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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Happening Now, First Polls Closing In Indiana Primaries; Pennsylvania Sues A.I. Company Alleging Chatbot Posed As Licensed Doctor; Rubio Says, U.S. Trying To Understand What Iran Will Negotiate On; New Push To Free New York Woman Held Since 2022; V.A. Investigated Employees Who Attended Alex Pretti Vigils. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired May 05, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, the final moments of voting in two key primaries testing the influence of President Trump. Will he exact revenge in Indiana? And is his coalition cracking at all in Ohio?

[18:00:00]

We're standing by for the first polls to close.

Plus, Pennsylvania's Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro is going to be here. He's leading a lawsuit on artificial intelligence, accusing a company of letting its A.I. chatbots pose as doctors and give medical advice.

Also, a CNN exclusive, we're learning of internal investigations into government employees who showed up to a vigil for Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis nurse shot and killed by an ICE agent back in January. One woman investigated for going to this memorial is now talking to CNN.

The Lead -- that election music, please, thanks, CNN election jam.

This hour, the very first primary polls are now closing in a series of races certain to test President Trump's grip on the Republican Party, as we know it. The president is backing challengers to seven of the eight Indiana Republican state senators, state senators, I'm talking, who voted to reject the Congressional map that Trump had lobbied for in December. That Congressional map that was rejected would've likely handed the two currently Democratic districts over to the Republicans. Indiana's Eastern Time Zone polls close now. The rest of the state closes in the next hour.

It is also primary day in Ohio, and a new map there means even more competition, especially in the Toledo area's District 9, held by Democrat Marcy Kaptur, though Trump carried it into 2024 by nearly seven points. A packed field of Republicans are looking for their chance to take Kaptur down in November. Polls close in Ohio in about 90 minutes.

Let's bring in my panel, and start with our bureau chief. David, these are the seven, let's put them up there, seven races to watch tonight, seven Indiana -- I mean, the fact that we're talking about state -- DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: I was going to say exactly --

TAPPER: -- state legislators is unbelievable, but these are seven Indiana State Senate Republicans. They defied President Trump back in December, voting to reject a Congressional map that would've eliminated two Democratic Congressional districts. Tell us what you think is at stake.

CHALIAN: Well, I think as you noted, I think what's at stake here is Donald Trump's juice inside a Republican primary electorate in Indiana. And he may still have that juice despite his, you know, unpopularity that we see going on with his standing with voters nationally. His allies put a lot of money into this in revenge tour of going after these incumbents who rebuffed his request to redraw the districts mid-decade, and yet they may face the consequences. Donald Trump promised that he was going to go after them.

Now, I will say, if they end up these incumbents winning and defying the president, I think there's going to be a lot of head-scratching at the White House about, wait a second here, how much decay is there inside the Republican Party for Donald Trump support? I don't know that we've seen a real example of that yet, so we'll have to see the results tonight.

TAPPER: Marc, how much do you think -- how much power, how much sway do you think a Trump endorsement holds in a primary for a state senator in a May midterm state level race like this?

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF FOR V.P. MIKE PENCE: Jake, I think he still has a lot. He's still in the upper 80s as far as approval amongst primary voters Republican primary voters in Indiana. The resources that they can bring from a national race against a state senator, what he could offer in exchange, I think, is very lopsided. I think it'll probably be about 5-2 split, which the press will, I think, interpret different ways, but I think that probably the administration will view that as a win.

TAPPER: 5-2 split meaning?

SHORT: Meaning that five of the candidates that Trump has endorsed will end up prevailing.

TAPPER: Oh, is that right? He said that's successful?

SHORT: I think there'll be a couple that withstand the onslaught.

But, you know, I've talked to some friends there in Indiana today, and the sense is that there's strong Democrat turnout in primaries. There's no doubt that Adrienne's side is energized right now. And I think for, you know, the Republicans, there's a sense of there's been a lot of red on red carnage. And in many cases, these fights have not really been on the re- redistricting issue. That was not motivating voters. They've gone after him on other issues.

And, you know, one of those state senators is a Republican who voted against banning men in women's sports. And so there's going to be other issues at play, but that'll be lost in the coverage. It'll just be which candidates did Trump win and not.

