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Police: At Least One Passenger Survived Air India Plane Crash; Survivor of Air India Plane Crash: "It Happened so Quickly"; Health Official: At Least 290 Dead After Air India Crash; Sources: Trump's Move to Use Military for Immigration Enforcement has been Months in the Making; Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) Discusses About Sen. Padilla's arrest; Democratic Senator Alex Padilla Forcibly Removed from DHS Secretary Noem's News Conference in L.A.; Soon: Sen Padilla Speaks After Being Forcibly Removed from DHS Event. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired June 12, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:01:19]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Sole Survivor: At least one passenger on a doomed Air India flight found alive while 290 people are feared to have perished. Could his account of the crash now help investigators piece together what happened in this flight's final moments?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Plus, brand-new reporting about President Trump's controversial decision to deploy troops within Los Angeles, Guard as well as Marines. Sources telling CNN, this is a move that has actually been months in the making and that it's left some inside the Defense Department questioning its necessity. We have that and much more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: An incredible story of survival. At least one survivor from a deadly commercial plane crash that killed at least 290 people seemingly walked away from the wreckage in India today. Two-hundred and forty-two passengers and crew were on board that Air India flight when it went down shortly after takeoff. Crashing just seconds into its flight, slamming into a medical school not far from the airport. Numerous people, we've learned, were also killed on the ground.

The survivor was seated in one of the exit rows of the Boeing 787. We're told that he's a British national who's being treated at an area hospital. The crash was captured on at least two cameras and we should warn you, this footage may be distressing. The video shows the plane seeming to sink. It loses altitude just after takeoff and then ignites into a huge fireball when it hits the ground.

The chaotic scene at the crash site shows rescue crews and residents using hoses to try and douse the flames. This Air India flight had taken off just after 1.30 P.M. local time. It was bound for London's Gatwick Airport. CNN's Nada Bashir joins us now live from Gatwick.

So, Nada, what are you hearing about what happened?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: We are getting more updates not only from the authorities in India who are leading on this probe that has been now declared into what caused the crash, but also, of course, from the authorities here in the United Kingdom and further afield internationally as other nations offer support on the investigation front.

But, of course, this is the airport where that plane should have landed about an hour and a half ago. Many family members, many loved ones, friends, relatives would have been waiting for those on board to arrive here at Gatwick Airport this evening and now will be filled with anguish as they wait for more answers.

And here, Gatwick authorities have set up a reception center to provide updates to those loved ones and family members, as well as to provide support, of course, for the bereaved. And at this stage, it's understood, according to police officials and a hospital official, that at least 290 people have been killed. That includes some of the 242 passengers and crew members on board that flight, but also others in the nearby area and the surrounding area that were directly impacted by the crash.

And, of course, as you mentioned, Boris, we did see that crash impacting a hostel for a nearby medical college, so this would have been in a building which was filled with medical students and medical officials as well. We have been hearing from the authorities in India who have said that dozens of medical students were injured and taken to a nearby hospital to receive treatment. At least three are said to have been killed. But we have been hearing from medical staff, and they say that that figure could continue to rise.

[15:05:03]

And, of course, amongst those on board the plane, the 242, of course, there were 53 British nationals. There was a huge amount of consent here in the United Kingdom, remarkably one survivor who is said to be a British national. But, again, we are still waiting for those final updates and more updates from officials leading on that investigation.

SANCHEZ: Nada Bashir live for us at London's Gatwick Airport. Thank you so much for the update.

Turning now to the nationwide protests over President Trump's immigration enforcement actions. Today on Capitol Hill, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was asked if he would abide by a federal court order if the court decides to block the Trump administration from using federalized troops to help carry out their immigration enforcement in California. Listen closely to his answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, this is a pending situation.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Sure. So, will you agree, though, that in - it's not my legal view, it's not your legal view that makes the decision in America. It's the federal judiciary. If the federal court in California, in the San Francisco - the district judge has in - order as a preliminary injunction, will you agree to abide by the federal courts?

HEGSETH: What I will tell you is my job right now is to ensure the troops that we have in Los Angeles are capable of supporting law enforcement ...

KHANNA: Sir, I agree with that; but will you ...

HEGSETH: And we know ...

KHANNA: ... can you just assure ...

HEGSETH: ... we have the constitutional ...

KHANNA: ... I'm not even ...

