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Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) On Iran's Expected Response To U.S. Proposal Today; More Than A Dozen Injured After Multiple Tornadoes In Mississippi; FBI Chief Kash Patel: FBI Was "Kept Out" Of Guthrie Probe For Days. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired May 07, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:30:15]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Protests in Iran this morning as we are standing by for Tehran's response to the newest peace proposal from the United States. A source tells CNN that response could come today -- very soon as far as we know.

We have also been told there is this one-page memo under consideration that would declare an end to the conflict and kick off a 30-day period of talks on the major sticking points. Sticking points like Iran's nuclear program. Sticking points like the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump says the U.S. has had "very good talks with Iran over the last 24 hours." The messaging out of Iran though has been a bit harder to gauge.

With us now is Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut. He is on the Senate Armed Services committee.

Do you have any sense of where things stand at this moment?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Based on what I know, and it's not classified information, there is a framework. It's nebulous. It provides, in effect, for an extension of the ceasefire. Despite the exchange of hostilities that have occurred over the last 48 hours, the president saying that the ceasefire continues. But it is more like a path forward than a genuine peace proposal.

BERMAN: So an extension leaving the harder issues until later, like Iran's nuclear program? How would you feel about some kind of signed document today which doesn't deal with the enriched uranium still inside Iran?

BLUMENTHAL: A nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable. I think there's a lot of consensus on that point. But what we're more likely to see as a result of this exchange of papers is simply an agreement to try to seek an agreement. And the president is under pressure because he's going to China on March 14 and he wants some progress before then.

He has made a fundamental miscalculation that bombing alone would accomplish his objectives. Those objectives have been shifting and contradictory. Securing the enriched uranium, changing the regime, destroying the missile production capacity, halting the terrorist attacks -- none has been achieved because bombing and bombast and bluster are not capable of doing it. So he's under a lot of pressure to extricate the United States and avoid the continuing costs that are imposed on the American people.

BERMAN: So again -- and we don't know specifics of this one-page document but the broad framework sort of an extension with the discussion on the major issues to come.

Where would that leave Iran in terms of the strength of the regime today and tomorrow versus the beginning of February?

BLUMENTHAL: Iran is weakened in terms of its missile and drone capacity and its production, but the hardliners are very much in control. It is weakened economically, certainly, but it is in control of the strait and it's going to insist that it continue to be in control. And the question really is, John, as you have identified very correctly, will they have some lesser enrichment of uranium such as the JCPOA (INAUDIBLE).

So where Trump is now headed seems to be very much the JCPOA 2.0, maybe slightly changed, and it could have been the result of negotiations; not a war that --

BERMAN: Um-hum.

BLUMENTHAL: -- was based on a fundamental miscalculation.

BERMAN: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says, and I'm paraphrasing here, essentially the United States holds all the cards.

Is that how you see it? Does Iran have no cards this morning?

BLUMENTHAL: Iran has a lot of cards and you're seeing them in real time. Americans are paying much higher prices for gasoline -- but not just for fuel, also for food. Everything from mattresses to medical devices. Everything dependent on petrochemicals and plastics. And the world economy is at risk all because Iran still holds cards.

And here's the lesson. You can't count on war being quick and easy. You can't base it on bombast and bluster or bombing alone. And the costs of this war have yet to be fully felt or calculated. And I would emphasize this point.

[07:35:00]

This administration has concealed at lot of the costs. I've asked repeatedly in classified settings as well as in open hearings -- most recently when Hegseth came before the Congress in a hearing last week -- what are the costs of this war? And so far, they've stonewalled and really stalled us and the American people.

BERMAN: We just put up on the screen there oil prices are down today a few more percent on expectations, I think that there will be some kind of agreement. Oil prices are down. Gas prices, I should say, are up again. I think the national average is about $4.56 a gallon of gas, which is up a lot over the last week and certainly well over a dollar and a half since the conflict began.

I do want to shift subjects to the White House and the construction on the East Wing where Republicans in the Senate, as part of their spending bill on immigration enforcement, have included a billion dollars in spending for security in the East Wing, which basically is for the new ballroom, although it doesn't say ballroom, and it says it can't be used for construction on non-security things.