And, you know, ultimately, there'll be a lot of dollars spent in Indiana. It is a state that's 7-2. I don't think it could have ever gotten to 9-0, maybe 8-1. So, maybe you would've picked up one additional seat for this, and you're going to be left with a lot of carnage and Republicans, you know, having a bitter battle.

TAPPER: how would you interpret it if Marc's prediction is correct that Trump is able to unseat five of the seven?

ADRIENNE ELROD, FORMER SENIOR SPOKESWOMAN, HARRIS-WALZ CAMPAIGN: Yes. Look, if it's a five-two split for the candidates that Trump has endorsed, that's a big win for Trump. And I think what it also means, Jake, is the Republican Party still remains the party of Donald Trump. He controls it, especially when it becomes -- when it's in the primary. And it means that if you are a conservative Republican and you are trying to uphold what you think is the right thing to do, even if Donald Trump, the president of United States, who is a member of your party, doesn't want you to do that, but you think it's the right thing to do, in this case it was redistricting, that it doesn't matter.

[18:05:14]

You're going to get defeated. It's just simply where it is. And MAGA still runs the Republican primary, especially in the primaries.

TAPPER: If it does happen, David, then that would explain why so many lawmakers in Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee are now scrambling to change their Congressional district maps to please President Trump, especially following the Supreme Court decision to weaken the Voting Rights Act. Do you think that if Marc's prediction is correct and Trump is able to defeat five of the seven, that his hold on the party is going to still be really tight?

CHALIAN: Not only his hold on the party, but, to me, that will be, for those legislators, a green light to continue to try and grab as much power as they can, which is what redistricting is all about. By the way, on the Democratic side post-Supreme Court, because these red states are doing this, you see efforts in New York going for Democrats to try to redraw.

So, this is what redistricting is all about. It is a pure political power grab. Donald Trump started a year ago in Texas. Democrats said, you got to fight fire with fire, and came back to respond to it. And post-Supreme Court now, I think indeed if Donald Trump is successful tonight, these Republican legislators in the states that you mentioned will see that as like a carte blanche, go for it.

TAPPER: So, let's game out the other possibility. What if Trump is not victorious, right? And like let's say it's 2-5. Do you think that suggests that Trump will have more people bucking him?

SHORT: Probably, Jake, but I think it's going to be a longer process. Like I think the Thomas Massey race will be the next big indicator --

TAPPER: In Kentucky, House Republican in Kentucky.

SHORT: It's coming up in a couple weeks, and so that would be another big one. And, you know, obviously, in Texas he's ended up withholding his endorsement there. So, it'll play out over several months. But certainly that could --

CHALIAN: Louisiana with Letlow and Cassidy, and we'll see that too in May.

SHORT: And Fleming.

TAPPER: Yes. And, Adrienne, let's turn to Ohio, because Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, she's held onto her seat in the 9th District near Toledo for decades now.

ELROD: She has.

TAPPER: She has been like the one Democrat standing while the Trump winds have blown.

ELROD: Exactly right.

TAPPER: Now, the new map adds more Republicans to her Congressional district.

ELROD: Yes.

TAPPER: But it's still competitive-ish. Do you think she can hang on?

ELROD: Well, we will see, Jake. I mean, to your point about Ohio, her having a hold on that seat, I worked for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the 2006 cycle, and she was a relatively safe Democrat then, but we have seen, of course, the evolution take place in that state over the last 20 years. And, of course, now you see the redistricting -- mid-cycle redistricting situation coming in that makes it even more challenging.

But, look, I look at it almost as somebody like Sherrod Brown. Obviously Sherrod Brown lost in 2024. He's on the ballot for the Senate tonight as well. He only lost by three points. Kamala Harris lost Ohio by 11 points in 2024, which is why I think somebody like Sherrod Brown has a real chance this time around to come back into power to win that seat back. And I think somebody like Marcy Kaptur could effectively ride on his coattails.

TAPPER: David, let's talk about the Republicans who are in a race to take on Marcy Kaptur in November. Notable standouts among the candidates, former State Representative Derek Merrin, who lost to Kaptur by less than a percentage point in 2024, former ICE Deputy Director under Kristi Noem, the 29-year-old Madison Sheahan, who quit her job at ICE a week after the killing of Renee Good in order to run for this seat. Tell us what some of the issues are shaping this race.

