a staffer who later died by suicide. And it is, of course, a blatant violation of House rules to carry on and any sort of romantic relationship with a subordinate.

And there's pressure for -- there's an expectation that there could be a vote as soon as this week in the House to expel Congressman Gonzales, but the decision by Eric Swalwell means that that issue is now put aside. There won't be a vote on Eric Swalwell. Now, he's no longer going to be a member of the House. But watch for other members, like Congressman Tony Gonzales, to face that pressure from his own colleagues as soon as the middle of this week. Anderson?

COOPER: Yes, we're watching that.

Manu Raju, thanks very much on Capitol Hill.

Up next, what we are learning about the Trump administration's efforts to deport foreign nationals living in the U.S. who have ties to the former Iranian regime.

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[18:20:00]

COOPER: In our Faith Lead, Pope Leo told CNN today he has no fear of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the gospels. His response comes after President Trump told reporters he's, quote, not a fan of the pope. Neither one is apologizing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: No, I don't because Pope Leo said things that are wrong, so I can't. I think he's very weak on crime and other things. So, I'm not -- I mean, he went public. I'm just responding to Pope Leo.

POPE LEO XIV: To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think, is not understanding what the message of the gospel is. And I'm sorry to hear that, but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: We're joined out by Cardinal Thomas McElroy, the Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C. I appreciate you being with us.

I'm wondering what you make of the president's attacks on the pope and of Pope Leo's response.

CARDINAL ROBERT MCELROY, ARCHBISHOP OF WASHINGTON: Well, I find the president's attack very distressing in that, particularly because we're in an age of polarization, where there's been a general degradation in our public dialogue and discourse. And on an issue this important, that of the war, it's important that the substance of the issues involved be discussed with respect and politeness and care.

And the hope was proclaiming the gospel and Catholic teaching, which concludes that this war is immoral, morally illegitimate, and the public discourse should try to deal with. How do we understand those questions? How do we ascertain what is the moral course forward in the right pathway for our country?

COOPER: It's --

MCELROY: Degrading comments is particularly a distress.

COOPER: It's interesting because the president seems to be going after Pope Leo almost as though he is a politician and sort of attacking him as he does a political figure.

[18:25:01]

MCELROY: Yes. I think the president fundamentally misunderstands the pope's role, which is not to be a politic, precisely not to be a politician, but simply to speak to the moral dimensions of public policy issues, particularly the war at this time. What is the moral reality behind what we are doing and how can we focus on that and really understand how we should move forward at this moment?

COOPER: The president posted on social media an A.I.-manipulated image showing him curing a sick patient wearing robes that certainly look like robes Jesus may have worn. He has light emanating from both of his hands. I want to just play the president's explanation of that today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross as a Red Cross worker there, which we support. And only the fake news could come up with that one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: I mean, I've been to doctors and I've never had one dressed in Jesus' robes with celestial light pouring down on his countenance, and a woman to his right praying as she stares into the orb glowing from his left hand. I'm wondering what your reaction to that is.

MCELROY: I haven't talked to a single person who interprets that the same way the president does. And it is particularly disturbing because, for us, the person of Jesus Christ is sacred. And for the president, to take on this aura and identity in this piece, is really crossing a line, which, for most Christians, this is going to be very (INAUDIBLE).

COOPER: You've also had your own differences with the Trump administration about the immigration crackdowns, certainly the tactics by immigration and customs enforcement officers. I'm wondering what kind of a reaction you've been getting to that?

MCELROY: Well, the church's position on immigration, undocumented immigration, is that the nation has the right to control its borders and has the right to deport those who have been convicted of serious criminal offenses. But what we're witnessing now is not that. What we're witnessing is the mass indiscriminate deportation of men and women and children and families who have often been here for a long time and bringing all the values that need to contribute to our culture and society at the present moment.

And for that reason, there's tremendous suffering going on in the communities of which I am archbishop here in Washington. Our parishes are suffering deeply, one parish where 30 people have been deported.

