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U.S.-Iran Truce Tested; Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) is Interviewed about the Ceasefire; Sean Combs' Lawyers to Appeal Conviction. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired April 09, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

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THOMAS OTAKE, GERHARDT KONIG'S ATTORNEY: You know, we just begin by thanking the jury. We respect their verdict.

That being said, we believe leading up to trial and during trial there are many appellate issues. And we do plan on appealing. But that doesn't take away from our respect of the jury, their service, their dedication and their verdict. And we look forward to appealing.

I mean we are thankful that they did not convict him of attempted murder, which would have been life in prison.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The sentencing will be on August 13th. Here's the question, Kate, is his wife -- they're not divorced yet -- will she give a victim impact statement wanting the maximum? And will his son, who he was very close with --

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Who testified, right?

CASAREZ: Will he give a victim impact statement?

BOLDUAN: Wow. Remarkable.

Jean, thank you so much.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, this morning, opening the Strait of Hormuz was the key concession from Iran in the ceasefire. It does not appear open this morning. So, what did the United States get from the deal?

Any minute lawyers for Sean Combs will head back into court to appeal his conviction. They argue he was making amateur porn.

And maybe the only thing as exclusive as a membership at Augusta National, the high-priced garden gnome. The race to get them as the Masters is on.

Sara is out today. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan, and this is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: All right, so the two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran is facing some major tests and really also facing some big questions right now. Iran is accusing Israel of breaking the deal already by launching a massive and deadly attacks on Lebanon yesterday. But the United States and Israel have said that Lebanon and Hezbollah, Iran's proxy inside that country, say that it was -- that Lebanon -- they were never part of the deal. And according to the lawmakers that we've spoken with this morning, the uncertainty is extending across both sides of the aisle.

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REP. MIKE HARIDOPOLOS (R-FL): I think a lot of us are very confused with what's happening right now. You see a back and forth going on as usual. As you know, you report for years, Iran has never been exactly the most ethical, let alone honest country in the world.

REP. BILL KEATING (D-MA): There's a question whether we actually have a ceasefire fundamentally. And I hope that they can continue to discuss this. I hope that, you know, maybe the best we'll get is an understanding to extend it beyond two weeks. They're not going to accomplish this likely in two weeks.

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BOLDUAN: Vice President J.D. Vance, he calls the confusion around this deal and what was agreed to a legitimate misunderstanding. He's now set to attend face to face talks with Iran in Pakistan on Saturday.

As for the Strait of Hormuz, that critical oil shipping route, Iran says traffic has been halted there after those Israeli attacks on Lebanon. Shipping data shows only a handful, really basically no movement along the Strait. As Brett McGurk said to John just a short time ago, the Strait's still shut down. That's basically the reality of it.

We have live team coverage of all of these latest developments. Alayna Treene is at the White House.

Let's start with CNN's Clarissa Ward in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

What are you picking up? What's the latest you're hearing about this Strait, the state of things and this true mass confusion about this deal?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, Kate, certainly Iran is not backing down on this issue of Lebanon being part of the ceasefire agreement. Over the course of the last couple of hours we've seen statements coming out from Iran's foreign minister, from its prime minister, from the deputy foreign minister, all of them pushing with this conviction that Iran has, that Lebanon is part of this ceasefire deal. And the deputy foreign minister even going so far as to say that Iran's presence at these talks in Islamabad is contingent upon Israel basically acknowledging that Lebanon is part of the ceasefire deal and stopping its activities there.

We also saw a post from the speaker of Iran's parliament, Mohammad Ghalibaf, who said that if these attacks continue, that there will be a, quote, "strong" in cap locks, "response."

So, all of this, again, giving rise to fears that this already precarious ceasefire could potentially be derailed if this issue of whether or not Lebanon is included is not resolved.

Overnight we saw Israel IDF striking Hezbollah positions, or what it described as Hezbollah positions in the south of Lebanon. We also saw Hezbollah firing a number of rockets into northern Israel.

[09:05:00]

They are saying that was a response to yesterday's devastating attacks that left more than 100 Lebanese people dead.