But how do you feel about taxpayer dollars going toward that construction?

BLUMENTHAL: This Trump ballroom is a gold-plated boondoggle. He never should have torn down the East Wing. It's not his house; it's the people's house. And he did it without coming to Congress for any kind of funding. Now they are trying to use taxpayer money, which I think is a mistake, for the construction without Congress overseeing exactly what that structure is. And there is no need for the kind of massive monstrosity that they are contemplating.

So as to the Iran War, where he has failed to come to Congress as required by law, and now on the White House where he's torn down the East Wing without coming to Congress or consulting the American people -- it's not just Congress, it's the American people -- he's violating the law and he should be stopped.

BERMAN: Senator Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut. Thanks for coming in this morning -- appreciate it.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: There are new images and video coming in this morning of really the insane damage brought by storms in Mississippi. More than a dozen people are being treated for injuries now after officials believe that multiple tornadoes touched down. An early assessment shows that more than 1,000 structures were damaged or destroyed, and that's a lot of homes and businesses -- even the local government emergency operations center.

CNN's Allison Chinchar is tracking this storm for us. What is the situation like now, Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right, yeah. I mean, this was the situation last night. Again, you can kind of see it's very dark in the video, but you can see a lot of trees down in the background. Kind of the road in the foreground here. This is portions of central Mississippi where they had that reported tornado come through, but it's not the only part of central Mississippi that ended up seeing some damage from these severe thunderstorms that rolled through last night.

Again, you saw the video here. This is of that trailer park where you can see again a lot of those mobile homes -- the damage that's there. But it's not just mobile homes. You also had other homes, businesses. A lot of this area was really hit hard by these storms that rolled through the area.

And it was one of 14 possible tornado reports that came in last night. You can see there on the map. Again, you've got a lot of these dots also indicating the damaging wind reports and even hail reports that came in from this line of storms.

It is still ongoing. You can see right through here. You also see it with this particular cold front as it slides off to the east. The potential is still there for those strong thunderstorms. So you still have a tornado watch in effect for the area you see here in red as those storms continue to slide off to the east.

We have one warning in effect right now -- or two little warnings right there in effect right now. We've had several off and on throughout the morning as this line continues to slide off to the east. The good news is eventually this will make it out over the open Atlantic and finally take the threat for severe thunderstorms with it.

Still, however, any lingering moisture really can kind of compound a lot of the rain that's already fallen. You have that flood risk across portions of Georgia here because of how much rain has already fallen in just the last 24 to 48 hours. Again, look at a lot of these widespread areas, one to three inches. A couple of those spots -- four, five, even six inches of rain has come down in just the last 24 to 36 hours.

This is where we have the greatest threat for severe storms today. You can see it's really kind of centered right there across south Georgia into portions of Florida and southeastern Alabama where, yes, we could see more potential for some tornadoes.

BOLDUAN: Allison, thank you so much for that. A lot to watch right now -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Mom-and-pop shops across the country are getting crushed. Small businesses are in so many ways the backbone of the U.S. economy but according to a new report first shared with CNN, some of them are really struggling to survive. Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees have cut jobs for 13 straight months.

CNN's Matt Egan is looking at all of this and joining me now. You got a look at this report of -- were the first to get it. What are you seeing in it? How bad are things?

[07:40:00]

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well Sara, look, these mom-and-pop shops -- they are under fire right now. They're grappling with confusing tariffs, expensive health insurance, and lately surging energy costs.

So when you look at the smallest of the small businesses, right -- the ones employing fewer than 10 people -- employment at those firms fell last year by almost 300,000 jobs. That's the most in at least 10 years. As you mentioned, that is more than in any year. This is four times more than in 2020, right, during COVID.

SIDNER: Wow.

EGAN: Now this is according to this new report from Democrats on the Joint Economic committee, and they based it on an analysis of Intuit QuickBooks data.

Now some of this trend -- when you look at the trend this is not completely brand new, right? We saw a spike after COVID in 2021. These small businesses added a lot of jobs. But that really started to taper off, and employment fell the final two years under former President Biden. But again, look at this massive decline last year alone.

