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U.S. Intel Chiefs Return to Capitol Hill Amid Group Chat Fallout; Trump and White House Defect, Downplay Group Chat Intelligence Breach; Trump Executive Order Suspends Security Clearances for Jenner and Block Attorneys. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired March 26, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

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NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kamil is now in custody awaiting trial for these alleged crimes. An attorney for Kamil declined to comment.

LOGAN DULIEN, "SNAPT" SURF FILM DIRECTOR: The surf community is one, like, tribe. Everyone doesn't get along, but, like, at the end of the day, if someone's drowning, we're going to do whatever we can to save them, and they would vice versa. I feel very happy to know that these guys aren't going to do this to anyone else, especially other surfers.

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning. America's top intelligence officials are back on The Hill. And while they clearly wanted to deflect blame over the Signal chat fallout yesterday, they are sure to face more tough questions today. Chief among them, who's really to blame and will anyone be held accountable since Democrats and Republicans are in rare agreement that this should never have happened.

And Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett facing a flood of criticism and a possible censure in Congress over what she said about Texas Governor Greg Abbott and his wheelchair.

And a doctor is now under arrest in Hawaii. Accused of trying to murder his wife by pushing her off a cliff.

I'm Kate Bolduan with Sara Sidner and John Berman. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has a message after Signal gate as it's being called. Trust me, I know exactly what I'm doing. Democrats don't believe him. They're calling for him to be fired over a stunning security breach. Hegseth doubling down and dodging questions as fallout grows from the secret U.S. military plans shared in a group text chat in an unclassified app. Here is what he told reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Nobody's texting was plans. I'm I know exactly what I'm doing, exactly what we're directing. And I'm really proud of what we accomplished, the successful missions that night and going forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: That is not what the reporter saw in the text chat. Also facing scrutiny, Mike Waltz, President Trump's national security adviser. Waltz is the one who accidentally added a journalist from The Atlantic to the chat about the Yemen strikes.

Trump blamed one of Waltz's unnamed lower-level staffers for the gaffe. But Waltz says he, quote, takes full responsibility, though he also suggested that the journalist may have somehow infiltrated the chat. The journalist saying that is not true.

And in just about two hours, the nation's top intelligence officials will be back on Capitol Hill. They're sure to face a lot more fiery questions about all of this from outraged House Democrats after they struggled to defend that group chat yesterday.

CNN's Alex Marquardt joining me now from Washington. It was a pretty sharp comment from Democrats, particularly, about what happened, and the answers left a lot to be desired for a lot of folks.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: They certainly did, Sara. The director of national intelligence, CIA director, they were absolutely hammered yesterday. That hearing in the Senate Intelligence Committee really fanning the flames of this story, which will now be picked up in the House Intelligence Committee this morning, just about two hours from now. Perhaps less so on the Republican side because Republicans are largely falling in line with the Trump administration, but certainly from Democrats.

The Trump administration is still very much struggling to explain how Jeffrey Goldberg was added to that chat and how what was said in that chat, as they claim, was not classified.

Now, as you noted, Mike Waltz, national security adviser, has claimed responsibility for setting up the group, but the Trump administration's top officials continue to insist that what was said in there was not classified.

Let's just remind our audience what Goldberg reported that Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, put in there about this Yemen operation.

He said, it was operational details, targets, weapons, and attack sequencing.

And yet all of those things, according to Gabbard and Ratcliffe, were not classified. Take a listen to what they told the Senate yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN RATCLIFFE, CIA DIRECTOR: My communications, to be clear, in a Signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information.

TULSI GABBARD, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: There was no classified material that was shared in that.

SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): So then if there was no classified material, share it with the committee. You can't have it both ways. These are important jobs. This is our national security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: So, Sara, at different times, Ratcliffe and Gabbard both deferred to Pete Hegseth, putting the onus on the secretary of defense to answer these questions, appearing to place some of the blame on him.

As we've heard there, he is sticking to his guns. He's doubling down. He's saying that he did not text any war plans, but he notably did not answer the question of whether he declassified that information.

[08:05:14]

That's where he could get into some trouble here. That is what we are going to see the Democrats, certainly on the House Intelligence Committee, zero in on today. That question of what was in that chat and whether it was classified.