I will say, though, Kate, that here in the gulf, on a brighter note, it has been much quieter today. The UAE reporting today that for the first time since this war began, they had no attacks whatsoever. So, that potentially a promising sign. Though, of course, many in the gulf, and indeed around the world, waiting and watching very closely to see what will happen with the Strait of Hormuz. Just one oil tanker has managed to get through and about five, I believe, according to one monitoring group, dry bulk carrier ship.

So, as you mentioned, that Strait still effectively closed and a question mark hanging over the future of this ceasefire and these negotiations as this Lebanon issue remains unresolved.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and will they meet if the -- if that issue of Lebanon is not resolved? Will they meet if the Strait of Hormuz, as was demanded by the president of the United States, be reopened if that is not resolved? Huge questions.

Clarissa, it's great to see you. Thank you so much.

Let's now go to Alayna Treene, standing by at the White House with much more on that.

And I think it becomes a question then today how the White House answers all of this.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I agree. And I think what we did here, you played that clip of the vice president, I think, you know, him saying that there is a legitimate misunderstanding over this issue of Lebanon. Of course it's almost an understatement here. And really, as Clarissa laid out very well, could potentially derail this ceasefire.

Now, I will say, from the latest conversations I've been having this morning with Trump administration officials, they are still on track to have that meeting among top U.S. and Iranian officials in Islamabad on Sunday morning. Now, of course, that includes the vice president, but also the president's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in- law, Jared Kushner. Those who have been leading these talks so far.

And really, I think, that is -- if that meeting goes forward, as they say as of now it is, that is going to be a really telling moment for this entire process because the way that this meeting has been discussed to me in the context of this broader two week ceasefire, is that it's going to be the start of what is likely to be several intense negotiations. Now, I have as well been told from my conversations with officials that essentially they are hoping that this two-week period could potentially be enough time for them to really try and, you know, broach the gap of daylight between these different plans they have. Plans, I should note, that we, the public, still have not seen, and the White House has really not done much to try and clarify what exactly the president agreed to, particularly in reference to what the ceasefire laid out was an agreement on a ten- point proposal put forth by the Iranians that the president deemed as acceptable for a starting point for negotiations.

Now, I will also say, officials said this two week ceasefire, if negotiations ultimately go well, could be extended. But the president is also reserving the right to restart military operations should this fall apart. We saw him in a very early morning post lay out that all U.S. ships, aircraft and military personnel are going to be -- remain in the region. And he also went on to say that if for any reason this ceasefire does not hold, he called it unlikely, he said, then the, quote, "shooting starts bigger and better and stronger than anyone has ever seen before."

Look, I think one of the key things we need to figure out today, Kate, is exactly what conversations are happening behind the scenes. How are the mediators involved in trying to really regain clarity here? And, of course, what is Israel going to do? Because, right now, the biggest issue regarding these attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon are Israeli attacks. And we did hear the vice president last night argue that perhaps Israel, in his words, would, quote, "check themselves" on this issue.

So, could that be enough? We have to see. But I think there's no question that the already tenuous ceasefire remains in a very, very fragile state. And there's a lot more that still needs to be made clearer, I think, to both sides to ensure that this moves forward.

BOLDUAN: Yes, Alayna, thanks so much. Alayana Treene at the White House for us this morning.

John.

BERMAN: With us now is Congressman Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York. He is the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman, very good to see you.

With all the difficulties in fragility of the ceasefire this morning, talks are still scheduled for this weekend in Pakistan. You've told me that diplomacy is the only way out of this. Do you still see that as a positive sign?

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D-NY): Well, absolutely, diplomacy is the only way out. My concern is, of course, it does appear that, because of the way Donald Trump has started this illegal war of choice, that we are behind the scenes because we don't know anything that's going on.

[09:10:05]

We can't trust what's going on. His words, it seems he lies all the time. And so, when you have someone that's a continuous liar, you don't know what to believe. There's nothing that has been written here. So, you don't know exactly what's negotiated. Congress does not have any insight. There's been no hearings. There has been no discussions. The people have not come before us. So, the American people don't know anything. Congress doesn't know anything. And, quite frankly, John, you know, I'm concerned about the people that's doing the negotiations because if you look at two of them, the top ones, they're really not even a part of the United States government. They've never had any diplomatic negotiations take place. They are real estate developers and real estate negotiators in Witkoff and Kushner. And I think it's good that Vance is there because he will be the only real representative of the U.S. government. But we all know one of the first things that the president did was destroy the State Department. And we heard the generals back even in 2016 talk about how important the State Department is.