And we can see the fingerprints of the president's tariff policies. When you look at tariff-exposed industries. Revenue in those industries -- at these mom-and-pop shops -- have fallen.

Also, employment. We're talking about retail, manufacturing, construction, wholesalers. All of these sectors are exposed to tariffs. Leisure and hospitality also losing jobs as well. They're exposed to the decline in foreign tourism, which is something that we've seen from Canada --

SIDNER: Right.

EGAN: -- and other countries also possibly related to tariffs.

I talked to a woman who owns a production company in Los Angeles, and she said she's been hit by higher costs on everything, right? Clothes, on energy. She said diesel prices are through the roof.

One last point. I spoke to a woman in Virginia. She started her small manufacturing company with her husband in a garage 10 years -- 20 years ago. Now she said she doesn't know if they're going to be able to survive.

And one of the reoccurring themes here is frustration over tariff policy, right? All of the swings and volatility. And she had a simple message for Washington. She said, "Stop the game-playing. This is not a game; this is people's lives."

SIDNER: Well, that is. And when you're -- small businesses we're talking about -- families directly affected. Sometimes whole families work on these businesses trying to make sure that they stay afloat.

Matt Egan, not good news there. That's a huge number for a business that only has 10 or less -- fewer people.

EGAN: Yes.

SIDNER: Appreciate it -- great reporting.

EGAN: Thank you, Sara. SIDNER: Kate.

BOLDUAN: So a federal judge now says that the Department of Justice does not have to return hundreds of boxes of 2020 election ballots that were seized from Georgia's Fulton County. The ruling is the latest move in this obviously politically charged investigation tied to President Trump's ongoing and unfounded claims of election fraud. County officials were demanding the ballots be returned because the seizure, they said, was improper and incantational.

Well now, in a 68-page opinion, the judge says that -- says this of the January raid by the FBI that the seizure -- that "the seizure was certainly not perfect" is what the judge said, but that Fulton County did not establish that its rights were callously disregarded "either through the lack of probably cause, omissions in the affidavit or by the manner of the execution of the seizure."

The judge added that the Fulton -- that Fulton County itself failed to show that it would suffer irreparable harm if the ballots remain in federal custody while the case moves forward.

Joining me right now is Elie Honig, CNN senior legal analyst, for more on this.

Let's start with this, Elie. What do you make of this decision? I mean, the judge was not complimentary of the raid per se -- of the search per se and the seizure, but it's -- but still does not think that the ballots should be returned. Is there anything further Fulton County could do?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: There is, Kate. It's sort of a mixed bag for now.

So any time a party, like Fulton County, gets searched you can challenge that search by bringing what we call a motion for return of property. But as you just pointed out the bar there legally is very high. Fulton County would have had to have shown that there was a flagrant disregard for their constitutional or legal rights. The judge found that Fulton County did not make quite that dramatic a showing. However, the judge did conspicuously note that there were potentially some problems with this search.

And the way this could play out is if and when there's ever a criminal charge based on this evidence seized, then the party that's charged gets to try again. The bar is actually a little lower there. There, if they can show -- whoever gets charged can show that there was some fault in this search and the affidavit and the way the search was carried out, then you can get the evidence what we call suppressed, meaning it cannot be used against someone at trial.

So Fulton County has failed at its first shot but there could be another one down the line.

BOLDUAN: It is really interesting, Elie. Can I also ask you about Virginia -- this FBI search of the personal office and business connected to a powerful Democratic Virginia lawmaker Louise Lucas. A source claims that it says that it had to do -- the search -- with a corruption probe that had been launched during the Biden administration. But recently it has been noted she was a powerful voice pushing for Virginia's successful redistricting effort, which helped Democrats and kind of went against President Trump.

[07:45:15]

What do you make of this?

HONIG: So there are things we do and don't know here. We do know that any time prosecutors get a search warrant like this you have to establish probable cause and you have to show that it's likely you'll find some evidence of criminality.

So I've been through this many a times. You have to write out a detailed affidavit as a prosecutor, walk it over to a federal judge who then reviews it. And if the judge finds yes, there's probable cause, then you can do the search. We know that happened here. But probable cause is far less than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. It's not nothing. Judges don't rubberstamp these things. But it is a substantial finding by the judge.