CHALIAN: I mean, I think when you talk to folks in Ohio, Republicans, Merrin is seen as the frontrunner here as a possible rematch. And as you noted, this went from a Trump plus 7 district to a Trump plus 11 district in the redistricting. But Marcy Kaptur is one of those 13 Democrats that sit in a Republican district.

And so what I would just note is that that -- when it was a Trump plus seven district, that's the upper end of Democrats who sit in Trump districts. So, she is a fighter, no doubt. If indeed it is a rematch from last year, you know, you don't have Donald Trump on the top of the ballot this year. You have a totally different political environment than you had in 2024. It is Ohio. It has become more Republican, and it's clearly a target number one for the NRCC here to try and put some points on the board in what may be a tough year. But I don't think it's a guaranteed flipped seat by any stretch of the imagination.

TAPPER: Yes, because of who turns out, and if Republicans are demoralized, if gas is $5 a gallon, the Iran war is still going, et cetera, who knows what will happen.

Marc, Adrienne David, thank you so much.

Keep it here for CNN key race alerts as we stand by for the very first of the votes tonight from Indiana and Ohio.

We're also going to go out to California ahead of tonight's CNN debate. Hear what our political insiders will be looking out for as the governor's race intensifies there.

[18:10:02]

Plus, the new evacuation on that cruise ship after the outbreak of Hantavirus.

But, first, we're going to talk to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to discuss that lawsuit he's bringing against an A.I. company. All of that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: And we're back with the latest in our series, A.I., Friend or Foe, a look at the benefits and the risks of this developing technology.

Officials in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania say they are suing against one of those risks. They're accusing Character.ai of unlawfully allowing an A.I. chatbot to pose as a licensed medical doctor and provide medical advice.

In a statement to CNN, Character.ai says, quote, we do not comment on pending litigation.

[18:15:00]

Our highest priority is the safety and well-being of our users, adding, quote, the user-created characters on our site are fictional and intended for entertainment and role-playing. We have taken robust steps to make that clear, including prominent disclaimers in every chat to remind users that a character is not a real person and that everything a character says should be treated as fiction, unquote.

TAPPER: Let's bring in the governor of Pennsylvania, Democrat Josh Shapiro. So, Governor, why are you bringing this suit, and are you aware of any Pennsylvanians who have been harmed when relying on this chatbot for medical advice?

GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): Well, look, this company has 20 million users. And these users trust the product that is coming to them. We challenged our Department of State that oversees this type of work, these types of investigations for us, to go and use this technology and see what kind of risks it posed to Pennsylvania children or any Pennsylvanian.

Within just a few minutes, our investigators, by the way, Jake, using their official email addresses, they were not masking who they were, connected with a chatbot, Emily. That chatbot was held out as an expert in psychology or psychiatry, and within just a few minutes, was dispensing medical advice and ultimately offering a medical I.D. number for here in Pennsylvania as really, you know, the authority to be able to issue that medical advice. Obviously, it was a bogus medical I.D. number, and the information that was dispensed was really dangerous.

You've got millions of children across this country, including many here in Pennsylvania, who are relying on these chatbots for information. About 30 percent of teens use these types of chatbots. The kind of information that they are dispensing is incredibly dangerous. And we took action here in Pennsylvania to stop that kind of danger from coming after our children.

TAPPER: So, it sounds as though you don't have evidence that it has harmed somebody, but you're doing this prophylactically to make sure it doesn't happen? Do I have that right?

SHAPIRO: No, that's not correct.

TAPPER: Okay.

SHAPIRO: I set up a task force that has both received complaints from parents and from others across Pennsylvania about these chatbots, and we engaged in this activity online to be able to prove that this particular Character.AI company, this particular company, I believe, is preying on our children and creating real danger for Pennsylvanians.

TAPPER: So, what do you say when this company says that they've taken robust steps to make it clear that these characters are fictional and intended for entertainment and role-playing that have prominent disclaimers? Do you reject that?

SHAPIRO: I do. And I'd sort of say two things, Jake. I mean, number one, when was the last time you read one of those long disclaimers that comes up on an app? I'm sure you haven't, I haven't, and I'm sure, you know, our kids haven't, number one. And, number two, remember, these chatbots go to great lengths. These technology companies push these chatbots out there to be as real as humanly possible, to make it feel like you're engaging with a human being, and in this case a human being that holds themselves out to be a doctor. That's what this chatbot did.

