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Trump Says He's Interviewing Five Candidates For Next Director Of National Intelligence; WSJ: Trump Wants Acting DNI Pick To Begin Process Of Firing Employees; Soon: Trump Arrives In Wisconsin To Speak To Farmers; Wisconsin Dem Ying To Unseat GOP Rep. Slams Trump At Family Farm; Brendan Banfield Gets Life Sentence For Murders Of Wife, Stranger; Brendan Banfield Speaks During Double Murder Sentencing; Iran Supreme Leader's Adviser Says Talks Are Deadlocked Over $24 Billion in Frozen Assets & Warns of a Wider War. Aired 3-3:30p ET
Aired June 05, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Still kind of a Switzerland play there by Elmo. The Knicks currently lead the series. Game 2 is tonight. We're catching a lot of flak for the Shimon Prokupecz conversation we had in the last hour.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: I can see why.
SANCHEZ: Some people weren't happy that there was booing.
KEILAR: They're mad at Elmo. I mean, they're going to be mad at us, Boris.
SANCHEZ: I don't know. I -- I will continue booing the whole way.
KEILAR: Whatever. I love Elmo. Elmo can do nothing to take me off.
SANCHEZ: The Switzerland thing not working out. I don't know. We'll see.
KEILAR: We'll debate it. We'll debate it in the commercial break.
SANCHEZ: We will. A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.
KEILAR: Downsizing the DNI. President Trump reportedly giving marching orders to his new pick to lead the intelligence community, saying that he should fire a large number of people.
Plus, in a rare interview, a top adviser to Iran's supreme leader tells CNN it's up to President Trump to break the deadlock in peace talks. We'll tell you what he says Tehran wants in order to get a deal done and the consequences of any further fighting.
SANCHEZ: And it's a summer house party and everyone is invited. How Bravo's hit reality show is finding a new audience. We're going to speak to the Brav' (ph) bros themselves as we follow these major developing stories and many more. And I figure out what -- what that means. All coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
KEILAR: Just moments ago on Air Force One, President Trump told reporters he's interviewing five candidates for the next director of National Intelligence. The President describing them as, quote, "All very good. All people that you know very well. All people that do that kind of thing and they're very respected people."
SANCHEZ: Earlier this week, President Trump named Bill Pulte, a housing official with no known National Security experience, as Acting DNI. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal today, the President previewed his plan for Pulte, saying that he wants him to begin the process of firing a large number of employees. CNN's Natasha Bertrand joins us now.
So, what more is the President saying about this pick for the acting role, Natasha?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, he said just minutes ago on Air Force One that he wouldn't mind if Pulte dramatically reduced the number of people at the office of the director of National Intelligence. He also told The Wall Street Journal earlier today that he, you know, wouldn't necessarily be opposed to considering terminating the entity altogether.
And this comes, of course, as he has appointed Bill Pulte to be the acting director of National Intelligence, heading an agency that was created after 9/11 to essentially synthesize intelligence from all 18 agencies and entities within the intelligence community to better coordinate and potentially prevent terrorist attacks from happening again.
This is obviously part of President Trump's very much distrust and disdain of the intelligence community. He is putting Bill Pulte in this role, we're told, because Pulte is a loyalist. He has -- as the top housing official previously before being put into this role. He was extremely loyal to President Trump. He brought charge -- he brought recommendations for charges of mortgage fraud against many of President Trump's perceived enemies. He has also shown a willingness to, quote, "move fast and break things," which is something that President Trump really wants to see him do as head of the intelligence community.
There's also a lot that he could do with regard to election security, something that President Trump has been fixated on. And we should note that if Bill Pulte serves in this acting role, then he will be able to stay there for 210 days, which would move, of course, past the midterm elections. And so, this is someone, though, notably, that has raised a lot of alarm in the intelligence community, as well as on Capitol Hill, even among Republicans, because he has no prior National Security or intelligence experience.
In fact, me and my colleagues are reporting today that he did not even have a security clearance prior to being appointed for this role. And just the other day, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence reached out to the CIA to start a formal vetting process for Pulte to receive that security clearance.
So, a lot of questions about what his qualifications are for this job and whether President Trump just wants to see him terminate a lot of people inside the agency who he believes are potentially disloyal or, quote-unquote, "holdovers" from previous administrations.
KEILAR: All right, Natasha, thank you for that.
Let's talk about this now with Marc Caputo. He's a senior politics reporter for Axios. I mean, Marc, what -- what could go wrong here?
MARC CAPUTO, SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER, AXIOS: Well, in the Trump White House view, not a lot. Number one, Trump doesn't really like the agency. Tulsi Gabbard, the outgoing DNI secretary, barely got the job because at the time Trump was asking during the transition, why do we need this -- this ODNI, he doesn't see the need for it.