Now, with respect to the allegation that this was politically motivated --

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

HONIG: -- we don't know. We know this DOJ certainly has a pattern of targeting people who have been politically adverse to the president, whether Jim Comey or Letitia James or Mark Kelly, Elissa Slotkin, Jerome Powell, on down the line. And we do know that this individual who was searched was at the forefront of Virginia's recent effort to redistrict.

So if it's the case that this fraud investigation goes back to the Biden administration, that undercuts any allegation that there was politics here. But this is part of what we don't yet know and will be potentially litigated down the line.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, absolutely.

It's good to see you, Elie. Thank you -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Breaking this morning, a meeting that all of a sudden comes with high stakes and a very awkward moment -- excuse me -- moment. Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Pope Leo after the latest tense exchange between the president and the pontiff.

And then the theft that gives a new meaning to cash cow. Someone stole dozens of calves worth more than $100,000.

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[07:51:05]

SIDNER: All right. Three months after Savannah Guthrie's mother Nancy disappeared, FBI Director Kash Patel is claiming his agents were "kept out" of the investigation for the first four days. Patel said this on Sean Hannity's podcast and also said the FBI was the agency that got Google to give them the footage of the suspect from Nancy Guthrie's doorbell camera. Patel also criticized local officials' handling of evidence, including DNA found at the scene.

Take a listen.

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KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: What we, the FBI, do is say hey, we're here to help. What do you need? What can we do? And for four days we were kept out of the investigation. It's their call on where to send the DNA. We have Quantico -- the best lab in the world. I had a -- I had a fixed-wing aircraft on the ground ready to move immediately through the night.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST, "HANG OUT WITH SEAN HANNITY": Did they just say no?

PATEL: And they said we're sending it to Florida. And then, I don't know, 60 days --

HANNITY: They have jurisdiction.

PATEL: They have jurisdiction so it's their call. So --

HANNITY: Bad call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Uh, the Pima County Sheriff's Office disputes Patel's claim that the FBI was kept out initially saying, "Sheriff Nanos responded to the scene the night of the incident, providing immediate local leadership and oversight. A member of the FBI Task Force was also notified and present at that scene working alongside our personnel. The FBI was promptly notified by both our department and the Guthrie family. While the FBI director was not on scene, coordination with the bureau began without delay."

Joining me now CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe.

What is going on here? Who exactly does this serve?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FORMER FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR (via Webex by Cisco): It serves no one. And, in fact, it does a great disservice not only to the community but particularly to the Guthrie family. I mean, can you imagine at a time when they're going through unimaginable pain for the loss of their mother, now they have reason to question the team that they've been working with for so many weeks -- their competence and whether they're working well together. It's really just an incredibly, incredibly poor decision. SIDNER: I'm curious whether it is good practice for a member of the FBI, never mind the FBI director, to be discussion the case like this on a podcast while the family, as you mentioned, still suffering the realities of an unsolved case -- getting into sort of what looks like infighting between them and the local government.

Is this just Patel sort of saying look, the FBI has done all it can and, you know, these yahoos over here aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing?

MCCABE: It's -- Sara, I can't even think of how to describe this in any way other than unthinkable. I can't imagine any other director of the FBI or any FBI leader, you know, aggressively targeting and attacking their partner in an ongoing case of such significance and at such high profile.

So let's break it down a little bit. We know that his criticism -- the initial criticism does not appear to be accurate anyway as the -- as you noted from the information put out by Pima County.

There was somebody from the FBI on site on Sunday when the crime was discovered. And, of course, we know from our own records that FBI leadership -- the ASAC from the Phoenix office was present in a joint press conference on Tuesday which is, of course, less than four days.

So his criticism is fundamentally inaccurate.

But more importantly, it is one of the most important jobs that the FBI does in terms of building a community in law enforcement. We know from long, hard experience that we are better when we work with our partners, right? That's why the FBI has hundreds of task forces around the country in everything from joint terrorism task forces to safe streets, task forces on violent crime -- all kinds of things.