And so I think it's really dangerous, and I think, frankly, that's just a bogus response from this company. Just to prove the point even further, there's a station up in the Scranton area here in Pennsylvania, you may be familiar with it with your roots here in the Commonwealth, WNEP. A reporter at WNEP today read the complaint that we filed here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, went on the same company's app, really basically followed the same prompts that we had laid out in our complaint, and got the same result. I think the only slight difference was they held themselves out in this case, the chatbot did, as a medical professional from New York, not from Pennsylvania. So -- and that was done in just a few minutes by a smart reporter from WNEP.

This is unfortunately the reality of what this platform provides, and we need to shut this down. We need to stop this. They are preying on our kids, and what they're doing is incredibly dangerous. I say that not just as the governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Jake, I say that as a father of four, and I say that as someone who has heard loud and clear from parents and from students, from young people, about the need to rein in this A.I. technology that's preying on our kids.

TAPPER: So, Senator Richard Blumenthal, he's a Democrat of Connecticut, and we talked to him last week for this series that we're doing. He's leading a bipartisan bill that would ban A.I. chatbots for kids.

[18:20:04]

Now, A.I. companies could argue that their online services are protected under the First Amendment, that there's a lot of good that chatbots do for kids. Blumenthal does not agree. Do you think chatbots should be banned for people under 18 or 16? What's your take on that?

SHAPIRO: Yes. I mean, look, obviously it's in the purview of Congress. My view is that they either need to be banned or they need to be highly regulated. Hopefully, the result of this lawsuit will be some real constraints being put on this company and others like it.

I'd like to see the Congress of the United States step up more when it comes to technology and A.I. So far, they have failed miserably to be a check on big tech, and I think they've got to do more. Hopefully, there can be some bipartisan consensus in Congress. And maybe, just maybe this president will stand up to his tech buddies and do the right thing and protect our kids.

TAPPER: Before you go, I do want to ask you one political question. Politico's Jonathan Martin is reporting that there is a quiet but serious effort by Senate Republicans, like McCormick and Katie Britt, to get Democratic Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman to switch parties, to become an independent and caucus with Republicans. What's your take on that?

SHAPIRO: I mean, look, I don't know what Senator Fetterman's going to do. I know that Pennsylvanians voted for a Democrat to represent them in the United States Senate. And so I think he needs to honor that and continue with his service to Pennsylvania and hopefully get back to what he was elected to do and reflect the will of the people.

TAPPER: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, thanks so much for your time today. I appreciate it.

SHAPIRO: Thank you.

TAPPER: Secretary of State Marco Rubio was the voice for the Trump administration today in the White House briefing room. We're going to tell you what he had to say about a transition phase in the war with Iran, and how is that being received overseas. We're going to go live to the region next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

TAPPER: In our World Lead, as U.S. officials today insist that the Iran war ceasefire is holding, despite the fact that Iran fired on U.S. forces more than ten times, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, insisted that the U.S. is working to gain some level of understanding of what topics Iran is willing to negotiate on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: We don't have to have the actual agreement written out in one day, this is highly complex and highly technical, but we have to have a diplomatic solution that is very clear about the topics that they are willing to negotiate on and the extent and the concessions they're willing to make at the front end in order to make those talks worthwhile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: CNN's Nic Robertson is in Islamabad, Pakistan, negotiation land. Nic, what is the status of the negotiations amid this growing tension in the Strait of Hormuz?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. I mean, look, what Secretary Rubio was laying out there is a real conundrum that the mediators have at the moment that they're communicating with, and that's still active and ongoing, communicating with the key players in Iran about the response to the U.S. proposal that came in over the weekend.

However, are they actually dealing with the political figures, the elected figures, as Secretary Rubio was calling them, the ones we're used to seeing on the T.V., or are they dealing with the IRGC, the hardliners there, the clerics? And it really seems very much at the moment that the engagement is with the moderates, and it's the hardliners that the White House is facing the biggest challenge from. And it's not clear that the moderates are going to be even able to put forward some kind of even very brief and short memorandum of understanding that can have the details that they'll commit to get into in the future.

I think there's a real sense and hope that if the moderates could do that, and the moderates could get around the table with U.S. negotiators, then a path forward could be made. But it really seems out with the reach at the moment of the mediators. It's not clear where it's going to land at the moment.