And so, the church has spoken up on this question again, saying security at the border is an important, legitimate goal of the government and the deportation of those convicted serious crimes is legitimate and objective for government. But this indiscriminate siege and assault upon the undocumented immigrants of our country really is cruel and inhumane and against the best interest of our country long- term and short-term.

COOPER: Just finally, what do you say to people who come up to you who despair about where we are as a society, where we are as a country? I'm not talking about, you know, somebody on one side of the political aisle. I'm just talking about the actual country that we live in and the people that we as human beings where we are. To people who feel despair, what do you say?

MCELROY: Well, I'd say we have been through periods, which are as difficult in our nation's history. The Civil War was certainly such a period, and the late 1960s were a very turbulent time in our country, in which there were radical dislocations within the society.

And so I would say we will come out of this. I'm confident. But it's going to be a very difficult pathway there, I think. And what we have to do is focus on that which our country is founded for. That is freedom and justice, compassion and welcoming people into our country and establishing equality for all. Those are our aspirations as a country. If we keep focused on those, then we will be doing what our obligation is. And I believe that we will come out of this and have a new resurgence in our understanding of who we are called to be as Americans.

[18:30:04]

COOPER: And, Cardinal Robert McElroy, thank you for your time and for your decency.

MCELROY: Sure. Thank you, Anderson. Thanks very much.

COOPER: A viral video captured immigration agents detaining a U.S. citizen in Minnesota earlier this year. And now local officials are investigating the case as a possible kidnapping. What we're learning about that case tonight.

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COOPER: In our World Lead, the State Department announced this weekend it is moving to deport the family of a prominent Iranian politician. Massoumeh Ebtekar served as the spokeswoman for the group of Iranians who stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979, took 66 American hostages, 52 of whom were held for 444 days. In a statement released Saturday, the Trump administration announced Ebtekar's son and his family had their green cards terminated, and were in the custody of ICE.

Joining me now is Iranian Activist and Journalist Masih Alinejad.

[18:35:02]

Thanks so much for being here.

You've been obviously a critic of this regime, but also of Ebtekar and her family living here. I think a lot of people would be surprised to know that a lot of these people's families live here.

MASIH ALINEJAD, IRANIAN JOURNALIST AND ACTIVIST: Yes. I mean, to be honest, I cannot even hide my smile.

COOPER: I heard you --

ALINEJAD: It's just -- I'm telling you why.

COOPER: -- exclaim when I said it.

ALINEJAD: I'm telling you why, because Massoumeh Ebtekar is the one who actually spokesperson of a group of a student who took American diplomats hostage.

COOPER: She was the spokesperson.

ALINEJAD: She was the one actually ruined our lives.

And I have a personal story about her as well. When I launched my campaign against compulsory hijab, where women were sending me videos of themselves walking unveiled, basic thing, she was the one she attacked me and my women in Iran saying that hijab is part of our culture. It's only Masih wants to impose western values on Iranian women, but Iranian women refused to listen to her.

And guess what? That was the time that her own daughter-in-law was here in America enjoying freedom of dress code, showing their hair, walking freely in America. And I'm like, how come you are the woman who said, death to America? From the age of seven, you forced us to chant death to America.

COOPER: Why did it take so long for people to realize this?

ALINEJAD: I think you know better than me because President Biden and President Obama, let's be very clear and loud, in their policy, it was all about appeasement. I reach out to them myself. I mean, the reason that I am here, because I wanted to interview President Obama during 2009 uprising in Iran. I was invited for that. He refused to do it because he said, if I do this, I mean his administration, the U.S. will send a signal to the people in Iran, to the government in Iran that the U.S. government the support the green movement. And I still don't get what's wrong with democracy supporting pro-democracy movement in Iraq.

So, President Obama was all about getting the deal, nuclear deal, and I heard that and I'm very sure that part of the deal was giving green card and visa to the relative of these hostages that --

COOPER: You think that was part of the deal?

ALINEJAD: Of course, it was part of the deal, because in that time, more than a hundred relative of the ayatollah living here.