[07:55:00]

To attack a partner publicly in the middle of a case -- in the middle of an investigation -- undermines all of that work -- all of that community-building, all of those partnerships. And it sows the seeds of distrust in other potential partners. So it makes it harder for the FBI to maintain positive partnerships and to attract other law enforcement entities to give us their people and their resources to work with our folks on task forces. So it's not a good idea.

SIDNER: Um, Andrew McCabe, thank you. And we just should mention this is still an open case. They are still trying to figure out where Mrs. Guthrie is and, of course, the family is still reeling from all of this. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for your expertise on this, Andrew -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Cattle farmers in northwest Ohio -- they are facing a real security threat and conundrum after a massive heist. The Mercer County Sheriff's Department says more than 60 calves were stolen overnight from just one property. Their value more than $125,000. The search for the stolen cattle has now extended into neighboring Indiana. The sheriff's office is asking for the public's help and saying anyone with possible surveillance video to please share it with authorities now.

Prosecutors in Florida say an influencer live-streamed himself shooting at an alligator in the Everglades. His name is Braden Peters. He is 20 years old and is now charged with unlawfully discharging a firearm in a public place. He's known online as "Clavicular" and for popularizing the looksmaxxing trend. His attorney says he was simply following the instructions of a licensed airboat guide and that no animals were harmed. Court documents do not say whether the alligator was struck or hurt.

And he leads more than a billion Catholics around the world but still seems to have to deal with the hassles of everyday life just like us. The pope, he's just like us. Soon after he ascended to the papacy, Pope Leo got hung up on by a bank teller.

His friend recently told the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. TOM MCCARTHY: And so he gets a lady and he says "Yes, ma'am, I'm Robert Prevost. I'd like to change." She asked all the security questions.

And then it is "Oh, I'm sorry, sir. It says here you have to come in person."

And he said, "Well, that's not going to -- I'm not going to be able to do that. Would it matter to you if I told you I'm Pope Leo?"

(Gesture of hanging up phone).

She hung up on him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The friend says the matter was eventually sorted out with the help of another priest who had a connection to the bank. And the friend said this -- which, of course, who could sum it up better. "Could you imagine begin known as the woman who hung up on the pope?" John.

BERMAN: I mean, that might be the best story ever. I think the headline though is that he managed to get through to a live operator, right? I mean, that just shows how much power he has. That he Lord is with him. That he was able somehow to get through to a live teller.

BOLDUAN: How many saints did he have to lean on just for that one? We'll see.

BERMAN: I mean, that's amazing. Great story.

All right. New this morning, along that line, a brand new report on AI's impact on jobs. For the second month in a row AI was the leading reason for layoffs. That was in April, according to a research firm. And it comes after Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, said this week it was cutting 14 percent of its workforce in part to optimize for the AI era.

CNN tech editor Lisa Eadicicco is here with the latest on this. We're hearing this so often now.

LISA EADICICCO, CNN TECH EDITOR: Exactly, and that's why I've been speaking with business consultants to learn more about what's actually happening here. Is AI really capable of taking jobs? Is that really reflecting what's happening in the industry? And the answer is a little bit more nuanced.

It's not that AI is swapping out actual individual employees. What's happening is it's taking on bits and pieces of different people's roles throughout an organization, and that's really spread out across an entire business, so it's not really a one-for-one swap.

And that's why you hear -- when we talk about AI and jobs you hear a lot of rhetoric around upskilling, around rethinking jobs, around reimagining what a job looks like because it's not that AI is taking over the entire duty of a specific person. And these companies now are having to think about how do we -- what does a job look like when it's partially being done by AI and it's partially being done by a person?

And the tech industry has really kind of been at the forefront of this shift because AI has gotten really good at coding and those tools have advanced rapidly over the past year alone. So now you're seeing a lot of software engineering jobs kind of transition into this role where it's less about coding and more about high-level decision-making, and reviewing codes, and making judgment calls, and looking at the design element products that are being built.

And that's a little bit of what was reflected in the X post from the CEO of Coinbase when he announced the layoffs earlier this week.

BERMAN: It's so interesting. When it's not a one-for-one swap it makes it a little more complicated, right --

EADICICCO: Exactly.

BERMAN: -- in terms of replacing those jobs if you want these human beings to stay employed.