Number two, they believe that ODNI, now not for everyone, let me make this clear, but a sort of island of misfit toys.
[15:05:07]
The people in the various 18 intelligence agencies who are not good enough in their view, who should have been fired over the years in this view, have been sent over to ODNI and are just sitting there as dead wood. So, in the view of the Trump White House, what he wants is that dead wood removed in addition to what he says are these deep state actors. So, it's a dual action effort.
SANCHEZ: Part of his directive, at least according to what he told The Wall Street Journal, is for Pulte to release an array of classified documents, including some on the 2020 election. What does Trump want to see made public that he can't do himself as president?
CAPUTO: Trump just believes, and there is no persuasive evidence in this of widespread conspiracy that cost him the election. He either can't handle or will not admit that he lost it.
KEILAR: Are they worried about the stakes here? We have to remember, this is an agency put in place after 9/11. If any, God forbid, if there's any kind of attack and they have dismantled, if they've DOGE'd the intelligence community, you'd think that there would be some political hell to pay.
CAPUTO: Well, there probably would be. The White House, President Trump, his advisers hold the CIA in incredibly high esteem. And also, behind the scenes here, there's a spy versus spy battle. The CIA and ODNI don't get along. And one of the things before Tulsi Gabbard decision to leave that had blown up sort of on the espionage beat was this testimony in front of the Senate committee that various CIA operatives had sabotaged some of Tulsi Gabbard's ability to do various projects and find out the truth. This is in their view.
And so, you're going to see behind the scenes a battle to, among some Trump advisers, get John Ratcliffe, the CIA's director, his number two or someone from his inner circle over DNI or you're going to see the people in Trump's inner circle who hate the CIA, who want to see a check on the agency appointed as the head of the entity. So, it's going to be -- it's going to be interesting to watch. It's, you know, it's the Trump show. It's always interesting. SANCHEZ: Yes. President Trump apparently said that he's talking to two
people and he interviewed two just today, one in the business world, one in the world of politics. The law that established DNI as a role within the intelligence community stipulates that it has to be someone with extensive intelligence experience. Is it clear that the President is prioritizing that?
CAPUTO: Oh no. I mean, Donald Trump has a vision of what he wants to see and he wants it -- I'm not going to -- going to air quote deep state. He wants the deep state decimated. He blames them for cooking up the Russia intelligence investigation against him, the Russia hoax as he calls it. And that is of less concern.
Also, we have to remember this, whether we're talking about the next director of National Intelligence or attorney general or acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, the President doesn't really feel, from what I'm told, that worried about whether or not these confirmations are going to happen. He can just keep putting acting directors in. They say it's 210 days.
I haven't done the math on how many acting directors you can have between now and the end of his term, but it's not a lot.
SANCHEZ: Marc Caputo. Thanks so much for joining us.
CAPUTO: You're welcome. Thanks.
SANCHEZ: Of course. Still to come, President Trump taking his economic message to one of the biggest midterm battlegrounds. He's about to meet with farmers in Wisconsin as we watch him boarding Air Force One on the way there. We'll take you live to Wisconsin in just moments.
KEILAR: Plus, Brendan Banfield sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife and another man in a plot with his family's au pair. What he said in court about the crimes.
And then later CNN sits down with fans of far-right streamer Nick Fuentes. What draws them to his sexist and racist rhetoric? We'll have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
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[15:13:25]
SANCHEZ: Just minutes from now, President Trump will be landing in Wisconsin where he will soon be hosting a roundtable event with farmers.
KEILAR: These are face-to-face talks coming at a time when the Trump administration's tariff policies and high fuel prices stemming from the war with Iran have led to hardships for the farming industry. And Democrats in the state are now highlighting those hurdles ahead of the midterm elections. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is live in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin ahead of the President's visit.
Jeff, set the scene for us there. JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, look,
President Trump has not returned to Wisconsin since he won the state back in 2024. But this, I'm told, is going to be the first of several visits this year. He's trying to fire up his Republican base.
But as you can see behind me here, we're in a farm shed on the Acosta (ph) Farms, which is in western Wisconsin. It's in the 3rd Congressional District. And this is one of the most competitive House races in the whole country. It's rated as a toss-up. And for this reason, I mean, the farmers we are talking to and just other public opinion polls show that there are deep economic concerns here, of course, over the rising fuel and fertilizer prices, but as well as the tariff policies.
So, the President has not been campaigning nearly as much this year. But this is one example of an event. He's going to come out, and the White House has talked about his policies. But there are other people talking here as well. And we caught up with a Democratic congressional candidate here, Rebecca Cooke, who's challenging or hopes to challenge the Republican congressman Derrick Van Orden. And she had this to say about Trump's policies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REBECCA COOKE, (D) WISCONSIN CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I think people are really disappointed in this administration and what they thought they were voting for.