Let me tell you, Mohsen Mirdamadi, another hostage taker, he was a member of parliament. He was the one actually took American diplomats hostage and now his son lives here. He lives here in America, enjoying, you know, having access to university researchers, having access to technology. This is a national -- this is a threat against American national security.

Another, daughter of Habib -- I forgot his surname. So, Hamide (ph) is living here now, living here, and another host.

COOPER: Do people in Iran feel there's hypocrisy from their leaders? I mean, they're aware of this?

ALINEJAD: It is a hypocrisy. It is a total hypocrisy that those who are spreading death to America from the age of seven forced us to burn the flag of America, walking -- sending their children to enjoy freedom. That's like a stabbing Iranians from their back. That's like actually an insult to Americans as well.

COOPER: Are there more people living outside Iran do you think that need accountability?

ALINEJAD: Of course. Even one day, I can count more than a hundred because it just breaks my heart. I got the killers in front of my house. From this government, women who now live in --

COOPER: Like for people who know, you have lived in safe houses.

ALINEJAD: For more than 21 times because the Iranian regime sent killers here. But forget about me. Right now, there are students here in America, engineers here, they are -- you know, they escaped from the parents of these people to have freedom here. And for them, life is like a hell because I want to actually ask Secretary Rubio, protect the victims of the Islamic Republic, because I don't want these students, the victims, to suffer.

But the people that, those the same hostage takers who actually go back to Iran multiple times, so the relative of the ayatollah, they ask for asylum, but they go back to Iran. When you support terrorists, then you don't get to ask for protection here in America. That's very clear.

So, I'm very thankful to Secretary Rubio and I'm very thankful to the U.S. administration to take decisive and concrete decision about the children and relative of the hostage takers.

COOPER: Masih Alinejad, I appreciate it. Thank you.

ALINEJAD: Thank you so much.

COOPER: My pleasure.

ALINEJAD: This is haram in my country. Like women get lashes not, get beaten up. Thank you so much for having me.

COOPER: All right. You take care. Be careful.

[18:40:00]

We've got some breaking news in our Politics Lead. Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas has just confirmed he plans to retire from Congress.

I want to go straight back to CNN's Manu Raju on Capitol Hill. Manu?

RAJU: Yes. This has been a scandal that has engulfed this congressman for several weeks in the aftermath of revelations that he had an extramarital affair with his aide. That aide later died by suicide.

Initially, Tony Gonzales had denied having any sort of extramarital affair, but as the allegations were mounting, he admitted to that. Then he decided not to run for reelection. And he indicated repeatedly that he would not resign his seat from the House.

But moments after the decision by Eric Swalwell caught up in a separate sexual misconduct scandal, Gonzales himself making the decision to resign following Eric Swalwell's decision to resign. Gonzales himself saying he will step down from Congress, saying on X, saying this, there's a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas.

Now, the decision by both Gonzales and Swalwell has a couple of key ramifications, one of which is that they both can avoid a House Ethics probe. Both men were facing an investigation. But now that members are no longer serving in the House, that committee, the Ethics Committee, no longer has jurisdiction over those members and expect that if those investigations essentially to go away.

Also, both men were facing expulsion votes in the United States House. That potentially could have succeeded. It would've required two thirds majority in the United States House to go ahead, and those -- both of those members clearly looking to avoid that possibility here.

But Gonzales had decided to stay on and as a result of perhaps the Republican leadership not calling on him to step aside, because, Anderson, as you know, this is the narrowest of majorities in the United States House. Had Eric Swalwell still been a member of Congress and Gonzales had resigned, Johnson would have zero margin for error. He could not afford a single defection in the United States House.

But now that Eric Swalwell has resigned and Gonzales plans to do the same, that means that Johnson can still afford to lose one Republican vote on a party line vote, which shows you how every seat is so critical in the narrowly divided Republican House. Anderson?

COOPER: Manu Raju, thanks very much. We'll have more on this throughout the night. That's now two members of Congress leaving their jobs amid scandal within the last two hours. Let's see what happens next hour. Much more on the breaking news from Capitol Hill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:46:20]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: We're back with breaking news. Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales announcing he will retire from Congress tomorrow amid allegations of having an improper relationship with a staffer. That coming about an hour after Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell said he would resign over allegations of sexual assault.

