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Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) is Interviewed about Gates Testimony; Wholesale Inflation rises to 6.5 Percent; Inflation and Trump; World Cup Kicks Off Today; Jeff Corwin is Interviewed about Bears in Japan. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired June 11, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:32:43]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is revealing new details about his history with Jeffrey Epstein, calling that friendship a "grave error in judgment" and claiming that Epstein essentially tried to blackmail him.

This comes from closed door testimony before the House Oversight Committee that we talked about yesterday that happened all throughout the day yesterday. Gates said that Epstein tried to use information about his personal life, including that he had been unfaithful in his marriage, to pressure Gates to remain close to him. Gates also says that -- said that he never visited Epstein's island, his ranch or Florida home, denies knowing about Epstein's crimes. Bill Gates has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing.

His testimony, though, comes as part of the ongoing investigation by lawmakers in the House of the Epstein files. The House Oversight Committee chairman, James Comer, he also now says that he plans to seek testimony next month from other high-profile figures, including Alan Dershowitz and Acting Attorney General Tom Blanche.

And joining me right now is one of the members of the House Oversight Committee, Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois.

Thanks for coming in, Congressman.

REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): Thank you.

BOLDUAN: You were in there. You saw this happen, this take place, this testimony. What is your take and impression from the interview on the level of candor and honesty that you think you got from Bill Gates?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, he was a little combative at times. I think that he answered all the questions. But the kind of tension throughout the whole day was, on the one hand, you know, Bill Gates wanted to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein at every turn and said that the only reason he met with him was to try to raise money for his philanthropies. But on the other hand, the text messages, the emails, the number of

meetings he had, he had at least 14 meetings, painted a different picture. And I think that was kind of at the heart of the tension throughout the day.

BOLDUAN: One of your colleagues, Democratic colleagues, who was in there as well, he -- his take was, generally speaking, that Gates apologized and that he was being cooperative. Do you disagree with that description?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: No, I think that's probably generally accurate. I wish he was a little more forthcoming and candid on some of the questions that were asked. But I think, generally, he answered the questions.

[08:35:01]

I think that one of the themes that came out was that Jeffrey Epstein likes to try to use information that he has on people in a way of leverage against them. And we heard that from his assistants. We heard that from survivors. You know, there were more than 1,000 girls, now middle-aged women, who were victimized by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and many of them recount the same thing, which is that he would constantly use private, personal information against them to continue with the abuse or to get them to get others to participate in this sex trafficking ring.

BOLDUAN: How does this apply, though, this scenario that you described right there, apply to Bill Gates then? If Gates says that he thought Epstein was trying to blackmail him and pressure him using information from his private life, what does Gates think Epstein was trying -- wanted from him?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, what Gates said was that he wanted -- he believed that Jeffrey Epstein wanted Gates to reengage with him, potentially in some kind of a financial transaction. As I mentioned before, Gates wanted to raise money from Jeffrey Epstein, and Jeffrey Epstein wanted to take a fee from the money that was raised. And so, Gates would say that Epstein was after his money ultimately.

BOLDUAN: So, are you satisfied? Do you think you learned something from Bill Gates? Or do you think he was holding back?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: I think that he generally answered the questions. One of the biggest question marks in this whole situation, which doesn't allow me to say whether he was holding back, is that we still have yet to see 3.5 million files withheld from us by the DOJ, as well as $1.5 billion of wire transaction data that's held by the Department of Treasury. So, we don't know the full picture yet. But I'm still pressing and we're still pressing for that information. And if information comes out that, again, implicates Gates, I'm sure that we're going to call him back.

BOLDUAN: Comer says now that he wants to, in the next month, bring in Alan Dershowitz and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. What do you think that will give you? KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, in Blanche's case, he's the -- in my opinion, he

is the chief architect of the cover up that the White House is engaging in to prevent the disclosure of files, to prevent the disclosure of any information that might implicate Donald Trump in any of the situation. And that's one reason, by the way, which I'm -- why I have kind of advocated for him not to be named the permanent attorney general.

I think that --

BOLDUAN: Again, do you think he's going to come in and to testify while his nomination is still under consideration, since he's now been nominated?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: One way or the other, he's going to answer these questions, whether it's in a Senate confirmation hearing or through our investigation. But he's not going to be able to evade these questions.

BOLDUAN: In the end, where do you think this -- with all the interviews and what you've seen, there's still more documents to see. I am just curious, what are the chances that no one else faces any legal punishment after this committee's long investigation?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, if Todd Blanche is in charge, there's very little chance that there's going to be any more criminal prosecutions. On the other hand, I think that there's growing public pressure for others to be held accountable, including people that have been named in the investigation by survivors, as well as Jeffrey Epstein's assistants, as co -- as perpetrators. There is one chart -- there's a famous chart that the DOJ had created in which at least seven coconspirators were redacted or blacked out. And those people, I think, are still out there in our midst, potentially preying on others and need to be charged as well.