[15:15:03]
The way that tariffs were enacted in such a swinging way didn't really allow people to plan. Farmers are planning months in advance for their crop season. And I think the impact reciprocal tariffs had on farmers here has been pretty astronomical. And it's not just soybean farmers, which is a, you know, billion-dollar industry here, but we're also the biggest producers of cranberries in the country.
So, it's really hit people in a variety of ways. I would also say the war in Iran which is, you know, this administration campaigned on no more wars, right, and involved us in an entanglement that has increased diesel prices, increased the price of fertilizer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: And Rebecca Cooke grew up on a farm not far from here where the President's going to be speaking. And, of course, those economic concerns, also particularly in the dairy industry, are really coursing through this campaign. Now, it's always a question of Republican voters, obviously, who truly believe in the President. And we've seen many supporters of his here, hundreds of supporters, at what was supposed to be a roundtable event, but clearly it looks to me like one of the Trump rallies we've seen, a smaller version of it. They certainly are supportive of him, but the question are voters in the middle. And it's that energy there that does swept him to election still -- still out there?
So, it's one of the reasons we'll be seeing him campaigning more in places like this. Boris and Brianna.
KEILAR: Jeff Zeleny, live for us in Wisconsin, thank you.
And coming up, the man convicted of killing his wife and a stranger in a plot with an au pair is sentenced to life in prison, but not before facing his victim's loved ones. We'll have the latest from court next.
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[15:21:12]
SANCHEZ: The Virginia man convicted of killing his wife and a stranger in an elaborate plot with the family's au pair will spend the rest of his life in prison.
KEILAR: Brendan Banfield handed a life sentence without parole today in Virginia court, where he faced harsh words from the judge and his victim's loved ones. CNN's Jean Casarez is with us now on this story. Jean, tell us what happened in court.
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first off, it was the victim impact statements, and they were so extremely emotional. You had the sister of Christine Banfield, that was the wife of Brendan Banfield, talking about her, that she was thoughtful and she was wise and she was reliable and she cared about others.
You have had the mother of Joseph Ryan, who said that he was always right there for her through her medical issues.
Brendan Banfield, in his testimony during trial, actually took the reputations of the victims and turned those reputations on their head to paint them as people the jury determined they were not. And during the victim impact statements, they spoke and pushed back at what Brendan Banfield had said. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIELLE HOCKER, CHRISTINE BANFIELD'S SISTER: I didn't truly know Brendan at all. I don't believe anyone did. Not family, not friends and certainly not Christine. His testimony was the most self-serving display of narcissism I have ever witnessed. He attempted to smear her through outright lies and victim blaming.
DEIDRE FISHER, JOSEPH RYAN'S MOTHER: Joe wasn't just the disposable caricature -- caricature he was made out to be. He had a face. He had a name. He had a life. But Brendan Banfield shot his face. Soiled his name and treated his life as disposable. My son was a kind human being who had a full life of meaning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Right before the judge sentenced Brendan Banfield, the defendant always has an opportunity to speak to the court. Mostly they do not. Sometimes they apologize. Brendan Banfield today turned it all around. Once again blaming the victims for their own death. But then at the end said he truly loved Christine. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENDAN BANFIELD, CONVICTED DOUBLE MURDERER: I loved her very much. Despite what you may think of my affairs. Our marriage worked for us. It wasn't something -- it wasn't some that I looked to end. There was no -- it was told to other women that I was never going to leave Christine. That was always -- that was always how it was said.
JUDGE PERRY AZCARATE, FAIRFAX COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT: To testify as you did shows the court that you still think that you are the smartest person in the room. The level of cruelty calculation and inhumanity in this case reflects something far deeper than anger or impulse. It reflects evil. Which is why I carry no burden and find no hesitation in sentencing you to life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And remember, this is double murder. This is life in prison without the possibility of any parole. He's 41 years old. He'll be in there for a long time.
KEILAR: Jean Casarez. Thank you. And thank you for following this case throughout the months. We appreciate it.
Ahead in an exclusive interview with CNN, a top advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader says the ball is now in President Trump's court to break a deadlock in the peace talks. We'll tell you what he says could make a difference in forging a deal.
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[15:29:19]
SANCHEZ: A top Iranian official is now telling CNN in an exclusive interview that a potential peace deal to end the war is deadlocked. The military advisor to Iran's supreme leader says that negotiations will be stalled until President Trump releases $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets.
KEILAR: The advisor goes on to threaten the possibility of a wider war if the U.S. resumes fighting. He sat down with CNN Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen. And we do want to add that CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHSEN REZAEI, SENIOR MILITARY ADVISER TO IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER (through interpreter): If the war continues and the naval blockade is not lifted, we will drag the war to the Indian Ocean, the Bab el- Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.
[15:30:07]
