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White House Says Talks with Iran Going Well, Iran Says They Are Not; Michigan Synagogue Attack was Hezbollah-Inspired Act of Terrorism; Fed Prosecutors Exploring Whether Certain Lucrative Prediction Market Bets Violate Insider Trading Laws; Interview with Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA): WAPO, NYT: FBI Director Patel Pushing to Release Documents on Rep. Swalwell. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired March 30, 2026 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: This afternoon, the White House is describing talks with Iran as going well, even as they refuse to elaborate about who they're actually negotiating with as the war enters its fifth week. The White House's optimism very different from what Iranian officials are saying publicly. Iran's foreign ministry slamming the USA's 15-point list of demands as excessive, unrealistic, and unreasonable.

Let's discuss with Ian Bremmer. He's the president and founder of the Eurasia Group and GZERO Media. Ian, as always, great to see you.

As Trump says that the U.S. is negotiating with a new and more reasonable regime in Tehran, I wonder if it's clear to you that there is an intact leadership structure in Tehran, whether it's organized and unified, and if it is, whether it's more open to the demands of the United States.

IAN BREMMER, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, EURASIA GROUP AND GZERO MEDIA: They're not talking directly to the people that run the country, which is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. They're reluctant to get on phones because they're concerned that they're going to get blown up. They have been talking to the Iranian foreign minister, Araghchi, and they've had at least one message that was delivered from the Speaker of the Parliament, Ghalibaf, who in some ways is kind of in charge of the political structure, even if he's not making any military decisions.

But these conversations are not direct. They're indirect. And as you've heard, the idea probably, what I've heard from the White House is that this is not -- they're not negotiations. They're talks. And the difference here, it's a nuance, is that you're not yet talking about a substantive agreement.

You're not negotiating around what an agreement would look like. You're more setting out what your positions are. It's very different. You're not there yet.

SANCHEZ: Yes, you're setting the table for what the negotiations might look like if you get there. And to that point, Iran is an Islamist theocracy, right? The regime was founded on resistance to the West being a religious obligation and martyrdom being a sacred part of that.

So I wonder if that's something you think the United States can simply change with airstrikes in a matter of four to six weeks.

BREMMER: No, no, of course not. And nobody believes that. And no one believes that there is regime change.

I mean, Trump can say that it's more reasonable, but he's trying to frame a win. And since he said at the beginning that he refused to work with the new supreme leader, that the son of the old supreme leader was not acceptable, he's trying to say, well, I'm actually achieving what I said I wanted at the beginning. And since Marco Rubio has not included regime change in any form as part of the new war goals of the United States.

Then Trump is essentially saying, don't worry, it's off the table. I've already changed the regime. That's not credible, but that's what he's at least saying.

Look, if you're going to get a regime change in Iran, it is likely going to come not after the war is over, but months after that, because the economy is falling apart and because they've only once since 1979 actually handled a peaceful internal transfer.

So I could see a situation where their industrial capacity is destroyed. Their military capacity is destroyed. They don't have any water.

They barely have electricity. And you start to see elite infighting. And a lot of the people that are especially in the theocracy are incompetent because the competent leaders have been killed.

[15:35:00]

In that environment, I could see Iran shifting from a fundamentalist theocracy to something that looks more like Pakistan, a military dictatorship run by the IRGC that may or may not over time willing to create some credibility by having some civilians engaged. But that's not going to come directly because of bombing, that's going to come longer-term after the war is over.

SANCHEZ: That I imagine would be an absolute best-case scenario. And as you put it, it would be months after the war ends. I wonder what can happen in the near term, specifically with the Strait of Hormuz, because Tehran's stranglehold is impacting energy prices across the world.

And that obviously is an area of intense focus for the administration as, you know, the press secretary does not rule out the potential for boots on the ground.

BREMMER: Well, I mean, you're sending 7,000 troops. A lot of them are already there. I don't think they're there for shore leave. So I expect that the intention is to actually use them in combat. Now, look, the United States right now cannot reopen the strait with air power. They just can't.