BOLDUAN: It seems that there is more to come.

Congressman, thank you for your time.

Omar.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: We've got some breaking news right now.

We have new, key data on inflation just out. Wholesale inflation continues to rise rapidly in the U.S.

I want to get right to CNN's senior reporter Matt Eagan, who's got the numbers for us.

All right, what is it looking like here?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Omar, we were bracing for a hot inflation report, but this was sizzling. And it suggests there is quite a bit of inflation building up in the pipeline, largely because of the war with Iran. So, this is wholesale inflation. Producer Prices on the month were up

by 1.1 percent. Some context, that is almost twice as much as feared. And this is unchanged from the month before, which was revised down. So, 1.1 percent on the monthly rate. That's way too hot of a number for anything consistent with healthy inflation.

The annual rate bumped up to 6.5 percent.

[08:40:03]

This is a look at annual Producer Price inflation. You can see how it was very, very high four years ago after Russia invaded Ukraine, after Covid. And it came down. But now it is starting to move in the wrong direction. In fact, this is the highest annual rate for wholesale inflation since November of 2022.

Now, we pay close attention to this because this is looked at as a leading indicator for consumer inflation, right? This is price pressures on businesses. Now they often pass along some of those costs, at least some of them, to consumers. So, this tends to lead consumer inflation by a few months. By one to three months.

So, where was the inflation? Well, in May it wasn't food. Food, thankfully, was only up slightly. But look at this, energy, almost 11 percent higher. Of course, that reflects the fact that oil prices have skyrocketed because of the war. There's higher gas prices. There's higher diesel as well.

Now, this comes after yesterday's hot Consumer Price inflation report as well. And I know it gets a little wonky with all these different inflation readings. So, let's focus on what really matters to viewers, which is cost. Because prices have gone up, families have got to spend more money just to get the same amount of goods. Moodys Analytics has found that the typical U.S. household has to spend almost $300 more than they did a year ago to buy the same goods and services, all because prices have gone up. So, they're not getting more stuff. Same amount of stuff. They're just paying more because of higher prices. And when you zoom out even further from two years ago, it's $456 more each month that families have to pay just because of inflation.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, keeping track of these numbers, obviously, their numbers, we break down the analytics. But to your point, I mean, at the end of the day, it's costing people more money to do the things that they need to do.

EGAN: Yes.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

EGAN: And critically, Omar, their paychecks are just not keeping up with these higher prices.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

Matt Egan, really appreciate you bringing us the breaking news numbers. EGAN: Thanks.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And this is yet another view, gentleman, I'll take it over here. This is another view --

JIMENEZ: Yes, hi. There you are.

BOLDUAN: Sorry. Boo.

Another view of what people are dealing with across the country, what they have been feeling for a long time, why they are so concerned about being able to afford just basic things in their lives. You now have these new numbers on inflation. And yesterday in the Oval Office, President Trump said, I love the inflation. But how historic are the president's numbers on inflation?

Harry Enten is here to run these numbers for you.

So, Harry, what are you seeing? What are you seeing? Where do you want to begin?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, I would just say, if I'm an American, based upon the polling I'm seeing, I hear the president of America go, what the heck did I just hear? What the heck is going on?

One of the most politically tone-deaf statements I've ever heard. And you can see it in the numbers right here. Americans don't think -- don't like the inflation. They hate the inflation. They don't love the inflation. They hate the inflation. Inflation net approval, minus 50 points or worse. Fifty points underwater or worse. Total polls for president. Trump in 2026, already eight polls, already at least eight polls in which his net approval rating on inflation or the cost of living is negative 50 points or worse. Every other president, in every other year, the answer is, zero. Trump is not only the first one to reach negative 50 points or worse net approval rating on inflation, he's done it many of times.

So, when I hear Trump's statement, I just -- I feel like Mrs. White in "Clue" going, what is -- what is happening here?

BOLDUAN: The one -- a big aspect and one of the first things that people track in terms of the cost of living is the cost of gas prices.

ENTEN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: How are people feeling about Trump and gas prices?

ENTEN: Yes, OK. So, you see this historic number right here, you know, Trump being the first one ever to get minus 50. He's done it multiple times. No other president has done it.

How about an 80 percent disapproval on gas prices, which, of course, is fueling this frustration with inflation. Take a look here. The only president with an 80 percent disapproval rating on gas prices of all time is Trump in 2026. You can see Trump there. He's pointing the arrow to it. Yes, he has done it. This Iran war has done it. It has fueled record frustration on inflation and record frustration when it comes to gas prices. The only president ever with at least an 80 percent disapproval rating on gas prices, Donald John Trump, in this year, 2026.