So, we are in a unknown scenario because of the president's war of choice and because of the kind of language and things that he's doing continuously to escalate this war. That hurts diplomacy because it hurts trust.

BERMAN: And in term -- in terms of Kushner and Witkoff, I think the administration would argue those two were key in negotiating the ceasefire with Hamas, ending the war in Gaza, or pausing, at least, the fighting, the intense fighting in Gaza. And they would also say Jared Kushner was key in negotiating the Abraham Accords.

But let's talk about J.D. Vance. Do you have faith in Vice President Vance, who will be leading these negotiations?

MEEKS: Well, I think I don't have -- I don't say that I have faith, but I think it's good that we have somebody that's officially a part of the United States government that's there. What I think Kushner and Witkoff has done all over, they have helped make Trump and his friends wealthy because every deal was transactional. And I do not say that there is peace right now completely in Gaza because of some remarks that I've just heard recently coming out from some of the -- of the Trump administrations in regards to Gaza. And we don't see continuous talk that's taking place. People are still suffering there. And we don't have any peace in the Middle East. And we're not moving -- no one is talking about the Abraham Accords at this moment anymore either because of how this president is conducting himself.

BERMAN: In terms of the Strait of Hormuz. As we stand here this morning, it appears the Strait is closed. It does not appear there is significant traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. That was the major concession from Iran to get this ceasefire, to stop the United States attacks on Israel. The United States has stopped -- sorry, attacks on Iran. The United States has stopped bombing Iran. Iran hasn't opened the Strait. So, would did the U.S. get out of the ceasefire?

MEEKS: I don't know. I, again, I've got nothing back from the administration. You would think that there would be some direct dialogue and conversation, at least with some of the members of Congress. There's nothing in writing in that regards. All we hear is that there is going to be a proposed meeting.

And it seemed, because there's nothing in writing, particularly with reference to whether Lebanon was included or not, I think that's an amateur move also because if you had someone there that knows how to do this kind of diplomacy, they would have made sure that that was explicit and everybody was on the same page. And you can't do these things in a matter of hours or days or weeks. It takes time to sit down and to make sure that you have it under -- a complete understanding. So, the way that this administration is trying to handle very, very sensitive and diplomatic -- and diplomatic relations, where there's lack of trust from both sides, is, to me, an amateur move.

BERMAN: So, you reposted on social media a post from the House, you know, the Foreign Affairs Committee, which you are the ranking member from the committee, Democrats, again, you know, you lead the committee Democrats. You reposted, "Trump has gone from threatening war crimes to talking about wiping out an entire civilization." This is based on the president's post the other morning. "This is dangerous, reckless, and shows a president out of his depth. Trump's increasingly showing he's unfit for office, and those defending this war of choice are complicit."

Now, there are Democrats who have called for either impeachment or trying to invoke the 25th Amendment. How do you feel about those efforts? Do you support those efforts?

MEEKS: Well, here's what I feel. I feel that Donald Trump is trying to bankrupt America right now. When you talk about the cost of his war of choice, that's already cost the American people over $25 billion, $30 billion, costing us $1 billion a day. If you look at what he's done with reference to tariffs and other things and the cost of living and how he's asking now for another $200 billion, might be reducing that some. You know, I think he's taking America down the path that he's taken several of his businesses previously.

[09:15:02]

BERMAN: So --

MEEKS: I know who (ph) in New York, he bankrupted them.

BERMAN: So, Congressman --

MEEKS: So, is he incompetent as president? Yes, he's an incompetent president.

BERMAN: So, yes or no, is it worth the effort to either impeach him or invoke the 25th Amendment?

MEEKS: Look, I don't think -- if I'm going to be honest with you, John, and I will, you know, you got to be able to count in this business. In this business, you know, whether he's competent, I can just talk on that. But to do those things, you have to have the votes. And when I see that we have a -- Republican who won't even have hearings in regards to oversight, so there's no oversight by Republicans, and they control the House, they control the Senate, they have the presidency. So, realistically, I don't have the time. I want to -- I'm worried about the country, the country's economy, the American people, and that's where my efforts are going to be moving -- where they're going to be moving forward.