And as you heard Senator Warner there saying, well, if it's not classified, then you can show it to us -- Sara.

SIDNER: And the reporter ostensibly could reveal exactly what was in it and show what was in it. If it is unclassified, we will see how this plays out. Lots more happening on Capitol Hill today.

Alex Marquardt, thank you very much. Really appreciate it -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: And while President Trump is clearly ready to move on from this national security blunder, it is also very clear that lawmakers on The Hill are not and are still asking questions. Some top Republicans in the Senate saying that they are not done with this yet.

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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Were you satisfied with the answers that you heard from the administration officials here?

SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): No, I wasn't. I think they made an error and I'm not sure that this episode is over with yet.

SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): Admitting that it was a mistake, I think, is the minimum. And I don't think it's difficult, quite honestly. I find it strange that some people find it difficult.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lot more things we should know.

RAJU: Any concerns about what happened in this group chat?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, But you know, it's going to be investigated.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Democrats are taking -- agree and are going further, though, saying that officials need to resign or be fired over this mess. And they want Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate.

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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: Instead of accepting responsibility outrageously, Secretary Hegseth attacked the journalist and called him deceitful. He took the deny till you die approach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth should resign.

SEN. RON WYDEN (D-OR): And I'm of the view that there ought to be resignation, starting with the national security advisor and the secretary of defense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: This morning, Senator Schumer and other top Democratic senators penned a letter to the president. And in it, they write that: You have long advocated for accountability and transparency in government. As such, it is imperative that you address this breach with the seriousness and diligence that it demands -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now, Maria Cardona, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist. And Marc Short, former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence.

A short while ago, we played the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, his new response to this, once again saying nothing to see here. This is how Politico writes that up this morning.

And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is still in Hawaii, where he again reassured reporters last night that, quote, nobody texted any war plans, adding, I know exactly what I'm doing. Which -- Politico says -- is strangely non-reassuring if you have to say it out loud.

Mark Short, how do you feel like this response has gone so far?

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO VP MIKE PENCE: Well, John, I think that actually Senator Cramer had the best response, which is like if you admit it's a mistake and it's time to say we're going to take lessons learned from this and move on, it's the fastest way to move on. If you're negotiating whether or not this was what was classified, what was war plans, I think everybody can look at this and acknowledge it's a mistake.

You know, when you enter the White House, one of the first things you do if you have clearances is you get training on how to handle classified documentations. I think the reality is that there'd be other people who are White House staff to be fired for this or people in uniform who would be relieved for their duty if they'd done this.

And so I think at the least you acknowledge it's a mistake, which I think to Waltz's credit he tried to do last night to say this was my mistake. We learned from it. Let's move on. If you're continuing to have different narratives, the stories continue to go on.

BERMAN: He did acknowledge that it was his mistake but then went on to say that Jeffrey Goldberg somehow is also a villain in this for being invited by him to this group chat.

Maria, how do you see, again, the response 24 to 36 hours in?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Exactly how you shouldn't respond to a scandal, John. The secretary of defense has become the secretary of the indefensible. And the more that he digs the hole, the more that this is going to be a story that focuses on the inexperience, the incompetence, the outrageous lack of knowledge that this secretary of defense and frankly the whole clown car cabinet that Trump has now is exposing us to and is proving Democrats who were all against a lot of these nominees when they were up for nomination.

It explains and it's proving us right as to why they should never have been confirmed. And so I agree with Democrats and frankly, Republicans, some commonsense Republicans who are saying this should be fully investigated. But at the end of the day, heads do need to roll.

The secretary of defense should resign. Can you imagine, John, if Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had done this under a Biden administration? Oh, my goodness. Republicans would be calling for his head. They would be calling for his resignation. They would be having hearings and they would be probably calling for Joe Biden's impeachment. So the hypocrisy is unbelievable and it is actually making Americans less safe.

BERMAN: Marc, I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you about something which you have unique insight to, which is the vice president's role in all of this. You, of course, were chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence. There's actual policy information in these text exchanges where the vice president of the United States, J.D. Vance, expresses his disdain for Europe. And I actually don't think he'd be upset with me characterizing it as disdain for Europe.