It would take months and months. They don't know how to get rid of all the drones and they can't force the ships to get insured when they're in harm's way. And there's no mechanism to escort them, given all of that.

So what they could do is they could stop the Iranians from exporting. They could do that in a hot second. Remember, the Iranians are getting their ships out and they're making a lot of money for it.

The Americans have suspended those sanctions. And of course, they're allowing some, a small number of boats of their friends like Pakistan. We've had a maximum of five percent of previous traffic, pre-war traffic getting through over the past days.

If the U.S. wanted to shut that down and squeeze the Iranians in terms of their resources, their money, they could do that but would have less of an effect given how much money they've made over the last four weeks, which is far more than they were making before. So that doesn't appear to be the strategy. What appears to be the strategy is taking these troops, going in and taking some raids on coastal areas to further degrade Iran's military ability to disrupt the straits, maybe taking some of the islands that are in the strait that are contested to change the balance of power over the strait.

And then over time, perhaps take the Kharg Island, where Iran actually exports its oil from. That's very far from an off-ramp. That looks like almost certainly like a period of escalation is coming.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and no doubt that it would last more than the four to six weeks or just weeks long effort that the administration has laid out. Ian Bremmer, always great to get your perspective. Thanks so much for the time.

BREMMER: Good to see you.

SANCHEZ: Breaking news on last month's synagogue attack in Michigan. We have new details on what the FBI is saying was the inspiration for the attack.

Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We do have some breaking news. We're getting some new details on that synagogue attack last month in Michigan. Officials are holding a news conference right now.

SANCHEZ: CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is monitoring that news conference for us. What are we learning, Shimon? SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a significant, certainly, development in this attack. Folks will remember this was this terror attack, essentially, on this school, this temple in Michigan. Today, the FBI says that they have completed their investigation.

They are releasing a lot of detail. Most importantly, they say that this attack on this synagogue was Hezbollah inspired act of terrorism. The FBI is speaking now, along with other Department of Justice officials.

Take a listen to some of what the FBI person in charge there in Michigan had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER RUNYAN, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI DETROIT: Based on the evidence gathered to date, we assess this attack to be a Hezbollah inspired act of terrorism purposely targeting the Jewish community and the largest Jewish temple in Michigan.

A review of his online activity since January 2026 revealed a reoccurring search history of pro Hezbollah news channels, Iranian news channels and videos about shootouts and bullets. He regularly consumed breaking news and statements and live coverage of the current secretary general of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, and viewed news coverage about an Iranian fatwa for total jihad against the U.S. military.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PROKUPECZ: She also wanted to also tell folks that he was not on anyone's radar. There had been some reporting, according to the FBI, or some indication with reports indicating that he may have been on the FBI's radar. Today, the special agent in charge there said that there was no indication that that was ever the case.

She also said that there doesn't appear to be anyone that he was acting in concert with. She spoke a lot about his family that was in Hezbollah. And so all of that and based on a review of his cell phone messages, his Internet searches, as well as other evidence that they gathered, as well as they say they interviewed over 100 witnesses, they have come to this conclusion here in this investigation.

This is significant. You know, the FBI obviously putting a lot of resources into this to get to the bottom of what happened here and what the motivation is. But the fact also, Boris and Brianna, is that they're coming out so quickly, says a lot here and how hard they worked to try and come to this conclusion in this investigation.

[15:45:00]

They're going to continue to investigate. But obviously significant here in that we now have. And, you know, we always suspected this, of course, based on sources and other information. But we have the FBI coming out here definitively telling us now what the motivation was here. KEILAR: All right, Shimon, thank you so much for that important update. We do appreciate it.

And now a CNN exclusive. Today multiple sources say federal prosecutors are looking into whether certain lucrative bets placed on prediction markets have violated insider trading and other laws.

SANCHEZ: We should note no companies have been accused of wrongdoing. And CNN has a partnership with Kalshi, one of the platforms mentioned in this report. We use their data to cover major events, but employees are prohibited from participating in any prediction markets.