BOLDUAN: And you -- from yesterday, we've told that his statement of I love inflation just ricocheted and ripped through Capitol Hill. And you can hear from Republican lawmakers the very real concern about what this increase in prices means to their constituents. But of course, that's also tied into the midterm election. Is this frustration trickling down?

ENTEN: Yes. President Trump may love the inflation. The American people hate the inflation. And I think the Republicans on Capitol Hill absolutely hated Donald Trump's statement.

Why? Because, just, it is absolutely funneling down. OK, Democrats are more -- are the party more trusted on inflation. For the first time since the 1970s, it is true now today we are actually seeing polling in which the Democrats are the party that is more trusted on inflation.

[08:45:01]

I was looking back at all the polls that I can find. The last time it really happened in an average of polls was in 1978, of course, before that inflation boom took Jimmy Carter out. And if history is prolog in this situation, well, it's going to take out the Republican majority in the House as well. So, no wonder that Republicans heard that statement and, just like me, are like Mrs. White, what, what, what, what did I just hear? Well, you just heard a president who wants to sink his party's midterm fortunes. That's what you just heard.

BOLDUAN: All right, Harry, thank you so much.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: These numbers are quite something today.

ENTEN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: All right, so we are getting some breaking news in.

President Trump has now made a new threat this morning on social media toward Iran, as the U.S. launches more strikes overnight. Now, the president of the United States, says that the U.S. will, quote, "take Kharg Island." We've got much more on that coming up.

And pilots getting a visit from the pope. Pope Leo making a very rare, I think you could definitely say it, appearance in the cockpit of his flight.

We'll be right.

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[08:50:00] BOLDUAN: Happening today, the World Cup kicks off in North America, with Mexico facing off against South Africa in the opening match, which we held in Mexico City. Over the next several weeks, there will be 104 matches, 48 teams, including here in the United States, of course, for the first time in 30 years.

Let's go to Valeria Leon in Mexico City at the fan zone, no less, with what is going to happen -- what's going to happen there.

VALERIA LEON, CNN REPORTER: Yes. And this is Mexico City's iconic zocalo (ph), transformed into a temple of football. This is the largest fan fest of the tournament. Big enough for more than 50,000 people. And just from here, you can see the 510 square meter screen where more than a -- the more than a thousand fans can watch the 104 World Cup matches from here.

And just below this stage is just almost ready. They are putting the final touches for today's performances. And we're expecting the Mexican band Banda el Recodo (ph), better known as the mother of all bands, to perform here. And after that, a K-pop South Korea group will perform as well on this stage.

And this whole square has been dressed up to showcase Mexican culture, to receive thousands of visitors from around the world. And from here we can (INAUDIBLE) monumental figure inspired by this pre-Hispanic (ph) civilizations. We've seen more than four of this surrounding this zocalo in Mexico City. Also, decoration have been very, very colorful with Mexican traditions. As you can see here, this Mexican traditional toys. And they are putting just the final touches on months of preparations to receive thousands of visitors, fans, of course, Mexicans to celebrate and to enjoy this tournament together, especially because ticket prices have been out of reach for many fans to get inside the stadium.

So, here at this fan fest in Mexico City, they're expected to receive thousands of fans from around the world.

BOLDUAN: It is going to be quite, quite, quite, quite a scene to watch as the fans will be starting to fill in and this big first matchup begins.

It's great to see you. Thank you so much for giving us a show of it.

Omar.

JIMENEZ: Good week for sports.

And in New York City, orange and blue skies across the city this morning. The single greatest comeback in the history of the NBA finals. I'm not joking either. That's actually the thing. I was there. Took a quick nap. Now I'm here. The New York Knicks overcame a 29- point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-106, and put themselves just a win away from their first title since 1973. A championship would mean everything to New York City and their fans. Maybe no one more than one of the most iconic fans the Knicks have, Spike Lee. I sat down with the legendary director before the game about just how

significant a win this would be for the city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPIKE LEE, DIRECTOR: The Knicks are the one team here in this city, like everybody, orange and blue skies. And --

JIMENEZ: It unites the city, that team, yes.

LEE: I mean -- I mean it is amazing. I wrote an opinion piece for "The New York Times" recently, over the last week, and I talked about how it's a love fest here. Everybody's wearing a Knicks t-shirt, a hat. You might be somewhere -- you know, I'm walking, you know, down the block and, you know, you see somebody, you don't stop but you'll get a -- you'll give a fist on the go. I'm like, the look, you know. We're not having no conversations, but we'll be like, there's a connection --

JIMENEZ: They know.

LEE: There's a connection.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Yes.

LEE: And it's a beautiful thing. I mean, it is a -- and I know people who don't live here think that's some B.S., but this is straight up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: You know there's a lot more of that to come. That's a great conversation with Omar right there, and the one and only Spike Lee.