And he also has this sort of offhanded suggestion that he doesn't think the president, Donald Trump, understands the issue. So when you read that with your knowledge of the vice presidency, what jumped out to you?

SHORT: Yes, John, I think that's part of the story that I I found more alarming has gotten less coverage. You know, to Maria's point, the reality is that Lloyd Austin and Joe Biden allowed this problem to persist and never really addressed the Houthis. To President Trump's credit, he did. But in that very same text chain, you see at the end, Stephen Miller say, look, let's wrap this up. The president greenlit this. Well, if the president greenlit this decision in the Oval Office rightly to take this this action, the fact that the vice president United States is expressing his reticence and disagreement with the decision, as well as senior DNI staff, I find that to be to be a more alarming element. Because if the president's made a decision, you're time to discuss it or have different opinions is before that. Once the president gives the green light again, as Trump did rightly in this decision, it's not -- there's no more time for debate on this.

And if you're an open chat with other cabinet officials, it creates the notion that, hey, wait a second, there's distance between the president, vice president on this. And what other issues are there going to be other distance with? And it's OK for the vice president communicate that that reticence with other cabinet officials, I think creates a bad precedent moving forward.

BERMAN: Marie, I want to ask you about something that bubble up overnight in Democratic and Republican politics. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett of Texas made a comment about the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, who is in a wheelchair. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JASMINE CROCKETT (D-TX): We in these hot ass Texas streets, honey, y'all know we got governor hot wheels down there. Come on now. And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot ass mess, honey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, afterwards, she went on to claim she was talking about his policies. But if you go back, she's actually tweeted things about him on wheels before. What's going on here, Maria? And should she give a flat out apology?

CARDONA: I don't think she should have engaged in those kinds of comments, John, and she certainly will be asked about them. But I also have to underscore the massive hypocrisy of Republicans who are now apparently tearing their hair out over these comments, which, again, I think were inappropriate. And it doesn't help because Jasmine Crockett has actually been a very vocal, effective activist leader in the Democratic Party when we need her the most.

So I think that -- these kinds of comments take away from that kind of leadership. But again, spare me, Republicans, a hypocrisy because they said nothing when Donald Trump was mocking a disabled reporter. They say nothing when Elon Musk talks about disabled people in very derogatory terms almost on a daily basis.

So, again, Republicans have no leg to stand on here when they are complaining about these kinds of comments, when they themselves have do not have the backbone and are completely cowardly, when their own party, the leaders of their party engage in not just the same exact thing, but even more ridiculous, unfounded kinds of comments against disabled people. BERMAN: Maria Cardona, Marc Short, I appreciate both of you being with us this morning -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, another major law firm targeted by the Trump administration, this time involving a former prosecutor who once investigated President Trump. We will talk about the potential chilling effect.

And Trump's trade policies and federal cuts are shaking consumer confidence in the economy, the sinking economic mood and what it means for the president's approval.

And a doctor accused of attacking his wife and trying to push her off a hiking trail. The charges that he is now facing.

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BOLDUAN: President Trump is settling more scores now suspending the security clearances of the law firm Jenner and Block with a new executive order. The D.C. based firm had employed an attorney who worked on special counsel Robert Mueller's team during Trump's first term, you'll remember, and also led the prosecution against Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz tracking this one for us. She joins us now. Katelyn, what are you learning?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, this is a law firm that a lot of Americans may have never heard of, but they're very influential in Washington. They're the type of firm that is behind some of those emergency challenges to things that Donald Trump is doing to remake social policy in this country, as well as cutting the federal government.

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They are suing the administration. They're in the mix of political Washington. What this is doing, this executive order, it is pulling the security clearances of lawyers. It is potentially limiting their ability to go into federal buildings. And this is a really large firm nationally, Kate.

Also, this is looking at Jenner and Block's clients by the federal government when those clients are also government contractors, potentially causing them to lose their contracts, may hurt the ability of those clients to have those income streams.