CNN's Kara Scannell has this new reporting. What are you learning, Kara?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, sources tell me that the federal prosecutors in Manhattan are exploring whether some of these lucrative well-timed bets in the prediction markets have violated U.S. laws, including insider trading. And one of those trades that has caught their attention is the trade around the ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Where someone made a substantial amount of money by accurately guessing the timing of that -- his capture from the presidential palace there.

So what I've also learned from sources is that the federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have met with representatives of Polymarket. That's the other major trading platform for these prediction bets recently, and that the meeting included the chiefs of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Unit. The discussion to be centered around how the existing U.S. laws can apply to the prediction markets, many of which have taken place offshore. But a number of them, including Polymarket now, are registered in the U.S. and subject to U.S. oversight.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office told me, "With regard to so-called prediction markets, our office has made clear that various laws, including insider trading laws, anti-money laundering laws, laws prohibiting manipulation and various anti-fraud laws, are applicable to a wide range of observed activity." And Polymarket also responded to this story, telling us that, "Polymarket sets, maintains and enforces the highest standards of market integrity. We also proactively work with regulators and law enforcement to reinforce those standards."

But this is all coming as there is so much attention on these huge bets, these very lucrative bets that have been placed on a number of different geopolitical activities, as well as some less serious topics, but certainly ones that have had a lot of people raising their eyebrows and asking questions about whether there is inside information throughout this market. I mean, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, just weeks before this meeting with Polymarket, had said in an industry conference that he predicts there will be criminal prosecutions in this space. So it certainly has the attention of law enforcement.

In addition, lawmakers have introduced bills or some bipartisan efforts to try to make the roads of the rule clear here. We're also seeing reactions from the industry themselves. Last week, Polymarket and Kalshi, both making public statements about insider trading rules on their platforms, saying that they've increased their surveillance and speaking publicly about some of the investigations that they themselves are undertaking.

But this is still kind of early days in this industry. We'll see how it plays out -- guys.

KEILAR: All right, Kara, thank you for that.

Still to come, Congressman Eric Swalwell will join us ahead as the FBI director is reportedly pushing to dig up files of a 10-year-old investigation involving the Democratic lawmaker, despite no evidence that he did anything wrong.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: In recent days, two major newspapers have published stories that FBI director Kash Patel is pushing to publicly release decades old files, a decade old file involving Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell and a suspected Chinese spy, despite there being no evidence of any wrongdoing by Swalwell. The Washington Post story says, "Patel's efforts to post the documents is raising concerns within the FBI." A New York Times piece from Saturday also quoting people familiar with the matter saying, "Patel's attempts to smear Swalwell is alarming some career law enforcement officials at the agency."

I'm now joined by Congressman Eric Swalwell. He's a member of the Homeland Security Committee. He's also a Democratic candidate for governor in California, and he also held a press conference today to address this very subject.

On Saturday, you told my colleague Jim Scuitto you hadn't had any conversations with the FBI. Have you now? Has your counsel reached out to them?

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA), HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: We are sending a letter, actually, Brianna, outlining the illegal acts that have already taken place, according to, you know, the reporting that we've learned and also to invite future whistleblowers to come forward. And I do appreciate those who looked at what Patel was ordering and said no. And right now we are at a moment, Brianna, where you can either, you know, enable Kash Patel and Donald Trump's corruption and rot and have the FBI go back to looking like the days under Director Hoover, or you can say that's not who we are.

That's not what we do. And you will be protected. And so I've been working with my colleagues in Congress on the relevant committees to make sure that's the case.

But it's not lost on me that we're 34 days until Californians start voting. We've consistently been in the lead in this governor's race. And the president wants a Western White House. [15:55:00]

And the way to do that is to knock out the leading candidate and try and get two Republicans through in our top two primaries. But Californians will pick the next governor, not Donald Trump.

KEILAR: Do you expect these files to be released in some form?

SWALWELL: I don't know. It was also concerning that, you know, they're so determined to stop me from being governor that they would partner with the Communist Party of China. That's what the reporting says that they're seeking to work with China on this.