HEGSETH: ... and statutory authority ...

KHANNA: That's fine, but can you just ...

HEGSETH: ... to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A federal judge is set to take up California's challenge to the deployment of U.S. troops later today. Meantime, about 700 U.S. Marines are expected to be deployed within Los Angeles by tomorrow. The Marines are joining more than 4,000 National Guard troops mobilized by President Trump as we're learning new details about how the Trump administration has actually been planning the use of military officials for immigration enforcement for months. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez joins us now with the details. And you're being told that this deployment wasn't sudden or unexpected.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There had been a desire within the administration to eventually use more of the U.S. Military for immigration enforcement. These have been discussions that have been ongoing among administration officials. And there had been some public signals of that, of course, that we have used. We, the United States, has used the National Guard along the U.S.-Mexico-Southern border before. But it was always at a distance and in a supporting status.

Seeing them used in the interior is a whole other development here. And it's one that we saw a preview of this week in Los Angeles when Immigration and Customs Enforcement posted a photo on X where there is federal authorities detaining an individual and Guards surrounding that detainment. And that was extraordinary because when I was talking to sources about it, they said they've never seen anything like that in the interior of the U.S.

Now, I spoke to White House border czar Tom Homan, who told me that this was, quote, "a needed expansion," again, as they've been working through their nationwide immigration enforcement operations. He went on to say, quote, "We're trying to use all available resources. That's why we're bringing in all these other agencies - ATF, FBI, U.S. Marshals." And now we can also add, at least in the Los Angeles area, National Guard to that list. Now, of course, they are not detaining individuals. Rather, they are serving as support, serving as protection for the agents, which Homan and other senior Trump officials have said is because agents are being assaulted and threatened.

But this is something that we expect to develop even further with military bases also under consideration for immigrant detention. Again, something we've seen administrations do before. But it speaks to this ongoing discussion to bring in the assets of the U.S. Military more.

SANCHEZ: And as we heard there from Secretary Noem during that press conference where Sen. Alex Padilla was escorted out while trying to ask her questions. They don't plan on letting their foot off the gas. They're planning to continue deploying military for these efforts.

ALVAREZ: Well, the message has been clear within the administration from, by the way, top aide Stephen Miller, whose sources tell me has presided over the situation, reminds they have received regular updates about Los Angeles. And the message was they will continue to do their job, continue to do these operations in the Los Angeles area.

So, it is very clear that they're going to continue, that we will continue to see National Guard in Los Angeles. The question, Boris, is going to be, will this also happen in other cities across the country? We don't have the answer to that yet.

SANCHEZ: Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much for the reporting. Brianna?

KEILAR: And with us now is Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts.

Congressman, I'm not sure if you've seen this new video of this interaction that Sen. Padilla had with officials at Secretary Noem's press conference in Los Angeles. What's your reaction to it?

REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA): Well, first of all, I picked up the phone and called. I have a couple of friends who are FBI agents, so I called one of them because it was apparently FBI agents who pushed him to the ground and handcuffed him. And I said, what on earth is the FBI doing arresting a United States senator? And he said it was embarrassing and it certainly shouldn't have happened.

[15:10:00]

So, I don't know the full circumstances of the interaction. I haven't - I've seen one video. I haven't seen it from all perspectives. But any time that federal law enforcement is arresting a United States senator for asking a question, it doesn't feel like we live in a democracy.

KEILAR: Is it clear to you they knew he was a senator?

MOULTON: What difference does it make? He's asking a question. And then he explained that he was a senator. So, you know, if - look, I've been a U.S. Marine. I've never been a federal law enforcement official. But if I were in that situation based on my Marine training, the first thing I would do before handcuffing is just figure out what's going on.

I mean, are these guys so weak that they can't even hold this guy for a second to ask him a question and ascertain his identity? They just need to throw him to the ground like he's a scoundrel and put handcuffs on him?

I mean, that is just - this looks like the law enforcement arm of an authoritarian. It's a terrible look for a democracy. And, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if we should see at some point in the future some investigations into these officers and how they handle the situation.

KEILAR: You're seeing Democrats in California approaching the situation in in different ways. We've seen a number of different incidents, you - this with Senator Padilla. You saw on Sunday officials there at one of the federal buildings slam a door on Congresswoman Maxine Waters. She also was yelling at members of the Guard, saying, if you're going to shoot me, you should shoot straight. She also, though, told them not to shoot. You're seeing Governor Gavin Newsom, the governor, how he's reacting. What are you making of how you're seeing fellow Democrats in California reacting to this situation in these different ways?