So, Kate, this is the sort of executive order that hits a law firm where it hurts. And it is really shaking people up in Washington, in the establishment, in the legal establishment, especially because there is the ability, that's a long held belief that people should be able to hire whatever lawyer they choose.

Now, Donald Trump at the White House has made clear that this is about politics, essentially, that he -- one of the reasons that he's signing this executive order about this firm and about others is because people affiliated with the firm previously are people that he doesn't like. In this case, Andrew Weissmann, now a TV commentator who was a lawyer there and had worked on the Mueller investigation.

Here's Trump in an aide speaking at the signing of this executive order last night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The law firm that has participated in the weaponization of the legal system against American principles and values, and we believe that the measures in this executive order will help help correct that.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And Andrew Weissman is the main culprit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's certainly --

TRUMP: With respect of his firm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is one of a number of reasons that we believe this executive order is warranted.

TRUMP: He's a bad guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: He's talking about Andrew Weissmann. Andrew Weissmann hasn't worked at Jenner and Block, the law firm, for years. He is now primarily a TV commentator, not practicing law.

This is the sort of thing Trump has done now for three other major law firms in Washington, putting restrictions on them via an executive order. One law firm has sued. Another one has cut a deal with the White House to try and get this thing back -- rescinded.

But Jenner and Block says they are going to be pursuing appropriate remedies, not saying exactly what they're going to do next -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: I guess we'll wait to find out which path they take since we've seen others take two very divergent paths on this one. Thank you so much, Katelyn -- Sara.

SIDNER: And we're going to talk more about that ahead.

Also, a decade of pain turns into a lesson on grace and patience for a family haunted by addiction and drug abuse. Our Kate Bolduan giving us an up close and personal look at the people suffering so much because of America's fentanyl crisis.

And who was behind this insane -- look at this -- smash and grab ramming the car over and over again into that business? We will tell you what happens here, ahead.

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BERMAN: All right, hot take. Is there a silver lining for Donald Trump to all the focus on the group chat sharing war plans? Well, why?

Because it's a discussion about something different than the issue that could be the most serious threat to his presidency, namely the economy. While the administration was obfuscating on the issue of text yesterday, consumer confidence dropped to the lowest level since the pandemic winter of 2021.

With us now, Senior Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten. How important is the economy and inflation are they to voters?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Let me just tell you, the economy and inflation is the whole kit and caboodle. As James Carville once said, it's the economy, stupid. But since I'm standing here with John Berman, it's the economy smarty pants, top issue facing America. Look at this, number one, inflation in the economy at 43 percent.

There ain't anything close to this, my friend. political division, which comes in at number two, is 14 percent. That's a nearly 30 point gap. It's the only one that's over 15 percent. Donald Trump's presidency will ride or die on his ability to handle the inflation problem in this country and the economy. So ride or die.

How do Americans think he's doing on it? If you saw the cover page, I said, will the economy be Trump's Waterloo to quote ABBA Trump's net approval rating on the economy? Look at this.

January of 2025, it was at plus six points. Look at where it's fallen to at this point. Minus 14 points.

That's not just the lowest of this term for Donald Trump. It's the lowest ever for Donald Trump when it comes to his net approval rating. It has fallen faster than his overall approval rating.

At this point back in his first term, he was on the plus side of the ledger in double digits, plus 12 points. It has just fallen completely down. It has fallen to the floor. Minus 14 points. This is a massive, huge, to use Donald Trump terminology, problem for his presidency.

BERMAN: All right, so they don't think he's doing well on it. Do voters at least think he's trying?

ENTEN: Yes, this is, I think, the other big problem. They think Donald Trump's priorities are in other places. I mean, look at this. Think Trump is prioritizing these a lot.

We talk about the economy. We talk 36 percent on the economy. We talk about inflation. It's below 30 percent who say that they think he is prioritizing inflation on a list of eight that CBS News gave to voters, to Americans. Guess where the economy and inflation rank? Sixth and seventh on an issue list of eight.

They simply put, do not believe his mind is in the right place. He is not prioritizing the problem that they think is greatest right now to the American people. And that is why I said at the beginning, I could say that this might end up being Donald Trump's Waterloo because he's failing on the issue that's most important to Americans.

BERMAN: All right.

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