And that's just nuts. And to just take a step back because I've been following your reporting today, we're at war. Gasoline prices are soaring.

The market's tanking. We've never faced more threats to the homeland as we do right now since September 11. Iran can carry out worldwide attacks.

They do. And they're determined to do so. And they're saying as much.

And the FBI director should be focused on that, not going after the president's enemies.

KEILAR: I do want to ask you about the shutdown. You were joining us from California.

SWALWELL: In Sacramento.

KEILAR: Congress is in recess.

Yes, Congress is in recess right now. House Republicans want DHS fully funded, including ICE. Democrats want to fund DHS minus ICE and some CBP.

Realistically, though, ICE does have enough money to operate through the end of Trump's term already, even without that funding that Democrats object to. What are you gaining as a party for the American people if ICE is still going to be funded to operate either way here?

SWALWELL: Well, the White House, by funding ICE and CBP, is essentially sanctioning or signing off on more public executions. We saw what happened with a nurse named Pretti and a mom named Good. And I'm not going to co-sign on that.

And I'm with 100 members of the Senate, Republicans and Democrats, who voted to fund every part of homeland security, including TSA, but not give more money to CBP or ICE. That's what Speaker Johnson should have done. I should be sitting in Washington voting on this right now.

But instead, Speaker Johnson sent Republicans home, and it doesn't even make sense. He can't even be on the same page with the Senate Republican leader who recognizes it's absurd to have millions of Americans wait in line at airports when the solution was passed 100 to zero.

KEILAR: But I mean, do you disagree with what I laid out there, that ICE has enough money, that there is enough money without the money that Democrats are objecting to? Because what are --

SWALWELL: That's why I don't want to give them more money. Go ahead, Brianna.

KEILAR: But if they have enough, then how is it not just symbolic? Because at this point, you have a lot of people who are paying the price, right? A lot of attention has been paid to TSA.

They, of course, are now getting paid because of the executive order. But it's not just them, right? Civilians in the Coast Guard, they are going without, many of them in California.

How long should they be prepared to work without a paycheck?

SWALWELL: It's not symbolic to a six-year-old boy named Joseph in my district. A couple of weeks ago, he and his family were arrested and deported. And he's deaf and he goes to a school for the deaf.

And ICE wouldn't even allow him to take his assistive hearing devices with him. They sent him to Columbia within days. My staff flew to Columbia, took the assistive living devices.

So for Californians, you know, this is this is anything but symbolic. It's real. It's present.

And I cannot sanction what they're doing, co-sign on what they're doing, even, you know, symbolically give them more support because these are people scared for their lives. And the solution was right in front of us. Do what the Senate did.

Don't give them any more money, but fund everyone else like TSA. We can do that right now in the House of Representatives, Speaker Johnson should.

KEILAR: And how long do you think folks should expect this shutdown to continue?

SWALWELL: It can end right now, you know, Brianna, and the president, if he says he's paying TSA, who the hell knows? He doesn't even seem to believe in Congress anymore. He's in defiance of the Republican leader in the Senate --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Let me rephrase that. How long are Democrats prepared? How long are Democrats prepared to hold the line on where they are if there isn't a change from Republicans?

SWALWELL: I will continue to support paying TSA. I cannot support more public executions or deporting more little children like the six year old in my district who was sent without his hearing devices to Columbia. I'm not in for that. And most Americans aren't either.

KEILAR: Congressman Eric Swalwell, thank you so much for being with us. We do appreciate it.

And finally, here on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, there's a hunt for a Kit Kat napper in Europe.

Nestle says about 12 tons of Kit Kat bars were stolen from a truck leaving its production site in Italy.

SANCHEZ: What a nightmare right before Easter. That's more than 400,000 candy bars.

[16:00:00]

Nestle says all its products can be traced with a unique code. So if a match from the stolen shipment is found, the company will be alerted.

The good news. No concerns for consumer safety. Supply not affected. So we all should have a good Easter.

"THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

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