TAPPER: So, as you know, Nic, earlier today Iran said that its armed forces have not carried out any missile or drone attacks against the UAE in recent days. But, of course, the UAE says that Iranian attacks resulted in three injuries yesterday. How is this going over in the region given that there is still supposedly a ceasefire?

ROBERTSON: Yes, it doesn't sit very well with the UAE at all. 19 missiles, I think 12 ballistic missiles, three or four crews and the rest were drones. It's not insignificant. They had the port facility, Fujairah, set an oil installation there on fire.

And also it's unlikely to sit well in Israel, where there's a feeling clearly that Iran remains an existential threat. And the United States can pick and choose obviously when it returns -- when it considers a ceasefire broken or not broken, when it's just their forces being targeted. But for the U.S. allies in the region, it's going to sit less well when they're hit and nothing happens.

So, at the moment, I don't think anyone really takes what Iran says at face value. Certainly, everyone can check satellite data or intelligence data to see where the missiles came from. But, in essence, the president has blinked because he really wants to try to go down that diplomatic track, if there's more of that type of escalation from the IRGC, which is just the sort of thing that they threaten. In fact, they threatened they threatened the UAE not to retaliate against Iran, telling them that that would drag them into the quagmire as well.

But it does leave a great feeling of uncertainty about what happens if and when Iran escalates in this situation. If the U.S. isn't going to step in, that will entice, you know, the UAE and allies perhaps to do more.

[18:30:07]

TAPPER: All right. Nic Robertson in Islamabad, Pakistan, thanks so much.

Here in Washington today, new charges against the suspect accused of trying to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.

And only about two and a half hours to go before tonight's CNN debate in the California governor's race, seven candidates will be on stage, including five Democrats, two Republicans. Why tonight matters so much. Who needs a breakthrough moment the most? We're going to Cali next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, just over two hours to go until these seven candidates on the screen take the stage and make their best case for why each should be the next governor of California.

Tonight's CNN primetime debate comes at a critical moment in the race. Ballots just started hitting mailboxes across the Golden State. And according to the latest polling, former Health and Human Services Secretary under Joe Biden Xavier Becerra and Republican former Fox News Host Steve Hilton, they're leading the pack.

[18:35:00]

Billionaire Tom Steyer just released a new ad that takes aim at Becerra. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you saw it?

XAVIER BECERRA (D), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I absolutely did. I had no sight on that. I was aware of the payments that were being made. I had authorized them I had no role in those things.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How were you not aware of that?

BECERRA: I knew what was being paid.

I had no sight on that. That was done separately.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is this specter of these unknowns that swirl around Xavier Becerra. This scandal is not completely resolved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The chyron there says, the last thing Democrats need is another candidate involved in scandal.

Let's bring in some California insiders. Melanie Mason, what is Tom Steyer getting at in this ad and is Becerra vulnerable on whatever this scandal is? Please explain.

MELANIE MASON, CALIFORNIA BUREAU CHIEF, POLITICO: It's fascinating, isn't it? There's no details in that actual ad, but what he's referring to is a case that came about last year that involves Governor Newsom's former chief of staff, who also was very close to Xavier Becerra, and she and Becerra's former chief of staff were accused, and Becerra's former chief of staff pled guilty to essentially stealing from his campaign in order to pay the former chief of staff additional money.

So, Becerra has not been accused of wrongdoing in this case, but it's fascinating in this ad that there's just this implication of wrongdoing or a surprise lurking around the corner, and I think the Steyer camp thinks that could be enough to perhaps bloody him up a little bit.

TAPPER: Very interesting new ad from Democrat Katie Porter. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. REP. KATIE PORTER (D-CA): I'm Katie Porter, and I'm not like most people who run for governor. I actually get what you're going through. A single mom of three kids, I know what it's like to push the shopping cart. My minivan has almost 200,000 miles. I have a grown kid who may soon be living on my couch.

To give Californians what they need, it's going to take standing up to Donald Trump, calling out greedy corporations, and stepping on some toes along the way.

Now, could you guys please get out of my shot?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Ron Brownstein, this is Katie Porter leaning into the idea that she steps on toes, and even ends the ad with a humorous reference to an unfortunate viral video showing her yelling at a staffer. Is this effective, do you think?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, Jake, last time we talked about the California governor race when you were out here, we were at the moment of maximum Democratic freak-out, the existential fear that they would be locked out of November. The two Republicans will finish one, two. That concern has really dissipated, I think, for both because Trump chose to endorse Steve Hilton and reduced the odds of him and Bianco splitting the Republican vote evenly. But also because Swalwell got out and left more of the two- thirds of the voters who are Democrats for the remainder to, you know, divvy up.