Also this, what started as a routine trip off England's northeast coast quickly turned into a dramatic rescue after a dog was swept out to sea in an inflatable kayak. Two boaters joined the search after hearing that the Coast Guard -- hearing the Coast Guard call for help. They eventually located the kayak and the German shepherd that was on board. The poor thing. The boats were able to pull this exhausted pup to safety. He was later reunited with his owners.

Pope Leo got quite a ride to visit the Sagrada Familia Church for its historic blessing that he offered this week we've been talking about. He got to sit in the front of the plane with the pilots for his flight from Madrid to Barcelona.

[08:55:05]

This happened on Tuesday. We're getting video of it now. Even waved to the Spanish Air Force fighter jet pilots that were escorting them and talked to them on the radio. After he landed, the inaugurated -- he inaugurated the now -- the newest tower of the famous church, which is now the world's tallest church.

A burglar in Florida is captured on video helping himself to cigarettes, lottery tickets and bologna with cheese slices. He entered the mini mart through the ceiling, immediately setting off the security system. The suspect is named as 46-year-old Brian Jones. He spent less than ten minutes -- some 10 minutes inside. Police say they caught him an hour later scratching off the losing lottery tickets.

Omar.

JIMENEZ: I guess he wouldn't be hungry either.

This morning, Japan dealing with a serious bear problem. Seriously, after a number of bear sightings, nearly 100 schools in one Japanese city, for example, closed this week as a precaution and no word on when they're going to reopen. Last week -- were showing you some of the surveillance video captured the moment a bear ran into someone or was seen by people at a steel factory. Four people were injured. Last year was the deadliest year on record for bear attacks. And as bears emerge from hibernation, it's likely that more sightings are going to happen here. So, I want to bring in wildlife expert and host of "Wildlife Nation," Jeff Corwin.

So, I, you know, people might be looking at this and are thinking, what is going on here? What is driving bears into these more densely populated areas?

JEFF CORWIN, HOST, WILDLIFE AND CONSERVATION EXPERT: Hey, good morning, Omar.

Well, I think the greatest fascination about Japan and bears is I think a lot of people may think that Japan doesn't have any bears. They think it's sort of this urban metropolis. But, in fact, Japan is a very wild place. They have a wild coastline, as wild as Alaska. They have an interior. And they have two species of bears, just like we do. They have the Asiatic black bear, also called the Japanese black bear, and they have the Hokkaido brown bear, which is like their grizzly bear. And the bear populations of both these species have more than doubled in a decade. They have nearly 50,000 of these two different species of bears.

At the same time, wild places, just like in North America, are disappearing as human sprawl expands. So, that opens up the door, Omar, for human/bear conflict, which is what we see today. Just last year, they had 15 mortalities from bear/people conflict.

JIMENEZ: Well, and, you know, you talked about, you know, rural spaces or wild spaces, forest spaces disappearing. You know, other experts talk about combination of climate change, fewer hunters in some areas, sometimes population declines in rural communities.

CORWIN: Sure.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, those factors aren't unique just to Japan. What is the likelihood that we start to see this happen elsewhere in the world?

CORWIN: Well, bears are found around the world. We have them in Asia. We have them in South America. And we have them in Europe. And we have seen challenges with bears everywhere in the United States, from New Jersey to the west. And again, like with Japan, the expansion of human communities means a loss of wild space. And a creature as big as a bear needs a lot of space to survive. When these animals are stressed, when they're injured, at the time where moms, the sows, have their cubs, these animals are most vulnerable and are most likely to defend themselves, which is when we get this conflict.

Really the best thing we can do is to protect these bears, give them good habitat, and not interact with bears. For example, in New Jersey we see a lot of bear/human conflict increase because people are feeding bears. And you see this in social media all the time. We've got the saying in conservation, a fed bear is a dead bear. But Japan, a place of wild splendor, I have filmed and worked in Japan and bear is an incredible part of their natural history. But just like us, they're facing modern problems with conservation because of climate change, habitat loss, and the expanse of human society.

JIMENEZ: It's a fascinating dynamic. Deadly, as we've seen as well. So, something really to keep an eye on.

Jeff Corwin, I appreciate the insight on this issue. Thanks for being here.

CORWIN: You're welcome.

JIMENEZ: Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, it's time for a new episode of "Actors on Actors." This morning, Josh Hutcherson sits down with Elizabeth Banks talking about dealing with fame after starring in the massively popular "Hunger Games" franchise.

Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH HUTCHERSON, ACTOR: For, like, a long time I was, like, resentful towards it because, like, I didn't want that kind of attention.

ELIZABETH BANKS, ACTRESS: Really?

[09:00:02]

HUTCHERSON: And like the fact that like personal life, people were taking pictures.

BANKS: Yes.

HUTCHERSON: People were like at dinner you're trying to live your life.

BANKS: Right.

HUTCHERSON: Like, that's not a thing.