MOULTON: You know, guess what, Brianna? We live in a free country where freedom of speech is the First Amendment to our Constitution. It's not illegal to yell. It's not illegal to ask questions. And if the President is really sending federal officials, federal law enforcement and even federal troops into Los Angeles, into California to stop violence, then why are his federal officials the ones who are being violent? Because it looks pretty darn violent to throw a United States senator to the floor and handcuff him.

KEILAR: As you mentioned, you are a former Marine. You're a combat veteran. What are your concerns about 700 Marines being mobilized by the Trump administration in L.A.?

MOULTON: Well, I'll tell you what, I've heard from Marines who said, if I were in that position, I'd resign my commission. I know that they're not trained for this because they sent out requests across the entire First Marine Division to find instructors in a non-lethal force because the Marines are trained to kill. The Marines are trained to go overseas and neutralize our enemies, not attack United States citizens.

And so, this is screwed up on many levels, and many Marines know that and do not want to be used as political pawns by Donald Trump.

KEILAR: So, if you - we have some still pictures of some of the Marines. We've seen some video of them in training. There's some aerial video where you can actually see them kind of engaging in, I don't even know, maybe you can tell me, what you saw in some of that aerial video of the kind of training that they were doing. What did you make of that? What are they prepping for? MOULTON: What I make of it is that they're not trained in this, and that's why they have to do this training. That's why they have to do this training today, because this is not what Marines do. This is not what anyone signed up in the Marine Corps to do. Just like, by the way, no one signed up for the United States Army to walk - to march in a parade in a hundred-degree heat in Washington, D.C. It's not why you sign up to serve the country, Brianna.

And so, again, what's going on here is President Trump is politicizing the military to achieve his political goals. He's never respected what we do overseas. He's always slandered the troops for actually fighting in wars. He dodged the draft to get out of fighting himself, but he's always wanted to use the troops to advance his domestic political agenda, and that's exactly what he's doing now.

KEILAR: You mentioned that you've talked to some Marines, some officers who, you know, just more broadly in the Marine Corps, who have said if they had to do this, they would resign their commission. That's always a choice, of course, of someone in the armed forces, but you've also said you heard from many junior officers, whether it was in the first Trump administration or this one, who are saying, you know, how do you think about disobeying orders, because we might have to do that under this commander in chief?

To be clear, are you talking about Marines who are deployed to Los Angeles, and have you seen any indication at this point that the Commander-in-Chief's orders are explicitly illegal and should not be disobeyed?

MOULTON: I've heard indirectly from Marines, but not specifically from any Marine who's deployed to Los Angeles today.

[15:15:02]

But, you know, look, I served four tours in the Iraq war, a war I disagreed with. I didn't vote for George Bush twice. There were a lot of Marines I served with who disagreed with the war and with the commander in chief, but we never had to discuss following an unlawful order because we just didn't expect, even from Bush, who we strongly disagreed with, to get unlawful orders from the commander in chief. And yet so many junior officers have come up to me and said, you know, what do I do? How do I think about this? How do I handle getting an unlawful order from Donald Trump? Because for years now, that's exactly what they've expected to receive, and we could very well be in that situation in the coming days in Los Angeles.

KEILAR: Yes. This is very serious, right, to talk about disobeying orders. Civilian control of the military is a hallmark of the American system. You know, we've had on the program civil military experts, one of whom disagreed very strongly with Trump's use of the military in Los Angeles, who says this is a very dangerous conversation for military officers to be entertaining. What do you think of that?

MOULTON: I think it's absolutely right, you know? And that's why the junior officers, to their credit, to their great credit, remembering the oath that they swore to the Constitution and not to the commander in chief, are raising these questions. They've been raising these questions for years under Donald Trump, and they're raising them right now as he threatens to send Marines to Los Angeles.

So, I'm very proud of our military, but let's be clear, Trump is trying to politicize it. He's never respected the troops. This is the guy who attacked John McCain for getting captured in Vietnam, who called the troops losers for signing up and suckers for getting killed, according to his own chief of staff, Marine General John Kelly. This is someone who has never respected the troops, and he's handpicked a secretary of defense who literally wrote a book on politicizing the military so that Donald Trump could do exactly that.