So, the real question now is not whether I think a Democrat's going to make it to the finals, but which one. And Porter was the early frontrunner, but she slid significantly because of that -- those viral videos that she alludes to in the ad. That's what prompted Steyer, really, and Swalwell to get in the race, I think, above all. She's kind of stuck in the murky middle now. I mean, she probably doesn't have enough money to really impress herself upon voters. And she is a candidate primarily of the left at a time when Steyer is overwhelmingly defining himself on the left. They are both kind of in each other's way as Becerra proves to be a little more acceptable to voters in the center.

TAPPER: And, Melanie, the spread in ad spending is pretty dramatic. Billionaire Tom Steyer has spent nearly $150 million. No other candidate comes remotely close to that number. Melanie, how much is ad spending proving to have an impact so far?

MASON: Well, look, money obviously matters, especially when you're in a state like California where it is so expensive to communicate with voters. But I think what's very interesting about Steyer's trajectory is I think he might be a case a case of maybe the limitations of how much money can help, because he has spent so much money, and he still seems to be stuck around 15 percent, 17 percent.

And I know there's a lot of, you know, chatter among insiders here of has he reached his ceiling even with all of this money? Is there a point where all of that money reaches a saturation point and then it sort of glazes over voters? And if that's the case, then what do you really do, because you can't double down with more money?

And so I think that, obviously, it's an advantage that he's a billionaire, but there are clearly limitations to that advantage.

TAPPER: And it's kind of surprising, or not surprising, but it is notable, Ron, how much Xavier Becerra, the former HHS secretary, how much he rose in polls leading up to tonight.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

TAPPER: Why and how much do you think that means that so many of the Democrats on stage tonight at the CNN debate are going to go after him?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. I think it's pretty clear why he rose. It was a flight to safety after Swalwell. I mean, you know, the big fear among Democrats, which was intense in March and even April, was that the party might get locked out of the top two finish, and thus you'd have a Republican governor.

[18:40:09]

Even though the two Republicans are splitting only consistently 35 percent of the vote in the polls, Swalwell was emerging as the frontrunner. And when he imploded, I think a lot of Democratic voters said, okay, Becerra is the safest choice that would ensure that we get a Democrat into the finals, when they will be overwhelmingly favored in a state where Trump is only at 30 percent of the vote and Hilton has refused to distance himself from Trump in any way.

So, I think Becerra has kind of taken the pole position, but it is not, you know, an insurmountable advantage that he has. As you say, Steyer is going after him, and I think you'll see other candidates on stage go after him tonight. But it's not unlike what happened with Joe Biden in 2020, you know, after those early primaries when it looked like Bernie was going to be, you know, the candidate, and Democrats worried that he couldn't beat Trump, there was kind of that flight to safety, and that's a pretty close analogy to what we're seeing here in California.

TAPPER: Melanie, how important is it for any of these candidates to have some sort of breakout moment in this debate? I mean, it doesn't seem like there's any real leader in terms of the Democrats, that anybody could really end up ultimately winning. Do you -- I mean -- and I don't even know how you prepare for a viral moment, right? I mean, I guess you come on that stage with one in your back pocket, you run the risk of it seeming completely canned and manufactured. MASON: Right. And the wonkiness about this, you know, top two primary is that there's both Democrats and Republicans on the stage. So, I think part of the question is, like, who do you want to have your viral moment with? If you're a Democrat, it might be really satisfying to dunk on a Republican, but the truth is that if you're Tom Steyer or Katie Porter or Matt Mahan, you need to focus on Xavier Becerra. So, I think that that is what's difficult about trying to break out in these types of debates.

TAPPER: I can't wait to watch. Ron Brownstein, Melanie Mason, thanks to both of you.

Tonight's debate starts at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 P.M. Pacific. CNN's Kaitlan Collins and CNN's Elex Michaelson are going to moderate. Look for it live on CNN, the CNN app, CNN International, or CNN en Espanol.