Joining us is my panel. Shermichael Singleton is with me. And here in New York is Chris Galant.

Christopher, were you surprised by this?

CHRIS GALLANT (D), NEW YORK CONGRESIONAL CANDIDATE: Honestly, with great power comes great responsibility, right? And so, if you are in a position of power and you utilize that power in a -- in a way that sexual assault becomes a thing, it's just not appropriate. And, you know, serious investigation needs to take place in something like this. It needs to be thoroughly investigated. And I think that's what's going to happen.

COOPER: Shermichael, you know, Tony Gonzales, this has been going on for, for a while. It seems like Swalwell announcing is what made it -- I don't know if it's made it possible for him sort of from a political standpoint, because it wouldn't necessarily change the balance of power. He seemed to invoke God in his statement, but why now?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah. The irony of invoking God after the woman that he was alleged to have had an inappropriate relationship with killed herself, a lady who was married, family, friends who cared deeply about her. I mean, this is pretty despicable.

What's unfortunate about all of this to me, though, Anderson, let's just put the politics to the side. There's been over $17 million of roughly $17 million in payouts from members of Congress on both sides to keep quiet sexual assault. I believe Nancy Mace out of South Carolina had a bill, I think, a month ago that she attempted to get passed in Congress to reveal who are these members who have paid out after being alleged to have had inappropriate relations with their staff members.

And Congress voted against disclosing who those members are and were if some of them are now out of Congress, just imagine that taxpayer dollars paying to cover up this type of atrocious behavior by the representatives that we elect to serve our interest. It just doesn't make any sense to me. It falls below despicable.

And I'm saying this as a conservative. I don't look at this as a right or left thing. I have a one-year-old daughter now, and to me, when I think about powerful men doing things against women who are subordinate to them, who cant really defend themselves, who may be afraid to speak up because they don't want to lose their jobs, and then our elected officials on both sides had an opportunity to say, you know what? We're not going to stand for this anymore. We're going to disclose the names. We're no longer going to pay out to protect powerful people.

And they decided to bury it. Just imagine that, Anderson, in what universe would a moral society say that that is acceptable, that that is okay?

COOPER: It's bizarre to me, Chris -- I mean, the behavior, obviously, if the allegations are true against Representative Swalwell -- you know, there are legal ramifications, for the, for congressman, for the Republican congressman, the arrogance that he thought if, if you know, the text messages that he was sending the pressure he was allegedly putting on the woman who ended up dying by suicide and perhaps others, or at least another, it's shocking that he thought that was acceptable.

I mean, in this day and age, you know, asking somebody you are working with repeatedly for naked photographs and pressuring them to have sexual relations with you, it's what planet is that person living on?

[18:50:02]

GALLANT: In any place, in any work environment -- I mean, I am an equal opportunity representative in the military and the army with my unit, and we discuss situations like this all the time and doing something like this to people that are subordinate to you, or just even that work with you in a work environment just makes it so uncomfortable. And it's totally not accepted. I -- it's definitely not accepted in the military. We fight it through and through.

It's not accepted in any workplace at all. And especially a member of Congress who has such power and ruling over things that occur in this country to have this happen in congress is just completely unacceptable.

COOPER: Shermichael, do you think GOP leaders should have asked Gonzales to take the step earlier?

SINGLETON: Oh, absolutely.

COOPER: I mean, obviously, there would have been no balance of power implications, I assume. But he's been hanging on.

SINGLETON: Sure. But who -- Anderson, who cares respectfully about balance of power? I'm not saying this to you, but I'm just saying, broadly speaking, who cares when you have a member amongst your ranks who have clearly violated what I presume should be an ethical and moral principle of conservatives, but hell, any decent person who cares if you lose a vote? You shouldn't want people like that amongst your ranks.

And to me, as a Christian, do I put my political views above my moral and spiritual ones? Of course not. And my expectation is that our leaders on both sides should not do the same. And what I'm worried about, Anderson, is a month from now, two months from now, we will have moved on. We'll be on to the next story.