So, this is very dangerous for our Constitution, for our country and for the great institution of our military, which has always been apolitical up until Donald Trump.

KEILAR: Congressman Seth Moulton, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

MOULTON: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: And I do want to let you know that minutes from now, we're expecting to hear from Sen. Alex Padilla after this incident here at that press conference for Secretary Noem in Los Angeles. He was pushed out of the room by officials, and according to his office, he was forcibly removed. He was actually forced to the ground. He was even handcuffed. They say he's not currently detained. We're actually expecting to hear from him here in just a few moments.

In the meantime, his fellow senators in his party are on this Senate floor speaking in support of him. Let's listen to Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): ... or even killed. That's not who we are. We need brave patriotic Americans to stand up just as Sen. Padilla has done and insist upon their right to peacefully assemble and present whatever critiques or complaints they have about policies that they find to be objectionable. With that, I yield the floor.

SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ (D-HI): Mr. President ...

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): Senator from Hawaii.

SCHATZ: ... you know, I've given a lot of speeches on this floor, and this is the least prepared but the most clear I will ever be. This is the stuff of dictatorships. It is actually happening. A United States senator was manhandled, shoved to the ground, and cuffed. He identified himself: "I'm Sen. Alex Padilla." That should be enough. That should be enough.

A United States senator who is, by the way, protected by the Speech and Debate Clause of the Constitution of the United States and a specific statute that allows him to oversee immigration facilities. And he says, "I'm a senator, and I have a question." And to Chris Murphy's point, they said, well, he was being disrespectful. Being disrespectful is legal. Being disrespectful is American. Being disruptive is okay if it's just using your words and not your body.

This is the stuff of dictatorships, and the thing that is making me most terrified is I see zero Republicans, except for the presiding officer, in this chamber. And I understand. If it's not a member of your own party, you want some context. There is no context that justifies this action. Alex Padilla is not required to be impeccable in every single way in order to exercise his responsibilities as an American and as the - one of the two that represents California in the United States Senate. This is the stuff of dictatorships.

[15:20:02]

One of the officers who throws him to the ground, as he's clearly complying, cuffs him face down on the carpet, and they say, there's no recording in here. It's a damn press conference. It's for recording. They didn't want to hear his speaking. And if the internet got it accurately, the Secretary was there and delivering her remarks within earshot the whole time. She has command authority over those agents who are arresting a leader in the legislative branch. This is not something on the internet for us to argue about. We all know what we saw. We all know what we saw.

I remain hopeful that Leader Thune and other Republicans can walk us back from the brink. But I am not so sure anymore. So, as Trump's Department of Homeland Security raises the stakes and continues with a series of provocations to justify increasingly authoritarian actions, we have two obligations. One is to establish that as a legislative branch, we are not going to stand for this. And the other is, those people who are peacefully protesting, be very disciplined this weekend. Be very peaceful this weekend.

If we are going to win, we need to maintain the high ground. And I don't mean we blue, we Democrats, I mean we Americans who believe in this system of government. I have never, ever, other than January 6th, been so outraged at the conduct of an administration. I yield the floor.

SANCHEZ: We've been listening to Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii saying that being disruptive is legal, being disruptive is okay, as long as violence isn't used. He was condemning essentially the detainment, at least momentary detainment, of Sen. Alex Padilla of California during a press conference by the Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles.

Padilla entered the room, seemed to try to ask her a question, and then immediately was apprehended, dragged out of the room, according to video that we've seen posted by his office online. He was put on the ground and handcuffs were put on him as well. We understand, according to Homeland Security, that Secretary Noem and Padilla had a conversation for about 15 minutes after that happened, and we have a clip of Secretary Noem speaking about the incident. Here's that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, DHS SECRETARY: We had a great conversation, sat down and talked for 10, 15 minutes about operations in L.A., some activities of the Department of Homeland Security, and so I thought it was very productive, and I wish that he would have reached out and identified himself and let us know who he was and that he wanted to talk. His approach, you know, was something that I don't think was appropriate at all, but the conversation was great, and we're going to continue to communicate. We exchanged phone numbers, and we're going to continue to talk ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he ...

NOEM: ... on we can communicate better.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did you detain him? Why was that the action you decided to take?