A woman detained in Russia getting some help from two women who were once in the same horrific situation. They'll be here in studio after making personal pleas today to the Trump administration.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:46:09]

TAPPER: Our politics lead now, another chapter in an ongoing tragic story that we've covered far too often here on THE LEAD, Americans wrongfully detained in Vladimir Putin's Russia, held in wretched conditions as bargaining chips for prisoner swaps.

Today, we're going to focus on Olga Jezler, who's been held since 2022, when she went to Russia to help her sister, who has breast cancer -- who had breast cancer. Olga voluntarily declared that she was carrying CBD supplements, something she had done on her previous trips. But in 2022, she was falsely accused of drug trafficking and she was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Here with us to discuss Olga's husband, Harold Jezler, along with two women whose names and stories you know. They were freed in previous prisoner swaps after being detained in Russia. Alsu Kurmasheva and Ksenia Karelina, theyre in town to lobby the White House on Olga's behalf.

Harold, first of all, I'm so sorry about what you and your family are going through. Tell us more about Olga.

HAROLD JEZLER, OLGA JEZLER'S HUSBAND: Thank you for having me, Jake.

Olga is an amazing woman. She's been wrongfully detained in Russia for 1,408 days now. That's almost four years of her life, of our lives that we've missed out on and over half of our marriage that she spent behind bars.

TAPPER: And how often do you hear from her? How is she doing?

JEZLER: At this point, we speak about once a week. We also exchange letters. She's hanging in there. She's staying strong, but it's definitely wearing down on her.

TAPPER: And, Alsu, you were arrested in 2023, released in 2024. Weve had your husband and daughter on the show to talk about your case back then. Tell us about the conditions that you endured and how you're doing now.

ALSU KURMASHEVA, JOURNALIST DETAINED IN RUSSIA 2023-2024: Thank you for having me. I'm so honored to be here and talk on behalf of Olga. I haven't met her. I can't wait for the moment to when I give her the biggest hug. When she's back, she will be back. Definitely.

The conditions are very, very harsh there. And as we know, she is holding on. She is great. She never complains, but I know she's exhausted, she's tired, and the family's exhausted and tired. So, we are waiting for her to be back any time soon.

Hopefully, we are fighting for her. We will keep her name in the headlines. This is what helped me. This is what will help her.

TAPPER: Remind our viewers your situation and how you're doing now.

KURMASHEVA: I was arrested on my trip to care about my mother. She needed care. She desperately needed my care, my help, and was arrested. My American passport was confiscated. I spent five months under house arrest and ten months in prison.

I was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for being journalist, for being American. And I'm doing very well now. It will be almost two years since my release. I'm still learning in my family, learning to live a new normal life. It's not that this will go away any time in my life, but I'm helping to advocate for imprisoned journalists in Russia and in other countries, and I'm helping the cases to advocate for people like Olga Jezler in Russia. Americans should be back home for sure.

TAPPER: It's so important to pay it forward. And I remember I learned so much from Trevor Reed and other previously detained American former marine. And when we did an hour long special after he was back, he insisted, he insisted that a -- that a sizable chunk of the special be about the others who were detained.

Ksenia, remind us, remind our viewers who you are and your story and tell us how you're doing.

KSENIA KARELINA, BALLERINA DETAINED IN RUSSIA 2024-2025: Yeah. Thank you for having me here. And my story is pretty similar to both Olga and Alsu. I went to Russia to visit my family older grandparents, and then was detained and sentenced to 12 years in prison for $51 donation to U.S.-based charity supporting affected -- ones affected by Ukrainian war.

[18:50:03]

And then, thanks to President Trump and U.S. Department of State, and then other organizations, I'm here now, and I strongly, strongly believe that we would be able to do the same for Olga, because like, as you mentioned, like once you've been there, you really want everyone out there because the environment you are there, it's just -- it's just not good for human.

TAPPER: How are you doing?

KARELINA: I'm recovering. I thought I was well, I wasn't. So now I'm realizing how much I wasn't well. So it's getting better now, but I think its a long way to recover.

TAPPER: Yeah. It's a big deal what you went through.

KARELINA: Yeah.

TAPPER: You need to -- you know, you can't just gloss over it and think, oh, I'm young. I'm fine. Like that's -- that's horrible.

So you're in Washington today to meet with members of the Trump administration, to advocate for Olga's release. How did those meetings go?

JEZLER: Great. This morning, we were at the SPEHA office. We met acting SPEHA head Dustin Stewart as well as Mr. Adam Boehler. They were very gracious. We were able to deliver a petition from six families of the Russian hostages. And this evening, we're looking forward to meeting Dr. Gorka.