BERMAN: Congressman Gregory Meeks from New York, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, appreciate your time.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: We are standing by for the legal team of Sean Combs. They're headed back to court. What they're going to argue today is that he should be let out of prison immediately. We've got detail on the case that they're going to make to try to pull that off.

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Plus, the chase for the coveted green jacket is underway at the Masters. This is after yesterday's fan favorite event, all of our favorite event, the par three contest, where the world's best play side by side with the world's cutest.

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BERMAN: This morning we are standing by to see lawyers for Sean Combs in a federal appeals court. This happens very soon. They're going to argue his 2025 prostitution related conviction should be overturned, and that he should be released from prison immediately.

Let's get right to CNN's Kara Scannell outside the court.

You covered the case, the conviction. What are we going to hear in court today?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, I just saw some of Sean "Diddy" Combs' lawyers walk up the stairs behind me into that courthouse where they will make their pitch to the appellate judges this morning. They're trying to get his conviction on the two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution overturned, and they are arguing for his release from prison immediately. Part of the argument is they say that the trial judge made mistakes because they say he included acquitted conduct in his calculations for coming up with Combs' sentence. And what Combs was acquitted on were those sex trafficking charges and racketeering conspiracy charges. And in that instance, two of Combs' former girlfriends testified that they were forced to have sex with male escorts in these nights that were called freak offs and hotel nights. They say that the judge should never have been allowed to include that in his sentencing decision, so Combs should have gotten a much lighter sentence.

They're also arguing that Combs was not transporting these men for prostitution. He was producing amateur pornography that he intended to watch with his girlfriends later. Now, the prosecutors say that that does not make any sense. They say that Combs is entirely differently situated from adult film distributors. He hired and transported commercial sex workers to have sex with his girlfriends for his own sexual gratification, sometimes directly participating in the acts. They say that if the judges were to side with Combs, it would mean any defendant who transported others to engage in prostitution could escape liability simply by watching or filming the sex act.

And part of the argument Combs' lawyers say is that prostitution is the one crime, but pornography is covered by the First Amendment and protected activity. So, that is going to be part of the arguments that will unfold today. You know, they are also trying to get Combs either released immediately or have this pushed back to the trial judge for re-sentencing. They say other defendants similarly charged face sentences of 15 months, where Combs is sentenced to 15 months in prison. He has been in detention since September of 2024, and he is currently set to be released in April of 2028. So, they are hoping that these judges side for them and act quickly for his removal.

John.

BERMAN: Kara Scannell, outside the courthouse, where it is all happening shortly. You've done such a great job covering this case from the beginning. Thanks for being with us this morning.

All right, I want to look this morning at the price of oil. You can see, up more than five percent, West Texas crude. Brent crude up more than three percent. Big jumps after yesterday's huge drop. Why traders not so sure about the situation with this ceasefire with Iran. The Strait of Hormuz is still basically shut down. What does that mean for the talks? What does this mean for gas prices over the next few days?

Pope Leo gets an assist from the Harlem Globetrotters, showing off his basketball skills. I want to tell you something here. It turns out the Chicago native is currently better than the Chicago Bulls.

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[09:28:50]

BOLDUAN: So, we're tracking the developments coming out of the Middle East as a ceasefire just days old could already be falling apart. As it stands now, the Strait of Hormuz is still shut down. Shipping data taken today shows essentially no movement. And Iran is accusing Israel of violating the deal by launching strikes on Lebanon yesterday. The IDF said that the attacks were their largest since the war began. They were targeting Hezbollah, they said.

The U.S. and Israel, though, maintain that Lebanon and Hezbollah were never included in the truce, with Vice President J.D. Vance now calling all of that confusion, "a legitimate misunderstanding."

But let's talk about this in this moment. Joining me right now is CNN's senior military analyst, Admiral James Stavridis.

Thanks for being here.

The IDF -- let's start with the strikes by the IDF. They said -- the IDF says they hit 100 plus sites in Lebanon in just ten minutes in what's being called the largest coordinated strikes since the war began. Can you just give some perspective on that scale, how big that was and what -- what you think and how you think it will be impacting this ceasefire now?

[09:30:02]

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET.), CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: What Israel is clearly doing is taking the forces that were being used against Iran, Kate, and simply redirecting them