NOEM: I'll let the law enforcement speak to how this situation was handled, but I will say that it's - people need to identify themselves before they start lunging at people that - during press conferences.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it appropriate ...

(CROSSTALK)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Important to point out, in the video of his apprehension, he says out loud, I'm Sen. Alex Padilla. I'm allowed to be here. So, he did identify himself.

KEILAR: Yes, according to his office, he was there in the federal building receiving a briefing, and then he was there listening to the press conference. Let's bring in our Bureau Chief and Political Director, David Chalian, to talk about this. It's interesting that that now appears to be the narrative coming from DHS, that they didn't know who he was. Oh, actually, let's listen in. Senator Alex Padilla himself in Los Angeles.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for your time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Line aside, guys. Line aside. We're right here already.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) ...

SEN. ALEX PADILLA (D-CA): Good afternoon, everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) hands on you.

PADILLA: Good afternoon, everybody. I'm Sen. Alex Padilla. If you guys have some questions, I'm going to read a brief statement. I will not be taking questions, but allow me to read my statement.

I'm here in Los Angeles today, and I was here in the federal building, in the conference room, awaiting a scheduled briefing from federal officials as part of my responsibility as a senator to provide oversight and accountability

[15:25:01]

While I was waiting for the briefing with Gen. Guillot, I learned that Secretary Noem was having a press conference a couple of doors down the hall. Since the beginning of the year, but especially over the course of recent weeks, I, several of my colleagues, have been asking the Department of Homeland Security for more information and more answers on their increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions. And we've gotten little to no information in response to our inquiries.

And so, I came to the press conference to hear what she had to say, to see if I could learn any new additional information. And at one point, I had a question. And let me emphasize, just as we've emphasized the right for people to peacefully protest and to stand up for their First Amendment rights, for our fundamental rights. I was there peacefully. At one point, I had a question. And so, I began to ask a question.

I was almost immediately forcibly removed from the room. I was forced to the ground. And I was handcuffed. I was not arrested. I was not detained. I will say this. If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they're doing to farmers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community, and throughout California, and throughout the country. We will hold this administration accountable. And we'll have more to say. We'll have more to say in the coming days.

Let me say just briefly in Spanish as well.

Soy el senador Alex Padilla. Y estuve aqui porque tuve una junta para recibir mas informacion de los representantes de la administracion. Especialmente porque desde el principio del termino de Donald Trump, y especialmente la ultima semana por lo que ha ocurrido aqui en la region de Los Angeles, hemos pedido mas informacion para entender las politicas, las estrategias.

SANCHEZ: Senator Padilla there giving remarks in Spanish as he talks about his point of view of what happened this afternoon, his apprehension by law enforcement while he says he was trying to do his duty as a sitting member of Congress, as a senator. He says that if this is how the administration is responding to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers throughout Los Angeles and throughout the country. Obviously, the backdrop of this moment is the expanded raids that we've seen on behalf of immigration officials across the country, and then the visceral response and violence that protesters have orchestrated against law enforcement, not only in Southern California, but in different parts of the country.

Padilla here clearly trying to make a statement and was forcibly removed out of this press conference. You only have to wonder what his question was going to be for Secretary Noem. KEILAR: Yes, certainly. He said that he's been trying to get more information, and certainly we've heard complaints from Democrats who feel that they have not been able to get some information from the Trump administration. David Chalian back with us to talk about this.

What did you think of this?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You know, I think that we are in a moment right now, as you said, because of the backdrop, what has happened over the course of the last week, and now this moment that we're arriving at, I think this conversation is shifting a bit from where it's been. And I think you are seeing in Sen. Padilla, and similar to what we saw with Governor Newsom earlier in the week, there are new emboldened fighters in the Democratic Party to take on the administration, specifically around this issue.

And you saw all of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate starting to rush to the Senate floor. You saw Tim Kaine, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, to start utilizing this moment. So, I think what Sen. Padilla sees here is the clearly totally out of bounds response to him trying to ask a question. I mean, I just think the law enforcement there handed Senator Padilla a political victory here in that moment, because what is going to be seen is an image of a United States senator being treated in ...

[15:30:08]

KEILAR: He's taking ...

CHALIAN: Oh, sorry. Let's listen.

KEILAR: ... he's taking questions, let's listen.