TAPPER: That's Sebastian Gorka, the counterterrorism czar.

If you could say anything to President Trump or President Putin and you can pick, what would you say?

KURMASHEVA: I will say to both. Let Olga go. This is not something that a man would do. Keep an innocent woman in prison. Let her go.

TAPPER: And you, what would you say?

KARELINA: Pretty much the same. We talked about this with also before this interview, and we both came to the like one Olga back. And we believe that these two people can make it work.

TAPPER: Well, we're going to do everything we can to continue to advocate and bring Olga's story forward until she's sitting right at that table -- end of the table, right there. Thanks all for being here. Really appreciate it. And hang in there. She will get back.

And it's so good to see you guys. Keep up -- keep up the struggle and the fight. Thanks so much.

We do have some breaking news in our world. Lead evacuations soon on that cruise ship suffering from that outbreak of Hantavirus.

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[18:56:21]

TAPPER: In our national lead, CNN has learned that the Department of Veterans Affairs conducted internal investigations into employees who attended vigils for Alex Pretti and other events. Pretti, of course, was the V.A. intensive care nurse who was shot and killed while filming federal immigration agents during January's protests in Minneapolis.

CNN's Brian Todd has the exclusive details.

And, Brian, you spoke with someone who actually was investigated.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, this person's name is Becky Halioua, a recreational therapist at the Charlie Norwood V.A. Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia. On January 28th, four days after V.A. nurse Alex Pretti was killed in Minnesota, Becky went to a vigil for Pretti outside her V.A. facility.

Becky is the president of the local chapter of the union, the American Federation of Government Employees. That union and two other unions helped organize the vigil. While she was there, Becky did a short interview with a local TV station, telling them Pretti's death was terrifying to her.

She says she made it clear at this event, and in that interview, she was not speaking on behalf of the V.A. A few days later, Becky Halioua learned that an internal investigation had been launched into whether she violated V.A. rules regarding employee interviews with the news media.

As part of the probe, she was asked if she had gotten authorization to speak to the media from the V.A.'s public affairs arm. Now, the V.A. rules state that employees who are not authorized to speak officially on behalf of the agency need to refer the media request to their administration, communications office and the rules say anyone not authorized to speak on behalf of the V.A. needs to make clear they are speaking in a personal capacity.

Becky Halioua says she didn't coordinate with the agency because she was very careful about not speaking on behalf of them, and also because this vigil was off the V.A. campus. She attended it in her in her off hours, and she did not wear her V.A. badge or any clothing with a V.A. logo on it.

Here's what she said to me about the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Why do you believe the V.A. investigated you?

BECKY HALIOUA, RECREATIONAL THERAPIST, DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: I think that it's a scare tactic, but truthfully, I don't intend to do much different. I intend to continue speaking up. I don't intend for this to stop me in any way. So if that was their intention or their thought behind initiating it, they -- they were sorely mistaken.

TODD: We contacted the V.A. for response to Becky Halioua's claims. V.A. Press Secretary Quinn Slaven said he could not comment, citing privacy concerns. He said, quote, "Privacy laws prevent V.A. from publicly discussing specific details about its employees without their written consent." He did not address CNN's more general questions about the V.A.'s media policy and how often, how often it conducts these types of investigations.

Also, Becky Halioua is not alone. Several sources familiar with the matter tell CNN at least three other V.A. employees have been investigated for their interactions with the press, including at least one other person related to an Alex Pretti event -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Brian Todd, thank you so much.

Our last lead start in our law and justice lead the man charged with attempting to kill President Trump at the White House Correspondents Association dinner has been indicted. Today's indictment adds one more charge to the original three. That new charge is assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon. The alleged gunman, Cole Thomas Allen, has not entered a plea on any charges, and his arraignment is scheduled for next Monday.

In our world, lead officials say three people aboard the cruise ship hit by the Hantavirus outbreak will be evacuated by air ambulances in the coming hours. All three, we're told, are clinically stable. About 150 people are still stranded on the ship that's currently anchored off the coast of Cape Verde. Three people have died, several others have gotten sick.

You can follow the show on Instagram @TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can watch the show on the CNN app.

Our friend Erin Burnett and her show "OUTFRONT" start now.