But what about the young staff, women who have to carry this shame, this predatory behavior with them for the rest of their lives that they will never get over. They'll never get their justice. They'll never get their due day in court because we buried it. We've moved on.

And that's something that Congress continues to perpetuate, perpetuate. And to me, I think we have to keep focused on this to make sure that it doesn't continue because these guys going away doesn't stop this. It merely says, well, we'll just -- we'll pay attention to them.

We won't make sure. We'll make sure this never happens again. But you're still going to keep paying out. You won't disclose all of the other members who've done similar things.

Why not -- why not let us know who all of them were and currently are? Maybe some of them may still even be there and we have no clue, because we have two individuals that both parties are somewhat sacrificing. That to me, again is unacceptable.

COOPER: Chris, you're running for Congress as a -- as a Democrat. I mean, when you look at Congress, you sure you want to be there? I mean, there's -- there's a lot of -- I mean, how old are you?

GALLANT: I'm 36.

COOPER: And you're a pilot. You know, you're doing a lot of stuff. Is this -- what is it that makes you want to? GALLANT: I just -- I want to make a change. And this is one of those changes that we definitely need to make. We need to hold people accountable. We need to make sure that congress is transparent. We need to make sure that we have open investigations of things like this. If this is going on, this is something that I will fight for every single day.

COOPER: I appreciate both of you being with us. Chris Gallant, thanks very much for Michael Singleton as well.

Coming up, they inspired the world with their journey around the moon. I'm still excited having watched Fridays, splashdown here, the going to hear the Artemis II astronauts reflect on their remarkable historic journey, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:57:33]

COOPER: In or out of this world lead, the history making astronauts of Artemis II are reflecting on their journey.

Here's CNN's Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one, booster ignition and liftoff.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From their spectacular launch to their historic lunar loop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To all of you down there on earth and around earth, we love you from the moon.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Right through their triumphant return, the Artemis crew had plenty to say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Integrity splashdown. Sending post landing command now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Splashdown confirmed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your Artemis II crew.

FOREMAN (voice-over): But their welcome home at times left them speechless.

REID WISEMAN, ARTEMIS II COMMANDER: I have absolutely no idea what to say. This is 24 hours ago. The earth was that big out the window and we were doing mach 39. And here we are back at Ellington at home.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Commander Reid wiseman space family joined him in an emotional moment in orbit, naming a crater on the lunar surface after his late wife.

JEREMY HANSEN, ASTRONAUT: It's a bright spot on the moon, and we would like to call it Caroll.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Reunited with his daughters on Earth, Wiseman posted a simple message on X, "Mission complete."

Another post on social media found pilot Victor Glover met with a makeshift parade by his neighbors, and he made a point of the gathering.

VICTOR GLOVER, ARTEMIS PILOT: Some of us have never met before. And you know whose fault that is? Ours. So let's choose to do this. Let's be this more. Let's be neighbors.

I don't know if you heard me say it, but God told us to love him with all that we are and love our neighbors as ourselves.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right

FOREMAN (voice-over): Christina Koch's dog, of course, had no idea where she went but she warmly greeted the mission specialist back from cold space, just as Cook says so many others have to.

CHRISTINA KOCH, ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST: Planet Earth, you are a crew. Thank you.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And Canadian mission specialist Jeremy Hansen's wife suggested the whole world indeed seemed to be watching.

DR. CATHERINE HANSEN, JEREMY HANSEN'S WIFE: I can't keep up with the messages anymore, so I am just so grateful for the outpouring of support.

FOREMAN (voice-over): While her astronaut husband felt it every mile along the way.

J. HANSEN: When you look up here, you're not looking at us. We are a mirror reflecting you. And if you like what you see, then just look a little deeper. This is you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Time and again, the message from all of them was very simple. They saw the moon in a way that no other humans ever have. What it changed was how they see the Earth that we all share -- Anderson.

COOPER: Remarkable. Tom Foreman, thanks so much. I'll see you tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern for "AC360".

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.